Tarot

 

 

Phoenix and I talked to Tank on speakerphone and it didn’t take much persuasion to get him to back our plan.

“Okay, brothers, I’ll call a meeting with my club tomorrow and give them the heads-up. Tarot, you’re still flying out to see Ruby tomorrow, right?” he asked on the loudspeaker.

I cleared my throat. “Yeah. I should be back the following day.”

“Okay. I’ll see if I can get the guys to come out on Wednesday. I’ll let you know.”

“Sounds good,” said Phoenix. “Thanks for doing this.”

“Brother, we’re in this together. Besides that, the fact that they’re trying to implicate Dom and drag us all into this really pisses the fuck out of me,” he replied.

“Yeah, it’s pretty shitty,” I agreed.

“You guys take care and I’ll get back to you tomorrow afternoon, Phoenix.”

“Sounds good,” he replied.

“Good luck tomorrow, Tarot. I know you must be going crazy with all this shit going on,” said Tank.

“Thanks,” I replied. “It’s been a rollercoaster, that’s for sure.”

“I bet,” Tank replied.

When we hung up with him, Phoenix reminded me about the barbecue.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be there. I need to go home first and reinforce the locks on my door. I don’t want that asshole getting in again.”

“Good idea.”

 

***

 

 

 

 

 

An hour later, I was in the process of upgrading my deadbolt and strike plates, when my cell phone rang. It was Hannah Goodwin. I answered it right away.

“Hi, Dominic?”

“Yeah. What’s up?” I said.

She asked if I was still coming to pick up Ruby.

“I’m flying down there in the morning. Remember? You gave me your address.”

“Yeah, but I just wanted to make sure you hadn’t changed your mind.” She sniffed. “You know, Ruby is getting to be a handful and the truth is… I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”

How much of a handful could a six-year old be?

“I imagine it’s tough for her, losing her mother,” I said.

“It’s tough for both of us,” Hannah said, sounding irritated. “Anyway, I have a business to run and I can’t do it properly when she’s around.”

I didn’t like Hannah’s attitude but knew that blowing up on her wouldn’t help the situation. “My plane lands at eleven. I’ll rent a car and be at your place, hopefully by noon.”

“You sure you can’t come and get her tonight?”

Ruby was supposed to be this woman’s niece. I couldn’t believe that she was being so heartless. “I would if I could,” I said. “But, I already bought the ticket and there are no refunds.”

“I hope you bought a return flight for Ruby.”

I frowned. “No. If she’s my daughter, I figured you could keep her for a few more days.”

“She’s definitely yours,” said Hannah. “And I can’t afford to keep her any longer. Not only is she hurting my business, but she’s been eating all my food.”

I sighed. “We’ll talk about it when I arrive.”

“If you were to give me some money, tomorrow, I could probably keep her for a few more days.” She sniffed. “You know. For food.”

“Like I said before, Hannah, we’ll talk about it,” I said sternly.

“Alright. I’ll be watching for you.”

“Okay.”

She hung up and I was left with a bad taste in my mouth. Whether Ruby was or was not my daughter, I knew leaving her aunt might just be the best thing for her.

 

***

 

When I picked up Peyton, I could tell she was as nervous as all hell.

“You look great,” I said, nodding in approval. She’d changed into a white pair of jeans, a black sleeveless blouse, which hugged her sexy curves, and high heels that made her ass look even more amazing.

“Thanks,” she replied, looking down at herself. “I wasn’t sure what to wear, to be honest.”

I thought she was a little overdressed for the barbecue, but looked too damn good to tell her otherwise. “You’re fine. You’ll be the hottest chick there.”

“I don’t want to be the hottest chick. I just want to… fit in.”

“You’re my date and so you will,” I said, handing her a helmet.

She snorted. “In other words, they have to like me?”

“Believe me, Peyton, they’ll love you no matter what.”

She smiled and put the helmet on. “I suppose I should ask—is there anything I should be careful about?”

“What do you mean?”

Peyton buttoned the helmet and got on the bike. “I mean, are there any rules I need to worry about?”

“The only rule you need to know is to have fun,” I said, patting her knee, “and be yourself.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

“That’s because it is.”