Chapter 21
TWENTY-ONE
ROE
My bike growled down the tree-lined street as I guided it to the curb in front of Dakota’s house and killed the engine, kicking the stand down and throwing my leg over.
A shrill scream that turned into hysterical laughter had me twisting to look across the street, and just like that, I felt my heart start beating against my ribs like it was trying to break through.
Dakota’s long, golden hair flew behind her, catching the sunlight as she ran circles in the yard across the street from her place.
Her laughter filled the air as four little boys chased after her with water guns, shouting battle cries at the tops of their lungs as they pelted Dakota with water.
She didn’t seem to care one bit that she was practically soaked to the bone; she was too busy having the time of her life with those little boys.
“You’ll never defeat me!” she shouted, dropping her gun that had emptied at some point and snatching up the kid nearest her to use like a human shield. “I will destroy you all!”
The boy in her arms flailed as water splattered him in the chest, doing a stellar impression of some very believable death throes. The kid either had a future in acting, or he was going to destroy the world. Only time would tell.
“Jesus, son. You gonna stand there droolin’ or you gonna get your behind up here and keep me company while my girl defeats the evil Dementors?”
I opened the saddle bag on my bike and pulled out the plastic bag I’d stowed inside. I took the path up to Dakota’s front porch and lowered myself into the chair beside Pops. Kicking my feet out in front of me, I crossed one booted ankle over the other and made myself comfortable.
“The hell is a Dementor?”
The old man lifted his shoulder in a shrug.
It had only been two days since he got out of the hospital, but he already looked a million times better.
His cheeks had color in them again and his eyes were bright instead of that dull haze he’d been sporting for a while.
I had a feeling the improvement had nothing to do with his actual health and everything to do with the woman who was currently laughing and smiling as the kids took her to the ground and dog-piled on top of her.
I tipped my chin in Dakota’s direction. “How long have they been at it?”
Pops chuckled. “Couldn’t tell you. Been so long I lost track of time. One minute we were having lunch, and the next the doorbell rings and those kids are askin’ my girl if she wants to play.”
A smile tugged at my lips as I continued to enjoy the show. The door across the street opened and a tall Black man and a much shorter Black woman came out, smiling at the scene unfolding in front of them.
“Don’t go breakin’ her just yet,” the woman called. “Or she won’t be able to play water guns with you guys for a while.”
The kid who’d died so brilliantly stood from the mass of limbs on the front yard and shot his mom a peeved look. “We aren’t playin’ waterguns, Mom . We’re playin’ Dementors.”
“Ah, so it isn’t only my kid who talks to me like I’m an idiot,” I muttered, choking on a laugh.
“Hate to break it to you, son, but that’s all of them, and it only gets worse.” He bumped his fist into my shoulder. “Welcome to the club.”
Just then, Dakota let out a monster roar as she shoved her way up to sit, picking up the youngest kid, who looked to be a toddler, and pretending to body slam him into the ground. “I will destroy you all!” she growled, sending them into a fit of hysterics before they all took off running again.
I spotted a pair of binoculars resting on the arm of his chair. “Your vision getting that bad, old man? You need those just to see?”
He shot me a smirk. “They aren’t for that, asshole.
They’re for Mrs. Hofstetter at the end of the cul-de-sac.
” He held then out to me and pointed at a house down at the end of the road.
I lifted the binoculars and as soon as they were in focus, I spotted the elderly woman sitting by her front window, her own pair of binoculars pointed toward all the action across the street.
I squinted my eyes and leaned in that direction. “What’s she drinking? Is that a pitcher of margaritas?”
“Mai Tai’s,” Pops answered. “And they’re damn good too. She’s the self-declared neighborhood watch. Sits there all day, every day, makin’ sure the street is safe.”
Just then the old woman noticed me spying on her and lowered her binocs and smiled brightly, waving hello.
Pops and I both returned the gesture, then I put the binoculars down and focused on the people I’d come to see.
I noticed Pops didn’t just look healthier.
He looked happy. Happy in a way I wasn’t sure I’d seen on him before.
Even before his daughters left, all because that bitch of an ex-wife was determined to make his life a rotten hellscape.
“She’s always been great with kids, huh?” he asked me, his tone wistful and a little sad.
“She has.” There had never been a doubt in my mind that Dakota Riley was going to make an incredible mother one day. She had so much love to give that any child she had would never feel lacking. “You look good, old man. Real good.”
He blew out a slow breath. “It’s been a really good couple of days.”
“Yeah?” I was thrilled to hear him say that.
The man had one hell of a shitty life up until this point, losing his girls, stuck with a wife he despised, afraid to make any move for fear his whole world would implode.
