Games of the Heart (The 'Burg #4)(85)

“Fuck me, The Lone Wolf is gossiping,” Mike muttered and Cal’s grin got bigger.

“You gotta know, unless you keep it wrapped up tight like you have all the other ass you’ve been tappin’, small town, word flies. My woman’s tight with Cheryl. Cheryl works at J&J’s. Cheryl caught sight of you and your woman Friday night and she was on the phone faster ‘n lightnin’ sharin’ that shit. Then Mimi kicked in, providin’ the info you and your woman were cozy over coffee at her place. This means Vi, Cheryl, Feb, Mimi and Jessie been peckin’ over you and your woman all weekend. Jessie even did drive-bys of your house and yes, that’s plural. Reportedly, you didn’t come up for air all weekend.”

“Jesus,” Mike muttered, sensing an already annoying situation deteriorating when, from the desks opposite the narrow aisle, Colt’s attention came to the conversation and Sully, across from Mike, actually swiveled his chair to face them. It was worse because Merry was returning from wherever Merry disappeared.

“Vi’s a mess,” Cal went on and Mike looked to him. “Feb, Jessie and Mimi reported that your girl in high school took a walk on the bitch side. She’s convinced history is repeating itself. You gotta give me something, man, so she doesn’t hunt her ass down and ask her to state her intentions.”

Mike held his eyes and returned, “Dusty just lost her brother. I know Vi gets that and I hope she doesn’t do somethin’ stupid that’ll piss me off because, fair warning, she does, I’ll let her know it.”

“Dusty Holliday?” Colt asked and Mike looked to him.

Colt was Feb’s husband. Colt had lived this all weekend just like Cal. But Colt was a man who let you share when and if you were ready rather than forcing it. That said, if it was out there, Colt wouldn’t hesitate to jump right in and his next words verified this.

“You finally tagged Darrin’s sister?” he finished knowing Mike did since his wife had been talking about it all weekend and some of this talk was undoubtedly directed Colt’s way.

There it was, the floodgates had opened. And Colt of all people opened them.

Fuck him.

Mike had been a cop a long time and a man all his life. He’d seen this before. Often. So he kept his mouth shut, his body leaned back in his chair and let it ride.

“Holy f**k,” Sully murmured, his eyes on Mike. “Funeral hook up. Didn’t know you had that in you. Impressed.”

Mike closed his eyes. He opened them again when Merry spoke.

“What’s that mean, ‘finally’?” he asked Colt, sitting with his ass on his desk.

“Jackie said more than once back in the day that Mike was impatient,” Colt explained. “Dated the wrong sister. At the time, Dusty was too young. He waited a few years, according to Jackie, he’d get his soul mate.”

Jackie was Colt’s motherin-law. Jackie was one of the J’s in J&J’s Saloon. Jackie now spent some of her time down in Florida, most of it up in The ‘Burg spoiling Colt and Feb’s son and her other two grand children rotten. And Jackie Owens had for years been The ‘Burg’s resident sage.

“Soul mate,” Merry murmured not hiding the fact he found this amusing. Also clearly not remembering not three f**king months ago, shitfaced, Mike at his side waiting for the time he could pour Merry in his truck then take him home and pour him in into his condo, he’d called his ex Mia the same f**king thing.

“Jesus, man, you had the sister too?” Sully asked, eyes wide, now visibly impressed.

“Don’t think I’ll tell Vi that shit,” Cal muttered.

“She already knows,” Mike told him. “If Feb, Mimi and Jessie didn’t share, which they probably did, the first time I had her in my bedroom, I showed her Dusty’s farm and told her about Debbie.”

Cal’s smile died and his eyes got hard.

Score for Mike. Cal didn’t like a reminder his wife had been in Mike’s bedroom at all much less more than once.

Served his ass, walking up to the bullpen knowing full well he’d be instigating this shit just with a grin.

For the record, after playing games of the heart, Mike had an uneasy détente with Joe Callahan. Cal won Vi, he was enjoying the spoils and his getting her pregnant and vocally intending to do it again soon was proof of that. At the time though, Cal had screwed the pooch and he’d done it huge giving Mike a viable shot and Cal knew it. He also didn’t like it “Only thing I remember about Dusty Holliday back in the day was that she could sing,” Merry noted. “Dad said the only part of church he missed when we quit goin’ was that Holliday girl and her golden pipes.”

“She still sing?” Sully asked.

Mike didn’t get the chance to answer, not that he would have. Merry butted in.

“Don’t know if Dusty still sings but Mike was whistlin’ a tune when he jogged up those steps yesterday mornin’, rarin’ to take on the week,” he said, grinning at Mike like the ass**le he could be.

“Never heard you whistle,” Sully said to Mike.

“I meant figuratively, Sul,” Merry muttered but Sully ignored him.

“This one, you think, maybe, someday in his decade or the next, you might introduce to your kids?” Sully asked.

“She practically threw Rees’s birthday party,” Merry shared something he’d been sitting on for use at the right moment, namely this one.