by Grey, Blair
“You probably should,” Maddie said, and I could hear something in her voice. “He was specific that he wouldn’t talk to anyone except the owner, and he’s pretty adamant that he talks with someone today.”
I frowned, wondering what was up. She had been joking before about burying the president, but what did she actually know about who the funeral was for? I didn’t want to get all the details over the phone. If the guy had already been waiting for an hour or so, I’d probably better get over there. I could find out the details of the arrangements for myself.
“All right.” I sighed. “I’ll be there in a bit, I guess.” I hung up the phone, rubbing at my temples. I could feel a headache coming on already, and I didn’t even know who the funeral was for or what the mysterious, self-important guy really wanted.
“Do we get to go see Maddie?” Sam asked, sounding hopeful.
“Yeah, we do,” I said. At least he’d be happy about that. Even if I wasn’t happy about having to go in to work on my day off. I looked down at my grubby jeans and T-shirt. I just wanted to do some yard work today, and although I didn’t mind Sam’s interruption, I had to admit, this one had me a little peeved.
I wanted to give this guy the benefit of the doubt. I wanted to write it off as grief. But at the same time, come on, man. You had to have at least a little self-awareness even in mourning. If Maddie told him that it was my day off, he should have either found a different place, dealt with Maddie (because it’s not like she wasn’t perfectly capable of handling everything on her own; that’s why I could have a couple days off a week), or else waited until the next morning. I would have been more than happy to help him then.
But no, the world apparently revolved around him. For a second, I debated calling Maddie back and telling her that on second thought, I wasn’t going to bend over backward for this guy. But it felt like now, I was already committed. Whether I liked it or not.
I sighed. “I guess I’d better go get changed.”
“Are you going on a date?” Sam asked, looking excited.
I sputtered, staring at him. “What makes you ask that, buddy?” I asked carefully. It was yet another of those classic examples of kids saying the darnedest things, but I didn’t even know what had prompted this one.
“Well, are you going to go make yourself look pretty for a date with Maddie?” Sam asked, looking oh-too-casual about it. Then, he added the real kicker: “Sarah’s got two mommies.”
“Oh. Oh. Honey, you know Maddie isn’t my girlfriend,” I said, my tone just as careful. Was that what he thought, that Maddie and I were dating?
I was all for the kid learning about diversity, even in kindergarten, but at the same time, jeez, I thought it would be years before I had to start explaining the intricacies of relationships to him. I should have known better.
Sam sighed. “If you and Maddie were girlfriends, I’d get to see her more.”
I had to stifle a laugh at that one. “Honey, we already have dinner together twice a week,” I reminded him. “Plus, you come by the funeral home after school sometimes to see her too. If she saw much more of you, she might get tired of you.”
“Nuh-uh,” Sam said confidently. “She says I’m the best.”
I rolled my eyes but sat down across from him at the table. “You know that Maddie and I like each other a lot,” I told Sam. “She’s my best friend. But I don’t love her like…like I love you.” There. That was the easiest way to explain it to him. Maybe.
Sam cocked his head to the side. “But I love her the way that I love you,” he protested. “So can’t she still be part of our family anyway?”
“She is,” I assured him. “She’s sort of like your auntie, isn’t she? But that doesn’t mean that she and I are going to go on dates anytime soon. Do you understand that?”
“I guess.” Sam sighed. “But I still think it would be better if we were a real family. Like the other families.”
I felt a pang in my heart at that. I had done my best to raise Sam on my own, but sometimes even I could feel the hole there in our lives. For all that it was easy to say to Maddie that there were no love interests on the horizon for me, that guys were just stupid and that I didn’t want anything to do with them, and that I didn’t need anyone other than Sam in my life, the truth was that sometimes I did yearn for someone else to be there. Someone who could pick up the slack. Someone who would bond with Sam.
It wasn’t my fault that we weren’t a “real family,” according to Sam’s words, though. I had tried my best. I had actually been stupid enough to think that things were going to work out, but they hadn’t, and here I was.
I wouldn’t trade it for the world, though. I loved Sam more than I could ever imagine loving another human being.
When it became clear that Sam didn’t have any other strange questions for me, I got up. “Well, I’m going to run upstairs and get changed,” I told him. I glanced at my watch. “But how about we go get some ice cream as our snack? We can swing by the Dairy Cow on the way to the funeral home.”
“Yes!” Sam yelled, bouncing up and down in his seat.
