Page 49 of Outlaw Xmas
“This is unbelievable. I was wrong in blaming you. This is your father’s fault.” Narrowing her eyes, she pointed at Chas. “You can meet with the principal at ten o’clock tomorrow morning.” She stormed out of the room.
Inhaling deeply, Chas watched as Addie put on her coat, grabbed her purse, and slammed the back door. A few seconds later, the Land Rover’s engine revved to life and the familiar clang of the garage door closing seeped through the walls.
“Mom’s pissed.” Jack leaned back and put his feet up on the table.
“She’ll get over it. Women are like that. They’re all into talking and shit because that’s the way they resolve stuff with their girlfriends. Us guys just throw a few punches and we’re good. Women don’t get it. So, you must’ve been practicing what I taught you.”
“I did, and when Owen came for me, I didn’t cower or run like I always did. I just stood there. He seemed surprised. Some of the kids came over to see what was going on. Owen came toward me and I knew he was going to punch me, so I did like you told me to do—anticipate his move and do the opposite of what he expected me to do. He missed me and I punched him in the gut real hard. Then the fight was on.”
Chas loved seeing the confidence in his son’s face, the way he became animated in talking about the fight, and his booming laugh made Chas’s heart swell. No matter how many arguments Addie threw at him about peace versus violence, he’d never regret teaching Jack how to defend himself. The glow over Jack’s face was priceless, and as he watched him hold his chin high and push his shoulders back, Chas knew Jack would never cower in another corner again. When six o’clock rolled around, Chas took out a package of hot dogs and put them in a pot of water on the stove. He opened a couple cans of chili beans and put them in another pot.
“You’re cooking?” Jack said, coming into the kitchen.
“I’m hungry, Daddy,” Hope said.
“I’m making dinner, sweet bear.” He looked at Jack. “And I used to cook all the time for us before your mom.”
“It was hot dogs and beans, pretty much,” Jack said as he pulled the kitchen chair out for Hope.
“Then it’ll be like old times because that’s what we’re having. You like hot dogs, don’t you, sweet bear?”
“I love them. Mama doesn’t make them too much.”
“I’m an expert with them.”
Addie didn’t come home until well after Hope had gone to sleep. Chas was watching television on the couch when his ears pricked at the sound of the garage door. As she entered the house, a rush of cold air coiled around him, making the flames in the fireplace leap and dance.
“You have a good evening?” he asked, his gaze still on the television.
“I did. I went to the mall, then went over to Clotille and Rock’s house. She made the best rice and beans I’ve ever had. Did you order a pizza for the kids?”
“I cooked. It would’ve been nice for you to have sent a fuckin’ text or something. I get that you needed some space to cool off, but not sending a text to me or Jack is shitty. The kids kept asking where you were.”
“I sent you one.”
Chas looked at his phone and saw a text had come in fifteen minutes before. When he looked at the time it was sent, it was two hours before. “These damn phones.”
“Did you get it?”
“Just recently.”
Sitting at the other end of the couch, she lifted his feet and put them on her lap. “I know we’re never going to agree with the fighting thing with Jack. I was so mad at you.”
“I know you were. And you’re right, we’re not going to agree. Women just see things differently. You’re pissed at Jack because he stood up for himself by punching the brat, and I’m proud. It’ll be like that forever. My mom is still appalled to know that I’ll beat the shit out of anyone who messes with me. My dad gets it. There you have it.”
“I suppose. I hope you told Jack that it’s not good to start fights, just fight to defend himself.”
“Yeah, I told him that.” Chas thought about how many barroom brawls he’d had when he was younger. Some of them were because he was provoked, while others were just because he didn’t like the way some fucker looked at him. He pushed up and swung his legs off the couch. “You still pissed at me?” Scooting toward her, he reached out and grabbed her hand.
“Maybe.”
“Don’t be.” He swept her hair aside and slowly licked her neck.
“I don’t forgive that easily,” she said as she moved closer to him.
“That’s too bad,” he breathed in her ear, then slipped her earlobe between his teeth and sucked gently. A small moan slipped from her lips. As he sucked her ear and neck, he unbuttoned her blouse, then slipped his hand inside her bra, squeezing her breast. “I fuckin’ love your tits, precious.”
She unsnapped the front of her bra and her big tits spilled out. “What about Jack?”
