Page 78 of The Auction
Popping the hood with the lever underneath the steering wheel, I got out and used the metal stand to hold open the hood. I looked at the labyrinth of belts along with the engine and came to a dead stop.
That motherfucker.
He was kneelingout by the chicken coop again, his hands pulling on the work he did yesterday, maybe to test its strength.
I knew I only had one shot. I lifted the shovel high up over my head and aimed for his shoulder.
I was looking to hurt, not to kill.
But his damn instincts were too fast. The second the head of the shovel got close to him, he grabbed the wood shaft where it met metal and stopped its momentum.
“What’d I tell you about trying to hurt me, Jules? You’re only going to hurt yourself.”
I pulled on the handle to try and jerk it back, but he was right. There was no point, so I let go.
“Give them back.”
“You need to cool off,” he said, and tossed away the shovel. “I did it for your own good.”
I closed my eyes and willed myself to be calm.
“You win. I’m getting off this farm. I’m going to find a lawyer and divorce your ass and whatever the judge decides is what I’ll accept. But I’m not staying here with a whore fucker for one more second of my already miserable life.”
“Angie was no whore,” he said, and got to his feet, wiping off his hands.
“Give me the spark plugs you took out of the truck and let’s end this shit.”
“You’re mad,” he said dully, but not looking at me. “You’ll get over it.”
“I told you where my head was. I told you there was no going back,” I said. “You didn’t listen. Now let me go.”
“Tell me why you were so fucking upset,” he spat back. “Three months ago you would have been pleased as fucking punch if I told you I wanted to sleep with other women.”
“That was before I had…” My voice trailed off because the word didn’t immediately come to mind.
“What? Before you had what?”
I met his angry expression. “Hope,” I admitted.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. I dropped my head back on my shoulders and cackled at the sky above.
“You bought me at an auction! You basically paid cash out of pocket for me. My life, my future, my land. And I still had hope!”
My laughter stopped and I met his inscrutable expression.
“And you had Angie. I hope she was worth it. Wait,” I snorted, and started a slow clap. “Of course she was. Because I’m walking away. Fuck, Creed. Well done by you. Now you might get everything and lose me in the bargain. Win. Win.”
“You think that’s what I want?”
“I don’t give a shit what you want anymore. Now you’re going to give me those spark plugs or I promise you I will fucking get in the cab of the next eighteen wheeler that drives by this farm. Damn the consequences.”
I watched his brain work. He was considering his options. Assessing the situation. Making some internal decision about how serious I was.
Dead serious.
I wasn’t even sure where his hesitation was coming from. He’d won. I’d lost. What was the point of holding me here, when he knew he was all but guaranteed victory? He would tell any judge who would listen that I abandoned him.
The farm, outright, was in his grasp.
