Page 31 of Viper

“Where does he live now?”

“I haven’t found out yet. I wanted to ask if you’d like to see him once we locate his whereabouts.”

“I swear I’m shaking inside. What do you think, Uncle Joe?”

“If you want, we can all go with you.”

“If you go, then I’ll go. You can do the talking; I don’t know what to say if he’s my father.”

Cole slipped his arm around me. “I’ll go with you. You’re, after all, my fiancée.”

Steel and I exchanged amused glances and burst into laughter. “Why do you keep saying I’m your fiancée?

“Because sugar, you are my fiancée; and we both know it.”

“Careful, Cole, I’ll start thinking you’re falling in love with me,” I teased. When he didn’t respond, I turned back to Steel. “Now, do we have containers for the food?”

“Yes,” he replied.

“Do you want some help with the food,” Aunt Shirley offered.

“Yes, thank you. I’m planning to give the leftovers to the Taggert family. Steel said they only live a mile from here.”

“Oh, Lord,” Aunt Shirley sighed.

Cole couldn’t contain his shock at my decision. “Are you crazy? Bo will chase you off with buckshot in your ass. Hell no, you’re not going there. Bo doesn’t get along with the Petersons.”

“Cole, you listen to me. I was once a hungry child.”

“People on the mountain know how to survive, Bailey, and Bo Taggert can be a mean son of a bitch. They're proud people up here; if you want to give them food, you might be crossing a line, and that would upset many.”

“I don’t want to cause trouble; forget I said anything. But what if Izzy Taggert is my cousin? Would that be different? Can I give to family?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Steel mentioned that Izzy looks like us.”

“Why are you doing this?” Cole asked, turning me toward him by the shoulders. “Tell me what is going on.”

“Look at all this food; I only wanted to give the leftovers to someone in need. I’ve always done that. When I had the restaurant, I saved all the leftover food from that day and gave it to the homeless families. They were happy to get something to eat. Then Donnie Turner showed up and took those pictures, and I had to sell my restaurant.”

“Okay, let’s clean this up. I’ll let you guys do what you’ve always done. You know better than I do,” My mom told me how proud the mountain people are,” I added, then a thought struck me. ‘How did my mother know about people from the mountains? “Was my mom from here?”

They all exchanged looks, and Aunt Shirley finally spoke up. “She had a cousin who lived here; that’s who she was visiting when she met Jonah. They only dated for a few months before they got married. The cousin moved into town a few years ago. Maybe she knows where your mom is.”

“I don’t want to know where my mom is. I don’t want to have anything to do with her. She left us alone, so I’m leaving her alone.”

Everyone joined in the cleanup. I still couldn’t get Izzy off my mind, but I listened to Cole’s advice. He understood these people better than I did.

As we walked home, Cole broached the topic of moving back home. I didn’t want him to leave. Will you visit me? Or is this goodbye?”

“Of course, I’ll visit you. I’ll be here almost every day. I want to keep seeing you; I like you a lot, Bailey.”

“Good, because I like you a lot too. So we will be like boyfriend and girlfriend. Can I call you my boyfriend?”

“As long as you understand, I won’t ever fall in love.”

“Lord, please don’t ever fall in love with me. Your feelings will be hurt because I don’t want to ever fall in love either. So we both know where we stand,” I said, even though I knew it was a lie. Cole’s eyes met mine.

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