Chapter 4

Life is soup, and I’m a fork.

-Yes, it’s that bad

Parker

“I don’t know why you make me come to this,” I said, sounding as disgruntled as I felt. “You know they hate me. I should be sitting in the section that my nephew managed to grab tickets in.”

Sterling, my best friend who I met during my Navy SEAL days, ignored me. Instead, he continued packing shit into his bag.

“And swear to God, if those kids of theirs accidentally spill their beers on me again, I’m going to lose my shit,” I continued as if he’d agreed with my assessment.

“Listen,” Sterling said. “Y’all are literally going to be like thirty seats apart. I got the entire fucking row. And my seats are better than the ones Gunner got you, and you know it.”

That was true.

Gunner was still new to the game. He’d only been picked up by the Lumberjacks last season. Not that he had even played yet. This would be his first game actually stepping into the batter’s box and attempting to swing in the big leagues. Though that was due to the Lumberjacks’ first baseman, Manny Star something or other, pulling a hamstring.

But that was life, and unfortunately for Manny but fortunately for Gunner, he was ready and able to step in.

I didn’t normally go to the games.

Not with the Dixie Wardens MC in attendance.

The MC was a brotherhood of bikers, and I’d hurt one of their own. I’d been a kid when I did it, and Loki hadn’t even been part of the MC at the time. But he was a member now, and they knew I’d harmed him.

Hence the reason I tried to stay away whenever they were near.

I always feared for my life when they were around. As if I’d turn around at any given time and find one of them ready to stab me in the back.

“You ready?”

I nodded.

While I waited for him to say goodbye to his wife and children, I made my way outside to my truck.

I’d be giving Sterling a ride to the field then running a few errands in town while I could.

I’d been living in Hostel, Texas for about eleven months now.

It was purely a coincidence that my nephew got picked up by the Longview Lumberjacks last year.

I’d been worried about him. Understandably. So I was glad that he wasn’t too far away. Meaning I could drop in on him and make sure he wasn’t too far gone like he had been for the first year after Jett’s death.

There’d been a time that I’d really been scared for him. Scared of what he might do when nobody was paying attention.

“Yo,” Sterling said. “We leaving or what?”

I flipped him off, but unlocked the doors to my truck anyway and got in. He followed suit, and shortly we were heading down the road to the field.

“You’re quiet.”

I shrugged.

“You still worried about Gunner?”

I nodded. “Not sure I’ll ever stop,” I admitted, the fear for my sister’s son adding a slight shake to my voice.

Despite not spending much time with him during his childhood thanks to being in the Navy, I’d more than made up for it in his early and late teen years.

“I had a chance to meet with him yesterday during practice. He looked good,” Sterling offered.

I grinned. “Spying on the competition?”

Sterling grinned. “We practice after them. Their coach was still on the field going over a few things with him when I happened to head out.”

I nodded, then took the last turn that led to the ball field.

“Parker?”

I glanced at Sterling. “Yeah?”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

I shrugged. “I’ve been better.”

And that was the goddamn truth. But that better had been when I was a kid. Before I’d done the unthinkable and been forced into a life I’d never wanted to live.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

I sighed.

They pulled to a stop at the visiting team’s entrance. “You don’t have the time to hear what’s wrong. Maybe over a couple of beers, we can discuss it. But right now…it ain’t gonna happen.”

Sterling rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

Then he punched me hard in the shoulder and bailed.

I watched his back—out of habit—until the door shut behind him. Then I accelerated out of the parking lot and ran a few errands. When I came back for the actual game and sat down next to Rafe, I took one look at the girl three seats down from my own and felt my heart skip a beat.

***

Kayla

I could still feel my heart pounding from the nightmares I’d had during my nap. I could practically taste my terror on my tongue.

“Come on, it’ll be fun.”

I rolled my eyes at my friend’s words. Janie had said those exact same words to me time and time again. And time and time again, I always got in trouble after hearing them.

The first time had been because Janie wanted to see how far we could walk without our legs giving out. That had ended up being five very long miles away from our house—and we’d gotten lost.

Six hours later, James and Sam had found us.

