“It’s something he’d definitely do.”
He nodded. “Yeah. I’m gonna hit the bathroom quick, and then we’re going to lead Cal and Blood to your place.”
“What for?” I asked.
He gave me a small smile. “They’re going to move the boxes to a storage unit. That’ll be one less thing for us to handle tomorrow.”
I reached up and slid my fingers into his hair, then went up on tiptoes to kiss him. “Thanks, Punc.”
He groaned. “Don’t be sweet like that.”
I laughed and lowered down. “Why not?”
He ran his nose alongside mine. “Because we don’t have time for me to reciprocate.”
17
Shave and a Haircut
Savannah
“Getyourfinetushin the living room, I got this,” Punc insisted.
I shot him a look. “After you sent Cal and Blood on their way with the boxes, you unearthed a grill pan I didn’t even realize Mom had, and made me a steak for dinner, Punc. The least I can do is clean up.”
He matched my look and added in raised eyebrows. “The longer we bicker about this, the longer it takes to get this done. Take your wine and turn on the TV.”
“Thank you for making me dinner,” I said, then topped off our glasses of vino and took them into the living room.
“You’re welcome.”
I had a series ready to watch when someone knocked on the door with the rhythm of ‘Shave-and-a-Haircut.’ Only one personI knew used that knock, and this would be even better than him returning my many calls.
I hurried to the door before Punc could stop me.
“Don’t open that door, Savannah,” he said, rounding the breakfast bar and following me to the foyer.
I looked over my shoulder at him. “It’s Dad, and it’s about damn time he showed up.”
With a fake smile, I opened the door and swung my arm out, gesturing Dad inside. “Hey, Dad. Long time no talk. Come on in.”
He turned his head almost an inch, as though he suspected I was being fake, but he came inside anyway.
The moment he laid eyes on Punc, he turned around. “No, sweetie, I didn’t realize you had company, I’ll stop by to see you and your sister later.”
I stood in front of the closed door. “Later, huh? Will that be before or after Frank Darren swings by for Mom’s insurance settlement, hmm?”
“Don’t be like that—”
My temper snapped. “You have lost your mind! Did you know that asshole threatened meandCatalina? I mentioned it in my voicemails. Maybe you know Frank’s friend Gary. According to Frank, Gary likes ‘em young, and heespeciallyliked the looks of Catalina. Tell me, Dad, when exactly are you gonna swing back by? I called you day after day for the past monthafterI got out of the hospital. You couldn’t be bothered to return justoneof those calls. So, no, you aren’t leaving until you answer my questions.”
Dad didn’t look nervous anymore, he almost looked devastated. His face had gone pale and genuine concern filled his eyes. “He sent you to the hospital?”
I couldn’t fall prey to his devastation and concern. “No, that was someone else because you see, to even pay the monthly installment on this loan, I had to start stripping.”
Dad’s expression fell even further, and he looked like he might be sick.
“Yeah, it skeeved me out at first, too. But like you said when I was little, I’m as pretty as the day is long, and I’ve been told that I’m really great at it.”
