Tonight, I’m thankful the truck is still broken down.
Because if it weren’t, I might be tempted to go berserker, and that wouldn’t turn out any better than running away. So I let my anger speak, and allow my revenge fantasies to pop off in my head through a haze of red.
I question calling Dad again, but I know he can’t do more than Grady.
Actually...
Dad wouldn’t even be able to help as much as Grady is.
Not when his contacts are official, and if the Fosses have minions like Bordell from the state helping them, there’s no telling how deep this goes.
I’m just more thankful than ever that I broke down at the Purple Bobcat, and not somewhere else.
That was Fate looking me dead in the eye and smiling.
Now, I just have to hope my luck holds and brings an end to this mess for everyone involved.
The next morning, after sleeping in short fits, I check on Bruce before returning to the house to cook breakfast. Grady’s up, sitting at the table with a bowl of cereal and a steaming mug of coffee.
His bearish presence makes me grin. I think he’s smiling back with those eyes full of mahogany shadows.
“I was only joking about the food poisoning, ya know.”
“I know, but I don’t expect you to cook every meal. Aunt Faye never cooked breakfast. That’s always been my job. She’d usually come over in the afternoons, to be here when the girls got off the bus, and she’d head home when I got back from the bar. If it was early enough, she’d leave before dinner, or if it was too late or too cold, she’d stay over till morning.”
The girls told me most of that, too.
I walk over and pour a cup of coffee.
“She’s been doing that for what, years? Spending her free time looking after you guys?”
“Yep, we’re her main family now. Uncle James died while I was in the Army, and my brother moved out of Dallas years ago. Faye’s kids, two boys and a girl, are all grown with families now, and they also live out of state. So Aunt Faye’s happy as hell to get her time in with the girls.”
“So you normally work at the bar every day?” I ask, taking a slurp off my cup. “I wish this time off was actually relaxing for you.”
He gives me a wry smile.
“Nah, I try to duck out on weekends unless there’s a big event going on or something. I try to leave by ten most nights, too, just so Aunt Faye can get home before it’s too late.” He smiles thoughtfully. “Lucky for me, my latest batch of hires is holding up pretty well. Takes the load off my shoulders, and it might also have something to do with folks thinking the Bobcat’s where all the big adventures begin. The young folks want to be there at ground zero for the excitement.”
“Adventures?” I blink.
“For sure. A lot of the ruckus we’ve had in Dallas the last couple years started at my bar. First with Ridge and his now-wife, Grace. She came blowing in one night with her sick father and these scumbags in hot pursuit. Then there was Faulk, who crossed a real nasty group of folks when he was in the FBI. They came sniffing around after him, and I was careful to tip him off. Even old man Reed used to step in for a drink and a little schemin’ with Drake, back when my buddy was just his bodyguard instead of a cop.” Grady kicks back in his chair, slurping his coffee, his eyes somewhere else. “Guess it’s my turn to get mixed up in the thick of it, seeing how Faulk wound up settled down with his ballerina.”
I’m about to ask him more about the crazy happenings he’s seen when little feet come plowing into the room.
The girls are at his side in seconds, greeting him with a big group hug.
“Dad! We got a text from Aunt Faye. She’s asking about our cool new nanny. What should we tell her?” Avery grins, a couple cute little gaps in her mouth from missing baby teeth.
We talk it over briefly.
Grady reminds them not to mention Bruce in any way, shape, or form.
I happily agree to a selfie with the duo, so they can send it back to her, and listen to the long list of things Faye wanted to pass along about the house, and most importantly, the freezer full of meals and casseroles that just need to be thawed and heated.
Hey, if it makes my job easier...
After checking out the freezer, with their help, we sit down at the table and eat cereal with Grady. The girls are full of suggestions for the day ahead—which all include Bruce.
Grady lays down the law and tells them they can make two visits per day, and only with both of us present, if they’ll stop pestering him right now.
“Okay, okay!” they grudgingly agree.
Later, Faulk drops by to see the footage from last night. He disappears downstairs with Grady while I try not to think about it.
He says it’ll be a while before he hears back from his people on how or what we’re going to do.
Not cool.
It’s disappointing, sure, but I get that we can’t just rush in guns blazing. I’d already made a snap decision the night I took off with Bruce, and if it wasn’t for Grady, who knows what would’ve happened to us.
That afternoon, I can sense him getting restless, like he’s spent just too much time cooped up at home and out of his element.
“Go on to the bar,” I tell him, sliding my fingers lightly over his hairy, inked forearm before I even realize it. “I’ll stay here and keep an eye on them. Absolutely no Bruce time without you. Pinky swear?”
He snorts as I hold up my little finger and then grasps it with his.
By the time we’re done giving it a good shake, we’re both laughing.
I’m sure he sees I’m redder than a radioactive cranberry when I snatch my hand back, too.
He leaves us with the house to ourselves and an easy dinner hours later.
The girls decide they want a lasagna their great aunt left behind, so yay for Grady not worrying about me poisoning his girls while he’s gone.
This little routine, easy and strangely natural, sets the pattern for the next week or so.
The girls and I find plenty of projects to stay busy—and marvelously Bruce-free—while Grady spends afternoons and early evenings at the bar.
He’s always home in time to put them to bed, and he keeps me updated on the latest news from Faulk.
It’s a quiet, peaceful break in the storm.
And I’d be a fool to trust it one freaking bit.
Every day that passes leaves me wound up, wondering and waiting for the next shoe to drop like a karate kick to my head.
10
Tiger Lilies (Grady)
The rest of the guys are already at Weston’s garage when I pull in.
Willow stayed home with the girls and thinks I’m just checking on her truck. No denying she’s the best make-believe nanny a man could hope for.
Truthfully, I’m after an update on her ride, but I’m also ready for a strategy jam with every major badass who calls this town home.
Faulk with his emerald-green eyes flashing and focused. He’s only slightly smaller than me and bowed up like an angry porcupine in a flannel shirt, leaning against one of Weston’s half-constructed cars for the next demo derby. My friend is busy shooting the shit with another man I recognize like the back of my hand.
Ridge Barnet isn’t far behind him, a tough-as-nails heart behind his movie-star perfect face and otherworldly blue eyes. I think the nod we always greet each other with means something more now that he’s a daddy, one more thing we have in common.