Teaser Tuesday: "The Rebels"

Woohoo for Teaser Tuesday!!

This is a few pages from my current work in progress, "The Rebels." I actually hope to query a few literary agents about this one before taking the plunge and self-publishing it, so don't expect it out in print right away. It'll probably be later this year (summer time frame) if I do decide to self-pub. "The Rebels" is a New Adult Contemporary full of action and adventure, plus a little romance. As of now, this is unedited and subject to change, so don't judge it to harshly! Let me know what you think about it!

I thought about Daddy and instantly one of our arguments came to mind. “You’re making a mistake leaving this town, girl. Ain’t nothing out there but crooks. I need you here to help with the family business. Why can’t you just go to college in town like your brother did?”

“Daddy, that’s a vocational college. I don’t want to learn to weld,” I mumbled, packing my bags.

“What’s wrong with welding? Hell, you could get a job at the steel mill right across town and make good money. Besides, you’d be close and could help me with the moonshine business. Do you know how busy I’ll be when I don’t have you making our runs?”

“I don’t want to run moonshine, Daddy. I want to be a psychologist. I want to help people.”

“Who says my White Lightning don’t help people?” He grumbled, obviously offended.

I rolled my green eyes, “Daddy…”

“And you want to be a shrink? That would probably take like twenty years of school. I can’t have you gone that long. I know a man who can print you up a real nice license that will look genuine and never get you caught. You could start charging money for advice tomorrow,” he said seriously as he picked up the phone to dial.

“No, no, no!” I shrieked, yanking the phone from his fingers. “Daddy, I’m going to college whether you like it or not. I’ll only be an hour from home.”

Daddy scrunched his eyebrows up, “Is that Voss Jensen boy going to be there? Is that what this is all about? You know, I talked to Sutton Sorenson’s grandpa at the hardware store yesterday and he said that Sutton took a job at the mill.”

I took a deep breath, putting my hands on my hips as I answered. “Yes, he’ll be there. No, he’s not what this is about. And for the last time, I couldn’t care less what Sutton Sorenson does. I’m not dating him anymore and I won’t ever be again. That ship has sailed, Daddy. Anyway, once I graduate I can even afford to buy you a new fishing boat. How does that sound?”

“Your sweet talk ain’t changing my mind about all of this, Temper. What if you get up there and have an emergency? How could I get to you? Have you thought of that?” He questioned, his voice growing louder. Daddy reached up and tucked a stray string of my wayward blond hair behind my ear lovingly and then crossed his chest with his arms.

“Oh! Listen to yourself. I’ll be an hour away. One hour! I’ll be home every weekend. Besides, I can take care of myself. You taught me how to handle things on my own,” I reminded him. Daddy trained me from the time I was born to be tough, strong, unshakeable, unbreakable. He taught me to fight. He taught me to survive.

“I don’t know, Temper. I just don’t think you should go,” he grumbled as he walked out of my room.

Daddy was the one who named me. Mama wanted to call me something popular from a giant book of assorted baby names. I think she was settled on Courtney or Bethany, something like that. Daddy wanted something unique instead, something unheard of. Once I was born he told everyone in the room that I wasn’t meant for a normal name. I needed something special, something different. He supposedly said, “Look in her eyes. You can tell she has a temper! That’s what we’ll call her. My little Temper.” I would have much preferred Courtney or Bethany.

My name was a joke from the beginning though. Everyone in school called me Timid Temper, because I was sweet and shy, far from being the spitfire my daddy wanted. “I don’t care what anyone says,” he always argued. “I can see it in her eyes. She’s got something bold and stubborn about her. Yep, she’s got a temper, alright.”

I gave up trying to convince Daddy that I should leave town and go to college. I just waved goodbye from the rearview mirror. That was four years ago, before I went to college with Voss. He and I were married only a year later. Daddy wasn’t fond of that choice either.

When the economy crashed, Voss joined the United States Air Force. It didn’t take me long to find out that a bachelor’s degree in psychology amounts to little but costs a lot. Voss never graduated from college. The Air Force recruiter promised he could continue his education to get him to join but that was just a trick we shouldn’t have fallen for.

Thinking about our lifelong journey that would surely be full of struggle, lack, exhaustive work and little enjoyment must have been depressing enough to put me to sleep because my eyes fluttered closed.

A few hours later, I woke up to the sound of my world crashing around me. I’m sure the first day of the crisis was different for everyone, but for me it all started with a twenty second phone call.