Freedom Lights

Foot in the door

It was quiet in the Roadhouse as I walked up to the bar. This place didn’t normally get its regulars until four or five in the afternoon.

I loved this bar. It was dusty and a little run down, but it had a feeling of welcoming to it (if a bar can feel welcoming). Ellen, owner of said bar, was shuffling some bottles at the cooler under the bar as I took a seat in front of her.

Without looking up she spoke, “I was wondering when you were gonna come update me about this crazy ass week of yours I’ve been hearing about.”

I huffed. This place was rumor mill central. Next to the farmers market Judy stuck her nose in every Sunday after church, “you don’t miss a thing, do you El?”

She straightened up and gave me a pointed look. I rolled my eyes, “It was no big deal, all is settled and officer grumpy pants is back on his feet catching criminals.” Ellen’s pointed stare only got more intense.

“What?! I’m serious!”

She eyed me up and down, not feeding into my bullshit one bit. But I wasn’t ready to talk about the thunderstorm my life had become. So, this will have to do for now.

“I’m gonna let it slide as some form of recovery from trauma….for now. But eventually you’ll have to talk your guts up.” Just then, Jo burst in from the kitchen. Jo is Ellen’s 19 year old daughter. We worked together a lot, but she was definitely still a kid and had some life learning to do, a lot like Claire.

“Remi! Where the hell have you been?! Crazy rumors going round, you know that right?”

I raised my eyebrows, “And just what has Judy concocted this time?”

Ellen and Jo exchanged a sideways glance. This ought to be good.

“You and Dean Winchester should be in the paper sometime next week tying the knot.” Jo stiffened, crossing her arms over her chest and jutting her chin out. I narrowed my eyes on her. I would’ve laughed had Jo not stood up like I was….was she jealous?!

I breathed out a laugh, “I wouldn’t tie the knot again if it were the rope to kill Hitler. Try again.”

“So you’re not seeing him?” Jo gave me a nasty look. I’ve never seen her act like this before

“No. But I will admit for some ungodly reason, he’s been showing up in my life a bit more since Saturday. But I can fill you both in on that come Thursday. Ellen, may I get a bottle of Johnny Blue please?”

Jo didn’t look like she was ready to drop it, but when her mother turned to grab the bottle, she stomped off.

I watched her walk back to the kitchen before turning back to Ellen, “What’s up with her?”

Ellen glanced back at the door jo disappeared through before turning to bag the bottle, “Well, she would want me to tell you she’s just not having a good day.”

“And the truth?”

Ellen’s lips got tight, “Dean comes in here every Sunday and Friday night, you never get to wait on him because Jo is like flies on horseshit when it comes to that man. Helps the bar keeps you so busy. But, I would guess she likes the man.” Ellen shuddered. Dean was almost ten years older than Jo. I can understand Ellen’s take on that information.

“There is NO WAY I’ve never ran into this man. I mean come on Ellen!! He comes to my bar every weekend, his dad and mine are the best of buds, he even works with all of my friends!! How is this even possible?!”

Ellen’s eyes scan my face, “My take? Fate. The world didn’t want you knowing the Winchester boys until it thought you were good and ready. There’s a story coming your way Remington, I hope you’re ready to write it properly.”

My mouth drops open, the idea Ellen just spewed, utterly ridiculous. I mean fate? Come on. Whether you believe in it or not, this situation is not the same. Just a weird turn of events that caused the chaos that is my life. It’s just certain circumstances causing me not to know Dean. That’s all. No bigger meaning to it…Right?

“I think you’ve finally lost your mind, Ellen. Fate has nothing to do with me, and probably never will.”

Ellen just hums at me, “Well, you better take that bottle back to your dad. With how hard the shops working you two, you’ll both need it by the weekend.”

I grab the bottle, and give Ellen a small wave as I head out the door, “Thanks for everything. I’ll see you Thursday night to fill you in on my adventures.”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After stopping by and putting an ad in the paper, five more hours of wrench cranking and oil dumping, I was headed home.

In the ten minutes it took to drive from the shop home, my mind was working overtime. You would think the problem about my ex husband leaving his kid would be front and center in my head. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m still upset. But I know that it’s better this way, I know Jake being in Jamesons life the way he is now is not good for anyone. I’m slowly accepting the fact that, due to my poor decisions, James and I will work around it.

No, what’s really all my mind can think about is a pair of striking green eyes. Is Ellen right? Did Dean and I never meet because…because what? Ellen was implying that Dean and I have a story together, and the reason we haven’t met before was because we weren’t ready for each other. Is that a real thing?

Whatever, I don’t plan on writing that particular story. Besides, I still have tons of unfinished chapters I need to write before I can think about a romance chapter.

I pull up to Jody’s. Tonight, I had promised her dinner. Jameson had spent the day with Alex so he was waiting inside.

Marching through the front door, I start to hollar for my boy but stop just before any noise can leave my mouth. The voices I hear in the dining room are…..

“Sam?” I walk through the doorway, and sure enough, the younger Winchester brother is sitting at Jody’s table. Not only was he sitting at Jody’s table, my son was in his lap. Laughing, giggling and looking like he was the happiest kid in the whole world. But I found myself noticing that, while James looked at Sam with so much adoration, it had nothing on the look he had given Dean.