After hugging us both tight, we’d been grounded for life. Although that life sentence only ended up being about three days in total. But we weren’t allowed out of an adult’s sight for quite some time after that.

“I’m already going,” I sighed. “Loki asked me if I was going. And since I know he thinks I’m not handling it well, I decided to show him differently.”

It would be a lie, of course, but I could put on a mask like the rest of them. I wasn’t going to let on that I was freaking the fuck out. I now woke up at night with cold sweats wracking my body, and the taste of vomit on my tongue.

“But you aren’t handling it well,” she countered. “You’re not sleeping.”

I shrugged. “I’ll get over it. Don’t worry.”

Janie looked at me skeptically but ultimately dropped the subject. Thank God.

It was the last thing I wanted to talk about right then. Especially after the night we’d shared.

“Are you ever going to let me hold her?” I asked, looking at Janie.

Rafe, her husband, snorted. “Good luck. I’m the baby’s father and even I don’t get to hold her all that much. Between Janie and James, I feel like my own kid doesn’t even like me half the time because she’s not used to me.”

***

Two hours later

My eyes scanned the crowd as I thought about how many killers could possibly be surrounding me right this very moment, and I’d never know. I mean, I could be taken right the fuck out now, and brought somewhere and tortured and then cut up with a band saw. He could look like that man over there, or the old grandpa holding his grandson who was dressed exactly like him.

Or it could be that man right there in his tight t-shirt and skinny jeans.

Or…

The moment I saw him my heart skipped a beat.

Now he…he could be something.

He was tall, broad-shouldered and looked like he ate little girls like me for breakfast.

He had on jeans, a semi-loose t-shirt that was tight on the chest, loose on the waist, and reallllly tight on the arms. The Lumberjack logo that spread across his chest was stretched, partially distorting the mini lumberjack.

Then there was the ball cap covering what appeared to be dark brown hair with reddish highlights and a sprinkling of grays. His eyes were concealed by the ball cap, but his strong jaw, covered in that godforsaken beard—oh my God. It was divine.

I’ve always had a thing for beards. This man’s beard wasn’t big. It wasn’t bushy or long. It was well maintained and very short…but it was beautiful. It was as if he’d run a brush through his beard with a touch of white paint on a few bristles. The white wasn’t plentiful, but there was enough for me to see it running through his brown beard.

And I freakin’ liked it. A lot.

My eyes traveled down his strong arms, taking in every single tattoo, mole, freckle and scar. He had a lot of them. Scars and tattoos more than freckles or moles.

He had a sleeve, and it was a completely random array of tattoos. There was a turtle and a hummingbird. Then there was a mermaid skeleton looking chick, followed by a cherry blossom that weaved in between the tattoos and filling in the holes that the other tattoos left open.

He even had a tattoo of a clock on his hand, and the hands of the clock were centered on his middle finger. Fingers in which were curled around a beer, which he brought up to his lip moments later and sipped from.

I swallowed and watched his throat muscles work.

Oh, holy fuck.

Then he turned, feeling my gaze on him, and locked eyes with me.

I swallowed and immediately looked away, my eyes wide and surprised.

“What’s that look for?” Janie asked, juggling her infant baby in one arm, and trying to hold her boob with the other while also not flashing the world her nipple. It’d be just her luck to get on the Jumbotron the same instant she flashed her tit. “Am I showing my boob to everyone?”

I shook my head and lifted the blanket I was holding up even higher. “No. I just thought I saw someone I knew.”

Well, I didn’t really lie. I did know him. Sort of. Knew of him was really the better term.

“I swear I hate breastfeeding so much. It sucks,” she said.

“Then don’t do it anymore,” I shot back. “Nobody will condemn you for not doing it.”

She sighed and sat back when she finally got the beast latched on.

“I would if my family wasn’t so pro-breastfeeding. Seriously, all my aunts did it. Shiloh did it with my sister. It’s like I have to. They’re all so excited that I am. It’s like this secret boob cult that I’ve been indoctrinated into. I feel like they’re going to start making me do stuff that I don’t want to do. Like feed her on national television without a cover. Once I do whatever public boob flashing breastfeeding activity that they have planned, I won’t be surprised if I have to get a boob tattoo with teardrops of milk for each kid I’ve breastfed.”

