Thornhill Road (Love Me Tender)

Chapter Twenty

Mustang

Four Days Later

He stood in the driveway, leaning against his Road King, arms folded across his chest as he thought back over the last few days. It had been a whirlwind, but at least most of the physical labor was behind them. Now, him, his ol’ lady, and his girl could focus on settling.

It was early Monday morning when the cops knocked on his door to make the notification regarding Trix. Mustang waited until MK woke on her own before he broke the news.

It had been his call, but he wasn’t heartless.

He knew what it was like to lose the only mother he’d ever known, and he knew—regardless of the circumstances—MK would feel a similar loss. She was still young. She couldn’t fully wrap her head around the concept of death, but she had her moments of grief, moments he let her have. He didn’t regret his decision. He was grateful his daughter was alive to feel anything at all, even if that was sadness for a woman he knew didn’t deserve her tears.

Mustang was certain his MK would be alright—especially because now she had Tess, too.

His backup. His partner. His ol’ lady.

In spite of everything they had going on, she planned on taking his princess to get her first pedicure in a couple of days.

Fuck, but he loved that woman.

He’d known since the moment he’d seen Tess take MK’s hand in her own, she was exactly the kind of mother-figure his daughter deserved to have in her life.

Tuesday they started packing up her townhouse. Winnie helped.

When he decided they were taking too long, Mustang rallied a couple of his brothers to help finish the job while Tess was at work on Wednesday. By Thursday, all her shit was in his garage. This meant his truck and his hog were in the driveway.

His hog didn’t belong in the driveway.

That morning, he’d told Tess she had a week to figure out what she wanted to keep and then the rest had to go.

It had been a hell of a few days, but it had all been worth the hassle.

They would settle. It would take some time, but they’d get there. Together.

That night, Winnie was at the house with Otto and MK. She planned on staying until he got home from the bar. Mustang would take Otto home the next morning, after Tess made her banana pancakes for the kids before she crashed.

Mustang had been at the bar until about fifteen minutes ago. Business was still kicking their asses, and he hated to leave, but he had something to do. It wouldn’t take long.

As he waited for Tess to turn down Thornhill Road, he hoped she wasn’t running behind.

He hadn’t told her he was coming.

Five minutes later, he saw her headlights signaling her approach.

He didn’t move as she pulled into the driveway next to him, killed the engine, and stepped out of her car, patiently waiting for his moment.

“Hi, babe,” she said, surprise evident in her tone. “What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”

“Got somethin’ to say,” he muttered.

She took a step closer, eyeing him with curiosity. “Okay.”

“Not to you, baby.”

She gasped softly as he uncrossed his arms and stood upright, headed for the front door.

“Oh, my gosh. Uh—wait,” she stammered, hurrying after him. “Wait, I have a key.”

He stood out of her way, allowing her to free the locks.

“He might not be awake. It’s hit or miss lately, especially at night,” she warned him.

“I’m here now. If he’s asleep, we’ll wake his ass up.”

She knit her eyebrows together as she looked up at him, and he could tell she wasn’t thrilled by this idea. She nodded anyway before pushing open the door.

“Ed? Are you awake?” she called softly. “It’s Tess.”

“The pain is…”

Ed’s familiar yet aging voice trailed off when he saw Mustang enter the room behind Tess. For a moment, all he could do was stare. Mustang took him in, the withering man on his deathbed, then glanced around the room. Tess always described the house as sad and empty. That’s exactly what it was, but Mustang wasn’t caught off guard by this. He knew the moment his mother died, the house was destined to be nothing but sad and empty.

“Sully?”

Mustang looked back at the man who’d given him his eyes and got on with saying what he came to say.

“Not here for you. Here for her,” he said, nodding toward Tess. “The best thing you ever did for me was die. It brought Tess to you and then to me. Aside from my little girl, nothin’ matters to me more than this woman.

“She didn’t want you dyin’ alone. She’s good like that. Better than me. Can’t give her what she wants—not when it comes to you. But I can give her this. You get to see me one more time. See how I turned out. Fuck of a lot better than you— in spite of you.”

Ed’s eyes grew laden with tears, but Mustang was not moved.

“I’m sorry, son,” he whispered.

Mustang stared at him a minute longer, wondering if he believed him. Then he realized it didn’t matter whether he did or didn’t—Mustang had no intention of forgiving him.

Without another word, he turned toward Tess, pressed a kiss into her hair, then took his leave. It wasn’t much, but he’d given all he had to spare to that man, and he’d done it just in time.

The next day, in a sad, empty house, Edmond Thomas died alone.