Yet, one look from my concerned brother nearly sent me running back to the bathroom.
BOONE
Rather than return to my condo at the Five Points Lofts, I followed my gut and took the highway down to the Rawlins. My head was in a weird place. I wasn’t sure why a date was such a big mind fuck for me.
Halfway to Rawlins, I had convinced myself that I only nursed this thing for Nova because I got out of jail to find my best friend committed to a woman. Or maybe this infatuation was my way of coping with being locked up for months.
Even if my feelings were a mistake, the idea of giving up Nova left me in a bad mood. I was downright pissed as I rolled up to the townhouse complex where I grew up. Sitting on my idling ride, I accepted it didn’t matter why I was wound up over Nova. My feelings weren’t going away.
“What’s got you fussy?” my dad asked when I finally turned off my motorcycle.
Billy “Blackjack” Chester was a good man down to his core. I grew up wanting to be just like him. His dark hair had gone gray around the temples, and he sported wrinkles around his brown eyes. But he was still a tough man inside and out. Yet, seeing me locked up ate away at him. My mom said my dad had only been able to settle down once I was released.
Now, Blackjack offered me a smirk while I entered through the security gate and walked to where he sat next to Louis "Glitch" Tooker on folding chairs. His fellow Rawlins Heretics member still sported shoulder-length brown hair, which both of his sons mimicked.
“Not going to fess up?” Blackjack asked when I stared at him. “Your mom and the dog are in the backyard. I assume you’re here for your mom’s hugs rather than my wisdom.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Talking was rarely my strong suit. Rather than try to explain myself, I left Blackjack and Glitch to their iced tea. Behind the townhomes, I found my mom sitting near the pool.
My Chihuahua Beef Jerky didn’t notice my approach. He was too busy following around Duffy as she circled the gated pool. Her shepherd mutt, Yellow, trailed her. Duffy’s light brown hair was cut short, just under her ears. She wore headphones and mittens. I heard her humming.
I’d grown up with Duffy and her quirks. Autism kept her from talking much or embracing the world in a real way. As kids, we often played with blocks. She always organized hers in a straight line, while I built mine upward.
Though Duffy didn’t acknowledge my arrival, Yarrow smiled brightly and got up from where she was reading. My mom hugged me as if we’d been apart for too long rather than for only a week. My time in jail messed her up in a lot of ways. Dad said she would wake up and cry over how I was in a cage.
“I didn’t know you were coming home,” Yarrow said and sat with me on the bench.
Rawlins truly was my home. Little Memphis was where I spent most of my time, but this smaller town with the townhouse complex was where my heart lived.
I stroked Yarrow’s dark hair. Her blue eyes shone for me in a way they didn’t for anyone else. The way she looked at Goldie was different. Not better or worse. Just different.
“Are you sad?” Yarrow asked while still hugging me. “You feel sad.”
“I screwed up today.”
“How?”
“I got ahead of myself.”
“That happens,” she said and hugged me tighter. “Want to talk about it?”
Sighing, I fessed up, “You know how I have a little thing for Exile’s sister.”
Yarrow released me and smiled up at my face. “I spied on Nova and her girls at the wedding. They’re so pretty. You should marry her and make more pretty babies.”
“Just like that?”
“Sure. I want a grandbaby. Hurry up so I can start catching up to Ginger.”
“Is that a real competition you’re having?”
“No, but she is always showing off pictures of her grandbabies, and I can only show off photos of my grand-dogs.”
Grinning, I stroked her back. “I haven’t talked to Nova much.”
“So what? I barely talked to your dad before I decided he might be the guy for me. I just liked the way he looked.”
“That’s all it took?”
