Joe was loading their multitude of bags in the trunk of the Mustang while both girls were close, gabbing at Joe. Dad was trying to help at the same time looking like he was going to burst into tears. Vinnie was trying to distract Dad and failing which meant Dad was getting in Joe’s way. Gary, Theresa and Bea were down the sidewalk looking into the windows of the bakery, Theresa exclaiming loudly, “They have no cannoli!” to which Bea nervously giggled. And I was standing alone and slightly removed from the rest of them.

This made me the bizarre target for a beautiful blonde who walked right up to me and started speaking.

“Rumor’s true. You broke him,” she said, her eyes on Joe who was grinning down at Keira and ignoring Dad as he slammed the trunk of the Mustang.

I turned my head to look at her, seeing firstly that she was beautiful and secondly that she had bitch written all over her.

“Sorry?” I asked.

“Cal,” she tipped her head toward Joe but kept her eyes on me, “you broke him.”

“What?” I asked.

“Tina told me,” she went on and I felt liquid steel injected into my spine at the mention of Tina’s name. “I had a taste of him,” she shared, smiled and the way she did it I knew I was right. Total bitch. “Delicious,” she finished.

I turned fully to her.

“Who are you?”

“Susie Shepherd,” she answered. I vaguely knew her name from somewhere but I didn’t have time to figure out where since I was focusing on her smile getting bitchier, this didn’t give me a good feeling and I’d shortly find out why it was doing that. “You’re done with Mike, you won’t mind I have a go?”

That steel in my spine solidified.

“Are you kidding me?” I whispered.

“Or, my preference, you get done with Cal, I’d like another taste. More accurately, I’d like to give him another one.”

“You’re kidding me,” I whispered hopefully.

She leaned in, dashing my hopes. “Best head I ever had. Cal works miracles with his tongue, sheer talent. He made me come so hard, I thought for a second I died and I didn’t mind one f**king bit.”

I leaned in too and hissed, “My daughters are five feet away.”

She leaned slightly back. “No worries. They get a bit older, he’ll do them too. They got something to look forward to.”

“What?” I shrieked and she grinned a catty grin.

“Nails everything in town, don’t you know?” she informed me. “We’re all just wondering when he’ll get done playin’ with you.”

“Susie –” I heard Joe say, his voice sounding supremely scary, even scarier than a very scary Joe could sound but I’d had enough.

I was done.

There was a huge clap of thunder that rumbled through the air like a physical thing and this was accompanied by a streak of bright lightning.

The storm was there. The heavens opened and the rain poured down.

This all drowned out my scream as I took Susie Shepherd down right there on the sidewalk.

I found quickly that she’d grown up without brothers because she fought like a girl which was why I was able to start beating the crap out of her.

That was until Joe pulled me off of her, set me on my feet, wrapped an arm around my chest, one around my ribs and backed us away several steps all the while I struggled in his hold.

“Get the girls in the car.” Joe ground out.

“Cal –” Vinnie said.

“Car! Now!” Joe barked and this time it was an actual bark. “Get them outta here!”

“Mom, you okay?” Kate asked with worry in her tone.

I was so out of it, Kate’s tone didn’t register as I was still struggling to get at Susie Shepherd, a woman I did not know but I didn’t care. I was going to rip all her now sodden golden tresses out by the roots.

“You bitch!” I shrieked.

She was pulling herself to her feet and wiping blood from her lip. She looked at the blood mixed with raindrops on her hand then she stared at me.

“You busted my lip!” she squealed.

“I’m gonna bust more than that!” I screamed then demanded, “Joe, let me go!”

“Come on, girls,” I heard Dad say, “get in Vinnie’s car.”

“Mom –” Keira called.

“Car, Keirry, sweetie. Please.” Bea said.

“I’m gonna sue!” Susie shouted.

Joe was trying to move me toward the car but was having trouble since I was fighting like a she-cat to get at Susie. Fighting so hard even big Joe Callahan couldn’t subdue me.

“If you’re gonna sue then I best give you something good to sue me for!” I threatened.

“Cal, everything all right here?” a man asked, running up and holding a jacket over his very blond head and I saw it was Chip Judd, the man who put in my security system and screwed up the wiring so Joe had to fix it.

“You let her break you?” Susie asked Joe, ignoring Chip and pointing a finger at me. “Her?” she repeated, her voice filled with disgust, her mascara melting down her face and another rumble of thunder filled the air accompanied by a flash of lightning.

“Vi, quit fightin’, get in the car,” Joe muttered in my ear.

“You once were magnificent. You’re nothin’ now. The whole town’s talkin’ about it,” Susie insanely taunted Joe.

“Shut your mouth, Susie Shepherd,” a woman with long dark hair and a fabulous figure (and I knew this because her sundress was plastered to her body by the rain and the wind which had sprung up and was lashing all around us) rushed forward to stand by Chip. “No one’s talkin’ that trash but you and Tina.” The brunette turned to Joe and me. “We’re all real happy for you Cal.”

There you go. Explanation of why everyone kept staring at us and mostly Joe.

“Josie, do me favor, babe, don’t get involved,” Chip said to the woman.

“Like she’ll listen to you,” Susie’s voice was dripping with derision, “you’re so pu**y whipped you’re not even a man.”

Acting on manly instinct at such a slur uttered at one of his brethren, Joe stopped moving. Chip pulled himself up to his full height which was pretty tall and he dropped his arms and the jacket but it was Josie who acted.

“You bitch!” she shrieked, lunged forward and shoved Susie in the chest causing Susie to step back on her foot. “Don’t you talk about my man that way.”