Rock Country Read online

  Dad chuckled while June sat cross-legged and doe-eyed at the end of the bed. Both were eating up my story.

  “It sounds like you really love those guys,” she observed. Her voice was far off, like having friends who you love was a completely foreign concept.

  “I do. You’ll love them too when you meet them.”

  She smiled and hopped off the bed. “Picture time!” Grabbing the camera, she turned it on and snapped a photo before we had even posed.

  I slung my arm around Dad’s shoulder and grinned at the camera. June looked happy as she played photographer. Once satisfied with her shots, many pictures later, she put the camera back down. Her phone rang and she frowned when she looked at who was calling. My heart raced at the look on her face. Gone were the carefree smile and shining eyes. They had been replaced by indifference and furrowed brows.

  Sighing, she answered and excused herself from the room. When I heard her raise her voice, I slid off the bed and stalked in there, snatching the phone from her hand.

  “Who is this?” I growled into the phone.

  A man cursed a string of profanities into the phone before actually making any sense. June was glaring at me, hands on her hips, probably pissed that I’d taken the phone away.

  “I’m June’s husband. Are you fuckin’ my wife?”

  “Last I checked, she was divorcing your ass because you beat on her.” And because I wanted to taunt the man who had hurt her, I continued to poke the bear. “But don’t worry, asshole. I’ll take good care of her tonight when she’s in my bed screaming my name.”

  She sat down on the edge of the bed in our room, no longer glaring at me. Her body language told me that she was upset.

  “You better watch yourself. I own this town and will stomp your ass into the ground when I see you. Consider it a threat. And after I give you a matchin’ set of black eyes, I’m goin’ to bring Ju Ju home with me, even if I have to drag her by her hair.”

  “Fuck you, asshole! You touch her and I will kill you!” He hung up before I could say anything more, and I angrily tossed the phone onto the bed.

  “You should go help your dad shower. I’m going for a walk.” Her voice was even but she wouldn’t look at me.

  “June Bug, I’m sorry. He just pissed me off and I wanted to get him back. I didn’t mean to make you feel—”

  “Feel like a whore? Well, you managed to anyway.”

  Huffing at me, she stomped into the bathroom and slammed the door. Taking my cue, I went back to help Dad get ready for bed.

  Bobby completely pissed me off with his antagonizing of Markwayne. The whole situation sucked without him adding fuel to the flame. There would be retaliation from Markwayne—there was no doubt about it.

  Once I heard the bedroom door shut, I scurried out of the bathroom. After changing into a sundress to escape the sweltering evening heat, I slipped on my flip-flops and snuck out the front door. The air outside was thick from the humidity and I immediately started to sweat a bit.

  I walked past Momma’s house and on down the road. She must have been at work because it was dark and her car was gone.

  It was so weird trying to start a relationship with Bobby after all these years in the midst of his dad dying and my divorcing Markwayne. It seemed like we were unfairly dealt a hand that would be difficult to forge through. Was it even worth it?

  My gut told me that it was completely worth it. I wasn’t sure how Bobby and I were going to proceed once his dad passed on. We weren’t really at a place to be making long-term plans together.

  I was walking back and had Momma’s house in view when a truck barreled past me going way too fast, nearly knocking me into the ditch.

  “Hey!” I hollered at them, flipping the bird.

  The truck slammed to a halt and reversed back to me. My heart pounded when I realized it was Markwayne. Within seconds, he was out of the truck, storming over to me.

  “Ju Ju, get in the car.” He’d clearly been drinking again because he was swaying and reeked of alcohol.

  “Markwayne, go home. The divorce is already in motion, and my attorney said it will go rather quickly. We’re as over as over can be.”

  When he reached me, his stance and voice softened. “June, I miss you, baby. Please come home. I miss holding you in my arms at night.”

  He stepped toward me and I backed up a few steps away from him. “Ain’t happenin’, Markwayne. Go home.”

  “Baby,” he growled as he lunged at me, grabbing my wrist. “I miss this.” His free hand slid down my body, cupping my sex with his hand.

