Page 47 of Twisted

“You know, I always knew I would love this life. Even though I know little about it, I always had this notion it would be for me.”

Missy smiles. “I know what you mean. I’ve never had anything else, but I never wanted to. It’s everything I ever wanted, a good man and a loving home.”

I look at her with curiosity.

“What about a family? Do you have any children?”

She laughs. “I have a son, Beau and a daughter Vanity.”

I look at her with surprise and she winks.

“They live in the next town. We don’t see them much. I think they craved the lights of the large town after living in the sticks all their life.”

I smile and probe further. “What do they do?”

She shakes her head and looks a little sad.

“Vanity works in a fancy office somewhere, and Beau…”

Her words trail off and I see her blinking back the tears. I drop my towel and take her arm, looking concerned.

Then she shakes herself and smiles through disturbed eyes. “Let’s just say, Beau gets along and does what makes him happy. He’ll come good in the end.”

We are interrupted as Willie enters the small kitchen. His eyes narrow as he sees his wife’s expression as she turns to crack the eggs in the pan, saying loudly,

“Wash your hands and take a seat. It won’t be long.”

I smile at Willie who looks thoughtful. He moves across to his wife and squeezes her shoulder and she laughs softly.

“I’m fine. Just talking about Vanity and Beau.”

I see his eyes narrow and his lips tighten into a hard line as he does as she says.

I wonder about their children. If there’s any sadness in their lives, it concerns the two of them - Beau in particular.

As we take our seats, I try to move things on.

“So, tell me how you know Sam.”

Missy smiles. “We’ve known Sam a while now. He served with Beau in the military. He stayed here often when they were on leave and we grew close.”

I look at them with interest.

“So, your son’s a SEAL?”

I wish I hadn’t said anything when Missy’s eyes cloud with pain and she shakes her head.

“No, Beau didn’t last long. He left after only a year. Sam went on to become a SEAL long after Beau decided it wasn’t for him and took a different career path.”

Something in her eyes stops me from asking more about her son. There’s a pain there that’s all too evident. Willie scrapes back his chair and says gruffly,

“I’ll saddle up Starburst. She needs a ride so if you want you can take her down to the creek.”

I nod and a smile breaks out across my face. I’ve developed a new love for horse riding and Starburst is a sweetheart.

As soon as Willie leaves the room, Missy smiles at me ruefully.

“He doesn’t like to dwell on the path our son took. For the most part, he tries not to think about it. It worries us though.”