“That man in there lived with me and my mother. It should be me in there talking to him,” Patrice said, running her fork through her eggs, absently.
Gabe wasn’t sure if it was going to piss her off more or not, but he was compelled to defend Blackheart, again. “I know he’s a little hard to take sometimes...but, I can promise you that everything he’s doing here is coming from his heart.”
She rolled her eyes. “He’s so damned pushy, like a big Harley and ten thousand dollars’ worth of tattoos make him king of the fucking world.” Gabe nearly choked on his coffee, laughing. Patrice waited until he’d gotten control of himself and said, “I don’t know what’s funny about that, it’s true.”
“Yeah, babe, it is,” he said, trying to bite the inside of his lip to keep from smiling.
“But?”
He put his fork down and cleared his throat. “Well, don’t shoot the messenger, okay?” She cocked an eyebrow and, less sure of the damage she’d do than the alligator he’d recently tangled with, he said, “You’re a lot like him.”
She scoffed at that. “I’m like him? I’m pushy and I think the whole world revolves around me?”
“I didn’t mean that. See, you look at Blackheart and see pushy, but I look at him and see a man who just has this amazing way of always getting things done. I mean, you and I both know he could have just walked away from all of this. He’s running two businesses, he’s a busy guy...” Another eyebrow went up and Gabe held up his palms. “I’m not saying this isn’t as important as all of that, I’m just saying that for him to put what he needs to do back home on hold to come out here and do this...for you, babe, I think that kind of goes far to proving he doesn’t believe the world revolves around him. Do you know that he gives out free food to the people back in the basin where he grew up, every week? He never goes to church anymore, as far as I know...but a few years ago there was a fire at our parish church, the one Miss Sally and a lot of the guys’ families goes to every Sunday. They lost everything, but within three months it was rebuilt, better than ever. I don’t have any proof, it’s just hearsay, but I believe Blackheart paid for all of that. People see this big, tatted-up, rough-looking guy on a Harley when they look at him, but I know for a fact that underneath all of that, he’s got a big heart. I’m a living, breathing example of someone who wouldn’t have made it this far without him...and so are my Paw Paw and Maw Maw. My paw paid the mortgage on the house they live in every month without fail. After he died, it was magically paid off. The bank wouldn’t tell my Paw Paw who paid it...but there was no one else, babe. It was him.”
Patrice’s eyes had softened as he was talking. When he finished, she picked up her water and took a long drink, looked back over across the street and said, “Well, I guess unless you’re Satan, nobody’s all bad.” Gabe smiled at that and went back to eating his biscuits and gravy. Patrice finally took a bite of her eggs and although she kept her eyes out the window and on the business across the street, she at least looked more relaxed, like maybe she was at last willing to give Blackheart the benefit of the doubt.
17
Patrice stood up as soon as she saw Blackheart come out the door of the building across the street. Gabe thought she was going to race out the door herself, but something stopped her and she suddenly froze. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” she said, not taking her eyes off the men now crossing the street. “He’s bringing that guy with him...that asshole who didn’t even bother to show up when my mom died.”
Gabe took a deep breath, left a fifty on the table and, as he struggled to his feet, held out his hand. Patrice took it and gave it a little squeeze. He liked that she was beginning to seem to draw strength from his presence. He already knew he was drawing strength from hers. By the time they got out front, Blackheart and the tall man were there, and the man’s green eyes were on Patrice. After a few seconds he smiled and said, “Wow...when you were little I used to think you looked a little like your mom...” He looked from her to Blackheart then and said, “But damn.”
Patrice was frowning at him and with a smile playing at his lips Blackheart said, “Patrice, this is...” Before he finished she said:
“I know who you are. What I want to know is why you deserted her? She died all alone and then you couldn’t even be bothered to take a six-hour flight out to be with her when they put her in the ground?”
The green-eyed man didn’t look taken aback by her anger and Gabe wondered if Blackheart had warned him, or if he felt guilty enough already that he was expecting it. Softly he said, “I’m sorry, Patrice. I’m not going to stand here and make excuses. I’m just sorry. Blackheart told me you grew up not knowing much about her and that breaks my heart. You were her world. There was nothing in this life she adored more than you. She was a good woman, and an even better mother, and you deserved to know about her.” He reached into his pocket and came out with a key ring. Patrice watched, curiously as he took a small key off the ring and held it out in her direction.
“What is that?”
“It’s the key to a storage facility in Camden. I’ve given Blackheart the address. I’ve had it for over twenty-five years. It’s filled with your mother’s things...your things now, if you want them.”
Patrice looked at the key for a long time and then finally, with a shaky hand, she reached out and took it. Gabe watched her clutch it hard in her hand, and he wondered...and hoped...that having some things that belonged to her mother would go far to fill the void she had since she’d found out about everything. There was a long, awkward silence before the man said, “She’d be proud of the way you’ve grown up. Blackheart tells me you’re a nurse now; she would have loved that.” He nodded then and when Patrice still didn’t respond, he held his hand out to Blackheart and Blackheart shook it. He turned to leave and that was when Patrice whispered, “Why? Please, just tell me why you didn’t care enough to go out there when she died...to find out what happened to me.”
The man turned back to her and Gabe could see the tears swimming in his green eyes as he said, “Because I was young and stupid. I was juggling two lives and when Kasey died I lost one very important one, but if I had gone out there and admitted to that, I would have lost everything. I wish my explanation sounded less horrible and selfish, but that’s the truth, anyway. I’m sorry, Patrice.” He didn’t wait for her to respond to that, but judging by the look on her face, that was probably a good thing. He gave another nod to Blackheart and headed back to his office. Blackheart waited several seconds and then said:
“It seems to me like he’s telling the truth when he told me he has no idea who, if anyone, would have wanted to hurt her. There’s an inn in the town where that storage is, and she worked there for a bit. Paul called the owners for me and they’re expecting us in about two hours.”
Patrice looked up at him then. “Us?”
Blackheart nodded. “Yeah, you and me.” Gabe felt her grip on his hand tighten and as Blackheart climbed on his bike alongside Lowlife and Le Pirate she whispered: