Chapter 27 Koi daddy #2
“I get it. I understand. I’m still mad,” Cam said.
“I get it. I understand. I would be too,” I admitted.
“How’s the case you shouldn’t have taken without consulting us going?” Levi asked.
Declan and I had spent most of this week wading through case law and precedents.
Getting the charges dismissed was the longest of long shots at this point.
But it was my job to keep Valerie out of the very place I’d hoped to put her.
“Trial is set for next month. You probably know as much as I do, Chief.”
“How can you do it?” Cam asked. “How can you look at her and not just see the woman who killed Miller?”
I had to stop myself from correcting him by adding allegedly.
Instead, I watched the red koi dart under the rock ledge I’d built out near the foot of the waterfall.
“I don’t know. I’m just trying to remind myself she’s human.
She’s a mom. A daughter. She’s Larry’s friend.
She’s a fucking nurse who saved lives. One minute, she was taking extra shifts to save up for a house.
Now she’s living in a tiny run-down two-bedroom town house, going through a divorce, and facing the possibility of missing out on the next three years of her daughters’ lives. We lost more, but she lost too.”
“Did she lose enough?” Levi asked, staring into the deep end of the pond.
“If Laura says so, it’s good enough for me.” And it was, I realized. Maybe I didn’t have the warm fuzzies for Valerie, but I couldn’t help but recognize her humanity now.
“Larry wants us to meet her,” Cam said. “Me and Hazel.”
“Me too,” Levi said.
“Just try not to be dicks, okay?” I suggested. “It’ll just piss off Laura.”
They both grunted.
“So is Mom done punishing you for your fake chicken roost stunt?” I asked Levi.
Last summer, his attempt to block our mother from saddling him with any more foster animals had come to an abrupt end when we’d discovered the coop he’d built on the back of his lakefront cabin was full of fictional chickens.
He kicked at the mound of stone I had yet to spread around the perimeter of the pond. “She’s got it in her head that she wants to find the perfect retired K-9 for me.”
“She always finds something worth saving,” Cam said.
“Like us,” I said. “Maybe we should do something nice for Mother’s Day.”
Levi frowned. “What do we usually do?”
I shook my head. “I order a huge bouquet of her favorite flowers and say they’re from all of us.”
“That’s nice of us,” Cam mused.
The dogs both perked up a second before erupting into barks and tearing around the back of the garage. They reappeared, jogging on either side of the UTV.
Wes and Harry came to a stop next to my truck. “Hey, uncles,” Wes greeted from behind the wheel.
“Get the fish in yet?” Harry asked, sliding out to get a closer look at the pond.
Wes was the more athletic of the two. Harry had the whole curly-haired songwriter vibe going for him. Yet both somehow managed to remind me of their dad. Miller would have loved watching them grow up. I hated that he was missing out on everything that made me so fucking happy.
“Just dumped them,” I said.
“What do you guys do for your mom on Mother’s Day?” Cam asked.
“We take her out for breakfast at that place she likes with the gross health food and we don’t complain. Then we do a family workout at the gym. And then we make her lunch, and we each present a gift to her,” Wes said.
“Last year, I got her those sticky grip gloves to make pull-ups easier,” Harry said.
“Why? What do you guys do for Gram?” Wes asked.
“Flowers,” we mumbled.
“Flowers are…cool. What else?” Harry asked.
“Well, they’re nice flowers,” Cam said. He looked my way. “Right?”
“Yeah. They’re expensive,” I said, feeling defensive.
“Didn’t Gram adopt all three of you together when you were split up in foster care?” Wes asked innocently.
“And didn’t she miss out on her big birthday trip when you all came down with the stomach bug at the same time?” Harry pressed.
“What’s your point, you little assholes?” Cam grumbled.
Harry slapped him on the shoulder. “You guys need to step up your game.”
Wes nodded in agreement. “Yeah, and don’t try some ‘homemade card with hug coupon’ bullshit either.”
“Next they’re going to be giving us dating advice,” Levi complained.
“Speaking of dating, how did you land Zoey, Uncle Gage?” Harry asked.
“How the hell did you hear about that?” I demanded. “And why do you sound surprised? I’m awesome.”
Harry and Wes shared a twin look and shrug. “I mean, you gotta admit. She’s all cool and fun and you’re…” Harry trailed off, looking like he’d been about to say something insulting.
“Responsible,” Wes filled in quickly.
“Yeah. She just seems like she’d be into a guy with tattoos and a motorcycle and a few priors,” Harry said.
“We’re not dating,” I said.
“So she’s still single?” Harry asked with a little too much enthusiasm. “Do you think she’d be into younger guys?”
“I’ve been thinking about getting a tattoo,” Wes said, stroking his still mostly invisible chin hair.
Levi opened his mouth, but I held up a hand.
“Neither one of you is dating Zoey. If anyone in this family is going to date her, it’s gonna be me.”
“Then what the hell are you doing spending your Friday night with a bunch of fish?” Harry demanded.
Cam slung his arm around me. “You see, kid. Zoey thinks your uncle is a big mistake. Just like I told him he was. But did he listen to me? No. Now he’s stuck spending his Friday night with us and a bunch of fish.
So the moral of the story is always listen to your uncle Cam, because I’m wise and shit. ”
I gave my brother a shove.
“Uncle Gage, if a woman like Zoey thought I was a mistake, I’d be out there doing every damn thing to convince her to give me another shot,” Harry said earnestly.
“Yeah,” Wes agreed.
Levi cleared his throat and gave them both a pointed look.
“While respecting boundaries and getting clear consent,” Wes said quickly.
Harry pointed at his brother. “Yeah. That.”
I blinked. Levi had had the talk with the boys?
Levi, the brother who looked like he was in physical pain stringing together more than ten or fifteen words at a time.
I glanced at Cam, who appeared to be having the same epiphany.
I guessed that was how the Bishop family worked.
We each played to our strengths. Cam had moved in with Laura immediately after the accident and been a stand-in father for months during her recovery.
Levi modeled how to be a good man for the boys.
And I started 529 plans, dealt with homework, and did impossible things when their mom asked.
We all fit. We all worked. And for a shiny spring moment, I felt just how lucky I was.
“I think we need to coach Uncle Gage on his game,” Wes decided.
“You want to teach me?” I repeated.
“Yeah, man. Zoey’s different from the women you usually date. You gotta surprise her, you know?” Harry said.
“Yeah, but also, like, take care of her without being all ‘I’m taking care of you, little lady,’” Wes interjected with what I could only assume was his impression of toxic masculinity.
“How do you propose he do that?” Cam asked, fully amused.
“I don’t know. Do something for her that she doesn’t want to do for herself. Like wash her car,” Harry suggested.
I’d taken her trash and recycling bins to the curb on trash day because I knew she’d forget. Did that count? Though it was less romantic and more trying to avoid a pile of garbage at my office.
“Make her realize you’re not just a hot koi daddy,” Wes said, gesturing at the pond.
“Hot koi daddy?” Levi repeated incredulously. He sounded like he was trying not to choke.
“Is that a real thing?” Cam asked, reaching for his phone. “I’m texting Hazel.”
“Jesus,” I muttered, relieved when my own phone buzzed in my pocket. I was more than relieved when I read the text. “Well, well, well. Look who Zoey just invited over tonight. You guys can clean up after yourselves. It looks like I have a date.”
I strolled toward the back door to their applause.
Zoey: Help! My sink is leaking!