Tripp: Ride With Me Series

6. Tripp

My mamaalways said to never go anywhere empty handed, so here I was, climbing out of my truck with two bags of breakfast food.

I’d stayed away as long as I could, leaving Casey to rest yesterday, but now, we needed answers. Phoenix climbed out of the Jeep, his gaze taking in the house and its surroundings.

“Let me carry that, old man. You do the knocking.” He smirked.

“Don’t make me leave you in the truck.”

He chuckled, taking the bags.

Kids, they could be assholes sometimes.

“Are you sure you want me here?” he asked seriously as we approached the porch steps.

“Yes. For one, I can’t legally work in this state. Second, there’s a reason she wouldn’t tell us what she found. Why climb a tree like that in the first place? Why not use a flashlight; so much of that damn story has me scratching my head. This math ain’t mathing.”

“Pops, you know, we’ve all been in similar situations. You’re pinned down for one reason or another. You survive, and everything else just falls into place.”

“We have been there, done that. Not her. She’s not trained for that.”

I knocked on the door, waiting; wanting to see her. To make sure she was okay. I had to knock a second time before the door opened.

“Hey, come in,” Scooter said, backing away from the door. “Have a seat, we’ll be right there. There was an accident?—”

“Accident?” I moved into the house, calling out for Casey. “Casey, where are you? Casey!”

I found her a moment later, bending over a changing table. The smell took a minute to register and when it did, I took a step backwards.

“As I was saying, there was an accidental poop-a-palooza. We were busy.”

Phoenix barked out a laugh from the other room. See, kids could be assholes.

“Man, I remember those days. Remember when Phoenix had one of those and decided to paint his crib and the wall? His mom was so mad she sent me a letter while we were in Iraq. I could tell her disgust and horror in the writing alone.” I chuckled.

I stepped into the room and grabbed the pack of Lysol wipes off the dresser. The yellow lid was already open, so I went to work on the crib railing. A few of the spindles had been painted in spots.

“You don’t?—”

“It’s fine, I’ve got it.” I tried to reassure her that I was okay doing this. I needed the time to think. I didn’t know yet how I wanted to approach her about everything going on in my head. Other than the case she was working on; that I had a handle on.

Phoenix had told me yesterday of his suspicion that her daughter was my child. He saw himself in the little girl. It was a possibility. We’d spent a night together. She’d been upset. Her asshole of a husband had laid hands on her.

The thought of him, or anyone, putting their hands on her—I had to take a deep breath to calm myself. That was a big mistake. I gagged at the sudden stench of shit that rolled through my senses.

“What are you feeding this kid?” I questioned, chuckling.

“Nothing that smells like this, I can assure you that.” She wrinkled her nose as the little one babbled. “Right, princess poopy butt?” She stood the little one up on the changing table so she could finish getting her dressed.

A phone rang in another room. Scooter disappeared then came back growling.

“AJ needs me. Seems Trace and Skip have been called out on a case.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. I hurt my ankle; it’s not that serious.”

“Go on, Scooter, Phoenix and I can help out if need be.”

“You sure, man?”

“Yes. I need to talk to Casey about this case of hers anyway. We will be here for a while.”

“Okay. If you need me, just holler. I can be home in less than five minutes.”

“Don’t make me throw this shitty diaper at your head.”

“Brat.”

“Love you, too,” she called out as he departed.

“Back at you!”

Ten minutes later, I had the crib clean. “I think you’re going to need more wipes.”

“There are some in the bathroom closet. Top shelf.” She set the little girl on the floor, and she toddled off. Phoenix was right. She had long curly hair. It was a dark blonde, almost brown.

On my way out of the room, I watched them move toward the living area. Lord, grant me the strength I’d need today.

“Mama.”

“I’m right here, Penny. Do you want cereal?”

“Boosbays!”

I watched in fascination as Penny waddled to the fridge, her chubby little hand slapping against the door.

“Blueberries it is.” Casey smiled, opened the fridge, and pulled a carton of berries out. She grabbed a knife and a bowl and was trying to figure out how to get it all to the table with her crutches. I took them to the table for her.

“We got breakfast tacos from a place in town. Egg with potato, chorizo, steak, and they had plain egg and cheese. I wasn’t sure what everyone would want.”

“You had me at tacos...” She shrugged, her smile making her face light up.

“Can we talk about your case while we eat? I want to try and help out since you’re down. You keep whatever money is involved; I’m just helping out.”

Phoenix didn’t hesitate to stoop down, looking Penny over. “Can I put you in your chair?”

The little one looked from him to her mama, her finger in her mouth. When Casey nodded, the little one raised her arms. “Ups.”

“Ups indeed.” He chuckled, putting her in the chair. It was a glorified booster seat that was strapped to an empty chair. It put her at just the right height to reach the table.

“Can you find an egg and potato? This kid is like her mama, loves the starches.” Casey poked the little one’s cheek.

Phoenix moved to grab a few paper plates off the counter, while I grabbed drinks from the fridge. I fixed Penny some apple juice, watering it down a bit again, as instructed. Finally, with everything in place, we joined her at the table. We passed around the tacos, salsa, and hot sauce.

“Mama has?” Penny opened her mouth wide just as Casey broke off a piece of a taco.

“Yes, you can have some too. Here you go. Hold onto it.”

“Hots. Hots,” she said waving it.