I grinned. It wasn’t often that I treated him to ice cream at his favorite place in town, but I felt bad about cutting short our family time so that I could go into work, even if it wasn’t my fault.
I knew that I should hurry things along and get to the funeral parlor sooner rather than later. Maddie had been clear that the guy had been waiting for a while already, but let him wait if he was going to drag me in on my day off. Sam was the first priority in my life, and his happiness took precedence over the funeral of whoever this guy was. President or no.
5
Cameron
I drummed my fingers against the arm of the chair, trying unsuccessfully not to glance up at the clock again. This was getting to be pretty absurd. I shouldn’t have to wait this long to speak to the owner of this place.
Again, I considered relenting and just going over the details with whatever her name was, the assistant. Maggie or Maddie or something like that. I was sure she was more than capable of doing her job. But when it was the funeral of someone like Ray, I didn’t want to take any chances. I wanted things to be perfect, and most of all, I wanted to make sure that things were handled discreetly. I was sure everyone was going to find out soon enough that Ray had passed, but I still hoped that he could be in the ground before anyone tried to test the waters.
I was also tempted just to find a different place to hold the funeral. But Ray had been clear in his will. He wanted us to use the same services he had used after his wife’s death, once upon a time ago. I wasn’t sure that it really mattered because it wasn’t like any of his kids were going to be in any state to make those connections. For all of their outward calm, I could tell—from the fact that he hadn’t sobered up since the hospital—that Braxton was feeling pretty rough, and I knew Landon and Belle weren’t far off from that either.
Maddie, yeah, that was her name, came out of the back office. “Still here?” she asked cheerfully, further fueling my desire to just find someplace else for this. She clearly didn’t care if she had my business or not. My hands clenched into fists, but what was I supposed to do? Snapping at her wasn’t going to bring the owner in any quicker.
“Can I get you anything?” Maddie continued, seemingly unfazed by the angry scowl on my face.
“Just the owner,” I said through gritted teeth. “Did you manage to reach her yet?”
“I did, actually,” Maddie said. “She’s on her way, and she should be here soon.”
I relaxed back against the chair. “Good,” I said. Fucking finally.
I didn’t really have anything else to do that day, but the sooner I was done here, the sooner I could join Braxton in a state of drunken oblivion. I didn’t get blackout drunk too often, but the occasion seemed to call for it.
Especially if it meant not thinking about how Grant was going to handle the club meeting the next day.
Maddie disappeared into the back roo
m again. I could tell that I made her nervous, and with the way she kept glancing out the front window toward my bike, I had a feeling she knew who I was, which made it even more despicable that she was making me wait for this long. Sure, I didn’t have the bulk of Braxton or some of the other guys, but that didn’t mean that she could leave me waiting.
I had to give her the benefit of the doubt, though. I was pretty sure that she’d been trying to get the owner to come in for a while now, and it wasn’t her fault. This damned owner, whoever she was, had better be the person I was looking for.
About five minutes later, I got my first glimpse of the woman. She looked like she was in a hurry, her hair pulled back into a messy bun with a few curls escaping, but her charcoal suit jacket and tight-fitting black pants were both pressed and clean. She wore heels and a no-nonsense expression, and I immediately liked her.
Or I would have, if I hadn’t been waiting for over an hour for her to get here.
I rolled my eyes, folding my arms across my chest. “Is this how you treat all your customers?” I couldn’t resist asking. “I’m surprised you’re still in business if you care this little about your job.”
It was rude of me to say, and I knew that before the words were even out of my mouth, but I was stressed about the club, upset about Ray, frustrated by the way the funeral preparations were going, and worried about the nebulous next attack that I was sure would be on its way. And I couldn’t take my feelings out on either Ray or Grant, so she was the easiest target.
She seemed unfazed by my attitude. Instead, she just arched a manicured eyebrow at me, matching my posture with her own arms folded across her chest. “All the rest of my customers are willing to respect the fact that it’s my day off,” she said coolly. “And if they need something, they know that Maddie is perfectly capable of helping them.”
I narrowed my eyes, tempted to snap right back at her, but then I realized that would get me nowhere. No, I just wanted this whole thing done and organized. “Ray Thompson has died, and I need you to set up a funeral for him,” I told her. “Obviously, given his notoriety, we’ll need plenty of security for the event, and I’ll also need you to keep the details private. I don’t want anyone to use this as a place to make a scene.”
