“This is Kirsten a.k.a Vixen,” Pax says. “Vixen, meet Ken, his wife Verna, and Ken’s mute brother, Cliff. He doesn’t talk, but he’s not deaf so don’t piss him off.”
I nod at Cliff and he smiles before I turn my attention to Ken and Verna.
“Hello, it’s nice to see you again.”
Verna smiles and stands to hug me.
“You too, dear. I’m glad to see you made it back to the motel in one-piece last night.”
“Yeah, me too. This town is a little unnerving at night.”
“It’s really not that bad if you stay away from the Harlowe brothers. They own the land across the way that serves as the town cemetery, and they aren’t too polite to drifters or newcomers.”
“Oh, you mean the other people from the bar last night?”
Ken nods. “Yep, that’s them. They own the motel too. But just stick with Pax and you’ll be fine. Can I offer you something to drink? A double shot of Jack perhaps?”
I laugh and nod. “You remembered. How sweet.”
“I work in a bar, remembering what people drink comes with the job.”
He asks Pax for a hand and I watch them head inside and turn my attention to Verna.
“So, I don’t mean to be rude, but I’d like to know how come you lied last night when I asked if you knew Pax?”
She smiles and flushes slightly.
“He’s like a brother, and in this town, we don’t tend to give out information on each other’s whereabouts. We all sort of stick to our own, if you catch my drift. Besides, even if I had recognized you, there are no phones out here and the bar didn’t close until after two, so I had no way to contact him here at the house.”
“I guess that makes sense, but what did you mean by recognize me?”
Verna laughs gruffly and crosses her arms.
“Pax showed us some pictures of you a few times, but your hair was blond, and you said your name was Vixen, but we only knew you as Kirsten. You add that up with the fact we ain’t never met you in three dang years, just thought it’d be safer to get Pax’s permission before we brought you out here.”
Verna hands me a bowl of beans and a spoon as I glance over in Cliff’s direction. He looks like a younger version of Ken, dark hair, dark eyes, and a mustache to match.
“Don’t mind him, he may not be much of a talker, but he’s one hell of a listener! Especially when we get him to man the jukebox down at the bar, he’s a real country fan,” Verna states. “Now eat up before it gets cold.”
I take a bite as I notice the strange scars that line Verna’s arms, they look like thicker versions of cat scratches as if she was mauled by a tiger.
“Pax tells us you live six hours from here in someplace nice called the Hill, what’s that like?”
“Pardon?” I ask, trying to focus.
My mind is a ball of torture wondering who the hell did that shit to her unless she did it herself, but I can’t imagine that’s the case.
“The Hill…” she repeats, “What’s that like?”
“It’s okay, it’s full of douchebags and spoiled jerks, but I can’t complain. The neighborhood is secure and me and Pax run a bar on Friday nights.”
“Oh, yes, I remember him telling me something about that. He’s been bringing his earnings back here to help us keep the heat and power on. He’s such a good man.”
I nod and smile at her knowing she’s right. The guy has practically nothing, yet he gives what little he has away regardless.
“The night I met him, I was sloshed,” I laugh, recalling the event. “I’m pretty sure if he didn’t stop me, I would have peed on his tent. Anyway, he was sweet enough to carry my ass up the giant hill and all the way home. I just remember loving the way he smelled, and the way I felt like nothing bad could happen whenever he was around.”
“Well don’t worry, darlin’, you ain’t the only one who feels that way,” she laughs. “Pax has always been that way, trying to save other people from things no one cares to speak of. Him and Ken, both of ‘em took severe punishments when they were kids trying to look out for Cliff and me.”
Her eyes well up with tears and I can’t imagine what she must be thinking or feeling, nor do I want to.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to—”
“Oh, hush now,” she says, “it’s all in the past. Long done. We try to remember the good times and be thankful we still have each other.”
“The good times?” I ask curiously.
She nods and winks.
“Did he ever tell you why he fell in love with snakes?”
I shake my head and smile, excited to find out the story.
“Your drink,” Pax interrupts. “You wouldn’t happen to be talking about me behind my back, would you?”
He looks straight at Verna with his you’re in deep shit stare as I sip the drink.
“Oh, come on now, I was just gonna tell her the story about the snake. I won’t get into the dark parts, just the funny shit, I promise.”
Pax laughs and crosses his arms.
“Tell away then, but you had better skip the part—”
“Please don’t leave anything out,” I blurt, covering his mouth with my hand. “I want the whole story!”
Pax slobbers on and licks my fingers like a pig and then bites them lightly before I rip
