Altering Authority by Ashley Dooley

sand. She nodded, feeling the sting of them then and walked back towards her house. As she made her way through the crowd, they cheered for her and patted her on the back. Someone smacked her ass, and she was almost positive it was Bobo by his expression but she chose to ignore it, her hands in the state they were and all. While she was running her hands under the kitchen sink, the patio doors opened and Jager came through.
    “Remind me not to piss you off.” He said to her smiling.
    She didn’t know if he was mad at her or not for nearly killing one of his girls. His smile seemed pretty relaxed. He seemed in a good mood.
    “I’m sorry Jager. She was saying shit. I get in these moods sometimes…”
    “Don’t apologize for going rounds with Jessica. I hate Jessica. Everyone hates Jessica,” he laughed and opened the freezer door, pulling out a bag of mixed veggies. He laid them on the counter and grabbed a towel from the handle on the oven. He opened it up in his hands and motioned for Tatum to put her hands in his. He dried them gently, avoiding the parts that were busted open. Laying the towel aside he motioned for her to sit at the table. She laid her hands flat on its surface and Jager put the veggies over them.
    She flinched and sucked in a strained breath. “You’re not that tough then I guess,” he joked, looking fixatedly at her hands and avoiding her eyes.
    She laughed and the room grew silent.
    “Thanks for everything today.  Thanks for spending the day with the boys, and buying them new clothes and toys. Thanks for the party for the guys at your club. Plus, you know, kicking Jessica’s ass.”
    She smiled, suddenly feeling self conscious and shy. The heat from his hands was heating her in places she forgotten she’d had. She looked at him as he studied her hands, gently running his thumb over her knuckles. She noticed that he had a light smattering of freckles across his nose and on his cheeks. The hair on his face had kind of a red highlight when the light hit it a certain way.
    “Your boys are great,” she said, “they’re really good kids. You did a great job with them.”
    He looked up at her then suddenly, almost surprised by her words. He swallowed hard, frowning and nodded.
    She wanted to say so much to him. That he deserved to be happy. That people die all the time, it’s a part of life. He should live his life to the fullest. Instead she just stayed quiet until he said, “What was it all about anyway? What did she say?”
    Tatum didn’t want to answer that. She looked at him and shook her head.
    “Please?” he pleaded.
    She looked up from his hands on hers. She hesitated a second and he lifted his eyebrows expectantly.
    “She was talking about your wife. Nothing good… it made me mad. I don’t like that. People talking about other people like that. She was their mother… it was just… disrespectful.”
    Jager nodded again and looked around the room. “She had her faults I guess,” he said quietly, out of nowhere. Tatum sensed this was important for him to say so she kept quiet.
    “The things you were doing today, with the boys. She’d never do that. I mean, she told them she loved them and took them to the park and stuff, but she never really played with them. She always assumed that she knew what was best for them. She never asked me or included me. Before she died, I started resenting her for it. I wasn’t easy to live with. I don’t blame her for leaving. She wanted out of this lifestyle so bad but I forced her to stay. I didn’t think anything would happen to her. Now I feel guilty, all the time. I took their mother away. It was my fault. The people I’m involved with… The worst problem is I don’t even know who did it. I have so many people that are hell bent on destroying me that I honestly have no clue.” He shook his head slightly before continuing. “The thought of them ending up like this, like me…” The words hung in the air.
    Tatum didn’t know what