“Hey Remi, sorry to intrude. I needed Jody to sign some papers for me and…”

“James pounced. Kid’s got a people intuition just like you and your dads.” Jody set a big casserole dish on the table. The smell strong enough to make my knees wobble and my mouth instantly salvate.

“Uh…That’s alright. Just shocked is all.”

“Mommy! I made friend!” James points to Sam and beams up at me.

“I see that.” I look at Sam, and mouth, “Are you okay with this?” to which Sam nods enthusiastically and grins at me.

“Hope you don’t mind, I invited Sam to stay for dinner.” Jody raises an eyebrow at me, silently conveying that no Dean talk will be had.

“Jody, this is your house. I’m just here for the food.” I sit down next to Sam and James hops into my lap. Alex and Claire sit across from me, arguing about god only knows. Soon dinner is in full swing.

The conversation flows easily, and I've come to find out, Sam could easily become one of my good friends. Our sarcasm and quick wit rival each other and I end up laughing until I have tears in my eyes more than once.

As Alex and Claire are clearing up the table, Jody looks toward me, “So, quite the eventful week you’ve had. Wanna tell me about it?”

I shoot her a look, signaling this story will go without a lot of details while Sam is here. But before I can begin Sam speaks up, “Yeah i really wanna hear this from your end. Dean’s version is very interesting.” He turns to me and smirks. Are all the Winchester men this smug?

I roll my eyes, “Well, we all know what happened Saturday night. Other than that, the only story I really have to tell, I don’t want to talk about quite yet. I’m not sure what you guys want to know.” I look towards James, who was vrooming his little cars all over the table.

“I heard Dean ended up over at the shop Monday night. Wanna tell us what that’s about?” Sam slings his arm on the back of my chair and leans back. Still holding that stupid smirk on his stupid face.

“Rufus. I….had a problem, and Rufus thought it would be funny to call Dean.”

“What kind of problem?” Jody was boring holes into my soul with the look she was giving me.

I take a second glance to make sure James is fully committed to his cars before sighing, “Jake came to see me. Caught me off guard in the parking lot after work.” I bite my lip. I really don’t want Sam to know about this situation, but after putting some thought into it, I will need a lawyer.

Jody scoffs, “What did he want?”

“To cut all ties..” My voice trails off. I haven’t fully recounted this conversation fully since it happened.

“What the hell does that mean?” Sam’s anger comes as a bit of a surprise.

I take a deep breath before telling them about Jake's intentions, “....and then he left.” My voice is soft, barely above a whisper.

The table is silent for a beat. Both Sam and Jody soaking in my words. Sam is the first to break the silence, “So, you need a lawyer?” his voice is taught. Almost as if he’s restraining his emotions.

“Yeah, but I don’t think I can afford you.” I smirk at him. Leave it to me to take emotional damage and turn it into a joke.

“We can talk about that later, but why did Rufus call Dean?”

I wince, “I uh, had a bit of a breakdown after Jake left. Rufus found me in the parking lot. Thought someone had attacked me.”

Silence fell over the table again. The weight of Jake's decisions hanging in the air like a thick fog. I glance at James, now battling two massive monster trucks as Alex makes commentary about the fight.

“Well, screw him. James doesn’t need any sacks of s**t in his life anyway.” Jody clasps my hand and I smile weakly at her. Slowly, the conversations shift. We talk about Alex and her school. Claire and her podcasts about true crime. Sam and the small cases he's working on. I was just telling Jody about James’ birthday party when he comes and crawls into my lap and yawns.

“You ready to go home bub?”

“No, I stay with Alex.”

I start to argue before Alex steps in, “I wouldn’t mind that at all. I thought maybe Annie and I could take him to the zoo tomorrow.”

“Alex, are you sure? You can’t spend your whole summer break looking after him. You deserve a social life too.”

“Puhlease. Alex’s social life couldn’t suffer if I tried to take a pillow and suffocate it.” Claire scoffs and rolls her eyes. I hear Sam’s chuckle come from behind me.

Alex shoots Claire some sharp daggers, “ANYWAY, don’t worry about me. Go home, sip a beer. Watch whatever you want on the TV. Annie and I will take care of James tomorrow. He’ll be ready for you tomorrow night.

I chew on my bottom lip, “You’re one hundred percent sure?”

“Yes! GO!” Alex pushes me toward the door. I hug and kiss James goodnight but he’s glued to Alex. He really does love her.

Sam and I say our goodbyes and walk to Jody’s driveway together. The silence isn’t awkward like I expected. It isn’t until we reach our cars when the silence is broken.

“You do good. I don’t know how you do it. I can’t imagine being a parent at all, but Jameson is an amazing kid. And you did that.”

I look up at Sam, “Thank you. Most days are a struggle. But we got ourselves a little village here. So, I’m not completely alone.” I try to smile, but something tells me it doesn’t fool Sam. He claps a hand on my shoulder.

