Page 54
I closed my eyes and sighed.
“What did he do now?”
“He was involved in a bar fight. He didn’t start it, but he sure did finish it. He sliced the guy up good.”
“Then why was he arrested if he was defending himself?”
“His dumbass fled and wouldn’t let the cops take him in.”
I said a silent prayer, asking God to give me strength.
“So… instead of walking away, he gets himself charged with a DWI and resisting arrest?”
“And evading arrest, assault on an officer, and reckless driving.”
“Shit!” I cursed, feeling a headache come on. “How much is his bail? I’ll send you the money now.”
“No.”
My brow wrinkled in confusion.
“What do you mean no? Do you guys have the money to bail him out?”
“Thorne doesn’t want him out because Dad took his truck without permission and did some damage. Nothing too crazy, but you know how Thorne feels about his truck. He wants Dad to sit.”
“Okay. How do you feel about that?”
I heard Rat take a long drag from his cigarette before he answered, “Not my circus, not my monkey.”
He’s hurting.
Rat was the closest to Dad, and when we were younger, he’d gobble up every excuse Dad gave him for why he never picked us up after he dipped on their mother and moved on to the next one. Rat would show up at the farm with Hawthorne, his head hung low. Ms. Kelly would wrap him up in a hug and kiss his tear-stained cheeks until he gave her a wide gap-toothed smile.
“I’ll talk to Thorne on Monday,” I volunteered.
“It’ll be a waste of time. He’s not budging.”
“I hear you. Tell Thorne to send me the repair bill,” I urged, reclining back on the bed.
“I won’t. You’ve done enough for us.”
“How’s your mom?” I asked, suddenly changing the subject and putting him on speaker to transfer Thorne money.
I must’ve dozed off while Rat was speaking because the next thing I knew, I was being roused awake by the softest pair of lips.
My eyes fluttered open for a moment before falling shut again. I groaned into the kiss, wrapping my arms around her waist and drawing her against me. Eventually, my hands slid beneath the robe, smoothing across silky skin until my fingers found her thong. I tugged on it teasingly until she wiggled out of my grasp.
“I can’t believe you’re in my bed with your street clothes on,” Vera teased before stealing a kiss.
“My bad. I didn’t mean to crash,” I apologized, watching her climb down my body until she crouched down to untie my tennis shoes. I sat up and checked my phone. Thankfully, Rat had hung up, but I winced when I noticed how late it’d gotten.
“Don’t take my shoes off. We need to get going if we’re gonna cross off everything on your itinerary.”
Vera smiled wryly and tossed a shoe over her shoulder.
“Change of plans. We’re gonna stay in tonight. You need to rest.”
“We don’t need to stay in. I’m good to go.”
