Chapter 53
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
EIGHT MONTHS
Dark
Plucking a lemon off the tree, I chuck it across the yard at Pops, who dodges it like a pro and laughs. Given he’s not Sir-Limps-a-lot, like yours truly, and doesn’t have to use an old-man cane, again, like yours truly, he moves like a normal person.
He flips me off, picks the fruit from the ground, and rips it in half with his bare hands.
Then he tips his head back and lets the sour juices drip into his mouth like a model in one of those ads women finger themselves to.
The juice runs over his beard, which has grown out, and down his tan, bare chest, where it mixes with sweat.
I roll my eyes as one of Angel’s sisters stares out the back window of the main house, on the verge of fainting over his hotness.
They all fawn over Sunshine. El Sol. That’s what they call him.
It probably doesn’t help that he’s gotten even more cut since we arrived.
With all our free time, he spends most of it helping around this place like the do-gooder he is—trimming trees and cacti, gathering eggs. You name it, El Sol does it.
“You’re gonna give one of the women heart issues if you’re not careful.
” I snort and notch my chin at the onlooker, now lookers, as he’s drawn a small crowd before I hobble over to the bench next to a small mosaic fountain.
My knees protest when I force myself to sit.
It hurts, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.
A few months ago, when I still couldn’t walk right, Doc got me in for an MRI.
I tore my knee, which required surgery. Yay me.
Now I’m on the full mend. Off antibiotics, no more fevers or throwing up.
I have PT here a few days a week, so I don’t have to leave.
I’ve moved into the main house with Pops.
We share twin beds in their guest room. It’s not so bad.
Except…
We have to get back to our real lives soon.
We can’t live here forever. It’s been months.
Sure, living in Mexico has done us a solid.
I fucking love it here. It’s warm. No snowstorms. Excellent food.
Amazing music. The best people. But there’s an end to this ride, and when we get off…
there’s gonna be Iris. Kali. My sons and Lily. All of them will need answers.
None of them have heard from us. Pops is determined that this was the right choice.
Even if I’m not so sure, there’s no turning back now.
We’re in it. Given my track record when I disappear, I don’t know what we’re gonna go back to.
In the past, I was out fucking other women.
There’s no denying that. The reason doesn’t matter.
It still happened. At least this time, Pops is with me, and he’s as loyal as it fucking gets.
I can’t say the same. Until now. Until her.
There’s just something about… Iris.
I rub my knee and think about her. About us. About what she might be doing right now. I wonder how she slept last night. Who’s been getting her breakfast? Does she think I’m dead? Does she care?
A heavy exhale escapes my lips as the sun soaks into my bare shoulders. Thanks to all the fresh air, which Doc says is nature’s best medicine, I’ve gotten a solid tan.
The back screen door swings open, and Doc’s wife, wearing a colorful dress, brings us fresh-cut mango and glasses of lemonade.
See…so fucking hospitable. I owe them my life.
Pops moves my cane aside and sits beside me on the bench. We drink and eat in silence, with nothing but the gurgle of the fountain to keep us company. It’s peaceful.
I eat a piece of fruit, and as I chew, I ask, “When do we leave?”
“Whenever you’re ready.”
“And when’s that?”
“When I figure it out.”
“Are you worried about goin’ home?”
“Nope.”
I grunt at his bullshit. “Liar.”
Pops shoots me a sidelong glance. “You almost died. We’re gonna stay here however long it takes. A few months to get you right is better than burying my kid.”
Yeah. Yeah. I guess he’s right. It’s not like I’ve had any choice in any of this, anyhow.
I bump my shoulder into his. “Sounds like you might like me.”
Dad shoves the side of my leg and laughs. “Oh. Fuck off. Don’t make it weird. I love you.”
“None of this has anything to do with you marrying my Kali, does it?” I check.
“No. Why would it?”
“Extending the father-son bonding. Ya know. Sharing a room with me. It hasn’t been just us for what?
