This is a series of short stories, detailing the adventures of Chelsea Childling. You can start with her origin story or pick something from the index.
***

Beer and fists flowed around her, but Chelsea barely noticed. Oklahoma City’s haunt could have been anywhere. Small, dirty, and full of the usual brawls; it felt like home. But not her home. Just someone’s home. If that person liked rowdy folks and broken furniture.

She nursed a beer as she waited for her phone to ring. Rita Green had promised another job, and soon. And it had been almost 24 hours since the borer hunt. She was more than ready to hit the road, especially since Bentley wasn’t allowed in the haunt. He did love napping in the car, but she hated being without him. So when her phone rang, she answered without checking to see who it was. “Where am I headed?”

“Well, hello my little nun. That’s a rather deep philosophical opening.” Jackson’s warm tones and relaxed voice should have been unnatural. Their last conversation hadn’t gone well, and she’d been avoiding him due to the fall out. And none of that played out in Jack’s voice. He sounded like he always did.

She said nothing, trying to regulate her burning anger, if not banish it.

“Chelsea?”

“What do you want, Jack?”

“Um, well…, to talk?”

Chelsea knew this wasn’t the time or place, and that she should say that. Jackson Hawk would understand. He’d be patient. He genuinely loved her.

And right now, she didn’t give a rat’s ass.

“Talk? I tried to talk. You wanted to yell at Amber.”

He sighed. “Chel–”

“She left me. Because of you. So that you could be happy and get what you wanted.” It wasn’t entirely true. But right now, Chelsea was not inclined to be fair or give the man any leeway. “I know you had a history with her, but you said you trusted me.”

“You don’t under–”

“Yes, Jack, I do. I wrangled a favor out of Andy. He told me everything. But you didn’t want to listen. I wanted to talk, you didn’t.”

For the first time, a touch of anger entered his voice. “So you know she was stalking me for months.”

“Because you lead her on for months. You were more concerned about getting laid than her feelings. You made a bad situation worse and now fucked this up for me.” Chelsea took a long drink of beer. “And it’s not like you try to avoid her. You introduced us, for fuck’s sake. You brought her into that fucking shitshow of a hunt.”

“How can I fix this?”

“What?” Her anger paused. She didn’t quite grasp his meaning.

“You’re right. Amber has issues, but I didn’t notice and made them worse. And now she’s missing, again. And I did say I was okay with you two being… together.”

Her anger flared again. “You did?”

A groan with more than a bit of growl came over her phone. “Yeah, I did. And now I have to fix it, so you can be with her instead of me, right?”

All her anger vanished, leaving her tired. “No, not instead of. That’s where both of you have it wrong. I was never trying to decide between one or the other.”

“And if I don’t want to share you?”

“Don’t you?” She went to take a drink of beer and found the bottle empty. “You’ve never cared about who I hooked up with on the road.”

“I also assumed that one day it would just be the two of us.”

“And it very well might be at times. Amber seems to enjoy taking off with a word.”

“At times, isn’t forever.”

She swallowed at the sadness in his voice, but didn’t let it stop her. Even if she did wish for Bentley’s heavy head in her lap. Stupid haunt. “We aren’t forever kind of people, Jack. We enjoy what we have when we have it.”

He didn’t say anything for a long moment, and then a small chuckle warmed her. “Isn’t that my line?”

“Well, you weren’t using it.”

He laughed out loud, but the sound cut short of his normal exuberance. “Do you really love both of us?”

“Yeah, Jack, I do. It took me a while to figure it out, but I love her, like I love you, if for different reasons.”

“And what reasons are those?”

“You make me laugh; she lets me cry. You help me find the meaning for every day; she helps me keep fighting when I don’t care about that meaning. You let me be soft, she lets me be hard.” She swallowed a tightening throat. “I’m not wholly myself without each of you, and the Good Lord knows I tried it without either.”

“Okay then. I’ll find her and bring her back to you.”

“And then stay with us for a while?”

“I don’t know. It’s one thing to shrug off folks I can’t actually see being with you. It’s another thing to see you with someone else. And something else all together to give Amber any kind of hint that I might be interested. I’m not trying to hurt her. I never wanted to do that.”

“I do love you, too.”

“That’s good to hear.” The heartbreak in his voice ate at her.

“I mean it. I took a while to say it, but that was because I had to know that I meant it. And I do.”

The only sound was the crashing of glass from the bar fight behind her and then Jack sucked in a deep breath. “Andy’s gonna die laughing. I finally settle into a relationship and she’s poly.”

Chelsea only had a sad chuckle for him. “Would have been easier on both of us if I had known.”

“All three of us.” He forced out a laugh. “But whatever, I love you. I can work with this. Just give me a little time to adjust.”

“All the time you need.” She wished for another beer, but she wasn’t staying here tonight. “Same as you gave me.”

“Right.” She could almost see him taking in a deep breath and pulling out his brilliant smile. “I’m gonna hunt me a bitchy hunter and bring her home.”

“Start with Andy. He was hiding her last time.”

“He won’t tell me if he is.”

She snorted. “If he gives you any shit, call me. He’ll tell me where she is.”

For the first time, Jack’s laugh was big and unforced. “I really should have introduced you two earlier.”

“You really should have.” For all her attitude, she missed Andy fiercely. “I need someone to go to art galleries with me.”

“I’ll go anywhere with you.” As always, his utter sincerity shone through every word.

A real chuckle bubbled out of her. “They aren’t all nudes, Jack.”

“Now you even sound like Andy.” They laughed together for a moment. “So you’re looking for a job, huh?”

“Waiting for one, from Rita.”

“Oooo, getting in good with Rita Green. How did you manage that?”

Chelsea shrugged. “I think she’s trying to hook me up with one of her grandkids.”

“Hey man, that’s not a bad gig.” Jack’s smirk was plain. “I mean, you can even swing that now, right?”

The quip wasn’t really funny, but she appreciated that Jackson trying to be casual, so she kept her reply light. “Maybe, but her smothering would kill me.”

Jack’s laugh was only slightly forced. “Well, I’ll get going then. I have a hunt to plan.”

She didn’t wait for him to say it for once. “I love you. And I’ll talk to you soon.”

He sighed. “I love you, too. Call me.”

She ordered a soda from the bar and waited for Rita. The old yinzer didn’t make her wait long. The ice in her glass hadn’t melted before her phone rang again.

“Hey there, girlie. I got some work for you in New Mexico.”

“Am I skipping Texas then?”

“Hell yes. Newbies like you need t’stay outta Texas. Ya here me?”

“Yeah, I hear you.” Chelsea rolled her eyes, safe in the knowledge that Rita couldn’t see her do it. “So where am I headed?”

“Tucumcari.”

***