I blinked.

“You’re fucking nuts,” I informed her.

Janie sighed.

“If you want to formula feed, do it. Nobody is going to bitch about it. And if they do, I’ll fuck them up,” I told her.

Janie looked at me and burst out laughing.

I shrugged.

Ok, so I was on the small side, but I was pretty freakin’ scrappy when I needed to be.

Like a raccoon. Or one of those little organ monkeys.

Or maybe like a skunk.

Nobody went near a skunk. Nobody.

“I will,” I told her, my arms starting to shake. “Can I put this down yet?”

She purses her lips, then nodded.

I sighed as I dropped the blanket over her and the baby, who immediately took offense to being covered up and wrenched her head to the side.

Janie grimaced. “Hate it. Hate it. Hate it.”

I rolled my eyes. “Why don’t you get your husband to hold it up for you?” I asked as I picked the blanket back up, then sent a glare in Rafe’s direction, who was busy talking to the man that I was trying really hard not to stare at. Rafe turned his head and answered my question, despite his being in the midst of a full-blown conversation with the other man. Parker.

His name made me shiver.

“Because my wife doesn’t like the way I do it. Apparently, I do it differently than you do, and she likes the way you hold the blanket better,” he answered with a roll of his eyes. “Like I would want my woman’s boob exposed to the entire fucking world. But whatever.”

I bit my lip to keep the laughter at bay. “There was this one time when we were seniors in high school…”

“Kayla, shut the fuck up,” Janie ordered, her eyes narrowing.

I pinched my lips closed as laughter twinkled in my eyes. She narrowed hers even more on me.

“I will fuck you up,” she promised.

I looked away, even though Rafe’s eyes were curious and hopeful that I’d continue.

“Come on,” Rafe begged. “I really want to know.”

“Rafael Luis, if you value your life at all, you’ll drop it,” Janie snarled.

I bit my lip and returned my eyes to the game when Sterling, the man that most of us were here to see, was announced as ‘on deck.’

“That Furious George is huge,” Janie said as she fidgeted to find a better position.

I agreed. He was huge.

And actually, kind of nice. I wasn’t sure why he was called Furious George at all.

I’d even seen him give his bat to a little boy a few nights ago when I was watching the game at Loki’s house.

My two weeks with Loki as an apprentice were up, and I would not be returning.

Though it had been enlightening, I would not be able to hack being a police officer.

And it wasn’t just the detective work that I didn’t like. It was the way that police officers were treated. How they always felt the need to look over their shoulders, and the shit they had to deal with on a daily basis.

Loki had written a ticket two days ago to a woman who was clearly going way too fast—in a school zone—while talking on her phone. And she had the audacity to say that Loki was in the wrong.

Honestly, I just didn’t have the temperament to put up with other peoples’ bullshit.

I was a straight up kind of person. If I thought you were in the wrong, I would tell you how it was.

It didn’t matter if I was going to get my ass kicked, I’d say it, and I’d keep on saying it while that person pounded me into a pulp.

Janie always said that I was going to get her killed one day because of my mouth.

And, apparently, I was never going to get control of it. Because here I was, a grown ass adult, and I still wasn’t able to control it any more than I had at sixteen.

“What is your obsession with big men?” she asked. “You’re always leaning toward the ones that are about a foot and a half taller than you and have thighs as thick as your waist. Can’t you find a man that is more proportional to you?”

“Not sure why she should have to do a thing like that,” a deep, masculine voice said from our side. “What’s wrong with big men?”

I swallowed my tongue and completely missed the big man hit a pop fly to left field and get the third out of the inning.

Or would have had I not poked it out and licked my lips at the first hint of his husky, smoky voice.

His eyes followed the move, and he started to smile.

A smile that died on his face when he saw whomever it was behind me.

“Yo, you want a drink, KK?” Loki asked as he stopped beside my chair.

I shook my head at him. “No, thank you. I appreciate you asking, though.”

“No problem,” Loki muttered, then started up the aisle that separated our row of seats from his row.

When I turned back around, it was to find Parker no longer looking at me, and Janie looking at both of us in confusion. Her head was moving back and forth as she tried to get a clear picture of what had just happened.