Two decades, at least. We did a lot together when I was a kid.
Then I joined the club. Things changed. I married Kali.
Had kids. You were out cleaning up club messes.
Disposing of bodies and shit. We haven’t exactly gotten to do this. ” I wave around this magical place.
Tipping his head back, Pops stares at the clear blue sky. “Life does have a way of makin’ ya slow down, huh? It kicks ya in the nuts and makes ya stop to realize what matters.”
I hum in agreement. “Yeah. It does.”
“Even if our women end up pissed at us, I don’t regret doin’ this,” he adds, even though the jury is still out on how I feel about it.
“You’ve been collecting eggs,” I throw out to change the subject.
“I’ve made friends with a feral cat, too.”
That’s true. He did.
“You think she’d wanna come home with us? Lily wants a cat. Maybe a sassy furball will help cushion all this.” I gesture to my body, face, arm, all of it.
“She doesn’t need to be cushioned from that. You don’t look… that much different.”
Turning my face to the side, the good side, I pose. “Normal Dad.” Turning my head the other way, I caress the golf ball-sized, gnarled scar on my cheek that runs like a river to my eyebrow. “Two-Face Dad.”
Pops shoves my shoulder. “Shut up. It’s not that bad.”
“You’ve had time to adjust. They haven’t. It is that bad.”
“Whatever. It doesn’t matter. They won’t care.”
“Iris might.”
“She won’t.”
“What if she’s dating someone?” I ask, voicing the possibility for the first time. It would gut me. But it’s not like I could blame her.
“We kill him?” Dad deadpans.
I roll my eyes. “Ha. Ha. Old man.”
“I’m serious. I’ll do it. Get your girl. Woman. Whatever.”
“We aren’t doin’ that.”
“If Kali’s with someone, you bet your ass, I’m buryin’ him in the same pile I buried all her stalkers.” Pops’ jaw clenches, and I know better now than to press any further, or he’s liable to get mad, and that’s the last thing I wanna deal with right now.
As if she knew we were talking about her, the black and white ball of fur pops her head out from behind a bush.
Scooting off the bench and onto the ground in front of it, I prop myself against the stone. Rubbing my fingers together, I make pst, pst sounds to encourage this menace to, at the very least, come kick my ass. Doc can patch me up, and there’s not much she can do to me that hasn’t already been done.
They’ve got lots of wild cats here. Back where we’re from, we call them barn cats, but they don’t live in a barn here.
They live in an old, rusted-out car on the edge of the property, with dry-rotted tires and a missing windshield.
The little kids around here play with them and bring them random bits of food, but the adults pretty much ignore them, except for us.
“You were serious,” Dad comments as the kitten crawls closer, on alert.
“About her?” I notch my chin at the cute little thing. “Yeah. She’s gonna die if we leave her here. If she ends up liking us enough, maybe we can smuggle her into the house.”
Pops snorts as the kitten stops a few feet from my dirty shoes and lowers herself to the ground.
My dad’s knee knocks into the side of my shoulder in a do-you-see-this way, and yeah, I see her.
She’s all cute with her pink nose and yellow eyes.
We stay quiet and wait her out. When she thinks she’s lulled us into a false sense of security, she pounces and attacks the fuck outta my shoe, teeth and claws, and a feral cry.
We bust up laughing.
“Yeah, get him,” he encourages.
Oh. She does. The adorable ball gives it her all. She’s a feisty little beast and will make an amazing addition to our lives.
When she’s through kicking my foot’s ass, she bats at my shoelaces and takes her crazy from a solid ten down to a four.
“I’ll find her a crate before we leave,” Pops says as he reaches down to pat her fluffy head.
Before we leave. Which means soon.
Folding my hands in my lap, I tip my head back, close my eyes, and sigh.
I’m alive.
Fed. Warm. In good company.
A little fucked up.
I guess that’s all gotta count for something, right?
Even if I miss my family.
And…I miss her.
Soon.
I’ll be home soon.