“Blow on it.” The little girl did, and let me tell you, it was the cutest damn thing I’d ever seen. I found myself getting lost in memories. I’d missed a lot of Phoenix’s younger years. The military, especially when you move to a special forces team, means long periods apart. The kid never held it against me. I was thankful for that. I didn’t want to be away; it was just how life went.

“How old is she?” I asked, already knowing.

Casey looked between Phoenix and me. Her gaze knowing.

“Two years and about 4ish months.”

“Why not be one of those people who says she’s fifty-six weeks or,” Phoenix paused, then chuckled, “eight-hundred and fifty-two days old.”

Casey laughed loudly, her hand going to cover her mouth. “Oh God. I can’t math like that. I’d rather just say almost two and a half. People should know that means…” she counted on her fingers, “twenty-eight months?”

I chuckled. “Please stick with two and a half. Or whatever.” I finished off one taco, wiping my mouth to make sure my beard wasn’t wearing crumbs.

“I—I’m sorry. I should have told you.” She took a bite of her own taco before breaking off another smaller piece for Penny.

“I’m not mad. Shocked, a little in denial, but not mad. You had your own reasons. I’ve not been the most reliable man.”

“There was so much happening back then. Before, I mean. Neither of us were in a place to try and make something work. And after Manny…I needed time to myself. To heal. And this little one gave me the strength to do that. You gave me that and didn’t even know it.”

She wiped at the tears rolling down her cheeks. I slid out of the chair to kneel beside her. My hands engulfed her smaller hand.

“Please don’t cry.” I reached up with my free hand to cup her face. “If you can trust me, give me a chance now; I’d like to be here for you and Penny. I am ready to be the man you need me to be.”

“Whoa.”

I looked over at my son, as did Casey.

“I never thought I’d see the day when playboy Tripp Cavannagh would give up his bachelor lifestyle in sin city.”

I scowled at him.

“You can’t quit your job. You said you couldn’t work here.”

“It takes a class, or a test. It can be done. My skills haven’t changed. If you’re willing to give me—us—a chance, then I’m fully in.”

“If you break my heart again, you’re losing a body part.”

Phoenix laughed so hard he choked. That’s what he got, the asshole. I ignored him to lean in and claim her mouth in a heated kiss.

“I will do my best to never cause you pain of any kind. I know the age difference will bother?—”

“People can kiss my ass. They have no say in my life. Our lives. Period. The three of us, Scooter, that’s who matters. And you’re still alive, so you know where he stands. He actually asked me the other night when I was going to tell you about Penny.”

“How’d he know? Did you tell him?” I mean, of course, she probably had. He was her brother.

“Actually…” She turned slightly to look across the table at Phoenix. My brow arched.

“So look, I saw you bring her to the shop one day; Trace was working on my bike. She looks like me at that age. I just inquired. I wasn’t sure if he was going to punch me for suggesting it or what. We agreed to let y’all sort your shi—stuff out.”

Standing, I gave her a quick kiss then moved back to the chair. “That’s fair. But next time, give me a little more of a heads up.”

“Next time?” they spoke at once. Penny, who had been squishing a piece of blueberry, jerked at the sudden shout.

“Tripp Cavannagh, as God as my witness, if you have another kid?—”

“Hey. Hold up now, sweetheart. That’s not what I meant. Maybe I should have worded that differently.” I scrubbed a hand over my face. “What I mean is, don’t keep shit from me.”

“Pops, there’s a baby at the table.”

“Crap.”

“It’s okay. That was one of her first words…” Casey started to laugh, her face beet red. “I’m not that big of a helicopter mom. I won’t spank you for cursing.”

I met her gaze, the corner of my mouth tipped up. “If anyone’s doing the spanking, it’ll be me.”

“Oh, hold the phone. Nope. Nuh-uh. We are not having that kind of talk with me and my sister sitting literal inches from you. Jesus, Pops.”

The absolute horror on his face had me losing what little composure I had. I laughed so hard that it hurt to breathe. Casey, too, was in hysterics. When Penny chimed in, her little girl laughter filling the room, we all melted. It was a super power all babies and toddlers had.

“This reminds me of when Mads was this age.” My boy sighed.

I reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “It reminds me of you at this age. Ready to explore and find mischief.”

“Who is Mads? You have a daughter too?”

I shook my head. “No, Maddie is my granddaughter, Phoenix’s daughter.”

“Oh, wow. You have a daughter? How old is she? Does she live with you? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with a kid before.”

“Maddie lives with her mother. I don’t see her as much as I’d like to. They live on the other end of Burke, up toward Lufkin, but she’s in a private academy school in Houston most of the time. She’s super smart. My girl’s going to rule the world one day.”

“Oh.” She smiled. “Smart kids scare me. You remember that show from about a decade ago? The one with Jeff Foxworthy. It’s sad, but some days, I’m not smarter than a 5th grader.”

We chuckled. “I was always outta my league when it came to this one.” I motioned with my chin to where he sat. “He got his smarts from his mama.”

“And his looks from his daddy.” She patted my hand.

“I’ll take that.” I chuckled.

“Okay, now that I have food in me, care to talk about this case?” Phoenix interjected, pulling a notebook from the back waistband of his jeans.

“Sure. There’s not much to tell yet. I was trying to dig up anything when life threw me in a blender.” She shrugged.

We could see the uneasiness in her eyes. We would get to the bottom of this. One way or another.

Today. Tomorrow. Next week. It didn’t matter, I’d sort it out. I’d do anything to make sure she was safe.