with Neil, no way he'd let him get away with moving in and taking his woman. She felt disgusted with herself knowing what was to come.
"I should have called the cops earlier," she cried, as she made her way upstairs. "Stupid, stupid Brandy."
Ricky was standing on the landing looking down at his mother. He looked shocked to see her so upset.
"Why cry?" he asked.
"It's nothing, sweety," she whispered into his ear, as she picked him up and cradled him. "Just grownup stuff."
"Who that man?" his little finger pointed out the front door.
"No one, don't think about him."
"He funny," Ricky chuckled to himself.
It broke her heart to think that a child had to be separated from its father, but what kind of a life could Rex have given Ricky? She shuddered at the thought. Left to be raised by the Allen's, her little baby would no doubt grow up to be like the rest of them, lying, cheating, drunken, criminals.
I don't know what I ever saw in him, she thought to herself. I mean, apart from the obvious. Despite the fact she hated him and he treated her terribly, she couldn't forget that there was a time she thought he was gorgeous. With a muscular body like a Greek God and that rugged face of his, she used to melt as soon as he'd wrap those bearish arms around her. Even now, seeing him for the first time in two years, she had to admit he was still as handsome and strong as she remembered.
As she set about making the bed, she tried her best to dismiss the thought. Yet, seeing him after all this time brought back memories. She had to admit there were some good times; days they'd spent together in a lustful bubble with nothing else in the world but them and the bed sheets that cloaked their naked bodies. She felt ashamed for seeing him that way again.
Gripping the bed sheets as she tucked them under the mattress, she worried about what Rex would be doing right now. She thought of him riding out there to Neil's work and beating him to within an inch of his life. He was capable of it. She'd seen him do similar things to others. Her stomach lurched, and she had the sudden urge to throw up. Running to the bathroom, she vomited into the sink.
As she raised her head and splashed cold water on her face, she looked at the clock on the wall behind her and knew that it was a twenty-five-minute drive to Neil's work. She still had time...
Hurrying to find her phone, she tapped Neil’s name and listened to the dial tone. There was no answer.
“Come on, come on, just answer!”
*****
Neil wiped the engine oil from his hands down the front of his overalls.
"I always hated the smell of this place," a female voice came from the back of the garage.
He spun round and saw the look on the beautiful woman's face.
"You shouldn't be here, Laura," he pursed his lips.
"Oh... Why's that?" she sauntered forward, her ample hips swaying from side to side.
"Because someone might see you," Neil explained. "This whole God damn town knows each other, and there ain't nothing more fun for these people than gossiping."
"Is that so?" She approached him with a cheeky glint in her eyes and flashed him a smile.
Wrapping her arms around him, she kissed him hard, her pelvis pushing into his. He wanted to pull away from her, knew that he shouldn't cheat on Brandy, but this woman was so... so alluring, so persistent, so young and eager.
"Let's give them something to talk about," she whispered into his ear before she reached out a tentative tongue and licked the sweat from his neck.
"No... I can't. I mean, I shouldn't, I love Brandy."
"You love her?" Laura burst out laughing. "If you love her so much, how come you been comin' round my house the last few months?"
He genuinely didn't know. He was weak and had to admit that he'd been flattered by the attention of a pretty, young girl. His friends had goaded him and given him the go ahead. They said he'd be an idiot to give up the chance to sleep with a twenty year-old, but he knew if Brandy found out...