Chapter 6

Riley hoped that his cousin wouldn‘t start rehashing his old dislike for Bodie and Shaun. Sully still blamed them for his time in jail for murder. He‘d killed Keegan McMichaels in a drug deal gone wrong but hadn‘t even spent a year at Green River after his appeal went through and he got off claiming self-defense. Keegan did have a violent nature so a long record of violent offenses had contributed to Sully‘s freedom. Still, he‘d taken a good ass whupping from Keegan‘s older brother Derrick and he‘d blamed Bodie for that as well. For protecting Shaundea, who he referred to as ‘that black bitch‘ that he‘d unsuccessfully tried to set up to take the fall.

Riley didn‘t agree with Sully that any of that was Bodie‘s fault and had told his cousin this time and time again. His cousin should count himself lucky that he‘d gotten off with just a few busted ribs, a broken nose and a few lost teeth. But Sully hated Bodie more than he did Derrick who was the one that had beaten his ass.

It didn‘t make much sense—only it did because Bodie was part Indian and that was enough of a reason for Sully to dislike him. Riley didn‘t share those thoughts. Bodie had given him a job even after the beef with Sully and he had nothing against Shaun who brought them all cold drinks and lunch whenever she made extra. She‘d bring the little girls with her to the garage and Riley thought they were cute the way they grabbed their dad‘s legs and tried to hug him while he‘d raise his dirty hands over his head so that he wouldn‘t get grease on their pretty pink clothes. His eyes would get big and Riley would hide a grin at the big man‘s dilemma of wanting to pick up his little girls but afraid of getting them all dirty. Riley would think that if those were his little girls he wouldn‘t give two shakes about their clothes getting greasy. They‘d each get all the hugs and kisses that they wanted.

"Hey, that leaves the spic‘s girl available," Sully said with a bright expression. "I may pay that bitch a visit," he muttered mostly to himself. "Not that I‘d want a girl with a spic baby."

Riley just stared at his cousin in disbelief that he‘d think that the pretty, strawberry blonde girl would give him the time of day. Sully still hadn‘t replaced his missing teeth that had been knocked out by Derrick. And by the smell of him he hadn‘t bathed in days. His filthy trailer was about all he owned and it was nothing but a haven for empty beer cans and bottles. The ones not empty were filled with black tobacco spit from his chew. Besides that, Sully had never been much to look at and at the age of thirty-six he appeared ten years older than that. And considering that he subsisted on just meager monthly disability and SSI checks he wasn‘t anyone‘s good catch.

Riley blew out a long breath. He loved his cousin, would do anything for Sully but he didn‘t want to hear this shit right now. He stood, leaving his half empty beer on the filthy cocktail table.

"I better get going. I gotta think about my next move."

Sully stood and clapped him on the back. "Alright, cuz. And don‘t let that prick‘s action take you down. Bodie Matthews ain‘t nothing but a piece of cow shit. He got a little bit of something and wants you to beg for his generosity. Well fuck him! Pranger‘s don‘t beg. We hold our heads up high! You remember that, Riley. Hold your head up high. That prairie nigger ain‘t shit!"

Riley stared into his cousin‘s eyes. His words hadn‘t made him feel better, only worse. He pulled Sully into a quick hug and then left. The fire went out of him as he walked to his truck, recalling what Bodie had said. He didn‘t trust him around his family and then Riley had spat out a hateful fuck you and fuck your family…

~*~

Riley parked his truck and sat in his driveway for a few minutes. He lived a lot better than Sully but he also worked hard even though everyone thought that everything he owned had just been handed to him. Sometimes he hated living on Cobb Hill for the way everyone just assumed things about him. If only he could take away all the bullshit and just have the beauty of the land, then everything else would be bearable…

He allowed his head to fall back against the headrest as he made up his mind on how he was going to get the money to hold him over until he could get another job.

Jobs weren‘t easy to come by on the mountain. You had to go down to Ravenna or Irvine, and still the pickings were small, especially once Kroger had closed. Carhartt was where most families found a way to pay their bills—at least legitimately. But once the weather grew bad, driving up and down the hill each day was no walk in the park. And while there was work on Cobb Hill he needed to bring in more than the pittance that he would earn at the local grocery store.

With a sigh, he thought about the off he‘d received for the last two years to rent out the neat little cottage that sat next to the main house. He‘d dismissed the offer a year ago when things were going good. He valued his privacy, but beyond that having to rent out part of your home was a reminder of the lean times from back when he was a child and his parents had to do it to make ends meet.

But property taxes were coming due and unless he wanted to sell meth with his cousins he was going to have to do something.

Nobody on Cobb Hill had much money but Riley‘s family had even less. He had been raised on hand-me-downs from the church‘s collection box and there had been times when he‘d gone to school wearing things that the other kids recognized as being too worn out for even their use.