Page 36 of The County Line
Without hesitation, I head straight for the water. With all the rain we’ve had lately, the creek looks more like a river, the current stronger than usual. I wade in up to my knees, letting the icy chill seep into my skin, hoping it’ll cool the restless churn in my mind. Cupping a handful of water, I splash it over my face and shaved head, rubbing hard, as if I can scrub away the thoughts about Jenni.
I know I shouldn’t get involved. Hell, I’ve only met her once now, but her words have been lodged in my mind ever since, gnawing at me like a splinter I can’t pull out.
Something’s not right with her foster family—I can feel it. The thought keeps spiraling, dragging me deeper, until the crunch ofgravel under tires cuts through my haze like a lifeline. I glance up just in time to see Molly step cautiously out of her car. She gives me a small wave, her movements measured, almost hesitant.
“Hey, Colt,” she calls out softly as I emerge from the water.
I nod and drink her in. Every time my thoughts threaten to spiral out of control, she appears, like clockwork, grounding me back to the moment, calming my racing thoughts. Her presence pulls me back to the surface, clearing the storm in my mind and giving me an unnatural sense of peace.
For a moment, I just stare, my thoughts scattering in her wake all over the grass. She’s standing right here, and yet, I feel like I’m the one frozen, caught in the quiet power of her presence and the beauty that surrounds her.
“You busy?” she asks.
“Nah, just got home from the store. Took a quick dip to cool off.”
She kicks at the gravel nervously with a nod. “I came by because I wanted to thank you… about the other night, but I’ve been working back to back twelve hour shifts at the station, trying to manage the whole parole officer gig and patrol and haven’t had the time to get over here and do it. Chief said he’d only have me working parole cases now, but it turns out that was a lie. I’m sorry I didn’t come by sooner.”
“It’s no problem.”
She steps towards me, the simple pair of Levi’s jean shorts she’s wearing revealing her tan, bare legs that seem to go on for miles. Her blue eyes are much clearer than they were the last time I saw her and her skin seems to have browned up a bit as we move into the late spring.
“That was super embarrassing. I never drink like that anymore. I don’t know what happened,” she laughs nervously and shakes her head. “Okay, no, that’s a lie, I know why that happened. I hadn’t eaten anything that whole day and then drank way too much on an empty stomach.”
“You were pretty messed up.”
She nods and I can tell she’s been beating herself up about it, probably overthinking everything she said.
“Don’t worry about it,” I tell her.
She gives me a half grimace and a half smile. “Well, if I said anything weird, I apologize. Are your truck seats ruined from my vomit?”
“Nah, cleaned them when I got home.”
She puffs out a breath of air. “Are we good then?”
I choke out a laugh. “Nothing’s going to ever change that.”
She shoots me another smile and tucks her hands into her back pockets. Her eyes cart around my property before she snags on the beams that I’ve started to stand up for what will be the frame of my home. “Wow it’s really coming together.”
“Trying to, though I don’t mind sleeping in the RV. Cash and I worked on it yesterday until about three in the morning.”
She nods and gestures towards the hot Cheetos and soda. “Are you having lunch?”
“Figured I’d try something different. Heard this combination was lethal.” The truth is that I felt like the burn of the Cheetos mixed with the sting of the soda might help me feel something. I don’t know, pain or some shit. Ever since our night together at Krissy’s bar, I’ve been chasing a high I haven’t caught yet. Thatnight, I felt like I was on the brink of some powerful emotions but maybe it isn’t something I can catch outside of Molly.
Maybe she’s the high I’ve been searching for.
She snorts and steps over to the fire pit seating area, pulls open the bag and tosses a few in her mouth, then cracks the seal on the soda and pours it directly in after.
My brows raise. “You got a death wish I don’t know about?”
She laughs, closes her mouth and tries to chew but ends up choking instead. Tears roll down her pretty face as she fans her tongue dramatically. She looks beautiful. I wonder if she’d weep like that while trying to take my cock down her throat.
When she finally gets her chewing under control, she ends up spitting half of the orange-red mess all over the lawn.
“Wow,” she wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. “That’s a disgusting combination.”
“Well, you certainly didn’t make it look like a good time.”
