Chapter BOONE
BOONE
Around eleven, I rode to the Reed Auto Shop located between a strip mall and a veterinarian's office. Pulling into the garage, I climbed off and nodded at one of the women working under a Mazda. Inside the office, Vanessa ate lunch with Rowdy and Nine.
“Aww, look who’s hungry?” Vanessa said and stood up to drag a chair to the table for me. “Rowdy brought mushroom chicken and chow mein. There’s plenty to go around.”
“What are you doing here?” Nine asked me as I settled next to him.
“My engine sounded like it wanted to stall this morning. I figured I’d get it checked out before I take a ride south,” I explained and filled my plate. “What are you doing here?”
“Rowdy and I were having a conversation earlier about his sad dick, and I followed him here so we could finish.”
I frowned at Rowdy next to me. “What’s wrong with your dick?”
“I told you, man. I met a woman who made my dick and heart happy, but she blew me off.”
“He has feelings,” Vanessa growled at me as she returned to her seat. “So does his dick.”
“I wasn’t saying otherwise,” I told her, so she’d stop threatening me with her big sister glare. “What’s this broad’s problem?”
“I don’t know. I tried finding her online, but her name doesn’t come up in Little Rock.”
“Why there?”
“It’s where she said she lived.”
Vanessa asked, “And you met her where?”
“Here.”
I asked, “Why was she here?”
“To see an old friend.”
“Why don’t you hit up her old friend?”
“I don’t know who the person is.”
Frowning, I asked, “What do you know?”
“Why am I getting this attitude?” Rowdy demanded and threatened me with a mushroom on his fork. “I got the same shit from Nine.”
Nine shrugged. “He barely knew this chick. She clearly gave him a fake name. Why is he whining over a lying skank?”
Rowdy stood up. “Those are fighting words.”
“We can fight after we eat,” Nine insisted. “I’m not looking to get a tummy ache by wrestling too quickly.”
Rowdy shrugged and sat back down. “I know I ought to forget about Katie. She was clearly using me for my fine body and powerful dick. But banging her was magical, and I want to see her again.”
“Aww,” Vanessa said and patted his hand. “You deserve to see this stupid bitch again. Do you have a picture of her or any info we can use to hunt her down?”
“No. Taking a picture of a woman seems skeevy.”
“I still think you should hire someone to hunt her down. Uncle Devin knows private eyes in Little Rock. Why not hire one to see what he can find?”
Rowdy shrugged and looked at me. “Are Nova and the girls moving into the condo?”
“For right now, they’ll be over during the weekends.”
“Aren’t your parents coming up this weekend?” Nine asked.
“Yeah, but they’re staying at Farley’s place, so the girls can have the second room.”
Nine’s dark eyes narrowed before he asked, “If you are a family man now, does that mean you’re moving out of our Rawlins house?”
“Seems so. I don’t know if I’ll get a place in Rawlins. A lot of things are in the air.”
“Well, you’ve been dating for less than two weeks,” Vanessa said while tugging up her overalls and moving the remaining food containers to the fridge. “No reason to talk real estate as long as you’ve got a safe place to rest your heads right now.”
“True. The important thing is I love Nova.”
“Aww,” the three of them said in unison.
“I love her girls, too.”
“Aww,” they said again.
“Daddy Boone,” Vanessa cooed. “Nova makes pretty kids. You should have at least one together.”
“We’re thinking about making a kid when Clint and Ivy are ready to do the same. It would be cool for them to grow up together.”
“Yarrow will likely move up here if you have a kid,” Nine said and sighed. “My mom said your mom is already packed for her visit this weekend. Yarrow might not go back after only a few days. Best be ready for her to stick around.”
“Nova is nervous about meeting Yarrow. I’ve probably painted my mom as too weird to feel comfortable around.”
“I like weird,” Vanessa said as she fixed her ponytail. “That’s why I like your mom.”
“What about my mom?” Nine said and leaned back in his chair.
“She stayed sane with four kids. Clove’s a saint.”
Rowdy mumbled, “Our mom had four kids and is still mostly sane.”
“Yeah, and Bebe’s a saint, too.”
Rowdy nodded approvingly before his face twisted into a frown. “Hiring someone to hunt down Katie seems wrong. If she wants to talk to me, she knows my number.”
“That’s very mature,” Vanessa said and patted his shoulders. “Bebe would approve. Remember when she told Sabrina that she couldn’t force Moe to move to Little Memphis? How, if it was meant to happen, Moe would choose on her own. Bullying isn’t the path to a stable relationship.”
“Yeah, and Sabrina was so angry,” Rowdy said, chuckling. “She swore Bebe was wrong, but she also followed her advice. Our sister is a grumpy sheep.”
While the siblings joked around, I was struck by the realization of how I’d always be Boone and Nova from now on. Nothing felt truer than when I imagined a whole lifetime with Nova at my side.