I thought, at first, that he was flirting. But normally when guys start flirting, they continue to flirt. They don’t go completely silent and not say another word.

But then I remembered that he’d always been like that, and I shrugged it off.

Whatever.

“My arm is literally about to fall off,” I said to her. “I think I’m going to die.”

She snorted and reached out her hand to hold it up herself. Moments later, she laid the blanket down over her now sleeping infant’s head.

“One of these days, this is going to be super easy for me. Then I’ll be able to function like a normal adult,” Janie muttered.

I turned my eyes back toward the game and smiled when I saw Sterling get up to bat.

“I bet he hits it over the fence,” I said to no one in particular.

“He’s gonna bunt.”

That same sexy voice had me looking over again.

“What makes you say that?” I asked.

“Because he just made a sign that he used to make at us when we played while we were deployed. We’d play a couple of pick-up games every now and again, and when we would, Sterling always had a tell. It’s the tap twice against the leg, touch the end of the bat once, then touch his forehead,” Parker explained.

My brows rose in surprise, and I turned my head back toward the game and watched the next pitch.

Low and behold, Sterling bunted.

He made it to first base when the catcher rolled his ankle and came up cursing but also missing the easy out.

“Fuckin A,” Parker muttered.

My brows rose.

“You’re supposed to be cheering for Sterling’s team,” I said to him.

Parker’s eyebrows went up as he looked at me. “I don’t have to if I don’t want to.”

“You’re in his team’s section. If you wanted to be with the Lumberjacks, you had to sit in the home side.” I pointed across the field at the home field dugout.

Parker didn’t follow my finger. “I spent three and a half years watching Sterling’s back. But I spent fifteen raising that boy over there whenever I was home.” He pointed to the kid that was at first base. “My loyalties are divided.”

My mouth opened, and then closed. “Gunner Lewiston?”

“Yep,” I confirmed. “My sister’s son. My nephew.”

I blinked. “He’s the most adorable thing in the world.”

And he was. He was so shiny and new, but he had this brooding bad boy look about him that was attracting not just my eye, but a lot of feminine eyes. And they weren’t all young like me. There were also a lot of older women in the audience today who were checking him out just as much as I was.

He was adorable and hot.

He also looked very similar to Parker, only a slightly less rough version of him.

But both of them had this certain something about them. An unapproachable air that would make me hesitate to approach either one of them.

Even with my badass self dialed up to ten.

Parker grunted at me calling his nephew ‘adorable.’

Janie flat out laughed. “Only you would call a man who looks like he could eat people for breakfast adorable. Next, you’re going to say that you find Parker to be like a teddy bear.”

I looked over at Parker, who did, indeed, remind me of a bear.

But not a teddy bear. A grizzly, maybe.

Or maybe a black bear since he didn’t have a hump on his back like a grizzly. He was powerful, thick with muscle and deadly looking.

Honestly, I would not fuck with him.

If he pissed me off in some way, I’d never say a word to him. It was that common sense that sometimes surfaced in dangerous situations. And without a doubt, with zero uncertainty, this man was not a person that you fucked with.

I don’t know if it was something in his eyes or the way he held himself, but I seriously would learn to hold my tongue around him.

“I’m sure he gives good hugs,” I finally managed.

Parker turned to survey me.

His eyes scrutinizing my every feature.

I felt stripped naked under his steady gaze.

Then a ball was hit so loud that my head snapped around only to turn it back the other way just as fast when that ball headed straight for the bear-man on my right.

The sound of that ball hitting flesh as Parker caught it had my mouth falling open in astonishment.

He’d caught it in his bare hand, inches from hitting his face.

Holy shit.

Then, without a care in the world, he handed it to the little boy in front of him who appeared to be at his first Lumberjacks game.

The moment the ball was in his tiny little clutches, he started to dance in his seat.

“Thanks, man,” the father said. “He loves baseball. You probably just made his whole week.”

Something sad crossed over his face for a few seconds. “What’s his name?”

“Jett.”

And that was when I saw Parker’s entire face close down.

“You’re welcome.”

