Page 11 of Trailer Trash

There was a knock on the door, and Skeeter got to his feet. “Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

His brows rose in an expression that dared me to question him. Usually I’d take him up on that dare, but I needed him too much to pose a challenge.

“I’m going to have a hard time explaining why I’m gone to Rose.”

“Figure it out.” He opened the door, revealing a middle-aged woman holding a leather bag.

“Another brawl, Malcolm?” she asked in a surly tone.

“You could say that,” he said as he motioned her in.

She took one look at me and hesitated. “And who do we have here?”

“Mindy, the only thing you need to know is that she’s the one who whooped Merv’s ass.”

“Mr. Chapman’s having a rough year,” the woman said. “Between his gunshot wounds and this, you’re going to have to start giving him hazard pay.”

Jed’s dark look suggested he thought otherwise.

“Jed,” Skeeter barked. “She’s in capable hands. Time to have a chat with Merv.”

After the two men left, Mindy set her bag on the desk.

“Lover’s spat?” she asked, giving me a shrewd look as she rummaged through the bag.

I snorted. “Hardly. There’s no love lost between me and Merv.”

She stopped what she was doing and stared into my face. “Did he attack you?”

“I handled it.”

She shook her head and pulled out a plastic container and set it on the desk. “Honey, this isn’t a world any sane woman wants to get mixed up in.”

“That’s not why I’m here.”

“Uh-huh,” she said, obviously not buying it. “That’s what they all say, sweetie.”

“Seriously. I need help is all, and Skeeter Malcolm has the resources to give it to me.”

“That comes at a cost, sugar.” She poured something into the plastic dish—iodine, from the smell—then pulled out a giant sponge from her Mary Poppins bag and started dabbing my head.

I saw no point in arguing with her. Not when I’d already come to that conclusion on my own.

Jed and Skeeter returned about five minutes later, with Merv in tow. His face was now wiped clean, but he had cotton stuffed in his nostrils, and he was cradling his hand to his chest. Mindy had already deadened the back of my head and started stitching.

The moment I saw Merv, I stiffened.

“Merv has something he would like to say,” Jed said, his eyes glittering with the promise of danger.

Merv looked like he wanted to strangle Jed. “I regret my overly aggressive behavior.” He dragged out each word, as if the apology pained him worse than a dozen beatings—by a girl. “I will pay for any damages.”

“Seems to me you’re the one sportin’ all the damages,” I retorted.

Skeeter laughed, looking like he was loving every minute of this.

“I will be happy to pay to replace your clothes,” Merv choked out.

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