night? How do you explain that as nothing special?”
I swallow hard, my eyes dartin’ between the two of them. “I, uh…”
Alder’s eyes sweep over my face, and realization dawns. “You don’t remember a thing, do you?”
I cross my arms in front of my chest, but that just makes sweat gather in the creases of my arms, so I quickly drop them again. “No, I don’t. I never remember my tribulations.”
“Tribulations?”
I wave a hand toward the direction of my parents’ trailer. “That’s what my mama always called them. I think because it sounded fancier than psychotic blackout episodes,” I say, tryin’ to joke, though my tone falls flat.
“I suppose that explains why you didn’t remember the conversation we had about us stopping by today,” Flint says.
I hate the fact that I can’t remember last night, so I quickly keep the conversation movin’. “So you’re here because you want to help protect me from these other demons who might try to attack me?”
“Yes,” Alder says carefully, but I can tell by his tone that there’s more.
“And…?” I press.
Flint opens his mouth to reply. “And we think you should—”
Alder cuts him off. “We think you should come work for us at the bar. It’s the least we can do. Our stop made you late with your delivery and got you fired, after all,” he explains. “Plus, if you’re working at the bar, we can keep an eye on things and make sure no one messes with you.”
I narrow my eyes because I didn’t miss the fact that he spoke over Flint, but before I can get any more information, my daddy comes walkin’ out sans Todd.
Both Alder and Flint look over their shoulders at the sound of his approach, their eyes immediately fallin’ to what’s in his hand.
“I thought you were kidding about the shotgun,” Alder says, amusement evident in his voice.
I shake my head, not the least bit surprised. Anytime I’ve ever had a boy come by, whether I was thirteen or twenty-eight, my daddy always makes sure to have an excuse to have his shotgun with him so he can make some non-verbal threats of the paternal kind. It’s real sweet.
“Gentleman,” my daddy says as he makes his way over to us. “I don’t believe we’ve been introduced.” The words may be polite, but his glare is anythin’ but.
“Daddy, this is Alder and Flint. They’re the owners of the bar I delivered to last night,” I say. “This is my daddy, Teddy Bell.”
Alder and Flint both shake my daddy’s hand, and then he settles beside me, shotgun poised at his side. “I sure hope there wasn’t anythin’ untoward happenin’ at that bar last night to my baby girl,” he says, and my heart swells a bit. Flint and Alder are incredibly strong and intimidatin’, but that doesn’t stop my daddy from standin’ up to them on my behalf.
“No, sir,” Flint says. “We stopped by today to introduce ourselves and to let you know that everything was on the up and up.”
My daddy stares at him hard, takin’ his measure. His eyes shift from one to the other, his mouth in a firm line behind his bushy beard. “Well, alright then,” he says finally.
“Y’all still out here talkin’ in the heat?” Mama calls from behind the screen door to the trailer. I didn’t even hear her open the door. “You’re gonna melt into a puddle out there!”
“They’re not comin’ back in,” I call back to her before anyone else can say otherwise.
I swear I can see Mama poutin’ behind the screen. “Medley, manners!”
“It’s alright,” Alder says with a cool smile. “We do need to head back. But we just wanted to talk to Medley about taking the job down at the bar. We feel partially responsible for her termination, and we feel that she would be a great addition to our place of business.”
“Medley, I think you should consider it!” Mama calls, her voice carryin’ across the yard.
I shoot Alder a glare for tryin’ to get my mama on his side. “Yeah, well, thank you for the offer, but I’m gonna politely decline,” I say.
“Why?” All four of them ask.
“Well, aside from the fact that it would be an annoyin’ commute, these two just told me that I’m some kind of demon spawn from Hell,” I deadpan. “So I’m gonna have to pass, but thank y’all for stoppin’ by,” I end with a cheerfully fake smile.
Flint and Alder gape at me. Silence reigns for a beat. Two beats.
“What’s that, Heavenly Bell?” Mama