Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
MOJAVE
I found Killian in the game room with Buzz, playing a game of pool. He gave me a jerk of his chin in greeting, but did a doubletake when he noticed Frankie was with me.
“Dude, what the–”
Buzz cleared his throat before he could finish that sentence, giving a pointed look to the little girl standing at my side and shaking his head. Killian swallowed the curse down, a deep frown on his face. I looked around in confusion at their response.
“Is Gracie here?”
“No, but it’s good practice,” Buzz answered, tipping his head at Frankie. “Hello, little lady. Looking to join the club?”
She’d been eyeing the room curiously, but Buzz’s comment made her smirk and she turned to give him her full attention. “You let girls in your club?”
Buzz waggled a hand side to side. “Haven’t before, but there’s a club kiddo about your age who’s a girl and she’d take exception if she didn’t get the opportunity to join when she’s grown.”
“Don’t tell Butch that. He’ll wring your neck for even suggesting it,” Killian replied, then turned to me. “What’s she doing here, man? Did you call the social worker like Prez said?”
That was when I realized Rachel wasn’t with us. I wasn’t used to people following me around. Frankie was already an unexpected addition.
Thankfully, before I had to figure out if I needed to go looking for her, Rachel showed back up, giving us all a bright smile as she greeted the members of my crew. “Hello. Sorry for the intrusion. Frankie wanted to see the clubhouse.”
She put a hand on Frankie’s shoulder, but Frankie wasn’t the type to cling. She ducked out of Rachel’s grasp and skipped up to Buzz, looking up at him with narrowed eyes. “What’re you playin’?”
“Pool,” he replied, squatting down to her level. “You know how to play?”
She shook her head, eyeing the balls on the table before lifting her chin stubbornly. “I can learn.”
Killian seemed to settle once the social worker arrived and he chuckled at Frankie’s insistent reply. “Don’t learn from Buzz. He sucks. You want to learn pool, learn it from Mojave.”
“Hey! I don’t suck,” Buzz protested with a scowl, but it was too late. Frankie was already skipping back to me and tugging at my sleeve.
“I can play too! I’m good at sports!”
“Not our turn,” I pointed out. “We’ll play later.”
I hadn’t realized what a sucker my crew was for a pout. The minute the disappointment showed up on Frankie’s face, both Killian and Buzz handed off their cues, and took a step back to give us space. I frowned at them.
“You were in the middle of a game.”
Killian waved me off. “It’s fine. I was kicking his–” His gaze dropped to Frankie and he changed his reply last minute– “butt. The game is pretty much over anyway.”
From the sound he made, Buzz didn’t agree, but he wasn’t willing to take his cue back to prove himself either. One glance at the table made me think that was strategic. If he was stripes, there was no way he could come back from where he was currently at. Not against Killian.
Frankie followed me to the end of the table where the rack was stored, watching as I picked up the balls closest to me and put them in the middle. I jerked my chin at the rest. “Go get the ones on the other side. And don’t throw ‘em. They’re heavy.”
She zipped off to do as asked, gently rolling the balls across the table to me with an eager grin on her face.
Rachel watched from the sidelines, her lips pursed like she was thinking hard about something.
I didn’t ask what. She seemed flustered ever since Frankie decided to follow me to the clubhouse and I didn't want to upset her any more by asking what she was thinking. Instead, I offered her a cue.
“You play?”
She seemed surprised I’d asked, taking the cue from me with a frown. “Uh… Not in a long while. I think the last time I played was college.”
I shrugged, grabbing a stick for Frankie that was slightly smaller than the rest. Not kid sized, it was still too big for her, but it’d do in a pinch. “I’m teaming with Frankie. You’ll be fine.”
“I don’t need help!” Frankie argued.
I raised an eyebrow at her. “You don’t know how to play yet. You can do it yourself on the second round.”
That seemed to appease her and she nodded, following in my shadow as I removed the rack and lined up the first shot.
The break shot sent the balls scattering and Frankie practically climbed onto the table to watch.
I had to pull her back to keep her fingers from being smacked when one bounced off the side and came back our way. I gave her a look.
“Rule one. Don’t touch the table unless it’s your turn or you’ll end up with bruised fingers.”
“Yeah, I should’ve explained that rule to Gracie the first time she played,” Buzz admitted with a wince. “Her finger got smacked and I got a pounding from Papa Bear for not watching her.” His gaze flicked to Rachel and he blanched. “Uh… I mean… pounding is maybe a strong word.”
Rachel looked amused by his blunder, leaning over the table and lining up her shot. When the cue smacked against the ball, it hit a few of them, sending two into the pockets without any effort. My eyebrows jumped in surprise. She was better than she let on.
