Chapter 15
Fifteen
You could die at any moment. Never say no to fucking.
—Romeo’s secret thoughts
Romeo
“I think we should get married.”
“Do you know how many offers I get for marriage in a week? You’d have to bring me something really special to the table.” She laughed.
Before I could reply with “I could give you endless orgasms,” her phone rang.
“Hey, Cody. What’s up?”
I was in a food coma, and I could barely open my eyes.
I’d had enough bread to last me a lifetime.
But damn, were those cinnamon rolls the best thing I’d ever tasted.
Then, just a few minutes ago, Mable had finished baking fried chicken, mashed potatoes and rolls.
I’d collapsed backward onto the couch once I’d cleaned the dishes, and now I was too full to move.
I could listen really well, though, and what I heard had my eyes popping open.
“I’ve got good news and bad news,” I heard Cody say.
“What’s wrong now?” Mable sighed.
“The good news is, I caught her doing it. The bad news is, your car is a fucking mess.”
“Just tell me what happened.”
“I caught someone stealing your vehicle,” she said. “We were clearing a path toward the hospital when I caught sight of your car. Then, I thought it was you driving it, and I would help you out and clear the road ahead of you. But when I got up to the door, I found Birdee in the front seat.”
Mable pinched the bridge of her nose. “What did she do to it?”
“She ran. I followed. And maybe I shouldn’t have. But I did, and then she lost control on a turn and your car tumbled down the mountain.”
Anger seethed inside me at Cody’s words.
“Is Birdee okay?” Mable gasped.
That was why Mable would never be for me.
We were two very different people with vastly different consciences.
I would’ve asked about my truck. Mable asked about the sister that she hated.
I would’ve been happy to see my car go up in flames as long as Birdee was locked inside.
“Birdee’s in the hospital with a broken leg and arm. She has a concussion and a few bumps and bruises. Your truck, however, is a total loss.”
Mable groaned.
But a thought occurred to me.
I pulled out my phone and texted Apollo.
Me:
Did she end up paying that car off?
Apollo:
Looks like she posted a check two days ago. It’ll be on the account by tomorrow.
Me:
Where is this car?
Apollo:
Sitting in front of the parents’ place. Why? What’s up?
I gave a quick rundown on what happened, and Apollo came back moments later with some more information.
Apollo:
Looks like the sister is running this under Mable’s name. She gave her Mable’s information when they got to the hospital.
The fucking audacity of this bitch…
“What are you doing?” Mable asked in surprise when I placed the phone up to my ear.
“Making a few phone calls,” I murmured, trying to hold back the rage.
The first call I placed was to the county hospital where Birdee was taken.
“Bear Pass ER.”
“Hi,” I said sweetly. “This is Romeo Haynes, a good friend of Mable Watts. I wanted to call and let you know that the person in your ER right now under the name Mable Watts isn’t the actual Mable Watts.”
There was a long pause where I could hear a lot of commotion in the background. Beeping and raised voices.
“I’m sorry, can you explain that one more time?”
I did, then ended with, “I have a fax coming in right now with the real Mable Watts’s information, as well as a current photo of her.”
“I don’t…” She blew out a frustrated breath.
“I swear to you, the shit I see at this hospital,” she grumbled under her breath as the sound of a rolling chair moving across tiles sounded in the background.
“Yeah, this doesn’t look like the Mable Watts we have in here right now.
I’ll call the police and have this documented. ”
“I’ll be calling them myself,” I said. “Please don’t let her file anything under Mable’s name.
This woman in the ER is actually Birdee Watts, Mable’s sister.
They’re stepsiblings, however, and look similar, but not exact.
I’m also going to fax over all of Birdee’s information so you’ll have the correct information to put in her file. ”
“Thank you,” she said. “I’m Belinda Robins, the charge nurse on shift. If you have any other issues, please don’t hesitate to reach out.”
The next call didn’t go to Bear Pass, but to my buddy, Gentry.
“What’s up?” he asked as soon as he answered.
“Hey, got a situation that I want you to look into.” I started right into the situation at hand. “I want you to look into it and let me know if we can press charges.”
Gentry harrumphed. “It’s snowing. Goddamn. You know I don’t function well in the snow.”
“Gentry, you’re going to have to get over this ‘I don’t do snow’ thing. We live here now. You can’t avoid it the rest of your life. Plus, you have a job that literally requires you to be outside a lot.”
“Just because I have a job that requires me to be outside doesn’t mean that I have to like it.”
“Come on, man. This is important. My friend’s having to deal with a lot of shit from this woman.”
“I’ll go.” He paused. “Has Apollo looked into her?”
“Yeah, and he’s finding all kinds of things.”
“Great. A fuckin’ nut job. Just what I want to deal with,” he grumbled and hung up. “Fuckin’ snow.”
My mouth twitched as he hung up.
“Do you think she’s okay?” Mable asked.
This girl and her big heart.
“She didn’t sound like she was in critical condition, but to be completely honest, I didn’t exactly ask,” I admitted.
A howl of wind hit the cabin, and we both looked outside as the snow started swirling sideways. “Gentry doesn’t like the snow, either?”
“Hates the snow,” he admitted. “He’s originally from Florida. Never gets below seventy there.”
“So you and him moved up here together?” she asked innocently.
My stomach twisted as I thought about how to answer that without outright lying to her.
I didn’t want to lie, but it seemed like I didn’t have much of a choice.
“We found each other once we got up here,” I admitted carefully, not lying, but not telling the entire truth, either. “Seems y’all aren’t super welcoming to newcomers. You give us a lot of shit about our cold intolerance.”
Like I’d hoped, she took the bait and changed the subject. Only, it was back to even more personal questions.
“Why did you move up here if you hate it?” she asked. “Montana is beautiful in the summer and all, but the winters make you want to die.”
“I needed a change of pace,” I admitted, which was honestly the truth. “Plus, it’s kind of nice being in a place that actually has four seasons.”
Again, not a lie.
But definitely not the whole truth, either.
I gestured toward the TV. “What do you want to watch?”