Now Fletcher and Grayson did not want to miss any of what was going to be going on, but Rayburn motioned for them to sit. He did, however, indicate that he wanted Nadine with him.
He saw JoLynn’s car in front of Wet Willy’s. He parked in the back and he and Nadine entered the side door. It was a Saturday night at a country honky-tonk, but you could have heard a pin drop, except for the two people having words in the middle of the dance floor. JoLynn was standing nose to nose with RB Griffith. Of course, he had to stoop over some to even things up. RG Griffith was big and he was also fat. The extra weight could be an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on how you looked at it. Rayburn and Nadine slowly moved closer. Everybody was transfixed on the couple, waiting for something to happen.
“You lay one finger on my husband, you miserable piece of shit, and I will rip your balls off and feed them to my dog.”
Rayburn laughed to himself because they didn’t even have a dog.
“I’ll tell you what little lady after I get done with the skinny runt you call a husband, I’ll come back and show what a real man is like.”
It was like two kids in a schoolyard. They kept at it for over a minute. It was obvious that JoLynn was not the least bit afraid of the asshole, but it would have to end eventually. Rayburn inched a little closer and Nadine stayed right with him.
RB leaned closer to JoLynn and grinned as he whispered something to her. Big mistake. JoLynn gave him a head butt that was just hard enough to cause him to turn his head, close his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose. It was not hard enough to hurt him, but it was annoying and embarrassing.
Before opening his eyes, he reached out and grabbed for what he thought was JoLynn’s blouse. A second later he realized that he had a hold of Rayburn’s shirt. The look of surprise on his face was immediately followed by a satisfied grin.
The second head butt was a lot harder than the first one.
RB Griffith was on one knee and the first real blow had not yet been struck. The grin was gone and the blood was flowing. Nadine took JoLynn aside as Rayburn placed a steel-toed boot directly on RB’s left knee cap, and then started the pounding. It was all over in less than a minute. Rayburn was not able to do much damage to RB’s ribs or torso because of all the body fat, but there were plenty of other areas to get his attention. He stopped pummeling his adversary only when somebody announced that the Sheriff had just arrived.
Rayburn went out the side door as the officers came in the front. The confusion in the room made things difficult for the law enforcement professionals and he had no trouble getting away.
[]—[]
Nadine took JoLynn home with her, but she took the long way. She had no idea what Rayburn’s intentions were, but she didn’t want to rush him. By the time they got to the house Rayburn had gotten his stuff and was on the way to Tennessee. JoLynn was furious. Nadine thought the whole thing was funny as hell.
It took JoLynn a couple of weeks to figure out that Rayburn was not coming back. A couple of weeks more and she had a good idea where he was. One morning she just disappeared. Nadine called Rayburn and let him know that she was on her way, and in a bad mood. JoLynn had dropped the boys off at Fletcher and Garnet’s place when she left.
Rayburn and Grayson were trying to keep a low profile while they were staying in Winchester. They didn’t become hermits or anything like that, but they did tone things down a bit. Nadine showed up a couple of days after she called. No one knew anything about JoLynn. While Rayburn and Grayson were working, Nadine visited all of the local clubs and honky-tonks to see If JoLynn had been around. It had been several weeks since she left.
“I found her.” Nadine seemed quite pleased with herself.
“Do you want to let us in on it?” Rayburn seemed more perturbed than pleased.
“She is staying at a trailer park near Belvidere, with a biker name Ozman. It appears that they have become quite attached. She is very open about the fact that she is here looking for you. She bops around a lot, but their favorite place is a bar called the Monkey Barn. Ozman works at a muscle gym in downtown Winchester as a trainer. He considers himself to be a badass and a biker, although he is not affiliated.”
“That’s nice to know, but what am I supposed to do now?”
“Brother, you are going to have to talk to her sometime. You might as well do it now.” Grayson plopped three long necks down on the table.
[]—[]
Rayburn, Grayson, and Nadine sat over to the side. The Monkey Barn wasn’t that big, but it had a good crowd. They were not trying to hide and it worked out for them. JoLynn showed up with a big guy that had to be Ozman. He was big and he was solid. No beer belly on this guy. She was all over him, which tended to piss Rayburn off. After ten minutes she finally noticed him, and her attention to Ozman picked up. Now that she knew he was here, she was doing it to aggravate him. It worked.
JoLynn stopped by the bar and grabbed three beers. Ozman just stood across the room and watched, as she walked over.
“Well, if it isn’t my husband and his loving family. Surprise finding you here.” She placed a beer down in front of each of them.
“What do you want, JoLynn? Why do you insist on following me, when you know that I don’t want you?”
“You know what the hell I want? I am your wife. I want us back together; you, me, and the kids. That is what I want.”
“If that was true then what the hell are you doing with that want-a-be biker over there?”
“He is not a want-a-be. He is a real man. I needed a place to stay while I was looking for you, and he had a room available.”
“I assume that you are also sharing his bed?” Rayburn phased that as a question.
“That’s none of your damn business. If you were doing your job as a husband, none of this would be necessary.”
Nobody said anything for a few seconds. “How are my kids, Nadine? Is Garnet still taking care of them for me?”
There was still no response in any fashion. Finally, she got pissed and walked back to her new friend.
Things quieted down for a while. They decided to finish their beers and leave. They saw everything they wanted to see. That was when everything turned to shit.
As they got out of their chairs Rayburn seemed to stumble. He was a bit groggy and was having a hard time walking or even standing. Nadine and Grayson hadn’t noticed. He was still mobile, but not like his normal self. They never made it to the door. Ozman bumped into Rayburn as he walked by and the next thing they knew, he was beating on him. Nadine and Grayson were totally confused. This had never happened before. Rayburn never fought back. Ozman beat him until he fell and then started kicking him. Finally, Nadine jumped into the fray to protect her brother. Nadine looked over and saw JoLynn smiling. JoLynn was actually laughing as she and Ozman scooted out the door.
Grayson insisted that the hospital run a complete tox screen on his brother. There was no doubt that he had been drugged and the police were immediately notified. The damages were pretty serious and Rayburn spent five days in the hospital. The police never found Ozman or JoLynn. Rayburn and Nadine returned to West Virginia so that he could recover. For some reason, local law enforcement on both sides of the state line did not bother him.