  I tried to jerk free but he held my wrist tight. “Let. Go. Of. Me.”

  Ignoring me, he spun me around and pulled my back against his chest so that I could feel his erection. One arm still gripped my wrist while the other one slipped up under my dress and into my panties. His finger was inside me, and I was stuck in his massive arms.

  Furious tears fell down my cheeks as I squirmed in his embrace. “Markwayne, you are not allowed to touch me anymore. I’m calling the police and getting a restraining order put on you. Let go of me now.”

  Instead, he inhaled my hair as he finger-fucked me. “Why aren’t you wet for me, baby?”

  I shuddered at his touch and hoped he would release me soon. He pushed another finger into me and I yelped in surprise. Out here in the middle of nowhere, it was pointless to scream. I doubted that Bobby would be able to hear me from where we were.

  “Oh, Ju Ju, I need you now,” he groaned as he dragged me over to the tailgate of the truck, where he bent me over. Holding me down with one giant hand, he proceeded to unfasten his pants and drop them. This was no different than the many times he had taken what he wanted while we’d lived together. I closed my eyes and waited for the inevitable.

  I heard him grunt, and he released me, so I spun around to take off running. My heart sank when I realized that Bobby had pulled him off me and they were wrestling now in the grass by the road. Cursing and punching could be heard as both men struggled for the advantage. Even though Markwayne was bigger than Bobby, Bobby was more agile.

  “Cut it out, guys, or I’m callin’ the cops!” I tried to pull Bobby from Markwayne but got knocked over in the process, falling hard on my ass.

  Markwayne managed to roll Bobby onto his back and got a few licks in.

  “Get off of him!” I jumped on his back, hooking my arms around his neck. The sound of a shotgun blasting in the air behind us caused all three of us to pause immediately. I scrambled away from Markwayne to locate the source of the sound.

  “Boy, you ain’t welcome here. Get yer ass in yer truck and don’t come ‘round here no more.” Mr. Acer stood in the moonlight beside the truck looking very pissed. When Markwayne didn’t move to get off of Bobby, he cocked the shotgun again.

  “June,” Markwayne spat as he stood and stormed to the truck, “this ain’t over!” His truck peeled out, leaving us in the dark.

  “You okay, baby girl?” Mr. Acer asked.

  I nodded and went over to let him hug me. “Sutton, you shouldn’t be out of bed. I’m so sorry my drama has caused you to come out here like this.”

  “Anything to protect my kids,” he shushed and started hobbling back to the house.

  Bobby came up behind me, turning me to him. His hands cupped my cheeks as he studied my face for emotion. “June,” he whispered. “Did he—” Tears rolled down his eyes, not allowing him to finish his question. Funny thing was that he had been more affected by the whole ordeal than I had. I’d grown used to Markwayne and what I’d considered typical behavior from him.

  “Bobby, I’m okay. He didn’t rape me if you were wonderin’. Now go help your dad into the house. I’m going to take a quick shower.”

  Leaning over, he pressed his forehead to mine. He quickly kissed my lips and pulled away, running after his dad.

  When I’d gone after June tonight to apologize, the last thing I’d expected to see was that Neanderthal about to have his way with her. Thankfully,
I’d arrived just in time to stop what he had been trying to do. Her eyes. God, they were so glazed over. I hated the look in them when she brushed off the fact that she was nearly raped. She was desensitized to the way he treated her.

  After I got my extremely exhausted dad into bed, I went to check on June. She was taking a marathon shower, so I undressed down to my boxers and sprawled out on the bed to wait for her. When she emerged clean faced with wet hair some time later, I watched her eyes for signs of the June I knew.

  “How’s your dad?” she asked as she crawled onto the bed and rested on her back, looking up at the ceiling. The thin fabric of the oversized shirt revealed her pebbled nipples. I wanted nothing more than to touch them, but after what just happened, I didn’t want to go there. Not yet at least.

  “He was really exhausted. You know he worries about you as if you were his own daughter.”

  She turned her head to me and a tear rolled out, wetting the pillow. The clouds were gone and June Bug was staring back at me.

  “Come here, babe.” I pulled her over to me and she rested her head on my shoulder. We wrapped our arms around one another and June broke. For the first time since I’d been back, she truly dropped the mask of indifference she always wore. Sobs racked her body as I held her tight to me.

  “I just want to be happy,” she hiccupped through her tears. “I’ve had more happiness this week than in the entire past fifteen years. Bobby, you make me happy.”

  “I’m never leaving you again, June. You’re my girl now. We’re in this together.”

  I woke up in the middle of the night to June’s hand stroking my cock, which she’d freed from my boxers. She moved down the bed and pulled it into her mouth, causing me to gasp in pleasure. Being a very successful rock star, I was used to getting a blowjob whenever I wanted. But this… This was June kissing, tasting, teasing my cock. To call it a blowjob threw it into the category of all of the lesser women who were not her, and she was definitely driving me insane.

  When she sucked it hard and my tip felt like it was being swallowed deliciously, I clutched her head and guided her away from me.

  “Baby, I want to come inside your body, not your mouth. I want you to feel good too.”

  She pressed a kiss to the tip and sat up on her knees, taking off her shirt. In the moonlight that shone from the window, I could see that she wasn’t wearing any panties. Straddling me, she eased her wet center over my dick. I groaned in pleasure and she giggled. The sound was beautiful.

  After rolling us over to put her underneath me, I thrust into her, enjoying the sweet mewls coming from her. I kissed the corner of her lips, and when she moaned, I slipped my tongue into her mouth to taste her.

  My body was starting to tingle, and I had to work to keep my release at bay until she came. Finding her clit with my thumb, I stroked her in a circular pattern while I pounded into her. Her breaths were coming out ragged now as her orgasm neared.

  “Bobby, you feel so good.”

  Her pussy began its clenching as she came and it sent my dick into a frenzy, pumping my hot liquid into her. Collapsing on her, I kissed her neck.

  “I could get used to waking up like that.” She giggled at my admission and my heart tightened at the perfect sound of it.

  “Get up, big boy. I need to pee,” she teased, pushing me.

  I groaned and rolled off of her. When I was walking back to bed, we heard a loud crash in Dad’s room.

  “Shit!” I cursed, leaping off the bed and pulling on my boxers as I ran down the hallway. Turning on the bedroom light, I found that Dad was in a crumpled heap on the floor near the bathroom. Rushing to him, I knelt and eased him to his back.

  “Dad, are you okay?” I checked for a pulse and found a very slight one. “June, call nine one one!”

  She entered the room with her phone and I heard her frantically speaking to the dispatcher.

  “Dad, everything’s going to be fine. June’s calling an ambulance. We’re going to take care of you.” His eyes fluttered open and regarded me in confusion. Leaning over, I pulled him into an embrace.

  His words were a whisper as he softly patted my back. “I want to stay like this forever.”

  My heart ached at his words. “God, me too. There’s nowhere I’d rather be.”

  Bobby paced the waiting room, reminding me of a captive lion at the zoo. Mr. Acer was with the doctors now and they were getting him a room. We were still waiting for test results to find out exactly what had happened.

  “Are you the family of Sutton Acer?” a nurse asked as she came into the waiting area, holding a clipboard.

  “Yes,” we told her simultaneously.

  “Come this way. Dr. Gelish will see you now.”

  We entered the room to find the doctor standing over Mr. Acer and talking softly with him. Bobby was so anxious that he looked ready to snap at any second.

  “Dad, how are you feeling?” he asked, rushing over to his dad.

  “I’m okay, son.”

  Dr. Gelish frowned at Mr. Acer’s words. “Hi there, I’m Dr. Gelish. Your father is amazingly strong and has an extremely high tolerance for pain. However, when he suffers from intense waves of this pain as the cancer spreads to organs like his lungs, his body shuts down, which is causing these fainting spells. Additionally, with the spread of the cancer to his lymph nodes and lungs, his body is having trouble keeping up. As I told Mr. Acer earlier, things are rapidly deteriorating. We’d like to keep him in the hospital with a good dose of morphine to keep him pain-free.”

