Free Ripples by DL Fowler Page A

a fancy cabin a few miles away.
    I put away the knife and pick up the King book.
    She sits cross-legged next to me on the plywood floor—it’s rotting through in a few places. With her dark curls hanging down over one eye, she’s kinda sexy. Sometimes I wish I could let myself ….
    “Missed you,” she says, glancing at me sideways.
    “He’s had me doing chores, round the clock. No time off for good behavior. Anyway, I need your help.”
    She snatches the book out of my hand. Her eyes turn almost black. “Yeah, and I could use some help around here fixing the place up.”
    “Things seem fine to me. What are you talking about?”
    “Like, there’s a leak in the roof.” Mercedes points overhead with the book.
    Dust floats in a streak of light coming through a crack. “Okay, okay. I’ll fix it. But since when are you so helpless?”
    She hugs the book. “Since you’ve been so scarce.” She lays her hand on my knee. Her fingers are slender, but strong.
    I pull away. Not gonna let her go there. Seen enough of how my old lady treats guys. Use ’em ’n lose ’em —that’s her motto.
    “So what kind of help do you need?”
    “A woman showed up at the ranch house last night with a girl about our age.”
    “I don’t give boy-girl advice.” She turns away.
    “Whoa, don’t jump to conclusions.”
    She gives me the kind of look Xena—Warrior Princess has when she draws her sword on a band of evil dudes.
    “Say, what’s the name of that old bag you lived with?” I reach for the book.
    She hides the book behind her back. “Tess. Why?”
    “Didn’t you say something about another girl?”
    “Yeah, about a year or two younger than me. Didn’t have a chance to tell her I was running away. She was back at the shack, I was at your uncle’s ranch. Besides, I wasn’t even sure I could fend for myself out here.”
    “It’s them.”
    She scrunches up her nose. “Who’s them ?”
    “The woman who showed up last night. Name’s Tess. And she brought a girl—keeps her chained up in the barn.”
    “That sadistic bitch.” Mercedes grabs both my hands. “Do you know the girl’s name?”
    “Amy.”
    She springs to her knees. “Damn. That’s her.”
    “We’ve gotta help her.”
    “Was there a man with them?”
    “No. My uncle’s doing the old bitch. She was wearing his shirt this morning, and I don’t think she had on anything else." My cheeks burn. I used to hear my mom humping a different guy practically every night I lived with her.
    Mercedes stands and sidles up to me with a frisky smile. “You’re putting thoughts in my head talking about that stuff.” She cups the back of my head and kisses me.
    I jerk away. “I’d better get back. My uncle will kill me if I’m gone too long.”
    “Yeah. Whatever. It’s always about you.”
    “No way. I came to get your help rescuing that girl.”
    “What, so you can get into her pants?”
    “Jeez, not everything’s about sex.”
    “Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it.”
    “I swear—I—”
    “You swear what? You only think about me? Is that what you wanna say? Hmph.”
    “No girl’s going to make a fool out of me. I’ve seen enough of that shit.”
    Mercedes grabs my face and kisses me again. Her mouth half open.
    I push back. “Why do you always have to make things so complicated?”
    Mercedes turns away. “So, what is it you wanna do … exactly?”
    “I was thinking we could help her escape sometime when Uncle Eric and the bitch are screwing.”
    “You said we?”
    “I could keep lookout in the house while you sneak into the barn and get her out of those chains.”
    She twists a loose curl hanging beside her cheek. “Wouldn’t be hard. But what’ll we do with her once she’s free? It’s not like she could make it on her own. That’s why I didn’t go back for her. She would’ve been dead weight.”
    “She could stay here ….”
    Mercedes rolls her eyes.
    “Just for a couple days—‘til I get her into town.