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Jimmy Lou walked over to Channing. “You got a problem with Nate?”
Anderson grumbled, “Stay away from her.”
The others grabbed Anderson.
“Let me go.” He tussled. “Leave her alone.”
“I asked you a question, gal.” Jimmy Lou’s grey eyes narrowed as a vein pulsed in his neck. “You got a problem with my cousin then you got a problem with me.”
“I wouldn’t have thought twice about your cousin if he hadn’t hurt my daughter.”
“You’ve been causing my cousin a lot of trouble.” Jimmy Lou touched her cheek.
“Don’t touch her!” Anderson wriggled in the men’s grip. “Leave her alone. Let’s settle this as men.”
“I’ve done nothing to you,” Channing said. “It’s my daughter whose fighting for her life.”
“But, it was an accident.” Jimmy Lou pinched his lip, studying her. “You made everyone think he did it on purpose.”
“People make up their own opinions. I can’t control that.”
“You played on people’s sympathies. You changed the narrative to what you wanted it to be.”
“Your drunk, redneck cousin hit her daughter,” Anderson said. “He deserves everything he gets.”
“Nate’s suffering?” Channing lifted her head. “Great. I hope he suffers for the rest of his life.”
Jimmy Lou leaned back.
“I hope they lock his fat ass up and burn the key,” she said. “When that jury puts his ass in prison I’ll be right there in the first row cheering them on.”
Jimmy Lou grabbed Channing under her neck.
“Stop!” Anderson thrashed against the strength of the men. “Get off her, you son of a bitch. I swear to God if you hurt her.”
“Uppity little bitch, aren’t you?” Jimmy’s corn dog and beer breath made her want to vomit. “I’ve been waiting for my shot with you.”
Channing mumbled, “Go to hell.”
“Get off her,” Anderson screamed. “Now!”
“I love Nate like a brother, and I’m not about to let this black skank ruin his life.” Jimmy Lou’s fingers pierced her neck. “Is Boston your boyfriend?”
She moaned, pressing her lips together.
“You need a man don’t you?” Jimmy Lou ran his tongue across his top teeth. “Yeah.” He shoved his hand up her dress. “That’s what you need.”
She writhed. “Stop.”
“You bastard.” Anderson lunged for him, the men struggling to hold him. “Get your filthy hands off her.”
“Yeah.” Jimmy Lou moaned, rubbing inside her thighs.
Channing closed her eyes, sobbing.
“If you had a real man in your life, you wouldn’t be trying to ruin Nate’s.” He grabbed her buttock. “Isn’t that right?”
She grunted. “Get off me.”
“You like it, huh?” He snickered, his hand reaching the seat of her panties. “Heard you black bitches like it rough.”
“Motherfucker!” Anderson ripped free of the men and socked Jimmy Lou.
He fell back onto the sidewalk, laughing. “Oh, you’ll pay for that, Beantown.”
“Come on, fucker!” Spit flew from Anderson’s mouth. “You want someone to mess with then mess with me.”
“Hold his ass.” Jimmy Lou stood. “Let’s give him a Thompsonville welcome he’ll never forget.”
“No,” Channing screamed.
The men held Anderson’s arms out wide, and Jimmy Lou punched Anderson in the ribs.
He hollered, legs buckling.
“No!” Channing charged Jimmy Lou, slapping him.
“Ooh, she’s a lively one.” Long-hair cackled. “We’re gonna have fun with her tonight.”
“Yeah, we will.” Jimmy Lou trapped Channing in his muscular arms. “But first we take care of Beantown.” He kissed Channing’s forehead.
“Ugh.” She jerked her head.
“Then it’s you and us, darling.” He touched her chin. “I promise, you won’t ever forget tonight—”
“Jimmy Lou!” Nate emerged from the dark parking lot. “Let her go right now.”
Channing huffed and puffed, looking back and forth at Jimmy Lou and Nate.
“You hear me?” Nate stomped toward his cousin, the rim of his Mississippi State baseball cap hiding his eyes. “I’m not saying it again.”
“She’s ruining your life.” Jimmy Lou shook Channing. “You forget all the hell your momma’s gone through? The death threats, harassment? All because of this bitch. Let us shut her and her boyfriend up once and for all.”
“You’re not doing a damn thing but letting her go.”
“Let us handle this for you, man,” Bald Man said. “After this, she’ll drop those charges.”
“Are you insane?” Channing shouted. “He has to pay for what he did.”
“Just go, Jimmy Lou,” Nate said. “This ain’t helping me none. I don’t need you causing more trouble than I’m already in.”
Jimmy Lou let Channing go. “You want to go to prison, Nate? Be my guest.” He snapped his fingers at the others. “Let’s go.”
The men threw Anderson on the sidewalk.
Jimmy Lou glared at Nate as he passed him. “Sometimes I don’t understand you, kid.”
Nate nodded. “I can say the same about you.”
Jimmy Lou and his friends disappeared in the parking lot.
“Anderson?” Channing knelt beside him. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
Channing glanced up at Nate as he turned around and walked away.
****
“Be honest.” Anderson snickered as he pulled a chair out at Channing’s kitchen table. “You had a good time tonight.”
“Let’s see.” She got two bottles of sweet tea out her refrigerator. “You got into a fight with Zayden, we were hassled at lunch, and we almost got our asses kicked by a bunch of assholes.” She unscrewed the top off her bottle, joining him at the table. “You sure know how to show a girl a good time, Anderson.”
He laughed, his sore stomach reminding him to keep his mouth shut more often. “At least I’m not boring.” He sipped the sugary drink. “Goodness, you could get diabetes from this stuff.”
“Weird how Nate showed up like that.” She crossed her legs. “On one hand I wanted to hug him for saving our asses. Then I remembered why my daughter’s in the hospital and I wanted to kill him.”
“Are you okay?” Anderson grimaced as the tea made his jaws tingle.
“I wasn’t worried about myself, but those guys could’ve killed you.” She stroked the label on her bottle. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I’ve learned my lesson.” He raised his hand. “I’ll keep my big mouth shut from now on.”
She snickered, raising the bottle to her mouth. “I’ll believe it when I see it. Thanks for taking me to see Presley tonight.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I love visiting her.”
“She loves it when you read to her.” Channing beamed. “She can’t show it but I can tell.”
“She is so beautiful. She looks just like you.”
“Funny, I always thought she looked more like her father.”
“You think she’d like me?”
“Presley likes everybody.” She laughed. “Yeah, she’d love you and be trying to fix us up.” She looked into his eyes, shivered and looked away. “I think about you a lot. You creep into my mind no matter what I do.”
He sat at attention, euphoric sensation overtaking him.
“Do you think about me too?”
“Every moment.” His heart pounded as if someone hooked it to jumper cables. “Channing, are you in love with me?”
She caught her lip between her teeth, her eyes begging him to move closer. “If I were, how would you feel?”
“Amazing.”
Her smile faded, her eyebrows lowering.
“What’s wrong?”
“Once you finish your story, you’ll be leaving.”