“Don’t worry,” she said to Buzz. “I’m not here officially. I’m just here for Frankie. And I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if a group of men got rough with each other on occasion. It happened plenty with the frats in college.”
All three of us made a disgruntled sound over the idea of being compared to a frat. We weren’t a bunch of frat boys. We were a crew. It was different.
“My turn! My turn!” Frankie insisted, tugging at my cut. It distracted me and I gave her my attention, handing her the cue and nudging her around the table so she’d have a better shot at hitting what she needed to.
“We’re solids. So you want to get the solid ones in the pockets without any of the stripes going in too. Aim for the blue one. It’s in a good spot.”
She wasn’t quite tall enough to line up a good shot, but she didn’t let that stop her, standing on tip toes with her tongue poking out of the side of her mouth as she tried to copy what I’d done before.
Her shot was more of a push, which was against the rules, so I snagged the ball before it could go far, lining it up again and helping her readjust.
“Don’t push it. That’s against the rules. Tap it.”
“I would’ve let her have it,” Buzz argued. “It wasn’t that much of a push.”
I gave him a bland look. “She asked to learn how to play. I’m not teaching her wrong. Try again, Frankie.”
She did, this time letting go of the cue at the same time so it slid against the table.
I reset the cue ball without a word, nudging her hands into a better position.
Third time was the charm and she smacked the ball without dropping the cue or pushing anything.
It was a little hard and it went too far right, but she ended up hitting in the yellow ball instead when the cue ball bounced off the edge and went in another direction.
I patted her shoulder in congratulations, while Rachel and the guys cheered.
Frankie looked up at me, a big beaming grin on her face.
“See? I told you I could do it.”
“You did. Good job. Watch your opponent. Half the game is playing against them.”
We played a few rounds before Rachel suggested that Frankie go home so they could talk to her parents. Frankie didn’t look happy about it, possessively holding the cue to her chest and frowning at Rachel.
“I don’t wanna go! They aren’t home anyway!”
“Hey, hey, little lady. You can always come back,” Buzz soothed, giving Rachel a questioning look. “Right?”
Rachel’s frown said she wasn’t sure she agreed with that, which only made Frankie double down. She hopped down from the stool I’d grabbed her so she could reach the table better, moving to stand behind me with a deep scowl on her face.
“I’m not doin’ nuthin’ wrong!”
Rachel looked pained as she put her hands up placatingly. “I’m not saying you are, sweetie, but you really shouldn’t be here without a parent–”
“I told you, they’re busy!”
The noise was grating and made my face twitch. This was why I only showed up at the clubhouse in the middle of the day. It got too noisy in the evening with all the kids around. Only this time the kid was hiding behind me.
Turning to look down at Frankie, I told her, “We can ask your parents for permission first. Rachel’s right, they should know where you are.”
My suggestion made Frankie hesitate, her eyes darting back and forth as she considered the possibilities. She must’ve decided she would have better luck getting permission than arguing with Rachel because she eventually gave in, handing me the pool cue with a pout. “Fine.”
“Come on. I’ll walk you home.”
She dragged her feet, but with my hand on her shoulder, she went willingly enough. I lifted my chin at Killian, he knew I’d meet up with him later, and led the way outside with Rachel following behind us.
It was later than I expected, already twilight, and the stars were just starting to come out.
The first few minutes of the walk were quiet, Frankie stewing and Rachel studying her with a frown.
The quiet never bothered me, I preferred it most of the time, but I could tell the ladies were upset.
I looked up, studying the stars overhead, and tapped Frankie’s shoulder, pointing at them.
“See the brightest one? It’s the north star.
Someone told me it’d guide you home if you got lost.”
Frankie looked up, tipping her head at the stars in question. “How? They don’t move.”
I shrugged. “No idea.”
Frankie’s expression screwed up in confusion, but it was Rachel who answered the question for us.
“It’s called the north star because it sits almost exactly lined up with where the earth rotates.
The other stars rotate with the earth, but the north star never moves.
Way back, people used that as a very special compass, helping them to know which way is north wherever they went. ”
“What’s a compass?” Frankie asked, nearly tripping over a rock when she was too busy staring up to pay attention to her feet.
I caught her arm before she could fall, dragging her back so she walked between me and Rachel, well within reach if she tripped again, and she didn't argue the placement. She just gave Rachel an expectant look.
Rachel’s head tipped, her smile soft as she explained, “It’s a tool people use to find their way. I bet your teacher has one they can show you. Or the science teacher definitely would. You should ask.”
She was good with kids. Frankie looked intrigued and shit like that might get her to school without a fight.