Play It Safe(128)

His eyes were riveted to Buddy, his face set in stone.

I put my hand to his gut. “Gray, baby, don’t. Take a minute. Calm down.”

Not tearing his eyes from Buddy, he put a hand to my chest and firmly but gently shoved me back, growling to no one in particular but to everyone except Buddy, “Keep her away.”

“Don’t, Gray!” I cried frantically, following on a rush as his legs swiftly closed the distance between him and Buddy.

He ignored me and stayed on target.

“You called my woman a slut?” he asked Buddy on a low, rumbling mutter and no one but no one could mistake his fury.

Buddy straightened and faced him down, informing him of something he could not miss, “You got a police presence, Cody.”

Gray’s hand which never left my chest gave me another shove. It was not violent but it was forceful. Forceful enough for me to fall back three feet and then Gray moved.

Fast.

Before I could launch myself back at him, two iron arms clamped around me and I shouted, “Gray!”

But he was on Buddy, hands in his jacket powering him back through the snow. Buddy, for some insane reason, didn’t read the threat and was not prepared. Then again, he likely never would be. Gray was fury unleashed and, except maybe Hoot Booker, no one there had experienced anything like it.

Two feet from the corner where the porch met the house, Gray shoved him off and Buddy staggered back and slammed in between the porch and the house.

Gray instantly took those two steps in.

“You called my woman a slut?” he roared in Buddy’s face.

“Gray!” I shrieked, fighting the arms around me and I vaguely heard Hoot Booker whisper in my ear. “Still, beautiful, let your man do what he’s gotta do.”

I didn’t calm. I strained as I watched Buddy try to slide out from in front of Gray but Gray’s arm slashed out and shoved him savagely right back into the corner so Buddy’s body thudded into the house. Buddy recovered and tried the other side but Gray moved fast, shoving him back in so hard Buddy almost went down to the porch. Buddy quickly righted himself, again tried the other side and again Gray kept him pinned with another body slam into the house.

Then Buddy aimed an upper-cut to Gray’s jaw, I whimpered but, again, lightning fast but still almost casually, Gray lifted a forearm and deflected the blow before his fist even came close.

Then he stepped in, chest-to-chest, nose-to-nose and rumbled quietly and terrifyingly, “You came to my home on my land when my woman was alone and you called her slut?”

“Step back, Cody,” Buddy demanded, tried to slide out from in front of Gray again but Gray just shoved him back.

“Fuckin’ answer me,” Gray ordered.

Buddy finally realized he was going nowhere so his eyes went beyond Gray to the two officers and he asked irritably, “Aren’t you gonna do anything?”

My head turned toward them to see one had his hands to his hips, the other his arms crossed on his chest, both of their eyes were on Gray and Buddy and neither moved nor spoke.

They weren’t going to do anything.

Buddy realized this too and went back to Gray.

“Step back!” he screeched.

“What is the matter with you?” Gray asked.

“Fuck you!” was Buddy’s answer.

Gray kept his face in Buddy’s and thundered, “What is the matter with you?”

“Get off!” Buddy shouted.

“What did I do?” Gray asked.

“Get off!”

“What the f**k did I do?” Gray repeated. “Fuckin’ decades, Bud, decades you played this game. Then you took my f**kin’ woman away from me. Seven years. Seven f**kin’ years, Bud. In that time, you got two girls. What did you take from Ivey and me? I’m marryin’ her next year but that house right behind you should have my kids in it by now and you took that away from her and me.”

At Gray’s words, Hoot Booker’s arms flexed powerfully around me but I kept my eyes glued to Gray and Buddy.

“Step the f**k back,” Buddy hissed.

“You diseased my trees, you poisoned my horses, you burned down my barn, you tried to take my land from me. Why? I don’t get it. Why the f**k would you do this sick, crazy, whacked out shit? What’s the matter with you? Give me one f**kin’ thing in the miserable time I’ve known you and explain to me what the f**k I did to you.”

“Just like you, the Great Grayson Cody, thinkin’ everything is about you,” Buddy sneered.

“You and I been livin’ in the same town at the same time all our lives but I don’t know you and you sure as f**k don’t know me so you don’t know you can say that kinda shit about me,” Gray shot back.

Buddy glared at him a second and then demanded, “Fuck off and let me pass.”

Buddy misinterpreted Gray seemingly calming down (a bit) because at his demand, Gray put his hand in Buddy’s chest and shoved him hard into the house. When Buddy’s body swayed back out, Gray did it again and his head slammed against the side.

Then Gray got nose-to-nose with him again and barked, “Explain this shit to me!”

“It’s not about you! It has not one f**kin’ thing to do with you!” Buddy shouted back. “It’s about the land!”

I stopped straining and stared in shock. Gray moved back three inches and did the same.