“In her room.”
“In her room?! She’s a baby, Jenny. You can’t just leave her in her room alone.”
“She’s not alone. You’re here babysitting Dad.” Jenny wrapped her arms around the punk’s middle, her cheek resting against his back. “ I have a date with Joe. You can’t expect me to sacrifice my entire life and chain myself to the house like a house elf just because I have a child, Uncle Mac. That’s a little harsh.”
With a couple taps to Joe’s stomach, Jenny signaled him to take off. The motorcycle roared as it sped down the street while I stood staring after them. I spent a few indulgent seconds fantasizing about sitting my niece in time out while I ripped Joe limb from limb until he was nothing but a bloody pulp.
I rushed back inside, straight to Ame’s nursery.
My sister Heather had painted a beautiful mural of baby animals on the walls and the room had a cheerful, uplifting vibe. Usually. At the moment, it did nothing to either cheer me or uplift me.
Sweet chubby-cheeked Ame stared up from her crib with bright, curious eyes. She watched the mobile over her bed as it spun fluffy baby zoo animals around, and gummed her plump little fingers, drool dribbling down her chin and neck.
“Come here, drool-dlebug. Uncle Mac’s got you.” I scooped her into my arms and carried her back to the dining room to finish eating lunch with Warren.
One look at Ame and his face darkened. “I don’t understand where we went wrong.”
I bit back my own angry comment about my niece and tried to shrug it off nonchalantly. The man had enough on his plate. He didn’t need me badmouthing his family. “I don’t know, Warren. But I feel lucky as a pig in a mudpuddle getting to spend time cuddling this chubby little drool-dlebug.” I wiggled my finger against her ribs and she responded with a three-toothed giggle.
Warren slid his sandwich away. He’d only taken a single bite. “Hand her to me.”
“You eat. I got her.” I sat her little diapered butt on the table and took a bite of my sandwich before booping the tip of my finger to Ame’s nose.
“I am capable of holding my own fucking granddaughter, Mac. I’m not dead yet.” His hoarse growl belied his frustration at his situation. Warren was a proud man, a strong man. He’d withstood so much already, and life was still beating the shit out of him.
“You’re not going to die, asshole. Not on my watch. I forbid it. I am not putting up with my sister if anything happens to you. So, pull your head right on out of that shadowy place and eat your fucking sandwich.” I growled back at him, my wolf growl far more menacing than his human growl. “I’ll hand her over when she’s done playing with her favorite uncle.” I turned to Ame. “You want to be with Uncle Mac, don’t you? Yes, you do.”
He yanked his sandwich back and made a production of taking a huge bite. His narrowed eyes were on me, anger oozing from his pores. I didn’t care. I could take it, and I knew most of that anger wasn’t about me anyway. “There are days I’d like to kick your ass back to Ohio.”
“There are days I’d like you to shut the fuck up. Wish in one hand…” I played a tickle game with Ame. Poking my finger into the belly of her pink frilly dress and accompanying it with a squeak like she was the Pillsbury Dough Boy. It made her laugh every time. “Why does your mommy insist on dressing you like this?”
“It’s Heather’s doing. She did the same damn thing to Jenny. Dressed her up like a china doll from the day she came home from the hospital.”
A rare, sweet memory of my niece surfaced. “I remember. She was in pink lace and ruffles until she turned ten and finally learned to put her foot down.”
“I wish she’d learn to pick it back up once in a while.” Warren sighed. “My daughter’s head is not on right.”
No disagreement from me. When her family needed her most—her parents and her nine month old daughter—she was so wrapped up in her own selfishness that not only was she not a help, she was a hindrance. She treated her ailing father like a burden and hurled a disrespectful attitude at her mother—as well as everyone else within her immediate vicinity.
My own temper began to spike just thinking about it, and I looked for a way to diffuse it. “Want to see if there’s a game on TV?”
Warren laughed, the sound so rare these days that it was sweeter to my ears than a Beethoven concerto. “Hell, yeah. You’re finally becoming tolerable to have around. Thought the day would never come.”
I waited until he swallowed another bite of his sandwich before I handed Ame to him. Weariness and stress showed in his eyes. Warren was in no shape to take on the responsibilities of being a dad to a youngster again. He needed to focus his strength and energy on himself and his health. Heather needed to focus hers on her mate—and herself. Jenny was going to get a piece of my mind when I caught up to her.
“Well? You comin’ old man?” I grabbed the handles of his chair and wheeled him, with Ame on his lap, to the living room. “I think the octogenarians at the old folks home move faster than you.”
“What’s the big rush, bow-wow? In a hurry to chase your tail, or can’t wait to lick your testicles?”
3
Mel
The bell over the door rang shrilly as I entered the B&B. A young man in his late teens sitting behind the front desk offered me a friendly smile.
“Welcome to Rise and Shine Bed and Breakfast. I’m Jacob. You must be…” He scanned the computer screen in front of him. “Miss Melody Cameron.”
“Call me Mel. Nice to meet you, Jacob.”
He reached out and I slipped my hand in his for a quick shake before he stood and rounded the desk. “We’ve already got all your information, so I’ll just show you to your room. Mom put you in the Swan Suite. It’s our honeymoon suite, but when she heard that you’re performing at the Richardson-Bennett wedding, she wanted to spoil you. They’re personal friends.”
He led me down a hallway and through a set of swinging doors. “It’s pretty sweet, excuse the pun. There’s a private patio leading out onto the beach, with a jacuzzi.”
My hand flew to my heart. “Your mom is an angel from heaven.”
He snorted. “Demon from hell, maybe, but only on a good day.” Then he looked back at me with wide eyes. “Don’t tell her I said that. It was a joke.”
I patted his shoulder reassuringly. “Secret’s safe with me.”
Jacob showed me around the suite that had a spectacular view of the water.
“Well, have a pleasant stay. Breakfast is served from 6:30 to 11:00 every morning, and you’ll see Marvin shuffling around here and there. He’ll help with anything else you might need.”
Jacob paused at the door, looked over his shoulder, and winked. “Or you could ring me, since he’s like two hundred years old and I’m always available.”
Flirt.
My phone rang right as I finished unpacking my small valise.
“Hi, Ingrid. Yes, I made it safely.”
“Hello, love. Pleased to hear it. I hope you’re enjoying yourself. I’m so sorry your boyfriend is a gnarled pecker. I know as your supportive best friend, I’m not supposed to tell you that, and I do apologize, but in the interest of brutal honesty, he is a gnarly, deformed, gonorrhea-riddled, puss-dripping knob.”