  Bobby started to cry as he clutched his dad’s hand. The sight of his broken face sent tears falling down my own cheeks.

  “Dr. Gelish,” Mr. Acer wheezed, “I don’t want too much to where I can’t be lucid. I need to spend the last bits of my life with my son in a coherent frame of mind. If that means being in pain, so be it.”

  Bobby flinched at his dad’s words. “No, Dad, you need the meds so you won’t hurt.” His bottom lip was trembling so badly I had the urge to put my thumb to it and stop it for him.

  “Dammit, we’ll do things my way. Now you two go on home and get some rest. Come see me in the morning. Bring my journal and your guitar, son.” Mr. Acer closed his eyes and his breathing evened out.

  Dr. Gelish whispered, “He’s right. You two need your rest. We’ll take good care of him and advise you of any changes.”

  After Dr. Gelish left, Bobby kissed his dad on the forehead and we headed home hand in hand. He was quiet the entire walk to his rental car. I just squeezed his hand, hoping to convey my support in a silent way.

  Once we’d settled into the car, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. His black hair was disheveled, sticking up in every direction. The bags under his eyes had gotten darker since I’d first seen him days ago. I was looking at the tattoos on his neck when he opened his eyes and glanced over at me.

  The drive home was quiet and quick. He was driving a little too fast for someone who was so tired, but I didn’t say a word. Because of his silence, I was worried he might be on the verge of a breakdown.

  As soon as we pulled up, he parked and stormed into the house. Something about the way he was behaving worried me, and I ran in after him. I found him in the bedroom kneeling over his bag, opening a bottle of pills, and suddenly I realized exactly what he was doing. Rushing to him, I knocked the bottle from his hands and they spilled out all over the floor.

  He let out a frustrated guttural noise, and I shrank away from him. That is, until he started trying to scoop up the pills. I launched myself at him, tackling him to the ground.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you?” his voice thundered as he rolled me underneath him. I saw his eyes glance around looking for one so I squirmed to bring his attention back to me.

  “Those pills are just going to fuck you up. Then what? Huh? Your dad is refusing to be heavily sedated because of YOU. He wants to spend his last moments with clarity. Honor him by doing the same!” I was crying now because I wanted nothing more th
an to protect him from doing this to himself. He would hate himself if something happened to his dad and he was too out of it to realize it.

  His tears started pouring from his face again, splattering my forehead. As if the dark moment passed, heat suddenly filled his eyes and I felt his hardness between us. Dipping down to my lips, he kissed me hard while he unfastened his jeans. Once he’d torn the shred of fabric that was my panties from my body, he pushed himself into me.

  Thrusting wildly into me, he nipped at my lips, making them raw and sore. Tears continued to land on my face as he fucked away his pain. I just held him, releasing my own tears, as he finally came and fell onto me. Threading my fingers though his hair, I held him while his body shuddered and he completely emotionally broke apart in my arms.

  Being comforted by her was the only thing that could soothe the ache in my chest. No drugs or alcohol had ever made me feel the way she did. When my crying fit was over, I lifted up onto my elbows to look at her. She studied my face with such compassion, and I nearly lost it again.

  “June Bug, I’m so sorry. You were right. I want to be clearheaded for my dad. Thank you for stopping me.”

  She smiled broadly at me.

  I pressed my lips to hers and felt my dick, which was still inside her, harden. As we kissed, I moved myself in and out of her and became fully erect. This time, she started panting softly with pleasure. I felt like an ass for not making sure she got off as well moments ago.

  Sliding one of my hands to her breast, I pinched her nipple lightly between my thumb and finger. She whimpered into my mouth as we kissed and I continued my slow thrusting into her. I sucked her lip between my teeth and pulled away to see her face. Her glowing green eyes fluttered shut as she neared her climax. To help her along, I dragged my fingertips down her body until they met her clit and rubbed it with my thumb.