Then he sat back in his seat and didn’t say another word for four more innings.

Around the seventh inning stretch, Parker waited for God Bless America to stop playing before he got up and headed for the aisle.

To do so, he had to pass me.

Which meant his ass was in my face as he did.

I had to hold onto the seat to keep myself from lifting my hands and touching his ass.

He was wearing tight, worn out blue jeans. A white t-shirt with the Lumberjack symbol on it, and a black ball cap with a white Under Armour logo embroidered on the front.

The t-shirt stretched beautifully over the muscles of his back, and I could faintly make out the dark ink of a tattoo underneath the tee.

His shirt had ridden up over his belt, and I could see the gray waistband of his Fruit of the Loom boxer briefs.

I licked my lips and ordered myself to calm down. It wouldn’t be a good idea to poke the bear.

Really, it wouldn’t.

But he had this hole in his jeans directly over his right ass cheek.

And honestly, I’d never been able to resist temptation anyway.

My grandmother always got on to me about it when I was younger. After she died, I’d gone to live with James and Janie. My grandmother had clearly passed on this bit of information, and James continuously told me I needed to learn impulse control.

There was this one time on a road trip when I’d gone to the bathroom at a truck stop. There’d been this hole in the wall that I later learned was called a ‘Glory Hole.’

I’d learned that the hard way, too.

Mostly because I’d sat there staring at it so long that someone on the other side thought I was offering services that I wasn’t actually offering.

Meaning, at seventeen, when I’d seen a dick come through that hole, I’d run outside and immediately informed Janie, who’d then caught the attention of her father when she’d shrieked in laughter so loudly.

Anyway, holes fascinated me.

I always wanted to know what caused them, or how deep they were.

I was just weird that way.

Luckily, I managed not to poke the hole on his ass.

Only just barely.

But that was partially due to the fact that he moved faster than one would think someone as big as him could move.

My finger was literally up in the air, ready to poke it when he was starting up the steps milliseconds later.

“Oh my God!” Janie gasped, leaning forward and dislodging the baby from her breast as she did. “You almost poked him in the ass!”

The mom in front of us turned around and glared.

My lips twitched.

Janie lowered her voice.

Barely.

“You almost poked him in the ass,” she whisper-yelled again.

I shrugged. “You know how I feel about holes.”

She shook her head.

“Y’all want something to drink?” Rafe asked.

I stood up. “I have to go to the bathroom. I’ll get the drink.”

Rafe shrugged, then handed me a twenty-dollar bill.

I took it, shoving it into the front pocket of my jeans.

“What do you want?”

“Beer, please,” he said. “Whatever they have on tap.”

I nodded.

“Hey, aren’t you going to ask me what I want?” Janie called to my back.

“I’ll get you whatever I want to get you, twat,” I told her over my shoulder.

Janie flipped me off, but she had a smile on her face.

I turned back around in time to see a few other members of our large group returning to their seats with their own drinks.

Instead of staying to chat, I rushed up the steps and nearly collided with the big man himself when I caught him at the top of the stairs.

“Oh, sorry,” I said when I ran straight into his back.

He caught me before I could start to topple over, but the only way to do that was to press my body to his.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” I apologized. “I was looking down and not up.”

“No problem,” he said.

And only then did we both realize that his hand was on the curve of my ass.

He let me go.

I didn’t step back, though.

I couldn’t.

Mostly because there was someone directly behind me.

Apparently, the seventh inning stretch was a popular time to get up and move around. Who knew?

“I really have to go to the bathroom,” I blurted, trying to explain away why I would run straight into his back.

“Okay,” he said, seemingly uninterested.

“And Rafe wants a drink,” I said. “I’m going to get one of those eighteen-inch tall lemonades.”

“Those things cost like nine dollars,” he said. “If you get one of the regular size drinks, they give you a free refill.”

“But then I wouldn’t have the big cup,” I pointed out.

He shrugged, then took three more steps upward.

I followed suit but stayed on the step just below him so it wouldn’t seem like I was climbing onto his back.

I didn’t want to be that person.

“Bathroom is right there,” he pointed in the direction.

I didn’t really have to go to the bathroom. But now I kind of had to since I’d lied and said I did.

