“Right, now that everything is done,” Ink said, walking over to them. “Will you be okay?”
“We’ll be fine. Thanks for everything, man,” Cash said. “I owe you.”
“You don’t owe family.”
Finally, it was just the three of them left. Cash glanced up at his brother. “Thanks for your help, Aidan.”
“You don’t have to thank me,” Aidan said, sitting next to him with a deep sigh. “I’m just glad your girl is okay. Maybe we can have dinner soon at our place so she can meet Livvy and the boys.”
“Yeah, that would be good. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you everything that was going on,” Cash told him.
“I’m here for you, brother. We’re family. Yeah, some fuckups have been made in the past, but they’re done. We’re family forever and I love you.”
“I love you too,” Cash told him.
Addie turnedher head to smile at Aidan. She knew it was shaky, but she wanted to let him know that she would be all right. And that she totally approved of what he’d just said to Cash.
Aidan smiled back. “Nice to meet you, little sister.”
Oh. Wow.
“Now, are you guys going to be all right staying here? Do you want to come stay with us?”
She tensed at the thought of staying here tonight. She wasn’t sure she’d feel safe.
“Thanks, but we have a place to go for the night.”
63
If Bubble gum and Cotton Candy had a baby, they would live in this bedroom. Cash stared around the spare bedroom at Bonnie’s apartment in horror.
Everything was a shade of pink, from pale pink all the way to hot pink. Every pink you could imagine. The only things that weren’t pink were the doors and the carpet. That was it. Even the ceiling was pink, with a pink chandelier hanging from it.
“Is this all right?” Bonnie asked. “Here, why don’t you put her down? I’ve got a weighted blanket in this chest. That might help.”
Bonnie bustled around as Cash laid Addie down on the fluffy pink bedspread.
Was it possible to get a migraine from looking at too much pink?
Because if it was, he was well on his way to developing one. But he didn’t say anything to Bonnie. She was being really kind to Addie, fussing over her. She found a weighted blanket and tucked it around her.
Addie just stared around, looking at both of them, but not saying anything. He wasn’t certain if she was still too anxiousand scared to talk, or whether she was just so overwhelmed she had nothing to say.
“This is great, Bonnie, thanks,” he said to her. “I really appreciate you putting us up like this. I didn’t think that my brother’s house was a good place for Addie right now. She needs some quiet and to feel safe.”
“Of course you should come here. We’re family, aren’t we?” Bonnie said as she patted his arm. “I know you’ve never really liked having this job, Cash. I asked for you because I figured it would be good for you to come home. That it would give you a chance to reunite with your brother and sister. I’m sorry if it was the wrong thing to do, bringing you here.”
Cash froze and stared down at her. “You brought me here, Bonnie?”
Bonnie shrugged. “I overheard Dante and Ralen talking about your situation, about how your brother and sister didn’t even know you were alive, and you didn’t want to tell them unless you could go home and see them in person, because you thought they might try to find you. I wanted to move away, and I had a choice of several locations for my shop, so I chose this one thinking I could bring you with me, and you could reunite with them. But sometimes you don’t seem really happy about being here, so I worry I made the wrong choice. And—oomph!”
Cash cut her off as he drew her tight into his chest and rocked her back and forth. “Bonnie, you’re one of the very best people I know.” He pulled back and stared down at her. “And I’m not upset about being home. Coming home was the second-best thing to ever happen to me, the first being meeting Addie. If I hadn’t been able to reunite with my brother and sister, to tell them I was alive, I think I might have gone slowly mad. I think that one day I likely would have picked a fight that I couldn’t win.”
Sadness filled Bonnie’s face. “I didn’t want that to happen.”
“Being here doesn’t upset me, Bonnie. Looking after you doesn’t upset me. Sometimes I just feel a lack of control over my life.”
“Oh, if anyone knows about that, it’s me,” Bonnie said.
