Snakes Among Sweet Flowers by Jason Huffman-Black

been rained on the night before. Why were these people being so nice to him? He’d almost like it better if everyone treated him like Jackson did. It would definitely feel more familiar, and it wouldn’t bring all this crazy guilt with it. And how could they afford to feed him if they had just lost all their money? Cam glanced over at Jackson, who was frowning deeply. The good officer didn’t seem to want him to go to dinner with Ida and Charles. Well, didn’t that just cinch it?
    “I’d be honored, ma’am. What time and where do you want me?” Cam smiled at Jackson as he answered.

Chapter 8
     
     
    “BUT, IDA, that man may be the one that has your wallet. You know that, right?” Jackson had followed Charles and Ida home when they’d left Camden Sanders’s house and now paced around their living room as the pair watched from their perches on the couch. He felt compelled to save them from Camden, who seemed to be seducing everyone in the town. At times, Jackson felt drawn to him as well, and didn’t that just piss him all to hell.
    “Jackson, honey, my mind isn’t going… yet,” Ida said with a smile. “And you’ve told me he’s been to prison. But he moved out here all on his own.”
    “Moving doesn’t change a man,” Jackson pointed out. He didn’t like the idea of the older couple hosting Camden Sanders in their house alone. He’d begged to be invited too, just to make sure all went well, but Ida had refused.
    “Sweetheart, he bought a house here. He’s fixing it up. That means he wants a home, that he plans to stay. Change doesn’t come all at once. Sometimes you want to change long before you become who you want to be. But nobody can change if they aren’t allowed to, if everyone still expects you to be all the things you once was.”
    “Ida, I-I’m not a judgmental man. I try to be fair.” Jackson was trying to explain but couldn’t seem to get it across.
    “No, Jackson. You are a good man and a fair man. But you have only ever had to deal with the same people in this little town. You already know what every one of us is going to do before we do it. But now you’ve been dealt a wild card. That’s what Camden Sanders is. You can’t predict him like you can everybody else.” She stared at Jackson for a moment, shook her finger. “Now… he’s coming to dinner and you are going to go about your business and stop worrying about Charles and me.”
    Charles put his hand on Ida’s and nodded at Jackson in solidarity.
    “Ida, I don’t mean to—” Jackson started.
    “No more, honey. It’s all going to be fine. You’ll see.” Ida led Jackson toward the door. “It’s time for our afternoon nap, so if you don’t mind….”
    “Of course not.” He nodded back to Charles and stepped out onto the porch. “Y’all have a nice nap.”
     
     
    JACKSON SLAMMED his car door and then huffed, staring out at the street from where he sat in front of the Evans residence. Was he being unfair to Camden Sanders? Expecting him to be what his record said he was, instead of keeping an open mind? Or was the man so slimy he was now making even Jackson question his gut instincts?
    Jackson cranked the car and pulled away from the curb, his mind in a whirl.
    It took him no time before he’d pulled into a narrow driveway and waited for the door of the one-car attached garage to slowly trundle open. His house was small, what most people called a starter home, and even that was more than he really needed. But it had been a good buy and his dad had encouraged him to invest in a home instead of throwing his money away renting.
    He entered the kitchen through the garage door and tossed his keys on the counter, then opened the refrigerator to grab a beer. He twisted off the cap and took a healthy swig before leaning back in to collect the fixings for a sandwich. Once his meal was made, completed with a handful of Barbecue Lay’s chips, he dropped onto one of the stools next to the island and pulled out