“Are you getting a drink?”

He nodded.

“Can I come cut in line with you once I’m done?” I asked, glancing at the long line for the concession stand.

“I guess.” He shrugged.

Grinning, I ran into the bathroom and came to a sudden halt when I saw the line.

I moaned.

Instead of using the restroom, I went to the counter and washed my hands.

If I waited in that line to release the miniscule amount of urine that I had in my bladder, I wouldn’t get to stand in line with Parker.

I removed a little imaginary lint from my shirt, touched up my Chapstick, and then high-tailed it back out of the bathroom.

I had no clue why I wanted to talk to the man.

He didn’t really seem like the kind of person to want to chat with me, but I was willing to do anything. There was something about him that called to me.

It was as if he didn’t actually belong…and I didn’t either. It was kind of nice to sense that same kind of person in another person. Like attracting like to like.

Or whatever.

I didn’t know what it was that was drawing me to him, but I wasn’t one to fight the pull.

So, I hurried up to his side and just stood there, not saying a word.

He looked down at me, then looked back up at the line.

He had his arms crossed across his chest, and my eyes were drawn to the ink I could see peeking out from the neckline of the t-shirt.

Just below the solid black line on his throat was the very tip of another tattoo.

I didn’t say a word, though, even though the questions were burning a hole through my tongue.

I nibbled on my lip and crept up in the line with him, not saying a word until he said, “You’re giving me the creeps.”

I blinked. “What?”

“You’re bouncing on your feet, and you keep looking at me like you want to ask me something. Just fucking spit it out already,” he ordered.

I opened my mouth and then closed it.

“What makes you think I want to talk to you? Maybe I want to talk to that man on your other side,” I pointed out.

He looked to the side, and we both studied the man there.

He was a goth who looked like he’d rather be anywhere else but where he was.

His hair was in a mohawk that stood up about a half a foot into the air, too.

And he had on more makeup than I did.

Parker turned his head back my way. Then winked.

He knew damn well that I wasn’t looking at the other guy, and my face when he’d turned had proven it.

I’d never really understood the goth thing. It didn’t make any sense to me. But to each their own and all that jazz.

I was just going to be me.

“So what were you wanting to ask?”

My lips twitched. “I wanted to know what that tattoo right there was.”

I pointed at his neck but stopped just shy of actually touching it.

He lifted his arm and then caught the bottom of the tee with his hand and pulled it up, showing me the rest of the tattoo.

It was the Navy SEAL insignia.

“Wow, cool!” I said. “I want to get a tattoo. But, I’m undecided on what I actually want. So, I’ve just been researching…for years.”

His lips twitched. “Since it’s permanent, I can see wanting to like what you put on your body.”

I nodded my head. “I’m glad that you understand. Janie just wants me to do it…though she doesn’t have any tattoos either. It’s just a really hard decision. I’m not impulsive at all.”

Unless we were talking about holes. Then I was fucking impulsive.

Or when someone pissed me off. Those words just slipped out before I could call them back.

Okay, so maybe I was a tad bit impulsive.

But he didn’t really need to know that.

I bit my lip and tried not to ask him the other fifty-nine questions that were on the tip of my tongue, and instead studied the bulletin board above the concession stand to see what I may or may not want.

He started to chuckle, and I gritted my teeth.

I would not ask him! I would not!

We stepped up to the counter a half a minute later, and Parker started to order.

Then looked over at me once he was done.

“Did you want something?”

I nodded and then pointed to a beer.

If I opened my mouth, I’d ask.

I knew I would.

“You want a beer?”

I nodded.

“Really?”

I nodded.

He seemed amused by my lack of communication, and I rolled my eyes.

“Anything else?”

I pointed to the lemonade.

He rolled his eyes.

“Give her one of those. Two beers. And some of those cracker jacks. Do you have any candy?”

Five minutes later we had more food than I knew what to do with, more drinks than I needed, and Parker had spent over sixty dollars.

I’d tried to hand him the twenty and another ten, but he’d refused.

Without actually opening my mouth and asking him to take it—which again I wouldn’t do because of the burning questions—there was nothing else I could do but acquiesce.

