"No, and stop asking." And yet somehow, I wasn't actually pissed at him for crossing about a million lines.
He just grinned at me. "I see her on that billboard every time I leave the garage. Man, I need a little something to think about when I'm jacking one off to her."
I twisted the top off my bottle and pitched the cap at the garbage. "First, stop jacking off to my girl. Second, find a real woman!"
"I'm kinda working up to asking out Maisie Hall," he admitted. "She's working in the afternoons now, since your ex has the day shift. Means Maisie's there when I stop in after work, and she smiles at me. Might have a chance, right?"
"If you treat her like a person and not a piece of ass," I told him, but it was with a smile. "She's cute, though."
"Fuck, yeah, she is," he agreed. "Not like most of us can stick our dicks in a model. You know she grew up here? Girl was completely forgettable back then."
"And she was in middle school when we were in high school," I reminded him. "I think all middle school girls were pretty forgettable. But she grew into one hell of a woman, and not just on the outside."
"Love her?" he asked, but the joking was gone.
"I do, yeah," I admitted. "She's great with Faith, too. Nothing but lifting her up and making her feel good about herself, you know? Violet just has this way about her. She makes everyone around her feel like they're the best person in the world - or the worst, if they try to cross her."
He scoffed. "She's got you by the balls, huh?"
"Wouldn't mind if she did," I assured him. "But no. She's not like that. She's just a bit vicious when it comes to protecting the people she cares about. Means Faith, which is how I got an attorney I can't afford for that court case."
"Yeah, custody." He nodded to show he was keeping up. "Simmons has a private eye watching your place. You know that, right?"
"Saw him on the road," I assured him. "Not real worried about it, though. There isn't much to see."
"Well," Mike went on, "heard tell that they're trying to catch y'all breaking some law. Building without a permit, or burning trash. You know, pretty much anything. Said they've got pictures of those fags kissing out front."
I groaned. "Gays or queers, Mike. Fags is like the N-word. They're good guys, too."
His brow creased. "Really?"
I just nodded. "Yep. Cy's been helping me get the equipment back in shape. Ash is a hard-ass, but he likes to do favors. Fucker's rich as shit, too. Makes Simmons look like a beggar."
That had Mike's attention. "How rich?"
I pointed up to the general direction of where that billboard hung. "You know why that's up there? Because I cracked a joke that it'd be nice to show off my girlfriend. His best friend. So, he called up his office in New York and had those things plastered all around the area."
"No shit?" Mike made a face that proved he was impressed. "So, millions?"
"A few of them, sounds like," I agreed.
"Gonna need 'em," Mike said. "Bro, that shit at the grill that you went down for? Yeah, Simmons paid off the Wallace brothers to start it. They called in some farm hands and offered beer. Bells, up at the cop shop? He knew it was gonna go down, but sounds like it was just supposed to be the fa - " He stopped himself. "Uh, gay guys."
I leaned over and clasped his shoulder. "Thanks, Mike. You know that rich fucker, Ash? He bought me that truck. Said the farm needs it, but damned if he didn't put it in my name. I'll tell him to start bringing shit here for maintenance."
Mike just lifted his bottle. "Owe ya a few for that."
So I clanked mine against it, but I hadn't missed what he'd said. "So, the cops knew it was a setup, but they still arrested us?"
"Yep."
"Tell it to me straight, man?" I begged. "I'm scared shitless that Meredith's going to get Faith. I mean, I got a good thing going up there, and they like the kid, but she's got shit at school. Help me out?"
He tilted his bottle again and drained it, then got up to get another. "More?" When I waved him off, he kept talking. "So, Bells has family that makes money off Simmons. Wallace brothers would go tits up without him. Anyways, half this town owes shit to him. So, when Simmons said to just sit on those charges a bit, guess what they're doing? Fact that those gay guys are, uh, gay? Yeah, just convinced most of the force to go with it."
"They talking about it?" I asked.
He nodded. "Down at the grill most nights. Not around David or Bev, though. They ain't stupid. But I figured that after you pulled that shit with the FBI?"
