This is the third chapter of a story that will run all week.
Jolene first noticed Dodd Frisco watching her from across the parking lot of the Eggs & Ammo, leaning against his rust-eaten Falcon wagon, sipping something from a gas station cup that she suspected wasn’t just soda. His kind of interest wasn’t new to her—men who thought a woman alone was some sort of invitation—but Dodd had a persistence that set her on edge.
She avoided his eyes as she walked out with her bag of groceries, but that didn’t stop him from calling out.
“Jolene, hey now, don’t be rude. Ain’t gotta pretend like you don’t see me.”
She sighed, shifting the bag in her arms. “I’m in a hurry, Dodd.”
“Oh, come on now, what’s a few minutes?” He grinned, revealing teeth yellowed from years of whiskey and cigarettes. “I been thinkin’, maybe you and me oughta grab a drink sometime.”
Jolene clenched her jaw. This was the third time in as many weeks he’d tried this, and each time she told him no, he acted like it was the first. “I don’t drink.”
Dodd chuckled, shaking his head. “Well, hell, we can get coffee, then. Just a friendly little visit, that’s all.”
“Not interested.”
His smile faltered. “Oh, come on, now, Jolene. Why you gotta be so hard up? A woman like you oughta enjoy some company.”
“I have plenty of company,” she said, turning away and heading for her Bel Air sedan.
Dodd’s voice followed her. “You think you’re too good for me? That it?”
Jolene threw her groceries into the passenger seat of her Chevy and turned back, eyes cold. “I don’t think about you at all, Dodd. Leave me alone.”
She slammed the door and started the truck, leaving him standing there, looking stunned for a moment before his face twisted into something mean.
The next time she saw Dodd, it was at the hardware store. He came in late, already half-drunk, and walked up and down a couple aisles, watching her with a smug little smirk that made her stomach twist. He’d parked his 1965 Ford Falcon 4-door wagon right out front, taking up two spots.
Dodd got the car after his second divorce, paying Manny over at Manny’s Motor Mart $400 for it. Well, actually $200 cash with a promise for the balance in a month. That had been nearly six months ago and Manny had written off any hopes of ever seeing the balance. He’d kept the title, but it wasn’t worth the bother of repossessing.
“Evenin’, Jolene,” he drawled as she started the process of closing up shop for the day.
She didn’t respond, moving to count out the register. He tapped the worn Formica surface of the counter with a ringed finger. “Hey now, don’t be like that. I’ll take a couple of them fishin’ lures behind the counter. And a smile wouldn’t hurt, neither.”
Jolene set her pen down and met his eyes. “We’re closed.”
Dodd glanced at the clock on the wall. “It’s only 5:58.”
“For you, it’s closed.”
His face darkened, but before he could say anything else, a shadow loomed behind him. Sam Snyder had been standing back by the nail bin in the corner nursing a styrofoam cup of coffee, quiet as usual. But now he stood, arms crossed over his broad chest, watching Dodd like a man debating how much trouble it’d be to throw him through the plate glass window.
Dodd noticed, too. He hesitated, then forced a laugh, pushing back from the counter. “Hell, fine. I know when I ain’t wanted.” He got to his feet, swaying a little. “Don’t you worry, Jolene. One of these days, you’ll change your mind.”
She didn’t say a word as he stumbled out the door, but the tension in her shoulders eased as soon as he was gone. She turned to Sam. “Appreciate it.”
Sam nodded, taking a sip of his coffee. “He botherin’ you much?”
“More than I’d like.”
“You want me to talk to him?”
She gave him a sharp look. “I can handle myself.”
“Didn’t say you couldn’t.” Sam held her gaze. “Just don’t like seein’ you deal with trash like that alone.”
Jolene wasn’t sure what to say to that, so she just went back to counting out the register. Sam didn’t push. He just sat there, quiet, steady, and for the first time that day, she felt like she could take a full breath.
A few days later, Dodd showed up at her house.
It was near sundown, and she was in the front yard, watching Little Emory throw rocks at a coffee can. She heard the rumble of an engine before she saw the car, and when she looked up to see that damn Falcon wagon creeping down the dirt road toward her place, her stomach went tight.
Little Emory noticed, too. “Who’s that?”
“Nobody,” she said quickly. “Go inside.”
“But Mama—”
“Now!”
Her tone left no room for argument. Little Emory stomped off, and by the time he was through the front door, Dodd had pulled up and climbed out of his car. He leaned against the fender like he had all the time in the world.
“Evenin’, Jolene.”
She folded her arms. “What the hell do you think you’re doing here?”
“Just payin’ a visit.” He spread his arms, all innocence. “Ain’t nothin’ wrong with that, is there?”
“You got ten seconds to get off my property.”
Dodd smirked. “Or what? You gonna call the law? Ain’t nobody out here but you and me.”
Jolene’s hand itched for the shotgun behind her door. She didn’t reach for it. Not yet. “You need to leave.”
Dodd stepped forward. “I just don’t get you, Jolene. I been real nice, real patient, but you keep actin’ like I ain’t worth a damn. Like I ain’t good enough—”
A second rumble joined the first—another engine, louder, deeper. A truck. And Jolene knew that sound.
Dodd turned just as Sam Snyder’s F-150 pulled up behind the Ford Falcon. The door swung open, and Sam stepped out, slow and deliberate, like he had all the time in the world.
“You lost, Dodd?”
Dodd hesitated, then scoffed. “Hell, man, this ain’t none of your business.”
Sam’s expression didn’t change. “Get in your car.”
“Now hold on just a—”
Sam took a step closer. “Get. In. Your car.”
Dodd swallowed. He looked at Jolene, but her face was stone. He glanced back at Sam, then muttered something under his breath and climbed into his Falcon. The car kicked up dust as he tore down the road.
Sam watched until the taillights disappeared, then turned back to Jolene. “You okay?”
She nodded, exhaling. “Yeah.”
He hesitated. “You want me to stick around?”
She wanted that more than anything else she’d wanted in a long time, but the words telling him that got stuck in her throat.
“No, we’ll be fine.” Jolene looked away when she said it, fearful that the look in her eyes would betray the words.
