Chapter 25
DARCY
“Ursula’s ride has arrived, and so has yours,” Tansy called out from the escape room door before she hurried back up to the front.
I took a few more swipes with the brush and then kissed Pupper, one of our daycare doggies, on the head before I walked toward the secluded daycare room where the dogs with attitude stayed while they weren’t outside.
I’d finished my last grooming appointment over an hour ago and had already cleaned up my area, so all that was left was to hand off the dogs to their owners when they arrived and then help Rebel and Tansy clean up before we closed the shop for the day.
But a quick visit from my husband . . . I got goosebumps every time I said that or even thought about it. I loved knowing that he’d be at home waiting for me every evening after a long day of work. And times like this, where he dropped in just to say hello, were icing on the cake.
I picked up Ursula and snuggled her close before I grabbed her blankie and walked toward the front of the store. I was surprised when I closed the door behind me and found Jewel with Rev in her arms.
“She’s made another friend, I see,” I said as I walked closer to them. Ursula started growling at Crow and he growled back just like his brother had the other day, and I frowned at him before I said, “That doesn’t make it any better, you know.”
“Ursula is a good judge of character,” Jewel said when Rev reached out and Ursula licked her hand.
She looked at Crow and asked, “I’m still holding the baby, which means you’re safe enough to tell me whatever it is you think is so important, although I should probably remind you that I can easily put her down. ”
“Yes, ma’am,” Crow said with a grin. “I think you’re going to enjoy my proposal, probably a little too much, so I’m not worried.”
“It’s a good thing he’s moderately cute, isn’t it?” Jewel asked me as she wrinkled her nose like she’d smelled something bad. She looked back at Crow and ordered, “Spill it.”
“I’ve found a way for you to torture, both psychologically and physically, some unsuspecting victims.”
Jewel pursed her lips and looked thoughtful before she said, “You have my attention.”
“In working toward becoming your not-least favorite nephew, something I’ve been striving for my entire life, I found a gift that I could give you to secure that spot.”
“Doubtful.”
“I’ve made arrangements for you to have not just one, but four innocent . . . okay, mostly innocent souls to torture at your leisure.”
“I don’t need permission for that.”
“Yesterday I created a competition between Wild, Memphis, Ransom, and Lazlo, to see which one of them could befriend you and Ursula within the next six months.”
Jewel’s giggle was downright terrifying, and the smile on her face was almost as bad. “You’re kidding.”
“I’d never tease you about something that would make you so happy,” Crow assured her.
“What’s the point of challenging them if you’re going to warn her about it beforehand?”
“My guess is that he said something that they probably assumed meant he’d keep it a secret,” Jewel answered.
“I said that we couldn’t talk about it with anyone who wasn’t involved, and obviously, as the target, Jewel is involved.”
“Oh!”
“It’s all about how you word something. My sister is really good at things like that since she’s a lawyer, but a smart person knows that understanding the context and paying attention to the details is important,” Jewel said as she looked around the store.
Crow watched her nervously, waiting on her reaction, and smiled when she finally asked, “Six months? So I can torture them any way I want to and they’re just going to keep coming back for more? ”
“That’s . . . Wow,” I whispered, wondering if the woman really might be a little psychotic. I’d suspected it before, but this really clinched the idea.
“You can, because they’re just stubborn enough to keep trying, and since this is a competition their drive to win will take over and they won’t be able to stop themselves.”
“So I get Wild, Ransom, Memphis and Lazlo?” Jewel giggled again before she said, “This is going to be so much fun.”
“I thought you might enjoy it,” Crow boasted.
“Crow, for now, you are not my least favorite nephew. You are hovering very close to the top spot of my moderately tolerable favorite people list.”
Crow thrust his fist in the air and yelled, “Yes!”
I didn’t completely understand the dynamics here, but I did understand that some of the family I had just married into showed their love for each other in an odd way. A very odd way, but it made them happy so that worked for me.
“What are you going to do to the guys?” I asked warily.
Jewel giggled again before she answered, “Everything.”
Jewel kissed Rev on the cheek and then handed her to Crow before she took Ursula from my arms and kissed her head. She smiled at Crow before she said, “Birdbrain, you just made my day!”
