Free Thirty-Three and a Half Shenanigans by Denise Grover Swank Page A

handed it to Billy Jack.
    “If you remember anything or hear from her, call this number.”
    “I ain’t gonna hear from her. I told her not to bother comin’ back.”
    Neely Kate headed for the front door, apparently done with him.
    “Take that box with you,” he called out.
    “What box?” she asked.
    He pointed to a cardboard box on an end table on the other side of the wall. “That’s Dolly’s stuff. Take it with ya.”
    Neely Kate looked torn with indecision, so I hefted the box on my hip. She gave me a grateful smile, then opened the front door. Just then, one of the dogs shot across the floor with the raccoon skin in his mouth and raced outside, the other four dogs following.
    “You let my dogs out with that skin! Now I’ll never get them back!” Billy Jack hollered, fumbling with the lever on his chair as he tried to put it down. “Fluffy! Carmen!” he shouted.
    Neely Kate’s eyes widened. “Run!”
    We hurried out the door, trying to take advantage of our lead time and our sobriety. The dogs were shooting toward the woods, the dog with the raccoon hide in the lead.
    We’d made it to the dirt road when Billy Jack finally appeared in the doorway. “Carmen! Poncho! Mr. Wiggles! ” His gaze landed on us as we halted in horror, both of us staring at him. “I’m gonna get you for this!”
    Neely Kate took off running again, and I struggled to keep up while juggling the heavy box. Thankfully Billy Jack was drunk enough that his coordination was off, and he missed the top step, landing flat on his face. He fell hard enough that I worried for a moment that he was really hurt, but as he struggled to his feet, it soon became apparent that Neely Kate and I were the ones in real danger.
    We made it to the truck, and I swung open the driver’s door and jumped in, heaving the box into the backseat as Billy Jack came staggering around the corner, moving faster than a drunk man had any right to.
    “Hurry!” Neely Kate hollered as she leaped into the passenger side and shut the door behind her.
    I dug the keys out of my pocket, shutting the door seconds before Billy Jack reached the truck. He slammed the palms of his hands on the truck hood.
    “You lost my babies!”
    “His babies?” I asked in disbelief as I fumbled to get the key into the ignition.
    “Don’t ask. Just go!”
    She didn’t have to tell me twice. I started the engine and jerked the truck into reverse. I floored the gas so hard that the truck shot backward, leaving Billy Jack off-balance with a stunned expression on his face.
    I made it to the end of the lane and backed onto the highway, thankful there wasn’t any traffic to hamper our escape.
    “I’m gonna kill you, Neely Kate,” I muttered as I checked the rearview mirror. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see Billy Jack running down the road after us.
    “You can kill me later. You had a vision, didn’t you?”
    I scowled. She was trying to change the subject. “I think Billy Jack was foolin’ around on Dolly.”
    “Tell me what you saw.”
    I told her about my vision, then glanced over at her. “Wait, maybe I saw Dolly. What does she look like?”
    “She’s blond. About my height. Big blue eyes.”
    “So a lot like you?”
    She grinned. “We spent a lot of time together when we were little. People used to think we were sisters.”
    “The girl in my vision definitely wasn’t her. She had long brown hair.”
    “That only confirms that he was cheating on her. That lying snake in the grass.”
    “Looks like it.”
    “It’s a good thing the sheriff didn’t get involved.” She shook her head. “Billy Jack wouldn’t have told him a thing. Especially not what he told us.”
    “And what exactly did he tell us? That she left with the bartender?” I shook my head. “That’s nothing special. Unless the vision means something.”
    “Only that he’s cheating scum.”
    I cast a quick glance at her before returning my attention to the road. “So what are you gonna do?