Junkyard Dog(24)

“No, I don’t. You and I aren’t close,” I say, putting out the cold hard facts. “We could be one day. We’re the only ones left in the family, and we could learn to be friends. I’d like that, Honey.”

Her indifference crumbles, and my sister bursts into tears. I’m startled when she falls into my arms but quickly rebound with a tight hug. Her tears only last a few minutes, but they come violently until she’s spent.

“I’m so tired,” she whispers, wiping her eyes. “It’s a tired deep in my bones. Like the kind mom had.”

I hear the fear in her voice. Not of her abusive husband or a life raising four kids alone. I hear the terror of ending up like Mom, who walked into a forest and never came back out. Yvonne Wilbert is still considered missing, but we know the truth. Mom needed an end and didn’t want her kids to know the ugly truth. We did, though. Anyone who knew mom knew she didn’t go hiking that day. She went into the woods to find a peace life never provided.

“You’re safe here,” I say after bringing her a drink. “I will help you. If need be, I’ll ask Hayes for help too. He has houses we can get for cheap rent. He can help you find a job. He’s smart and likes to show off his power. He’ll help you when you’re ready.”

Honey nods, understanding I’ve accepted she isn’t leaving Douche yet. Somehow, she can’t walk away. Not even after he threw her out into a cold night. For so long, she’s conditioned herself to stay. Now she doesn’t know how to leave. Despite all of Andrew’s training, I feel Honey looking for the exit from her bullshit marriage.





FIFTEEN - CANDY


Despite sharing my bed with the twins, I sleep well. Like me, they rarely move at night. As babies, they were so still I often checked to make sure they were still breathing.

Waking at six, I take a shower and leave the kids to sleep longer. I glance in at Honey curled up with three of her four kids. Only Allison remains in Chipper’s bed. She sleeps with her arms and legs stretched out, taking full advantage of the space.

Downstairs, I make coffee and scrambled eggs. By the time the twins stumble downstairs dressed, I have their lunches packed, and breakfast is waiting.

“What about them?” Cricket asks, glancing upward.

“Let them sleep.”

“Doesn’t Allison go to school?” Chipper asks.

“Oh, yeah.” Rolling my eyes, I shrug. “She has no clothes to wear here. Let her sleep. Honey can figure things out for tomorrow.”

“How long are they staying?”

“Until Douche says they can come home.”

Cricket shakes her head. “I’m never getting married.”

“Jinxed yourself, hug-a-baloo. Everyone knows once you state something as a fact the universe immediately decides you must be proven wrong.”

Cricket doesn’t believe me. I see her give Chipper a weird look, and he nods. Their twin powers mean never having to make a snide comment about me aloud.

I braid Cricket’s hair and fix Chipper’s floppy bangs. Once they brush their teeth, we head to the car and leave the drama-filled house behind.

Hayes is already in the office when I arrive, and I’m nervous to see him. Anxious or not, I hurry inside and head straight for his door.

“Miss me?” he asks, without looking up from his computer.

“Yeah, actually.”

Startled by my lack of snark, Hayes frowns. “Why?”

“Didn’t you miss me?”

“Nope,” he says, standing up.

“Are you going to kiss me again?”

“Probably.”

I back away and he follows. “I haven’t had my coffee yet.”

“Don’t care.”

“I have a favor to ask.”

“I’ll be gentle,” he says in an anything but gentle growl.

I keep backing away. “It’s a favor for Honey.”

“Unless you’re talking about a threesome, I don’t give a shit about your sister currently.”

I stop retreating and frown at him. “That’s disgusting.”

“You’re the one who said if I saved you and Honey during the apocalypse I’d have two women. You were disgusting first.”

“I meant you’d boink one of us one night and the other the next night, not that we’d have an incestuous threesome. You’re so gross.”

Hayes crosses his arms over his wide chest. “You’re stalling.”

“I’m afraid you’ll kiss away all my brain cells,” I murmur, again retreating.

“Probably,” he says, returning to the chase.

“Can you talk to Douche and make him let her come home?”

“If I talk to him, it won’t be about something that minor.”

“Whatever. If you have to break a few of his bones to make him agree, I’m perfectly okay with that. I just need her to be able to return home. Her staying with me isn’t ideal.”

“Kick her out.”

Shaking my head, I dodge him and walk to the kitchenette. “You’re full of shit. If she showed up at your house, no way would you kick her out.”

“Wouldn’t have to because I’d never let her in the house in the first place.”