The Four Stages of Loving Dutch Owen - Debra Kayn Page 0,43
to get to Dutch.
If they would listen to her and understand that Dutch was only being Dutch. He was a little rough and demanding, but she could calm him down. She only needed a second to talk to him.
"Marla Marie," barked Dutch.
She froze, gasping for breath at his voice.
His gaze hardened. "Go. Be free."
Unable to move, she watched them take him out of the room until the door closed with a loud clunk, shutting him out of her life.
The guard's grip on her upper arm tightened. Her feet moved under pressure. She walked, pressing the tips of her fingers on her bruised lips. Out of the gray world. Out of the barren walls. Out of the sadness.
Chapter 19
TWO PEOPLE WALKED OUT of the post office and went separate ways. Marla waited in her car until they were far enough away from the building. Then, she opened the door. Hurrying toward the dropbox to the left of the entrance, she focused on the four granite steps.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
She opened the lid of the blue rectangle box, dropped in the letter, and rushed back to her vehicle. Inside, she looked at the clock in her car and then up and down the street.
Right on time, a postal worker came outside, carrying a large, white plastic bin with the key in her hand leading the way. Marla's heart pounded. There was still time to take the letter back.
She could rush forward and snatch the letter from the postal worker. Of course, it was a federal crime, but maybe time spent in prison would be the best thing for her.
Gripping the steering wheel, she witnessed the postal employee clean out the outgoing mail and carry the full bin inside.
The door shut. Marla exhaled and slumped in the driver's seat, letting her forehead hit the steering wheel. What had she done?
She couldn't take anything she said to Dutch in the letter back.
In several days, he'd receive the correspondence in his cell, rip it open, and read everything she wrote.
After almost a year of moping around, feeling as if she'd die without Dutch, and writing him twice a week, begging him to write back, he'd given her no other options.
He wanted her gone. He'd set her free.
And that's what she'd done. But, not before she accepted the deed for the house her mom had rented when she was a child.
A deed Dutch couldn't even give to her himself. No, it was Skull who'd handed her the answer to her problems and the ticket to her freedom.
At first, it'd angered her that Dutch never told her he'd purchased the house years ago when she was only a child. They had no secrets between them.
Or, so she'd thought.
When she couldn't function after Dutch told her to go away, she'd lost her job. Realizing she needed a way to make a living, she set her search for employment in Moses Lake. While she hadn't found a job yet, moving was the restart she needed. It was the only way she'd survive.
She started the car and backed out of the parking spot. Being back in Moses Lake would allow her a break from everything she knew.
The Bellevue Chapter members would no longer be around, protecting her. Rachel and Skull could finally move on with their life without having her under their feet.
Away from Bellevue, she wouldn't run into Dutch all the time once he was released.
He was due to walk out of prison in three months, and she was determined not to be there.
Seeing him, knowing he wanted her out of his life, would be too much.
She drove through town and headed home. With the help of Alyssa and her boyfriend, King, she'd cleaned her childhood home from the years of neglect and painted the inside walls. Then, they helped her move her meager belongings in.
Rachel and Skull offered to help, but she needed to do this on her own. They would never understand that having them with her reminded her of Dutch.
Several motorcycles pulled out in front of her. She slowed, giving them enough space, and glanced to her right. A familiar pang brought her to a complete stop.
The Pool Hall.
Only ten years old the last time she'd been there, her life had changed that night when she decided to steal food to feed her hunger.
A car honked behind her. She startled, flipping on her turn signal and pulling off the road. Parked in front of the building, she took in all the details she'd missed when she was younger.