The Wilde Women by Paula Wall

Author:Paula Wall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: 2007-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

IT WAS ALMOST DARK when Sessalee heard Devin pull up in the drive. Strapped down in the truck bed was a barrel from the distillery, the wood still green and metal bands shiny. Dropping the tailgate, Devin jumped up into the bed. Tilting the barrel with a grunt, he rolled it to the edge and dropped it as gently as he could to the soft ground. Hopping down, he and Sessalee rolled the barrel to the edge of the back porch. Breaking the gutter downspout at the seam, he aimed it down into the barrel.

“To catch rainwater for your hair.” He shrugged to assure her it meant nothing.

“Is it brand-new?” Sessalee asked, as though she couldn’t believe there was such a thing.

She ran her hand along the metal rim as if the barrel was the finest thing she had ever seen. Then she looked up at Devin, eyes shining, as though he’d done something grand. The look squeezed his chest. He ached to do something else, anything, to keep that look in her eyes.

“First thing anybody ever give me weren’t hand-me-down,” she said.

They were standing so close he could have rested his chin on the top of her head. She turned her face up to his. It was so soft and willing. He knew he could kiss her if he wanted. He could kiss her till it hurt. She never once denied him anything. His mouth was so close to hers he could taste it. And for a second, he forgot why he was mad at her.

Anger is an addiction that must be fed. Devin thought about the feel of that cold hard shotgun under his chin. He thought about what everyone in town must be saying about him behind his back. He thought about the first night he saw her and how easy she’d been.

But as he looked down at her, he could not block the feel of her skin and how warm and wet she always was. It took all he had to back away. It felt as if his skin was peeling away from hers. As he climbed into his truck, he looked back at her, dress sliding off her shoulder as if the slightest breeze would blow it away. He waited for her to beg him to stay. When she didn’t, it made the whole reason for his leaving seem foolish. But he’d made a commitment, and he was sticking to it. Reaching under the seat, he grabbed a bottle of whiskey, pulled the cork out, and threw it back. Then he stomped the gas pedal to the floorboard and fishtailed across the lawn.

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