“Holy shit. I never imagined you’d say something like that to me.”
“Cherish that feeling, Crow. It’s not likely to ever happen again.” She smiled at me and said, “We’ll see you tomorrow!”
Crow and I watched Jewel leave, and once she was out the door I looked over at Crow and admitted, “I don’t understand.”
“Jewel is one of my mom’s younger sisters - Willow is close to her in age, but when Mom was a teenager Gigi remarried and had Spruce, Jewel, Terran and Petra.
So, technically they’re sisters, but it was kind of like Mom, Atlas, and Aunt Willow helped raise them.
Since there was such a gap in age, when we came along Jewel and the others weren’t very much older than us, so we sort of grew up with them in older sibling roles.
And, you’ve heard of sibling rivalry, so you can put the rest together, I’m sure. ”
“She’s always been so nice to me and Tansy, but I could always sense that there was something else there, you know?”
“People said that about Ted Bundy too.”
I barked out a laugh and Rev joined in just because she could, and of course that made Crow smile.
“Were you guys just running around and decided to come visit me?”
“We made a grocery store run. Brighten’s got a late showing this evening, and Hawk is prepping for a case, so Griff will be hanging out with us and has requested spaghetti, which is usually what we have when it’s my turn to cook.”
“Yum.”
“Remember when we talked about how our lives were going to be now that we have Rev?”
“That I’ll come home from work, and you’ll have dinner ready so we can eat together before you go off to work?”
“Exactly. That starts today.”
I put my arms around Rev and Crow before I tipped my head up for a kiss.
I pulled back just far enough to say, “I’m so excited to start my life with you.
” I smiled at Rev before I added, “And you, too, Buttercup!” Rev wanted in on the fun, so she leaned forward to give me a wet kiss on the cheek before she gave one to Crow.
It may have been the sweetest thing I’d ever experienced. “Love you both!”
“And we love you,” Crow said before he gave me another kiss. “See you in a few hours.”
“I can’t wait!”
I walked Crow and Rev to the door and then held it open for a customer to walk in, more than happy to see that another of our daycare dogs was about to be going home, putting me one step closer to leaving for the day.
The next hour was spent delivering beloved pets to their owners, and the second I locked the front door Tansy cranked up the music and we laughed together as we danced and sang our way through the final clean up of the day.
By the time Tansy dropped me at the house I was happier to be home than I’d ever thought was possible.
Before, when I lived alone, I didn’t have a reason to leave the shop because there was nothing for me at home but boredom, especially after I quit going out so often.
But now, walking up the sidewalk toward the house, I could hear Griffin chattering through the open window, and Rev squealing with excitement as the dogs barked and howled, joining in with her joy.
I, Darcy Middleton, had finally gotten out of my own damn way and was ready to enjoy a good life, which I knew without a doubt that I deserved.
I had just stepped up onto the porch when someone called my name, so I turned and watched a man I didn’t recognize walk up the sidewalk toward me.
“Hi!”
“Are you Darcy?”
“I am. How can I help you?”
The man thrust the envelope in his hand toward me before he said, “You’ve been served.”
I looked down at the envelope and then back up at the man, only to find he’d already turned around and was walking toward his car.
I stood there in stunned silence, knowing without a doubt that this had to do with my father, and watched as the man turned down Tansy’s street, probably to give her the same bundle of paperwork he’d just delivered to me.
“That worthless son of a bitch!” I hissed as I pulled my phone out of my pocket and hit the button to call Marcus.
“Hey, newlywed - whatever he’s done is probably horrible, but you should give him a chance to explain before you either ask me to represent you in the divorce or in front of a grand jury who wants to convict you of his murder.”
Even though the situation was fucked up, I burst out laughing and said, “I’m not gonna kill him.”
“Good, because he’s part of my family too and I’d have to pass on the defense attorney role.”
“This isn’t about Crow. It’s about my dad, I’m sure.”
“What’s wrong?”
“A process server met me on the porch in front of my house and handed me a big envelope full of papers.”
“That son of a bitch!”
“That’s what I said,” I told him with a laugh.
“What do the papers say?”
“I haven’t even opened them because I don’t give a shit.”
“From what you and your sister have told me so far, I’d think you might, just because it’s the principal of the issue, not the money.”