“What the hell did you say?”
“I said that I gave his boss a blowjob so that he would give him his job back, and that I screwed his boss because I wanted to.”
Nadine took a sip of the hot coffee. “Wow. I am amazed that he didn’t kill you right then and there. You must be a real blonde because that was the stupidest thing any woman ever said to Rayburn Watley. Really stupid.”
JoLynn didn’t respond.
“What happened that caused Rayburn to get fired in the first place?”
“I was acting like a college coed at a frat party all night. I could tell that Rayburn was getting upset with me, but I was having so much fun I didn’t want to stop. I was having one last dance with Rayburn’s boss, Mister Cordetti when things finally got out of hand. Cordetti put both of his hands on my ass cheeks. I was telling him to remove them right away or I was going to kick him in the nuts so hard he wouldn’t walk for a week. I didn’t want to make a scene. Well, I was too late. Before we knew it, Rayburn threw a beer bottle at Cordetti and hit him in the back of his shoulder. I think he was aiming for his head.”
“Now that sounds like my brother.”
“One thing led to another and in a fit of anger, Cordetti fired Rayburn on the spot. Rayburn stormed out before things cooled down. I talked to Mister Cordetti for about ten minutes and he admitted it was a bad move on his part and that Rayburn was justified in what he did. He said he could still keep his job and he apologized to me. He also told me to apologize to Rayburn for him. I never got the chance.”
“So you never had sex with this Cordetti guy?”
“Hell no. There is no way I would ever think about cheating on Rayburn.”
“Why did you say that you did?”
“Because I was pissed off. He just accused me of being a whore. I won’t take that shit from anyone, including him. Before I knew it, my mouth was throwing out all that crap and there was no way to take it back. The only person that got fucked that night was me. I did it to myself. Me and my big mouth.”
JoLynn collected the empty cups. She seemed to be crying or at least her eyes had teared up.
“What are you going to do now?”
“I don’t know. Do you have any suggestions? You seem to know a hell of a lot more about Rayburn than I do.”
“Did you know that he was wanted by the law in two states?”
“What? No, I didn’t know that. What the hell did he do?”
“Damn, girl. That’s a dumb question. What did he do to Benny Cordetti yesterday morning?”
“Oh, God. No. Cordetti isn’t expected to get out of the hospital for at least three weeks.”
“That is the Rayburn that we all love and adore.”
Both women sat for a few moments without talking.
“He can’t come back here, can he?”
“Nope.”
“He can’t stay there either?”
“That’s right.”
“What the hell are we going to do?”
“What do you mean ‘WE’? You are not one of Rayburn’s favorite people right now.”
“Oh, crap. He doesn’t know the truth. There is no way that he can know what really happened. Damn, I am screwed again.”
“Look, JoLynn it has been very interesting meeting you. I enjoyed the lunch and the conversation, but right now I have to get the kid’s stuff and get back on the road.”
“Can I come with you?”
“Hell no. Are you trying to get me killed?”
“Can I have your phone number?”
“I can handle that, but don’t expect me to take sides here. Rayburn is my brother. Blood comes first.”
“We have some money in the bank that we were saving to buy a house. Does Rayburn need money? I can get it out for him.”
“He is fine. He is with his family. He doesn’t need anything. Hold on to that money. You might need it.”
Two hours later Nadine was on the road headed south. She would be home in time for supper.
[]—[]
There was a big family gathering that evening. Nadine told Rayburn what JoLynn had told her, but he wasn’t buying it. Until she could prove otherwise, he was going to assume that what she said first, in the heat of anger, was the truth. The story that she told Nadine was a contrived cover-up. The big problem seemed to be what he was going to do next. He couldn’t chance staying where he was and he couldn’t go back to Pennsylvania. Fletcher had a friend who owned a company that built yuppie log cabins in Winchester, Tennessee. A quick phone call and one of the problems was solved. Garnet was going to keep Bryan and Tyson until Rayburn could find a place to live. Garnet made great grits. Nadine was going to bring them down and help Rayburn set up house, and find some sort of sitter for the boys while Rayburn worked. Rayburn wasn’t planning on leaving until Monday morning, so he had a full weekend to enjoy with his family.
Although Rayburn had tried his best to get home without anybody finding out, it didn’t work. Someone recognized him, and it didn’t take long for the word to get around. It never did seem to reach the ears of the law, but it did get the interest of a few other people.
Rayburn Watley had become a legend in the area. All of the want-to-be badasses could get a quick reputation if they took down Rayburn. It was like the dime western novels about the young gunslingers challenging the older experienced ones, only there were no six-shooters involved this time.
To make matter worse, JoLynn Watley had been driving all day to find her husband and get him straightened out. The longer she drove the madder she got. By the time she reached Rockingham County, she was royally pissed.
The Watley family was settled in with plenty of cold beer and two grills loaded with ribs and burgers. The plan was to stay low profile and enjoy the weekend. Everything was fine until the first phone call.
Fletcher took the phone call. He was laughing when he hung up, and naturally got everyone’s attention.
“Damn it, Fletch. What the hell is so funny?” Nadine was the first to jump in.
He giggled a little before speaking. “Danny down at the Grist Mill Bar said that a pissed-off blonde spit-fire was just down there demanding to know where she could find Rayburn Watley. It appears that she is hitting all of the bars trying to find her husband and she is being very vocal about it. He said that it sounded like she was being obnoxious on purpose just to bait you.”
“Nadine does that sound like something that my wife would do?”
Nadine couldn’t help but laugh. “Damn right. She is going to raise a fuss until she finds you. I think the woman is in love, Rayburn.”
“I think she is crazy. You know very well that the law is going to get wind of this and then we will have problems.”
The tone of the conversation around the table was mixed, but most everybody thought that it was funny; that is until the next phone call.
They all watched Fletcher until he got done and then waited for him to tell them what was going on.
“Rayburn. Do you remember a guy called RB Griffith from over in Page County?”
“Yeah. A badass guy that lived just east of Luray.”
“Well my good brother, he is looking for you also, and it looks like sometime tonight your wife and RB Griffith are bound to end up at the same place at the same time.”
The room went silent for a moment. Rayburn finally stood up and set his long neck on the table. “You all have to excuse me for a few minutes while I go find my loving wife.”