“Monroe seems happy,” Lowell mutters.
“Why are you in a bad mood?”
“I thought we’d get to beat up someone today,” he complains, rubbing at his beard. “I got pumped for that fight. Now, I’m coming down from the whole ball of fucking nothing that happened.”
“I’d hug you, but I don’t want to. Besides, you ought to be happy things went smoothly.”
Lowell gives me an ugly smile before asking a tricky question, “Where will Needy live?”
“The Overlook, I guess. Eventually, she’ll probably be at my house with Monroe.”
“Shouldn’t she live on her own?”
“She might want to, but I suspect not. I think she’s more like Pixie’s mom, where she needs to stay close to her kids to function. Before Needy got sold off by Uncle Clive, she planned to move somewhere warmer with Monroe. They seem like a package deal.”
“How’s that gonna work with you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Seems like this thing puts you in an awkward situation,” Lowell says, just rubbing salt in my wounds.
“Monroe needed her mom. I gave her that.”
“Yeah, and I’m glad they’re together, but it’s weird. Like, Monroe came to Elko because her mom was missing or married off or whatever. That was why she felt alone. Now, she’s not alone.”
“Are you trying to make me worry?”
Lowell shrugs. “I’m trying to air out any issues that might be coming up.”
“But they're not your issues, so it feels as if you’re airing out my troubles for your entertainment.”
“Monroe is my kid. If she bails on Elko and runs off with Needy, I’ll never get to know her. That makes what happens my problem, too.”
“I guess.”
“Don’t sulk.”
“Pouting is a good look on me. All the girls say so.”
Lowell rolls his dark eyes before frowning at the sight of Needy approaching us. She shuffles along in socked feet and slides into a seat next to me at the bar top. Her face is blotchy from crying earlier with Monroe in the bathroom.
“Monroe is showering. I need a drink,” she says, asking for a cocktail. “Francis didn’t believe women should drink alcohol. I never even liked booze until someone told me I couldn’t have it.”
I allow a soft smile, hearing so much of Monroe in her mother’s voice. They’re both stubborn bulldogs who really just want to find a comfy spot to call home.
Nursing my beer, I can’t believe I’m worried about Monroe leaving Elko. She’s been into me from the first day we met. We’ve been inseparable for weeks. I got her mom out of a bad situation. Monroe loves me. Why am I questioning her loyalty?
Bad habits, I guess. I always assume people aren’t happy with me. Or they’ll change their minds at a flip of a fucking switch. Why wouldn’t she be the same?
Except I know Monroe, and I bet she’s thinking of me while she showers. I always think of her whenever I’m naked.
“I had zero interest in kids until I got that positive pregnancy test,” Needy says, breaking the silence as she sips her drink. “But then I had someone to love, and her life meant everything. When Bambi said I needed to get rid of the baby or she’d have me killed, I couldn’t chance standing up to her. It didn’t matter that I was certain Monroe was Lowell’s, and she figured it was Rooster’s. Arguing with her seemed too risky. That’s why I didn’t push things in Elko. I took the money I had saved up and ran. It’s also why I went along with Clive’s deal. For my baby, I’ll always back down and play things careful.”
“But you didn’t with the methhead who broke into your trailer,” Lowell mutters, starting shit.
Needy’s blue eyes widen. “Monroe told you about that?”
“She said you hit him with the TV since he was taking it anyway. That was risky. Just handing it over would have been safer.”
Needy gives Lowell a soft smile. “That’s not why I hit him with the TV, you big dummy. The guy had just gotten out of prison for raping a girl not much older than Monroe. When he stood in our trailer with his knife, I wasn’t thinking about TVs. I only cared about how he looked at Monroe in her pajamas.”
“Why not tell her the truth?”
“Lowell, you have a boy, right?” she asks, and he nods. “Well, girls are different. Monroe was just hitting puberty. Her body was changing, and she was getting self-conscious about it. Why explain how when that fucker looked at her, he saw a teen girl with new tits that no man ever tried out before? That’s not what anyone should tell their baby girl. I never wanted Monroe to feel as if her body might not belong to her.”
Lowell frowns as if struggling to imagine his daughter as a child. He’s only known her as a sexy bunny, community party brawler, and mouthy adult willing to give him shit. He can’t really imagine her as a child. I can’t, either, but I suspect Needy is thinking of her daughter as a kid right now. She wears a soft smile while sipping her drink.
“Monroe was always proud to have you as her dad,” Needy says, ignoring Lowell’s frown. “When people asked about her father, she would say you lived in Ohio, and you had an important job. When we were struggling in Georgia, those people would ask why you didn’t help. Monroe would give them a dirty look and tell them to mind their own business. Her father’s choices didn’t concern them. She was so confident.”
While Lowell allows a little grin, I’m smiling like a fool. All my life, I’ve felt alone. Yet, now knowing Monroe existed in the same world makes my lonely memories less painful. She was out there, waiting for me.
Needy nudges me. “Can I be honest with you?”
“I fear nothing.”
“Well, then, I wasn’t happy when Monroe told me on the phone that she was hooked up with Wheels Jessup’s son. There’s no denying your daddy was a sexy badass and could be funny, but he was also a selfish asshole. Sorry, but he was.”
“I lived with him for most of my life. So, yeah, I know he was.”
Needy smiles softly. “Of course, I understood why Monroe would be attracted to a younger Wheels. Like I said, your father was handsome and rowdy and fun. He was good in bed, too.”
“Thanks for that info,” I mutter.
“Of course, we shouldn’t compare your sexual talents, on account of how Lowell is listening. I suspect he isn’t okay with Monroe spreading for anyone.”
“No, I’m not.”
Needy snorts. “She’s twenty-one.”
“I don’t care. I don’t want Dunning fucking bunnies. Sex is gross when it’s my kids.”
“Sure, bud,” she says and then smiles at me. “I planned to talk Monroe out of falling too hard for you. Then, when we talked more while you were getting ready to help me, I realized Monroe was over the moon about you. I mean, you know that, right? I’m not ratting her out here.”
“Yeah, she worships me pretty hard.”
Needy smiles wider. “And I wasn’t okay with that, but then she used words like ‘sweet’ when describing you. Monroe said you had a good heart, and you made her feel safe. Not from danger, but just from worrying about life. You kept her calm, even when life was kicking her around. I knew right then that you weren’t like your dad. Not completely, anyway.”