“Well, I better get going. I’ll see you around Remi. Have a good night.” He gives me a small little wave and I watch as he drives down Jody's dirt driveway, I catch myself smiling. His little village might’ve just got a bit bigger.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dean

“Why the f**k is the coffee in this office always so stale?” I practically slam the coffee cup on my desk and lean back in my chair, running my hand over my face. I can’t sleep, my f*****g ribs hurt. Cass and I just spent the past hour getting everything wrapped up on the s**t for brains that hit me. They’re currently being carted off to South Dakota state prison for attempted murder of a police officer. Scumbags.

Cass c***s his head to the side, “You shouldn’t be here. Go home and get some rest. I have to call Miss Singer and update her on our progress.”

At the mention of Remi, I sit up a bit straighter, “Update her? How do you plan on doing that?”

“Well, she left her contact information with me when she gave me the report, and asked if I could let her know if we made any progression when it came to the case. Therefore I need to update her.

I hummed. Thinking about the cute blonde spitfire that had been taking up a lot of my mindspace lately. Something about her really caught my eye. Maybe it was the way she handled the accident. Her attention to detail that night was a massive help, not to mention dad had said she stayed by my side until they wouldn’t allow her into the ambulance. Or maybe it was the look in her eyes when she talked about her ex leaving jameson. She had so much fire in her eyes. Despite looking like she was about to faint, I could tell she was also ready to kill him. The way she holds herself. Word around town about her is a little harsh but I know better than to listen to Judy and the harpies talk s**t. I know there’s more to her story. Part of me wants to know, to read whatever she’s written. But the rational part of my brain knows better. At least, I’m trying to convince myself of that.

“Wait, Cass. I’ll do it. I’ll update her.”

Cass looks at me with a question on his face, “Are you sure? I really think you should go home and rest.”

I roll my eyes, “Fine, I’ll stop by Remington’s on my way home. And I’ll bask in self pity and beer just to make you feel better.”

“Please don’t bathe in beer. That would be unhygienic.” Cass furrows his eyebrows. I hold in my laughter. This guy couldn’t understand a metaphor if his life depended on it.

“Right, of course not. Hey can I get her number off of you, that way I can call her before I show up at her doorstep?”

I step into the reception area and see Kate deep in concentration about something on her computer screen.

Stepping up to the desk I decide to try and be on her good side today, “Good afternoon Park, how is your day going?” She looks up and I flash the brightest smile I can.

“What do you want, Winchester?” Damn, she saw right through my good guy act.

“What makes you think I want something?”

“That mischievous look in your eye.”

“I am not mischievous.” I gasp in mock surprise.

Rolling her eyes, “Out with it, I’m busy.”

I tug my bottom lip between my teeth. I could beat around the bush, but when has that got anyone anywhere?

“What do I need to know about Remi?”

That catches Kate’s full attention. Her gaze clashes with mine. It’s skeptical, but intrigued. She surveys my face, I’m not sure what she's looking for. I’m not even sure what she finds, but she does give me an answer.

“Walls, there's tons of them. So unless you plan on putting in some real effort, you might as well drop it.”

“And if I’m willing to put in the effort?”

Kate raises an eyebrow at me. I’m not shocked at her surprise. I normally do not hold relationships. My last one didn’t go so well. I’ve been the love em and leave em type for as long as most of this town can remember. But for some godforsaken reason, I like Remi, and I like James. So maybe being in their circle wouldn’t be so bad.

“Well, first and foremost is James. Always. Before herself, before her dad, and especially before a man.”

‘I would've guessed that.”

She eyes me again before continuing, “Jake was a grade A prick. I mean, you look the word up in the dictionary and his picture is there. He burned her pretty good when they split. I won’t tell you the story because it’s hers to tell if she wants to tell it. I’m just warning you, earning her trust will be difficult. I would suggest winning over the kid first. You win over James, and your foot is in the door to winning over Remi. But if you dare break her or Jameson’s heart, you’ll be dead before the next sunrise. Mark my words Dean Winchester, you want to play with this fire, fine. But take one wrong step, your ass is grass. Capiche?

I grinned broadly at her, “Capiche. Thanks Kate.” I wink at her and start walking to my car. My head full of the advice Kate had just given me. You win over James, your foot is in the door to winning over Remi. Smiling at the thought, I open my phone and start a new text thread to the phone number scribbled on the piece of paper I got from Cass.

Dean: Hi Remi. It’s Dean, are you at the shop?

The three dots indicating she’s responding pop up and my heart beats a little harder. Damn, I feel like a teenager again.

Remi: No, took off early. Jameson’s sick. Can I help you?

I smirk at that. Something about her resistance sparks a flame in me. I’m always battling girls off of me. Not Remington Singer though.

Dean: I have some news about the case. Thought I could stop by and talk to you about it. How’s big man? Does he need anything?

I chew on my lip as I press send. I want to make sure she knows I’d do it for him. Not for her. She doesn’t need anything as she repeatedly told me the night I crashed on her couch.

Remi: Honestly, I’m out of children's tylenol. Dad can’t leave the garage and I can’t leave him.

Dean: I’m on it. I’ll be there in 20.

Remi: Thank you.

I smile as I climb in my car and start my engine. Foot in the door, here I come.