Rock Chick Redemption (Rock Chick #3)(64)

“For f**k’s sake, girl. We don’t want it borin’ but this ain’t the goddamned French f**kin’ Connection,” he boomed and I could tel he was trying to make a joke but he didn’t think the situation was al that funny.

I grinned at him, but it was weak.

He put his big hand on the top of my head for a second then took it away.

I grinned at him again, this time it was stronger.

“We got al your stuff in, it’s in the extra bedroom,” Al y announced and I turned to her.

“Nancy and I packed your things at Tex’s and brought them over,” Kitty Sue added and I looked to her, in total shock. I opened my mouth to say something, something like, “Are you f**king insane?” but then Tex caught my look and started booming.

“No lip, Roxie. Hank wants you with him, you’re stayin’

with him.”

Good God.

They’d moved me in with Hank.

They’d moved me in with Hank.

Uncle Tex was right. It’d been a week, and there I was, al moved in with Hank.

Shit.

I stared at Jet and she was giving me a look that was half smile, half grimace. She knew my pain, she’d had to move in with Eddie during her troubles and even though her problems were through, she stil hadn’t moved out. I could tel she wasn’t going to do a thing about my current situation though, likely because she agreed with everyone else.

I made a strangled sound and looked back at Tex. I was beginning to get angry.

“Do I not have a say in this?” I asked Uncle Tex.

“Nope,” He responded.

My eyes narrowed. “Excuse me but I think I do.”

“You can have your say when people aren’t shootin’ at you,” Tex returned.

Jason, Lee and Eddie walked in from the TV room to catch what was likely to be a more spectacular show as I squared off with Uncle Tex.

“That’s just it, they were shooting at me but Daisy was with me. They could have shot her. They did shoot her car!” I snapped. “Seems to me everyone would be a heck of a lot safer if I was far away from here.”

“You ain’t thinkin’ straight,” Tex said agreeably. “That’s understandable.”

I stomped my foot. I was no longer beginning to get angry, I was out and out angry.

“I am thinking straight. If something happens to someone because of me, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”

“Nothing’s going to happen,” Hank said from beside me, cutting into the conversation.

I turned to him. “Yeah? You sure about that?” I asked.

His eyes got hard. “Yeah,” he said slowly, staring at me.

“Yeah, I’m f**kin’ sure.”

Holy cow.

The way he said it, the way he looked, made me believe him.

Almost.

“Hank, that mouth,” Kitty Sue said in a mother’s tone.

Even with the tension flowing between Hank and me, I had to admire Kitty Sue tel ing off her grown-up, super-macho, badass cop son for dropping the f-bomb.

Then she announced, “Spaghetti’s ready, let’s eat.” The conversation was over and so was the show.

Even though I didn’t want it to be, I real y had no choice.

* * * * *

We ate. We did the dishes. We played Scattergories. Uncle Tex took Nancy home. We had sundaes smothered in hot fudge sauce and topped with whipped cream and a cherry. We did the new dishes. Kitty Sue went home, Hank and Lee both walking her to her car.

This I found so sweet I felt my breath constrict in my chest and caught Indy’s eye. Her eyes were bright and warm and something flowed from her to me, like an invitation to a sisterhood that only we two could share. I wanted to accept, more than anything I’d ever wanted in my whole life; even Corporate Diva-dom, closets stuffed with clothes and a front row seat at the Chanel Winter Runway Show in Paris.

Hank and Lee came back and the moment was lost, but the promise remained and I felt so moved by it, I barely said another word the rest of the night.

We played more Scattergories. We listened to Indy and Al y tel ing stories of Haunted Houses past and I began to get more and more freaked out at this Haunted House business. It didn’t sound fun, it sounded frightening, it sounded crazy, it sounded total y out of control.

Hank noticed me getting tense and pointedly put away the Scattergories game.

Everyone took the hint, hugs were exchanged then they al left.

“You’ve gone quiet,” Hank commented after he’d closed and locked the door.

“I was shot at today,” I answered, thinking I had a good point even though I was lying.

He walked up to me. “That’s not it.”

He was right, that wasn’t it. How he knew that, don’t ask me but it was like he had a cord and he’d plugged it into me the minute he first laid eyes on me. It had been that way since the start. This freaked me out and made me feel centered and safe al at the same time. Don’t ask me how it did this, I couldn’t tel you that either.

“It’s nothing,” I said. “I need to cal Daisy.” Surprisingly, he let it go, saying he had his own cal s to make.

I cal ed Daisy and she told me she was fine and not to worry about her.

“They f**ked with the wrong girl when they f**ked with me. Mark my words,” she threatened.