Chapter 10 #2
Jen got a faraway look in her eye as she sighed. “You know what I like best about him? Edge?”
Penny leaned forward, loving that she was a part of this conversation.
Loving that Jen trusted them enough to open up.
She wouldn’t have guessed she had something like alopecia, although she’d noticed the woman’s fake eyebrows and wig.
She’d actually assumed it might have been something like cancer, and it was a huge relief to know her new friend didn’t have such a horrible disease.
“That we’re the same height,” Jen went on, grinning.
“We’re both around five foot six. I know a lot of women aren’t interested in dating a man who’s shorter.
Isn’t six foot something. But I like being able to look him in the eye when I’m talking.
I like that he’s secure in his masculinity exactly how he is and doesn’t seem to care that he’s short for a guy. ”
“The best pilots I know are shorter,” Laryn agreed. “It’s easier for them to get in and out of the cockpit and they have more leg room to operate the aircraft. The Night Stalkers are no exception. It’s not a coincidence that none of them are over six feet tall.”
“You want one of us to talk to Edge? See if he’s interested?” Mandy asked.
“No!” Jen exclaimed with big eyes, sounding alarmed. “I’d be so embarrassed. And if he was shocked or horrified, it would suck, and I wouldn’t be able to hang out with you guys anymore.”
“That’s not happening,” Zita said firmly. “You’re one of us now. And there’s no escaping us.”
Everyone chuckled, but Jen still looked uneasy.
“I won’t say anything,” Mandy reassured her. “None of us will, right?”
“Right.”
“Of course not.”
“Nope.”
“Thanks, guys. I mean, I like Edge…what I know of him…but we don’t exactly have a lot of contact. It’s fine. I like my life. The only male I need is Fred.”
Hearing his name made the lab pick up his head and cock his ears. Then he took his Kong and padded over to where Mandy was sitting, plopping down next to Rain with a satisfied huff.
“Penny, how are you doing? Zita said you got that job you wanted?” Laryn asked.
“I’m good. And yeah, it’s a virtual health assistant.
When women have questions about their pregnancy, what they should be eating, stuff like that, they call the line and I help them.
It frees up their doctors and nurses from having to answer questions that aren’t strictly medical in nature.
I’ll also be calling patients and reminding them about appointments.
It’s a lot like what I was doing in Africa, actually, so I’m excited. ”
“And you can work from home, right?” Mandy asked.
“Uh-huh. The pay isn’t super high, but it’s more than I expected to get for my first job here in the States. I’ll also be available to take Bowie to school and pick her up. And even volunteer in her classroom now and then, if needed.”
“Oh, that’s ideal,” Jen said.
“It is.” Penny gestured toward Laryn. “And it’ll work out great if Laryn still needs or wants me to nanny her baby after it’s born, when she gets deployed with the guys. Even if I’m working full time I’ll be home, so it’s totally doable.”
“Oh, Laryn needs and wants you to look after her baby when it’s born,” Laryn said firmly.
“Tate and I talked about it again, and if you’re willing, we definitely want you to be our nanny when we’re gone.
It would be too hard to trust someone we didn’t know, even if you recommended them, Zita. No offense.”
“None taken. I think it’s a great solution,” Zita told her.
“Penny and Bowie could move into our place while we’re gone, since all the baby stuff would be there, and that way you wouldn’t be inconvenienced.”
“As if your baby would ever be an inconvenience,” Zita said, sounding almost offended. “I’m gonna be stealing that kid as often as I can to get some baby snuggles in.”
“Same!” Mandy agreed.
“I love babies,” Jen sighed.
“Great, now I’m not even going to get to spend time with my own kid,” Laryn said with a roll of her eyes.
Everyone laughed.
“So you’re moving in with Tate then?” Mandy asked.
“Well, yeah, it would be weird for us to live apart when we’re married,” Laryn said sarcastically.
“Your proposal was so awesome,” Penny said.
“It was, wasn’t it?” Laryn said with a far-off look. “Tate said he was going to be super romantic and make it a proposal I wouldn’t be ashamed to tell our kids and grandkids about, and he was right.”
“Totally,” Penny agreed.
“Thanks for recording it for me, Mandy,” Zita told her friend.
“Of course.”
“And Waffles is settling in?” Zita asked.
“Yes. Except…” Laryn’s voice trailed off.
“Except what?” Jen asked. “He’s gonna need some time to acclimate to his new home. Sometimes they can be destructive or forget how to be housebroken, if he ever was. You need patience, but I promise it’ll be worth it in the end.”
