certainly hadn't liked his behavior the
night before. “And he was a cop thirty years ago, you know? When that woman was
murdered. I guess he took it hard.”
“Sure,” Ricky said. “A lot of people did. I read all
those articles from the Times, back from when it happened. It was the only
thing news-worthy to happen in Kingdom since a fire in 1946. It really tore the
town up.”
Kim nodded slowly, finishing the last bites of her own
sandwich. Her hangover was demanding more food to placate it, but she settled
for downing the last of her coffee and brewing some more.
“Anyway, I think I might go over there tomorrow,” she
said, not even knowing she'd planned to do it until the words left her mouth.
“To apologize and kind of give them a nicer welcome.”
“Is that so?” Ricky asked, looking over her shoulder
at her older sister. Ricky closed the fridge door, having found some leftover
salmon with rice pilaf to eat. “Well, see if you can get me an interview or
something about those stores and stuff. It is worth a story, I guess. Can't even remember the last time a business opened in this town. I'm getting tired
of writing farewell articles whenever someplace goes broke.”
“Amen,” Kim agreed, thinking of the real reason she’d
come up with the idea to go see the Volanis brothers. She couldn't shake that
dream. She couldn't shake those green eyes. And, what's more, she didn't want
to shake them.
Chapter Eight
Kim was immediately impressed by the change in the
trailer park. Gone were the used needles, rubber ropes, empty liquor bottles,
and myriad trash that had once littered the grounds. There were about 14
trailers, of varying sizes, in three rows. Each one was brightly painted and
decorated, with flowers blooming out front and in the windows. Barbecues and
patio furniture, pink flamingos and wind chimes, delicate spinning ornaments
that caught the sun and bashful stone lawn gnomes had turned the once-seedy
park into a homey, joyful place.
She parked in a general lot near the entrance to the
park and scanned the area spread out before her. There was a good collection of
children running around, and older people sitting on their small lawns watching
after them.
She didn’t know where to start looking for him. All
she knew was that her appearance was something interesting to the people she
passed. That wasn’t too surprising; this was a gypsy caravan, after all, and outsiders probably weren’t welcomed with
open arms. But it did make it a little unnerving to wander around aimlessly,
since she didn’t feel comfortable asking anyone where she might find Kennick.
When she’d walked to the center of the trailer park,
she heard a ruckus coming from a trailer in the leftmost row. It was a dull
roar punctuated by grunting. The sounds ignited her anxiety; it was one thing
to walk among the spattering of people who milled about, another thing entirely
to walk right towards what appeared to be the center of activity. But she
wasn’t about to turn around and run home, so she forced herself towards the
noise.
As she grew closer, she saw a ring of people standing
around with animated interest on their faces. Some were chanting and howling,
others murmuring to their neighbors. The grunting continued, and seemed to come
from the center of the ring. When she got close enough, she attracted some
attention, but apparently wasn’t as interesting as what was happening in the
middle. She rose up on her tip-toes and leaned to catch a glimpse.
Two men were in the center of the ring, both
shirtless. Their bodies were entwined, huge muscles bulging, tanned skin
gleaming with sweat, vibrant black tattoos almost melting into each other. One
was landing a series of blows to the others’ ribs, though they didn’t look very
forceful. The crowd let out a unified whoop as the bodies separated and began
to bounce around in a circle. Kim’s interest grew; she recognized
night before. “And he was a cop thirty years ago, you know? When that woman was
murdered. I guess he took it hard.”
“Sure,” Ricky said. “A lot of people did. I read all
those articles from the Times, back from when it happened. It was the only
thing news-worthy to happen in Kingdom since a fire in 1946. It really tore the
town up.”
Kim nodded slowly, finishing the last bites of her own
sandwich. Her hangover was demanding more food to placate it, but she settled
for downing the last of her coffee and brewing some more.
“Anyway, I think I might go over there tomorrow,” she
said, not even knowing she'd planned to do it until the words left her mouth.
“To apologize and kind of give them a nicer welcome.”
“Is that so?” Ricky asked, looking over her shoulder
at her older sister. Ricky closed the fridge door, having found some leftover
salmon with rice pilaf to eat. “Well, see if you can get me an interview or
something about those stores and stuff. It is worth a story, I guess. Can't even remember the last time a business opened in this town. I'm getting tired
of writing farewell articles whenever someplace goes broke.”
“Amen,” Kim agreed, thinking of the real reason she’d
come up with the idea to go see the Volanis brothers. She couldn't shake that
dream. She couldn't shake those green eyes. And, what's more, she didn't want
to shake them.
Chapter Eight
Kim was immediately impressed by the change in the
trailer park. Gone were the used needles, rubber ropes, empty liquor bottles,
and myriad trash that had once littered the grounds. There were about 14
trailers, of varying sizes, in three rows. Each one was brightly painted and
decorated, with flowers blooming out front and in the windows. Barbecues and
patio furniture, pink flamingos and wind chimes, delicate spinning ornaments
that caught the sun and bashful stone lawn gnomes had turned the once-seedy
park into a homey, joyful place.
She parked in a general lot near the entrance to the
park and scanned the area spread out before her. There was a good collection of
children running around, and older people sitting on their small lawns watching
after them.
She didn’t know where to start looking for him. All
she knew was that her appearance was something interesting to the people she
passed. That wasn’t too surprising; this was a gypsy caravan, after all, and outsiders probably weren’t welcomed with
open arms. But it did make it a little unnerving to wander around aimlessly,
since she didn’t feel comfortable asking anyone where she might find Kennick.
When she’d walked to the center of the trailer park,
she heard a ruckus coming from a trailer in the leftmost row. It was a dull
roar punctuated by grunting. The sounds ignited her anxiety; it was one thing
to walk among the spattering of people who milled about, another thing entirely
to walk right towards what appeared to be the center of activity. But she
wasn’t about to turn around and run home, so she forced herself towards the
noise.
As she grew closer, she saw a ring of people standing
around with animated interest on their faces. Some were chanting and howling,
others murmuring to their neighbors. The grunting continued, and seemed to come
from the center of the ring. When she got close enough, she attracted some
attention, but apparently wasn’t as interesting as what was happening in the
middle. She rose up on her tip-toes and leaned to catch a glimpse.
Two men were in the center of the ring, both
shirtless. Their bodies were entwined, huge muscles bulging, tanned skin
gleaming with sweat, vibrant black tattoos almost melting into each other. One
was landing a series of blows to the others’ ribs, though they didn’t look very
forceful. The crowd let out a unified whoop as the bodies separated and began
to bounce around in a circle. Kim’s interest grew; she recognized
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