I sat there for a minute and just enjoyed touching him. My hands running across his chest and shoulders felt good. Too good.
I asked Drake about his family and how he ended up with such a big, beautiful house to live in all by himself. He explained that he moved in with his grandparents after he finished high school, becoming his grandfather’s apprentice at the butcher shop.
They built the house in the 60s before having children and put the in-ground pool in during the 80s. It was obvious it was well taken care of and had been maintained and updated over the years. The deep end had a lovely turquoise curved slide. An in-ground hot tub was on the other side and I noticed the waterfall ran into the pool itself. A pool house was on the opposite side and I hoped for a tour at some point.
“I like having you in my arms,” Drake said. I slid his sunglasses up on his head and lightly pecked his lips.
“I like it too,” I agreed.
"For the last couple of years, I've been working on cleaning out my grandparents' things. Anything that I've just wanted out of sight or have no real use for I put in a room in the basement," he explained. "So if there's anything you ever want or need for your apartment, you're welcome to check here before buying it." His little chuckle was nice.
“That’s very kind of you to offer.”
“Yeah, my grandmammy had lots of decorations...and I am very much a bachelor, so there are probably things in there girls would like that are just not my style.”
“Perhaps a tour to get out of the sun for a little while before we continue our swim day?”
We went inside and I changed out of my wet suit and put my bikini on, throwing my cover-up on top. I didn't have anything to hide from Drake but walking around in just a string bikini might have felt a little weird.
Downstairs was more than just storage for his grandparents' things. The basement was completely finished, and he had turned the open area into a large home gym. There were several machines bigger than me and he had more weights than I could possibly imagine carrying.
Off to the side were two extra bedrooms which were fully furnished, and from what I could tell by glancing in the doorways, they were just sitting there waiting for guests that would never come. The laundry room had new appliances and the water heater was inside there in a nice closet. There also was a bathroom with a walk-in shower, that I assumed came in handy after a good workout.
Drake had turned the spare bedroom off the laundry room into storage and there were things crammed from one end of the room to the other. Another room was dedicated specifically to canning and had shelves from floor to ceiling with canned vegetables and fruits, honey, and jams. A stuffed turkey sat inside that room on a pedestal.
“My grandmammy shot that turkey...it was the only time she ever hunted, so grandpappy had it stuffed,” he said, and I could not help but picture his grandmother with her prize turkey.
I found some greenery that would make nice decorations above the shelves in the kitchen. There was a mixer that was not being used that Drake insisted I take because he had all the appliances he needed in the kitchen.
We filled up a large tote with some other things that he no longer wanted but I had a use for, including a set of "real" dishes and not just "college dishes," as he called my box of mismatched plates and cups.
"Until my grandparents passed away, I never had a place of my own, so I definitely don't need the stuff, if you can use it." He was very generous, and I planned to put everything to good use.
“Why don’t you have this mirror hanging up somewhere? It’s gorgeous!” I said and pointed at a bronze mirror that was at least four feet tall and five feet wide.
“I have plenty of mirrors, if you want it? I’ll deliver it myself and hang it up for you so it’s sturdy.”
"Oh, my handyman. How can I ever repay you?"
“I have a few ideas...”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Drake
Reuben Mahoney called the shop first thing Monday morning. He owned Pine Hollow Farms in town and often needed my extra help like Jack.
“What can I do for ya this morning, Reuben? The shop isn’t even open on Mondays. I just happen to be here catching up on some extra orders,” I reminded him.
"I have something I need to drop off, if you get my drift. Kind of urgent, but I didn't want to call your cell phone with matters such as these."
“When can you come by?” I asked, not welcoming any extra work today, but understanding that I was their “disposal guy” and in way too deep now to refuse him, or Jack for that matter.
The Baxter family and the Mahoney family had been feuding longer than I had lived in Hazenberg, for sure. And probably as long as my grandparents had lived in town.
“That’s fine, come around back, and make it discrete, since the shop is not open. I’ll have something for you to pick up to give you a reason to stop by,” I told him, and we hung up.
I ran my hands through my hair and chastised myself for ever getting involved with these guys in the first place. While the Baxters dealt particularly in cattle and hogs...oh, and suddenly chickens from what Jack had said when he met Aggie...the Mahoneys had hogs and horses.
See the common commodity?
Hogs, if you were unaware, would eat anything. Any. Thing. So when one of their “extracurricular activities” went south, the hogs had a big supper. And they came to me to dispose of anything the hogs wouldn’t eat.
They paid well. But time after time, risk after risk, eventually wore me down. Aggie suddenly coming into my life made me question any further involvement with them, for fear she could be brought in the middle of it or even be caught in the crossfire.
Her working for the newspaper probably didn’t help matters with the local people involved in underground crime either.
“Hello, Reuben...come on in,” I said and opened the back door to the shop. We’d be making this visit quick. “So what do you need today?”
“We had a big deal go south,” he explained, and I interrupted him.
“Hey, man, no details. You know I don’t want to know. Just tell me what I’m getting rid of.”
“I have to tell you a little bit, because it’s different this time.”
“Different how?”
“This time it’s not a gun or paraphernalia...this time it’s drugs. Pills actually.”
“Why do you need me to get rid of drugs? I thought that was your business,” I questioned.
He looked at me as if he didn't want to acknowledge the comment. "This batch is bad. It's killed a couple of girls, so whatever is in it is too much and we can't sell it around here. There would be dead people all over the place and that would eventually trace back to Pine Hollow."
“Well, you’re gonna have to give me a little bit more info even though I don’t want it, so I know what’s in it and how it might react to chemicals.” I didn’t like it, but I was at least glad that he brought it to me instead of going ahead and selling it anyway.
“It’s like an ecstasy drug, and from what I have heard, it works too well in the sense that the user goes into a coma and then their heart stops before they come to. There are several reports out of Ohio and Tennessee where it’s happened.”