“I’m fairly sure this is the quietest I’ve heard you be since you sat down when you first got here.”

I glared and took the last few steps down that led to our seats.

“Are you sure you don’t want to ask?” he pushed, leading us back into our seats.

He passed Janie and Rafe before I finally caved.

I just couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“What’s your full name?” I blurted.

I really, really wanted to know. And it’d been killing me.

I just had to know.

I felt Janie’s pinch to my ass before she said anything.

“Don’t go there,” Janie ordered harshly under her breath. “Parker is a Bad News Bear.”

Yeah, right. Like we ever listened to anything the other said. Me? I said Rafe was a Bad News Bear. Did she listen? Hell no?

It’s like asking my opinion on her clothing choice. Whatever I tell her I just know that she’ll do the complete opposite.

There really was only one thing we agreed on…to disagree.

“Peter Parker Penn.”

My lips twitched, but before I could say another word, Loki’s cleared throat from behind me had me turning.

“You said you weren’t thirsty,” he accused.

I sat the beer I was holding down, and then brought the lemonade up to my lips.

“I wasn’t, but then I had to go to the bathroom, and saw this.” I held it up.

His eyes narrowed and then flicked from me to Parker and back.

“Huh,” he grunted.

I frowned as I watched him walk away, then turned back to my seat and took it.

“I knew this was going to happen,” Janie growled.

“Knew what was going to happen?” I asked inquisitively.

“Knew that he was going to catch your attention.” She shook her head. “You know that your new friend was the one who did that to Loki, right?”

I frowned.

“Did what?”

She gestured to her neck and then drew her finger across it as if she was slicing it open.

My mouth fell open.

“You’re kidding. Parker?” I whispered almost silently.

She nodded, looking freaked out.

“What?”

She nodded again.

“How do you know?”

She picked up her phone and typed something out, then my phone buzzed in my pocket from there.

Whore: I heard from Johnny, who heard from his dad. I’m being for real. They say that Parker really is the one who did that.

Slut: Why did you change our names in my phone again? And surely you’re joking. They wouldn’t be allowing him to be here right now if that had happened. And isn’t he from freakin’ Florida?

I quickly changed our names back in my phone, and then waited for her response, which was slow in coming when her baby woke back up.

“Here, take this.”

I rolled my eyes and took her kid, tucking her into my jacket and zipping it up until just the top of her black hair poked out.

She was still really tiny. Like just a little over ten pounds tiny.

And I loved her.

I never knew that I could love another person’s baby so much, but I really did. I loved her with my whole heart.

“What did you rename me as? I can see you laughing over there,” Janie accused.

At the same time, she started to type on her phone furiously.

Big Tits McGee: It did happen in Florida…I think. Johnny was drunk that night, so I can’t really confirm for real. However, I’m not really sure why they tolerate him being here. I once asked my dad, but he told me not to ask ever again and to forget I knew anything. I did ask Rafe, but Rafe gave me this weird look and told me that it wasn’t any of our business. So I started to do some research on him on my own…and found nothing. It was as if someone is hiding him just as well as Rafe hid himself, too. But I know for sure it wasn’t Rafe who hid him. Because he would’ve at least told me that.

I bit my lip as I read her text, then sighed.

He really couldn’t be all that bad…could he?

“Now, what did you put my name in there under?”

I showed her and got an immediate burst of laughter out of her moments later.

***

Hours later, as we were heading to our car, I passed Parker waiting next to a jacked up black truck. My dream truck.

The dream truck that I couldn’t afford, and probably wouldn’t be able to afford for a long time to come.

Janie and Rafe kept walking after Rafe said his goodbyes, but I didn’t follow.

Parker looked up, and his brows rose in surprise to find me still standing there.

“Hey, PC3O?” I asked hesitantly.

Parker stopped and turned, looking at me curiously.

“Why is it that I know that you’re talking to me?” he asked. “And the Star Wars name is C3PO.”

I shrugged.

“You’re not bad, are you?”

His lips twitched. “Sometimes you should trust your friends, darlin’.”

With that cryptic comment, I walked away and only looked over my shoulder twice.

Both times it was to find his eyes securely locked on me.