Teased(22)

Eventually, they rode through a small town where Colton stopped for gas. It was next door to a restaurant where they went through the drive- thru. Vida sat on the bike as Colton stood next to it, eating their food. When they finished, Colton drove down a small, paved road on a large piece of land. They found a farmers’ market, which had been set up on the side of the road.

“Let’s check it out,” Colton said suddenly.

Vida agreed and they spent an amusing couple of hours going to the various booths. Vida bought some fruit while Colton purchased drinks and a couple of sandwiches. Finding a spot on the ground away from the booths, they ate quietly as they watched the customers shop.

“I love being out of the city,” Vida said, looking at the countryside surrounding them.

Colton paused at eating his sandwich. It was the first thing Vida had shared about herself. The woman kept herself so contained, you never knew what she was thinking.

“You don’t like the city?”

“I hate it. I like being out in open spaces. The idea of having just a few neighbors and having a small town sense of community where they actually care about one another appeals to me.”

“But you have that in the city. Your relationship with Sawyer proves that,” Colton argued.

Vida shook her head. “Sawyer, Callie and I all lived on the fifth floor in a low income housing building. Sawyer’s mother would babysit Callie and me while my mom worked or Callie’s was busy. But none of them shared anything about their lives. The apartment building was filled with people who weren’t even supposed to be living there. Everyone minded their own business because they didn’t want anyone sticking their nose into theirs or the possibility of getting evicted.”

There was definitely no sense of community where she had grown up. Vida watched the people at the farmers’ market greet each other, standing and talking amongst themselves before continuing with their shopping.

“I see your point.” Colton recognized that she wanted a tight community to replace her lack of family until she had one of her own. Colton didn’t know why that thought bothered him, only that it did.

Her dark hair was pulled back, showing her high cheekbones and green eyes. Her red lips bit into a piece of melon that had juice running down her chin. Giving her a napkin, he watched as she wiped away the juice from her face and licked her lips to catch the stray droplets. Her unconscious sensuality hardened his cock. Colton shifted on the hard ground.

Taking an apple for himself, he watched her pick up another piece of melon and had to force his attention back to what she was saying.

“In a town like this, a child like Callie would never have suffered. A neighbor, school or friend would have reported her mother. She might still be alive if she hadn’t had the misfortune to live where she did.”

“You don’t know that, Vida. Maybe she would still be alive or maybe something else could have killed her. She might have died some other way and never known what it was like to have such wonderful friends as you or Sawyer.”

“She was so special, Colton. Her mother would drop her off as often as Sawyer’s mother would take her during the day. All three of us didn’t realize we weren’t sisters until we were about five-years-old; we spent so much time together. Especially Sawyer and me because our mothers were friends and they would swap out babysitting. Brenda, that bitch, would only let Sawyer’s mom babysit when she was coming off her high. She wanted Callie by her side all the time, even when she was...” Her voice broke off.

“My mom and Sawyer’s mom both reported her to social services when the bruises became worse, but they always gave her back to that bitch, then she started threatening our moms. She held a knife to my mom one night when she tried to talk to her. She even threatened Sawyer and me if they didn’t mind their own business.”

“Vida,” Colton tried to stop her, knowing where this story ended, seeing no need for her to take this trip down memory lane. Goldie had told him about Callie’s mother. He had wanted to have a talk with her himself, but Goldie had been terrified that the woman would disappear with Callie.

She continued on, lost in her own story, “The first time Sawyer and I saw Marshall, he scared us; he was so frightening.” Vida could still see the white haired, muscular man who had been as large as a giant to the small children they were then.

“He scared me, too, and I wasn’t a little girl.” Colton tried again to regain her attention unsuccessfully.

“The sad part is, I think he really cared for Callie; she gained weight and didn’t have as many bruises. Sawyer and I were happy that he’d moved in with her mom. Do you think he meant to hurt Callie when he killed Brenda?” Vida buried her face in her hands. “I still see her face every day, Colton, wishing I had smelled the smoke sooner, got to her door faster, knocked louder. There should have been something I could have done.”