To see him genuinely happy loosened something in my chest. This man was the closest thing I’d ever had to a father, and I wanted him to be happy. “Fuck, man. I’m thrilled to hear it.”
“Thrilled to be living it.” His smile grew even bigger. “We talked and I told her everything you’ve been pushin’ me to say. We got all that shit out in the open, and she said she wants to rebuild our relationship.”
My brows furrowed because despite the incredible news, he looked downright nervous as he finished that sentence. “Then why do you look like someone took a piss in your Wheaties?”
He heaved a sigh and scrubbed at the steel gray scruff that covered his jaw and cheeks. “I can’t fuck this up again, Roe. I just got her back, and I’m terrified I’ll do something to ruin it.”
If there was one man on the planet who could understand exactly where he was coming from, it was me.
As it was, it would have been a lie to say I wasn’t a bit jealous that he was making progress with our girl, and I was still stuck on the benches.
Hell, even Cassie was getting annoyed with how slow I was moving.
It hadn’t taken long at all for Honeybee to win over my little girl, and she was ready for her newly minted best friend to become a much bigger part of her life. That was why I was here today.
“Whatcha got in the bag?” Pops asked, tapping the bag with the toe of his boot. “Whatever it is, smells fuckin’ delicious.”
I snatched the bag out of his reach and shot him an angry look.
“It’s butter chicken, and you can’t have any.
I made it for Dakota.” I reached up to drag a hand over my hair, suddenly feeling like an idiot for thinking this would work.
“It was Cassi’s idea that I cook for her, and I’m starting to think I might have been wrong to trust my seven-year-old’s advice on something like this. ”
“Well, first, I don’t think it’s a bad idea. After all, if the chef is always cooking for everyone, who’s cooking for the chef?”
“Christ,” I grunted, “That was practically what Cass said, word for word.”
“Which leads me to my second point. You can never go wrong trustin’ that little girl. Evil might be in front, but genius is still in the title.”
He might have a point with that.
“Speaking of evil geniuses, where’s my little sparkle?”
“Today was her first day of wilderness camp.” Leave it to my little girl to want to spend her summer learning survival skills in the wilderness instead of doing something like arts or theater.
Then I remembered the call I’d gotten right before heading over here.
“Speaking of evil geniuses,” I started, using his same words, “I already got a call from the camp director. It’s day one and my baby girl’s already on her third strike. ”
Pops didn’t bother to cover his snort. “What did she do this time?”
“Apparently one of the kids was being an asshole to a smaller kid, so she punched him in the throat.”
Pops guffawed, throwing his head back on a roar of laughter. “That’s my sparkle! Sticking up for the little people. Let ’em kick her out, that’s their loss. Bet that kid learned his lesson.”
He sure the hell had, and I didn’t think that, after he pissed his pants in front of everyone because he got his ass handed to him by a girl, he’d try bullying someone smaller than him again.
I knew that, as the responsible adult, I should discourage her from using violence.
But how was I supposed to do that when she was using said violence to protect others?
I hated the thought of doing or saying anything that might snuff out a little bit of her fire.
It was that fire that made me love her so damn much.
“I suppose you’re right.” Things across the street seemed to be winding down.
The boys were waving frantically at Dakota as their dad led them into the house.
Dakota and the mother were exchanging hugs, then a second later, the woman who had my heart in a chokehold was heading our way.
“Do me a favor, old man. Think you can make yourself scarce for a while? Now that you guys got your talk out of the way, I think it’s time for mine. ”
He didn’t hesitate to push to his feet, patting me on the shoulder as he said in a low voice she couldn’t hear, “She hasn’t had happy, Roe.
Not a single day since she left. Admitted that to me as I held her while she broke down in tears.
” Fuck me, but it killed me to hear that.
“If there’s one person on this earth who can give her happy, it’s you.
So do it, son. Give my girl happy, ’cause I can’t stand those fuckin’ shadows in her eyes for one more goddamn second. ”
My heart felt like it lodged itself in my throat as I rasped, “That’s what I’m trying to do.”
“The food’s a good start.” With one more pat on my shoulder, he started down the front walk, stopping to pull Dakota in for a side-hug and a kiss to her temple.
“Where are you going?” she asked, her brow furrowed with a mixture of curiosity and worry.
“Got a standin’ neighborhood watch date with Mrs. Hofstetter down the way,” he answered, patting the binoculars he’d hung from his neck by their strap.
“No Mai Tais,” she shouted as he headed down the street.
“Don’t worry, baby doll. She made a special virgin batch just for me.”
Then he was gone, ready to sit beside an elderly woman who was probably lonely, and spy on their neighbors through binoculars while drinking fruity drinks. Sometimes life was surreal.