“She’s all I have, Stoney. When I found out I was pregnant, for the first time since my dad died, I didn’t feel alone. Sure, I have my half-brother, but Joker is a joke. He fucking hates me, and I think he will until the end of time. She’s the only blood I have left on this planet, and the thought of you telling me to abort or—”
“I would’ve never told you to abort. It’s not my place to rule over your body, Tala. It would’ve been your decision, but I gotta admit, I’m damn glad you didn’t. She’s a precious little girl. She obviously didn’t learn shit from you.”
I roll my eyes at his slight jab. “I got really lucky with her and I know it. My point is, I couldn’t bear the idea of you taking her from me, or demanding I come down to Virginia and shack up with you. I know you, Stoney. I know you’d try to do right by her, ‘cause let’s be honest, I’m not . . . no offense Horse, but I’m not like your momma.”
Horse holds up his hands, “Hey, no offense taken.” Horse’s mom was the worst kind of deadbeat. Stoney couldn’t rely on her for shit.
“You can try to deny it, but I know that’s what you would’ve done.” I tell Stoney, and he nods.
“Yeah, I would’ve. We coulda made one damn strong alliance, with a kid, marriage, and all.”
“Don’t we already have one? Minus the marriage, obviously.”
Stoney nods. “I suppose you’re right.”
“Destiny is living proof you and I can stop being so damn stubborn and make some things work. I just . . . I hope you won’t try to take her away from me. She’s my entire fuckin’ world, Stoney. I can’t lose her, and I won’t lose her. I hope you’ll respect that decision, but I’m not going to stand by and let you rip her from my life. I’m not Horse’s deadbeat momma. I’m more than capable of taking care of our daughter.”
Stoney cocks a brow, “Tell me again why she calls Cowboy her daddy?”
I crane my neck to the side a bit, “Because he is. He’s the man who reads her bedtime stories, who takes her a couple blocks away for a cuppie cake. He kills the monsters under her bed and watches those annoying little cartoons that would make you wanna gouge your eyes out. He is her daddy, and you’re her father. If you agree not to be a bastard and try to take her from me, I have a proposition.”
“Which is? I don’t make a deal without hearing what’s comin’ my way, sweetheart. You should know that.” Stoney chuckles.
“Destiny will live with me full-time. Cowboy will be her daddy, and you’ll be her father. You’ll get her for the summers when she’s old enough, and on holidays. We can alternate holidays if you’d like. This way she can experience life with both of her families.”
“I . . . I think that’d be good, but I gotta talk to Rachel about it.”
“Rachel?” Who the fuck is Rachel?
“My ol’ lady. My woman.”
I stare at him blankly, “Let me get this straight, someone willingly wants to be with you?”
“Sweetie, even you wanted to be with me for one night. What’s so hard to believe?” Stoney cackles, and I’m not tryin’ to get ahead of myself, but I have a really good feeling that we can get through this somehow. Maybe it doesn’t have to be dramatic and fueled with awful things being said about the other. Maybe, just maybe, we can get out of this like adults.
Chapter Nine
If it’s right, it happens. The main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away
~ John Steinbeck
Cowboy
She is going to kill me.
“You know what would be the coolest names ever?!” Iris giggles as she holds Destiny’s hand.
“No, what?!” Destiny asks her, eyes bright and filled with happiness, but who wouldn’t be happy when she just got three of the oldest, decrepit little things at the shelter?
“You could name them Blossom, Buttercup, and Bubbles, like The Powerpuff Girls. They’re three girls who stick together and fight evil. I’ll have to grab some Blu-ray discs so we can watch some episodes of the cartoon.”
“Ooo yay!” Destiny claps her hands together.
“You realize two of those half-dead things are boys, right?” Mug shakes his head.
“Don’t be a meanie, Mug!” Destiny chastises him, getting a good laugh out of us all. She sure knows when to chime in and come in with that much needed comic relief.
“I’m not, babycakes. Your momma is just gonna kill your daddy. Comin’ home with three cats. I mean, shoot.”
“Aren’t you the one who signed us up as foster parents for the older cats?” Iris politely asks him, sticking her tongue out a bit.
“That one chick in there really got me thinkin’. These poor things have been out on the streets, humans discardin’ them like they meant nothin’. It’s fucked up. We have the room, so why not help?”
Iris keeps her eyes on Mug a little longer than she normally does, and I swear I see a little sparkle in her eye. She might have a crush on the man, and I think I’m right about it.
One of the cats starts meowing just as we walk in through the garage and up into the bar. Meanwhile, we walk into a full house, including Tala. She stares for a few seconds and blinks her eyes over and over again. “Am I losing my mind, or do you have three cat carriers?”
“Momma! Meet Blossom, Buttercup, and Bubbles!” Destiny jumps up and down, showing her just how excited she is. Meanwhile, one of the cats meow. It kinda sounds like two rusty knives rubbing together.
“Is that one okay?” Tala looks disgusted at the sound. I have no doubt she’s seriously worried.
“Yeah, they’re just older cats. I think one of them is seventeen.”
“You brought home a seventeen-year old cat?!” Tala widens her eyes.
I nod, “Yeah, they were gonna get evicted, babe.”
“Babe, huh?” Ricochet teases from the other side of the room.
“Did you two . . . get together?” Gold questions with a smirk.
“I dunno. Why don’t you ask your prez,” I dodge the question, waiting to see how she answers.
Tala looks around the room, “Cowboy has stepped down as the Prez of Calgary. In the meantime, his VP will be the interim Prez there. He’s asked to transfer here as a full patch member. We won’t have a vote until our next meeting, but I figure since y’all are being so damn nosey I could give you some details on what’s going on.”
“We don’t need a damn vote, Boss!” Chuckles calls out from the back of the bar.
“Yeah, fuck that shit. Cowboy is one of us,” Hoodrat adds.
“Agreed. We don’t need no vote, Prez.” Devi speaks up.
“What she said,” Abyss comments.
“Same,” Venom pipes up.
Omen snickers from the corner of the room, “I think you know where I stand.”
“He’s one of us, Boss. C’mon now,” Muffler tells me, and we have pretty much everyone’s opinions. Hell, even Devi spoke up and she’s a prospect.
“Now are you gonna answer the question or keep deflecting?” Gold asks, cocking a brow.