“What are your rates, Micah?” my dad asked as he began to serve us. “I need to update the shop’s website.”
“Oh, I’d be happy to do it for free.”
I knew that would be the wrong thing to say. My dad turned around and pointed his tongs at him.
“Don’t do that to yourself, kiddo. Know your worth.”
“Kiddo,” Cruz snickered as he patted Micah’s head.
I couldn’t help the grin that graced my lips.
“And you.” My dad turned his intense gaze toward Cruz. “Stop messing around with Ricky and his crew.”
All three of us looked at one another. It seemed my dad was more aware of the town’s surroundings than we thought.
“You know Big Dog?” Cruz asked lightheartedly when both Micah and I knew that wasn’t the case.
My dad kept talking, unaware that we were taking note of every word that came out of his mouth.
“I don’t know Ricky, but his uncle did go to school with me. He was a few years older than me. I know he practically helped his sister raise him.”
“So he was close with his uncle?” I asked.
Any clue we could get about Big Dog would be beneficial.
My dad laughed at this. He finished serving all of us and instead led us toward the dining room, which we rarely had a chance to use.
“I don’t think they are that close anymore. Rumor has it that it was Ricky who got his uncle locked up in county.”
Cruz let out a whistle. “With family like that, who needs enemies, right?”
“That’s exactly why you should stop hanging out with him.”
Cruz made a blank promise that he would, but deep down, even my dad knew you couldn’t just walk away from someone like Ricky.
We all ate and joked around. The chatter around the table was lighthearted. As lighthearted as it could get when you knew you had someone looking over your shoulder. There were timeswhen I opened my mouth and almost blurted out the truth to my dad. With Micah and Cruz here, I felt almost brave to shout it out.
Once we were done eating, we told my dad to go rest, and that we would take care of the dishes since it seemed fair. We all joked around in the kitchen, keeping things from getting too serious or from stopping my dad from overhearing. It wasn’t until we heard the shower running that the three of us collectively took a deep breath.
“You guys are thinking what I’m thinking, right?” Cruz said, leaning back against the kitchen island.
“We need to pay a visit to Big Dog’s uncle?”
“There’s no we, I’m going to go pay a visit.”
I rolled my eyes at him.
“You’re not going alone.”
The asshole grinned. “Scared for me, princess?”
I shook my head.
“Go ahead and keep doing stupid shit then.”
He took a step forward and cupped my cheeks, then bent and gave me a slow peck on the lips. My heart sped up, mostly out of fear that my dad would walk down.
He then leaned over me and did the same thing to Micah, who had been standing next to me.
