Wild Turkey Estates Pt. 05

Just Get the Jeep.

For the past few days, Carina had been absentmindedly obedient in everything she did. She spoke very few words, broke no rules, and made little to no eye contact. Matt had watched her closely and when he wasn't around, he had Esme keep an eye on her. Outside of work and meals, Carina could only be found at the threshold of her dollhouse.

"Carrie, honey," Esme's melodic twang came from the doorway but didn't come in, "are you alright?"

All Carina did was look up as Esme, force a smile, and nod.

"Use your words, honey," Matt had told Esme not to allow Carina to just gesture for the things she wanted or use nods and headshakes as viable answers. So, Esme followed Matt's directions and usually requested words of Little Carrie.

"I'm fine. Thank you," Carina's words but a whisper, "Esme?"

The older woman stopped to look at her, Esme's brows arched in concern.

"Could you please shut the door?" Carina's voice still a whisper. Esme nodded and shut the door behind her before stalking downstairs to Matt's office.

Matt sat at his large desk, chair facing the bay window that had an expansive view of a mountainscape. A scene most would only ever see on postcards or calendars and here it was Matt's front yard.

"Matthew David!" Matt nearly came out of his skin at the sound of Esme's indignant voice. He turned to see her there, arms crossed and face grim. This conversation wasn't going to end well for him.

"Christ Almighty, Esme," he looked at her, "is there a portion of my property on fire?"

Esme didn't laugh. Shit, this was bad.

"What did you do to that girl Matthew?" Esme stood waiting.

"Still with the full name," Matt grimaced, "so I'm in deep shit. Good to know."

"I've got no time for this Matthew David, now out with it," there were very few people on this earth who could get away with talking to him like that and walking away without a few bullet holes riddling their middle section.

"I might have made an insensitive comment the other day during punishment," Matt picked up an empty .50 caliber round a friend of his had given him and moved it between fingers.

"Whatever it is you THINK you may have said," Esme's face anger flushing her cheeks, "has probably got more to do with that you DID with that gentleman the other night and LESS to do with the nonsense that falls outta your mouth." Now her hands were planted firmly on her hips.

"Now, look," he got stuck for a minute as all of the pieces began to fall into place, "Since when did you start caring so much about the littles that come through this house?"

"Since now," Esme shook her head at him, "You know something, Matthew Jensen, for a smart man, you do some sincerely dumb shit." And with that Esme stormed out, slamming the door to his office behind her.

Matt sat stunned and slightly chided, not only at his on realization but at what just happened, "Well, I'll be damned. The woman knows a swear word."

***

Dressed in light blue overalls, a purple thermal shirt, teal converse, and her hair in what had become her signature braid, Carina sat with her face braced in one hand and her other tucked under a thigh. Matt had noticed that she was even less for words this morning than usual. Even when Esme had placed a plate of silver dollar pancakes in front of her, Carina hadn't bothered with a smile.

"Carrie," Matt called for her attention. She let her hand fall while turning to look at him, still not a word, her face expressionless.

"Are you upset?" he questioned eyes still on the road.

"You called me Carrie," that had almost come out as a question.

"Isn't that your name little one?" a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Carrie nodded, "But you usually call me Carina."

"That's because you're usually in trouble," Matt chuckled, Carina let out a minor smile.

He made a right turn into a dealership filled with SUVs, trucks, and Jeeps, not a single car graced the lot. He pulled into a parking spot near the very front of the newly renovated glass building. She noted he had a habit of needing to be first in line and closest to the door.

He put the truck in park, removed the keys from the ignition, and turned to her, "Well. The way I see it you're not here to be Carina. Carrie is the 8yr old running around my house and who I had a dollhouse made for." Matt's eyes searched hers.

Carina looked back at him with a pained look.

"The only time you'll probably ever hear me call you Carina again is if you're in trouble and even then, I'll probably holler Carina Michelle if you're in serious trouble." He let his left hand linger on the steering wheel. He tried to reassure her

or maybe he was reassuring himself.

"Now. You can have your pick of any vehicle you want on this lot," he gestured with the hand propped up on the wheel, "and as I'm sure you've noticed there are no cars here. And with good reason."

She nodded, "What if they don't have a color I like?"

"Then is can be ordered and delivered to the house. Well, the end of Gravel Rd that is," he laughed. Carina smiled brightly; she was coming back to him.

Matt got out and walked to her side of the truck to open the door for her. His boots clicked against the asphalt and within minutes there was a salesman there to greet them.

"Mr. Jensen," a man in a black polo and khakis stuck out his hand, "pleasure to see you again. Here to trade in your truck?"

"Nothin' wrong with my truck Greg," he laughed at the man's poor attempted to get him to buy another truck.

"Alright," Greg smiled reluctantly, "what can I do you for then?"

"Well, I'm obviously here to buy a damn car so don't look so upset, yer still gettin my money," Matt laughed at how quickly Greg folded like a cheap suit at the prospect of losing a commission of this size.

"This lovely young lady here is, Carrie," he wrapped an arm around her waist securing her to him and tucking her under his arm, "she needs a vehicle that's going to get her up my driveway."

Carina's eyes moved from Matt's adoring face to the dollar signs in Greg's eyes.

"Well, hello there," Greg addressed her like a little. This made Carina both uncomfortable and jealous, who else had Matt brought here and gifted a vehicle.

Matt noticed the dark look cross her face.

"Hey pretty girl," Matt tilted her chin up with his free hand so that she was making eye contact with him, "only you."

It was like he had read her mind. Carina relaxed into him and Matt was glad she was beginning to relax again. Maybe she'd get a little mouthy with him later, all puns intended.

"Greg," Matt sensed Carina's coiling into a cobra strike, "you can address her like a normal human. Overalls don't make a person stupid."

"Ah, right," Greg stood and clapped his hands together trying to act as though he hadn't just made a total ass of himself, "well, what are you looking for then?"

"That must be his form of apologizing," Carina mumbled. Normally Matt would've corrected that but instead, he just laughed, Greg had earned it. Besides, he didn't want to tip the scales and risk the chance of Carina shutting him out again.

"Go on now," Matt nodded towards the vehicles, guiding her out with his hand at the small of her back, "Get what you want."

After about four hours of looking Carina still couldn't make up her mind, sliding her bangle up and down her wrist. Matt was beginning to lose his patience and so was Greg, when Matt noticed she kept glancing over her shoulder at a teal Rubicon.

"That what you want?" Matt uncrossed his arms and tucked his hands in his pockets.

"Is it a stick?" she asked Greg.

"I believe so, lemme go get the keys real quick and you can check it out," Greg left them and jogged into the sales area.

"You know," Matt leaned down to kiss the top of her head, "you could've just got the damn Jeep two hours ago when it first caught your eye."

"I didn't want to ask," she buried her face into his chest. God, she loved his smell, a clean earthy mush to him.

"And why not?" Matt seemed confused.

"Because it's a fifty thousand-dollar vehicle," the murmured into his shirt.

Matt laughed out loud, "That's it?"

Carina pulled back and looked confused.

"Little One, I put more than twice that in your account every month," Matt grinned widely.

Carina's eyes grew wide.

"I take it you haven't been meeting with Andrew like I've been askin you to?" Matt still jovial as Carina shook her head no.

"Here are the keys," Greg was interrupted breathlessly from the jog back.

"Don't hand'em to me. Hand'em to her, I'm not drivin that thing, I know you see my truck parked over there," Matt was still smiling but it wasn't a smile at the same time.

Carina smiled but hers was a real one.