“Grandma has a printer in her office,” Dillon offered.
Vanessa nodded. “Don’t be a scared bitch. Just print out a face and leave it for her.”
“What’s happening?” Clint asked, entering behind me. “What are we printing out?”
“An actress’s face for Nova.”
“What actress?”
“I’m not doing that,” I said and headed for the door.
Clint stopped me. “We should talk.”
“I don’t need advice.”
“You made it sound like you were going to make a move on Nova.”
“I thought she was interested because of the paper. But she isn’t ready or interested, so I’m bailing. Now move, or I’ll pick you up and set you aside. Do you want me to treat you like an annoying child?”
Before I could follow through with my threat against Clint, Ivy appeared from behind him. With her standing less than five feet tall, it was possible she had been behind him the entire time without me noticing.
“Nova likes you,” Ivy whispered. “She doesn’t like anyone else. Don’t be mad because she’s nervous.”
“I’m not mad. I just shouldn’t have come over and made a scene. Now, she’s hiding in the bathroom, and a group of women are trying to get me to leave a goofy message.”
“She’s hiding because we were all staring at her,” Clint said. “Also, Exile is trying to figure out if he should have a talk with you.”
“Good Lord,” I grumbled and ran my hands through my hair. “I shouldn’t have said a damn thing.”
“No, doofus,” Vanessa insisted as she ditched her veggies and walked to me. “You’re thinking like your dad when you ought to be thinking like your mom. I mean, we’re talking about a woman who gave you a piece of paper with Eddie Murphy’s face printed on it. That’s not sensible shit. That’s crazy Yarrow shit.” Vanessa placed her hands on my shoulders and declared, “Embrace your inner Yarrow.”
“Let’s all chill out,” Clint said and shooed away his cousin. “Ivy, why don’t you check on Nova while Boone and I talk about men issues.”
“Like athlete’s foot and beard maintenance?” Ivy asked her husband before snickering with Vanessa.
“I’ll go with you,” Vanessa told Ivy.
“Wait, who’s watching the girls?” I asked.
“They’re in a fenced backyard,” Vanessa said while wandering after Ivy. “Where can they go?”
Bebe frowned at Vanessa and walked outside to where her foster kids Elijah and Jenan played near Nova’s girls.
I exited the front door and headed for my motorcycle. Clint was right on my ass like I assumed he would be.
“Don’t bail.”
“It’s gotten weird.”
“I thought you liked weird,” Clint asked and tugged me to a stop. “You’ve always preferred crazy and wild. What’s got you worked up?”
“Nova’s not like that.”
“Well, she’s a little weird.”
“I don’t know why I didn’t keep my mouth shut for a few days. Now, Exile is riled up a day after his wedding.”
“But if you held off for a week or two, Nova would have been flipping out about whether you’d seen the paper and were ignoring her. Getting it out there is better.”
