She nods quickly. “I want to track her ass down and put my fist right into her face.”
“That’s my plan if I ever lay eyes on her. And the girls—” I shake my head, trying to tamp down my anger “—are the best and cutest things you’ve ever seen. They’re sweet, smart, and a little mischievous. If I could design two little girls for myself, they would be it.”
“If shit works out between you two, they may be just that. She’s out of the picture, so you’d be their mom. Could you handle that?”
“I think so,” I tell her truthfully. “I’m sure it wouldn’t be easy, but I’d give them all the love I have to give.”
“Kids are easy. Mouthy as fuck sometimes and full of attitude, but food, water, love, candy, and voilà, happy buggers.”
“Is it really that easy?” I ask her.
“No.” She chuckles. “But it’s the lie I tell myself. I just want them to grow up and be happy. I don’t want to be the reason they’re in therapy as adults.”
I can’t stop the laughter that bursts from my lips.
“What are you two laughing about?” Pike asks as he walks into the shop, his shirt lifted a bit as he scratches his stomach. His hair is wild as hell like he rolled out of bed and stalked into the room. I can see why my cousin fell hard for the guy. He is mint.
“Not wanting to traumatize our kids so they end up in therapy.”
“You’re the best mom,” he tells her as he leans over, kissing the top of her head.
She casts her gaze at him, smiling with so much love it makes my heart ache. “You’re a good liar, baby.”
I’ve always wanted a love like theirs, and for the first time in my life, I feel like I’m the closest I’ve ever been. I can picture Wylder and me ten years from now, and it would be this. The girls would be grown and maybe out of the house, living a crazy life at a college in a warm and sunny location.
“There’s something different about you today,” Pike tells me as his eyes search my face.
“The girl got dicked down properly,” Gigi tells him.
I want to climb under the desk and die. Who says shit like that? My cousin. And the only person worse than her is another one of my cousins, Tamara. The mouths on those two are ridiculous.
“Well, okay then. That’ll do it,” he says with a slight chuckle as he walks to the back of the shop.
I smack my cousin on the shoulder, but not with any anger or hatred. “Stop telling people about my sex life.”
She brushes me off like I am a tiny gnat bumping into her. “He’s not people. He’s my husband, and the man knows what aproper dick down means. It’s how he made me fall in love with him.”
“Some things are meant to be private,” I tell her, pushing away from the desk, ready to start the day.
“Then don’t walk like you still have his cock lodged in your vagina. It’s hard to ignore the telltale signs of a great dicking, baby girl.”
I give her the middle finger again, the conversation dying as soon as a customer walks in the door.
Thankfully, he’s there for Gigi, and his wife is getting inked by Pike. I have fifteen more minutes to get my shit together and figure out a way to walk like a normal human being.
The sun has setby the time I pull in front of Wylder’s house. The lights are on, but the Scout isn’t there. I hope the truck didn’t take a shit on the way home again. That would suck.
Maybe he ran out so fast after the phone call, he forgot to turn off the lights. I do things like that all the time when I’m in a panic and moving faster than my mind.
Wylder last texted me two hours ago, letting me know they were within a few hours, so I figured he’d be here by now.
When I make it to the front door, it’s cracked open, and music is coming from the back of the house where the kitchen is.
“Hello,” I call out as I push open the door and look around, seeing and hearing no one. “Anyone here?” I wait a moment for a reply before stepping inside.
I push the door closed behind me, not bothering to lock it. If they’re not here, they will be any minute.
“Hello,” I call out again when I hear the scraping of something in the kitchen.