“I know all that.” Laryn nodded. “And Waffles is more than settled already. He walked into the apartment, looked around, and made a beeline for the blanket Tate put down for him. It’s just…is there such a thing as too comfortable?”
“No.”
“I don’t think so.”
“It’s great that he feels at home already.”
Laryn nodded again. “I agree. We’ve found that he loves to burrow under the covers. Especially if we’re also in bed. He prefers our bed to the big fluffy one we got for him.”
“Awwwww,” Jen said.
“Yeah, it’s adorable. Except when we want some sexy times,” Laryn said with a little smile.
“We have to kick his cute butt out of the bed, which makes me feel horrible, and he always whines pathetically, even though he has a perfectly comfortable bed of his own. But it’s hard to, you know, when we can hear him crying in the other room.
So last night we put his bed in our room, thinking maybe that would help the situation.
Well, we were in the middle of…you know…
and completely in the moment, when Waffles, who’d jumped onto the bed without us even knowing because we were otherwise engaged, licked Tate’s ass! ”
There was shocked silence in the room—before everyone burst into hysterical laughter.
Laryn was grinning from ear-to-ear as she went on.
“He yelled, ‘What the hell?’ And I thought he was talking to me, because I had no idea Waffles was on the bed or had licked him. I moaned extra loud and said, ‘What the hell, indeed,’ because I was just going with what he was saying. Then he stopped moving altogether and looked behind him. Waffles was standing there with what I can only describe as a smile on his doggy face.”
She was giggling now, and Penny couldn’t stop laughing. Neither could anyone else.
“Needless to say, that kind of ruined the mood. But Waffles was extremely pleased with himself, since we let him burrow right back under the covers, where he snored all night, happy as a clam. Oh…and the dog farts. Bad. They’re room-clearing bad.
We don’t dare waft the covers while he’s buried under there.
We need to figure something out about that.
Change his food or something, because it’s awful. ”
“Oh my God, please stop, my stomach hurts,” Mandy said, still laughing hard.
“So things are going well then,” Zita dead-panned, attempting to control her giggles.
“Honestly? Yes. Even with the Butt Cheek Lick Incident, which it shall be hereby known as, and the farting, Waffles is the sweetest dog. We have no idea what his background is, but he seems so appreciative to be with us, to have food and a warm bed. I thought I loved Tate before, but he scored huge points arranging to get Waffles for me.”
“I love that for you and Tate. And Waffles,” Mandy said with a huge grin.
“Me too,” Laryn agreed.
Penny couldn’t remember a time when she’d had as much fun as she was having tonight. She’d probably laughed with classmates when she was in high school, but the girls she knew back then weren’t true friends. As soon as they graduated, she’d never talked to them again.
But she had a feeling these women would be in her life forever. She hadn’t known them long, but they’d embraced her as if they’d been friends since grade school.
“So…you and Pyro are getting along, huh?” Laryn suddenly teased Penny.
She blushed but nodded. She wasn’t going to pretend she and Pyro weren’t dating, not that anyone would believe her anyway. “He’s the complete opposite of my former husband. In temperament, in how he treats me and Bowie, and how open he is about what he wants and what he’s thinking.”
“Our guys, they have a tendency to be that way,” Zita agreed. “I’m not sure if it’s a byproduct of their jobs and how they’re in constant communication when they’re flying, or if it’s just the way they’re wired. But it’s awesome, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Penny said with a nod. “I love it most for Bowie. She’s never had a decent male role model.
I want her to experience for herself what a good relationship is supposed to look like, so when she gets older, she won’t be like me and fall for the first man who shows her the slightest bit of attention. ”
“This feels like a good time to bring something up,” Zita said almost somberly.
Penny braced.
“We’ve established that our men are good communicators, which means they pretty much all know what’s going on in each other’s lives.
I’m more than happy that you’re my roommate, and truly think this is the best place for you and Bowie, and that you were meant to be here. But…can we talk about Colvin Jackson?”
At Penny’s surprised look, Zita quickly went on.
“Sage told me a little about him, that Pyro thinks there could be a chance he might show up in the States to get the money he thinks you owe him. And that’s why the extra lock was put on the door, why we have cameras at the front door now. Tell us honestly…are you and your daughter in danger?”
It took a moment for Penny to respond. She didn’t blame Zita for being concerned. She had every right to ask questions, to try to figure out if she was also in danger simply by living with Penny.