Chapter 2
NOVA
Boone soon had the girls wrapped around his little finger.
Not because of the gifts, but from him letting them help order on his phone.
He had Skylar choose one thing and then asked Lyric to pick the next item.
I was smiling too much by the time he asked me to check over the order to make sure they hadn’t forgotten anything.
After the food was ordered, the girls showed Boone the room they shared at Lula’s house.
“This is Ramen’s bed,” Lyric said and gestured to the spot between the girls’ beds. “He protects us from the boogeyman.”
Boone startled me by opening the walk-in closet door and looking around. “Is there a night light in here?”
“No,” Skylar said, hurrying over. “We have one in the hallway so we can find the bathroom.”
“Well, you need to get a light for inside the closet. It’ll keep the boogeyman away.”
The girls looked at each other and then leaned into the closet. “There’s no plug,” Skylar said.
“You can get the kind of night light that doesn’t need a plug.”
Lyric looked at me and then at Boone. “Then, the boogeyman won’t come?”
“That’s how my mom kept the boogeyman away. She had lights in all the dark places to keep the monsters away.”
My babies had always been paranoid about the boogeyman. I wasn’t sure how they even learned about monsters. I assumed they picked it up from kids at the park. Dan did a good job of scaring off the boogeyman, but the girls kept thinking it would come back.
“Did your mom see the boogeyman?” Lyric asked.
“Yes, when she was little, but she learned tricks to keep him away. She taught me those tricks. Now, you know one of them.”
The girls looked to me and asked in unison, “Can we have a night light?”
Nodding, I felt overwhelmed. Intimidated maybe.
The people connected to the Crimson Guard didn’t have many boundaries.
They were in each other’s lives completely.
That’s why Vanessa didn’t hesitate before setting up a date between Boone and me.
We were her friends. Our problems were hers, so she solved the issue.
Now, Boone had inserted himself into my quiet evening with my girls. They were already crazy about him. He listened to whatever nutty thing they said and acted like their stories were perfectly normal. I was both enchanted and a little horrified.
I couldn’t get past my intense attraction to Boone.
He was so damn sexy. Up close like this, I could see a hint of chest hair peeking out of his black T-shirt.
I recalled him months ago playing touch football in the Sorority House’s backyard.
The guys pulled off their shirts once they got sweaty.
I had nearly passed out at the sight of Boone’s masculine chest.
Now, as dinner arrived, I felt as overheated. We set out the food on the dining room table. The girls sat on my side with Boone across from us.
“Mama wants a tattoo,” Skylar told Boone when she noticed his inked forearms. “My name and Lyric’s name. Oh, and hearts.”
“That’ll look beautiful.”
“She’s scared.”
“Tattoos hurt,” Boone said and took a bite of a spicy buffalo wing. “This spice hurts a little, too.”
“Not me,” Skylar said and took a bite.
Boone and I shared a chuckle once Skylar started panting. Lyric frowned like her sister was nuts.
“Too spicy,” Lyric mumbled.
Shaking her head, Skylar insisted, “No, it’s perfect.”
Boone grinned and took another bite. “Well, I’m not as tough as you. I’ll need to drink a lot to help cool my mouth.”
A still panting Skylar imitated him. I admired how calm he was with my girls. Suddenly, Boone looked at me.
“Tomorrow, you and I can hang out alone and talk. But I thought you should see me with your girls, so you’d know I wasn’t a weirdo.”
“I’m weird,” Lyric said as she dipped her fry in the ketchup. “Dillon said she’s weird.”
“I’m weird, too,” Skylar mumbled with her mouth full.
I shook my head at her bad manners before forcing myself to look at Boone.
“I’m glad you came.”
His warm brown eyes watched me until he sighed. “I got the impression you weren’t ready to date.”
“Did Dan tell you that?”
“No, but he told other people, and they told me.”
Surprised, I asked, “People knew you were interested in me?”
“Some people, yes.”
“And they said you shouldn’t feel that way?”
“Only because they wanted to protect us.”
“Protect us from what?”
“Your brother thinks you’re delicate, and my sister thinks I might end up with too much drama.”
I could tell Boone was picking his words carefully since the girls were absolutely listening. He smiled at them and panted after eating another spicy wing.
As much as I wanted to ask more about Goldie’s concerns, I put on a happy face for the rest of dinner. After sticking the leftovers in the fridge, we headed outside to allow the girls to play. Boone listened patiently as they explained obvious things like how swings worked and why they liked them.
“I have a friend named Duffy. She’s grown up like me, but she still loves swings,” he explained as I pushed the girls. “But only for a few minutes. Then, she gets tired of it and wants off. But for those few minutes, Duffy is really happy.”
I recalled Jaslene Tooker talking about Duffy a few times. No one ever said autism, but I sensed she was on the spectrum.
“Do you have pictures of Duffy?” I asked Boone.
The smile warming his face made me shiver. Boone’s brown hair nearly touched his shoulders and was thick with golden and auburn highlights. His beard looked soft, and I found myself nearly raising my hand to run my fingers across his jaw.
“This is Duffy at the Little Rock Zoo,” Boone said and showed us the picture.
The woman wore a pink cap with ears. Her brown eyes stared blankly at the phone taking her picture. Jaslene and her sister Dalisay smiled next to Duffy.
“Those are my friends,” Skylar told Boone. “I know them.”
Lyric nodded. “I know them, too.”
“I grew up with them. We went to school together and lived in the same complex.”
“Complex?” Skylar asked.
“Our houses were all together. Here, let me find a picture.”
Boone showed us a photo of Rock and his father, Oz, standing in front of a gated townhouse complex. “We all lived there together. My mom was best friends with Duffy’s mom and Jas and Dali’s mom. We’re a big family.”
My girls were very interested in his pictures. Boone sat in the grass with them and went through his many photos. I stood around like a dummy until I realized I should join them.
Boone showed us his mom, Yarrow, and his dad, Blackjack.
There were plenty of photos of Duffy and the four Tooker kids—Ben, Dali, Jas, and Nine.
I saw Cher and Stevie as teenagers, sporting colorful hair.
My girls really liked those pictures and asked if they could make their hair into rainbows when they were bigger.
I would love if Skylar and Lyric grew up to be free spirits.
As a teenager, I’d never felt right in my skin.
Many days, I hated myself. But that dislike came from my South Dakota family and the world at large.
Left to my own devices, I was quite fond of the person I truly was.
Over time, though, I’d lost that confidence.
Now, in Little Memphis, I had a chance to regain what I lost. The first step was learning to take what I wanted, starting with the affection of the handsome biker winning over my girls.