“Yes, I do,” Presley said as she crossed her arms aggressively. “Y’all gonna do something about that, right?” She demanded with a twang I’d never heard her use before. She immediately covered her mouth with her hand. “My southern slips out when I’m pissed. We don’t talk about it.”
“Arewein the room with us?” I laughed. “BecauseIwill talk about it.”
“Shut up, son,” Mom stage-whispered.
“As much as I would love to watch you keep digging that hole, we need to get moving,” Dice said from the front door.
“You’re right,” I agreed, turning to my mom. “I’ll pack an overnight bag for you. Do you need anything other than the usual?”
“Just my new medications and my handy-dandy butt pillow,” she said, causing Silas to chuckle from behind Dice. “If you tell anyone about that?—”
“I won’t,” he promised.
By the time we were ready to leave, Flint and Diesel had arrived, as well as Carbon, putting me instantly on alert.
“Hey, man,” I said. “We weren’t expecting you. Did something happen?”
“Yeah, something happened,” Carbon said harshly. “Those little shit stains didn’t heed their gracious warning. I’ve volunteered to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
“Appreciate it, brother.”
“It’s not just for you,” he said darkly. “My daughter goes to that school.”
“That’s right. Isn’t she the one who set the lab on fire?” I asked, as if I wasn’t there.
He grinned, as I’d hoped. “Yes, she did.”
Dice honked the horn. “We’re waiting on you!”
“Catch y’all tomorrow,” I said and hurried to my ride.
Dice took me and Presley to her house before taking Mom to my house. “Did we know Shaker was standing in the bushes on the side of Presley’s house like a creep?” Dice asked as he pulled into her driveway.
“No,” Presley and I said at the same time.
Shaker motioned me over as soon as I got out. “Phoenix filled me in. I didn’t want to scare the kids, but I didn’t want to leave them unaware and unprotected.”
“So they don’t know you’re here?”
“No, and I’d like to keep it that way,” he said and nodded his head toward the house. “Jake.”
“Ah, gotcha.” He didn’t want it to seem like he thought Jake couldn’t protect Ariel, especially in front of her.
“Give me a few minutes to get gone before you let Jake clear out,” he said. “Unless you need me to hang around.”
“Nah, you’re good, but I’ll probably have Jake hang around until we leave,” I said. “It feels weird to say that to you.”
“He’s a prospect.”
“But you’re his father.”
“And I know he’s a prospect.”
“It’s still weird,” I said.
Shaker laughed. “Call or text if you need anything.”
“Thanks, man,” I said and walked back to the SUV where Dice, Presley, and Mom were waiting. “Don’t say anything about Shaker being here. I’ll explain later,” I told Presley as I helped her out. “Mom, Dice will help you inside when you get to my house. Make yourself comfortable and make him get you whatever you need until I get there.”
