Deceived

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter 16: Bravery

Time: Fall 2008

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Reba stood up and walked over to Barbra Jean. "I'm trying to keep him talking. He's completely out of his mind with fever. If he falls asleep, he may not wake up," Reba stammered, covering her face with her hands.

Brock remained silent on the couch, grinning mischievously. His facial expression didn't help Reba's struggle to remain calm in this situation. She was not her cool, controlled self, and it bugged her big time. It didn't help that Brock was grinning like the cat that swallowed the canary. She wanted to smack the moron upside the head. "Did you bring the antibiotics?"

Barbra Jean looked skeptical at Reba's behavior. She looked guilty and Brock looked completely happy. She raised an eyebrow. She knew that she walked in on something. She just wasn't sure what.

"Too bad that you came in when you did. I was trying to seduce my wife."

Reba shot Brock a warning look. "Barbra Jean, he is out of his mind with fever. If he wasn't so sick, I'd smack him." She was so uncomfortable that she walked right out of the room.

Barbra Jean sat down next to Brock on the couch. "You look horrible."

"I think that I look pretty good for a man who's cheated death for the second time in 24 hours." Brock looked pleased at himself with that snappy comeback.

Barbra Jean scowled. She was clearly not impressed by his attempt at humor. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see that you're okay. There's a real mess to handle. I need you to get better and help us out of this mess."

Reba came back and gave Brock his antibiotics. "He'll be on the mend soon."

"He better be. Jack is in trouble." She continued to stare Brock down.

"What happened?" Reba couldn't imagine why her boyfriend would be in trouble.

"The police think that Jack shot Big Daddy."

"Barbra Jean, I'm so sorry."

"I know, but you need to finish playing house with this guy and help get Jack out of jail. He's been arrested. We need Brock to come in and explain what happened. Jack said that there shouldn't be any charges filed if Brock explains that it was self-defense. Jack is also refusing to cooperate with the police. He didn't tell them that Brock was there. He refuses to send any trouble his way. He's feeling guilty about keeping Alex's secret all these years."

At this point, Brock is staring daggers at Barbra Jean. He didn't like any situation that reminded Reba of Jack. Now, Jack's out there playing hero, giving Reba another reason to be with him. Jack is protecting the family while Brock is hiding out.

"This is my fault. I sent Jack down to the docks to protect you, and now he's in jail. He's done nothing wrong," Reba yelled at Brock.

"That would depend on your definition of nothing wrong. He kept a secret that kept me locked up, away from my family, to be tortured for years. He owes something to this family."

"But not like this, d—m you, Brock!"

"I didn't ask him for help. He told me to leave and said that he would deal with the cops. I don't know why he would help his girlfriend's husband in the first place."

"Because he's a decent man. He loves me, Brock. He's tryin' to protect me and make things up to you. He just happens to be a better man than you are. I'm so sick of justifyin' him to ya." Brock started grinning again. Reba wanted to wipe that boyish smirk right off his face. What did he have to be so happy about? "Why are you smilin'?"

"You're just so cute when you're angry at me. You talk in that deep Okie twang. I've missed it."

"Shut up! Just how cute do you think that it would be if I smack you upside the head!"

"Thank you so very much for saving my life," he responded dryly.

"Too little, too late." Reba grabbed her purse. "I've had enough of this. I'm going to check on the kids. Keep an eye on him for me. He's all yours."

"Like I'd want him now," Barbra Jean teased.

Reba was not amused. "Well, that makes two of us." She matched right out of the door, slamming it shut behind her. All she could think about was making sure that everyone was okay. Jack was in jail. Who knew who else was out there plotting to kill her family?

Barbra Jean turned back to Brock. "So, did she really save your life? Did she really remove the bullet?" She was in awe of Reba's bravery once again.

"Yep, she's quite a woman."

"She's been the one who's held this family together all these years. She's strong, but she can't keep it up. What she needs is a man in her life who can help her with all this heavy lifting. She got high blood pressure. She can't do it anymore. So, who's gonna be the hero here, you or Jack?"