She stared blankly at me for a moment, and I could tell that she had no idea who Ray was. That made my blood boil. Where the hell was she from anyway? How was it possible that she had never heard of Ray? And what’s more, if her secretary or assistant or whatever realized who I was, then why hadn’t she briefed this woman. Whatever her name was. I glanced at her name tag. Tara.
I kind of liked the name. I’d never met a Tara before, and I had a feeling that this woman wasn’t like anyone that I had ever met before.
“All right, if you want to give me your contact information, I’ll touch base with you in the next couple days, and we can set everything up,” she finally said, sounding impatient. I could tell that she was wondering why I had dragged her all the way to the office on her day off, just for that.
But it wasn’t that simple.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “The funeral will be on Tuesday. We need to go over the details now.”
She stared at me in disbelief. “There are other people in front of you,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, but if you want the funeral to be on Tuesday, I think you’re going to have to talk to someone else.”
“It has to be you guys,” I said stubbornly. “Jesus, though, how do you not know who Ray is? You did his wife’s funeral years ago, and that’s the only reason he’s got you down in his will, I think.”
“Right, of course I remember the funeral I did years ago for a Mrs. Thompson,” Tara said sarcastically. “Out of the hundreds and hundreds of funerals that get held here.”
“Red Eyes?” I tried. But she still looked blank. I made a noise of disgust. “Look, it doesn’t matter. The funeral is going to be on Tuesday, and I’m giving you a heads-up now that you’re going to need appropriate security. Real security.”
“Maddie was right; you really are acting like we’re burying the president or something,” Tara said. “Who the hell is this guy anyway?”
“He is the president,” I snarled. “President of Red Eyes MC.” I slapped a fistful of cash down on the counter, along with a list of specifications. “That should be everything you need,” I told her. “The funeral will be on Tuesday.”
I turned and stalked out of there before she could say anything else. I didn’t want to hear it. I was already at the end of my fuse.
I didn’t know what the hell had gotten into me. I was never like this. God, I was acting like a toddler. I was acting like Braxton. Like I couldn’t possibly think about my actions in advance. I was acting like the whole world should revolve around me.
No, I reminded myself. I was acting like the whole world revolved around Ray—which it should at his funeral. This was tough enough for everyone without having to bicker with the owner of the funeral home over which day would be a good day for the funeral.
The sooner Ray was buried, the sooner we could all start to move on. And I could already tell that we all desperately needed to start to move on.
Still, I knew I shouldn’t have been so rude to the owner of the place, especially not since she had been kind enough to come in on her day off. It might have taken her ages, but I did have to give her credit for that, even though I wondered if I would have been better off going over the details with her partner, Maddie, since she at least seemed to know who Red Eyes was.
But hopefully, now that the details were on the table, Tara would go over everything with Maddie and get all of the information. I also hoped there would be enough support there because if everyone got as rollicking drunk as Landon was reporting Braxton to be, we’d be a piss-poor excuse for defense if anyone showed up to try to disrespect Ray at the funeral.
In any case, I wasn’t taking no for an answer. The funeral home had been the last place on my list. Now all that was left was contacting the hospital and arranging for Ray’s body to be sent over.
I did keep my phone on for the rest of the day and night, wondering if Tara would call to try to argue with me. But she didn’t call, and I figured that if she had the money already, she must have accepted my terms.
6
Tara
I couldn’t help feeling confused as Cameron walked out of the funeral home. I didn’t know who the hell he thought he was. Or who the hell this Ray Thompson was either. Like I had said to him, I didn’t remember the guy’s wife’s death, not a chance in hell. Well, maybe there was a chance in hell. I remembered some of the weirder funeral requests that we’d had over the years, but I rarely remembered anyone’s names anymore. There were just too many of them, and none of the people mattered all that much to me anyway.
I stared down at the wad of cash the guy had left on the counter. It was more than enough to cover our usual prices—and all in cash. It gave me a weird feeling about the whole thing.
Especially when I realized I didn’t even get the guy’s name or get properly introduced to him. The whole thing happened so quickly; right from the outset, he’d acted like a total prima donna, like I owed him something.
Fortunately, he had scrawled his name on the piece of paper that held the rest of the details. Cameron Bledsoe. That name didn’t ring any bells either.
I watched as he swung onto a motorcycle out in front of the shop before roaring out of the parking lot. I had to admit, he was pretty sexy. In a strange way, his presence filled the room and made me feel safe. Like he was the kind of guy who protected everyone around him. The kind of guy who would listen.
I snorted. Like there was such a thing as a guy who would listen.
Maddie came out of the back, and there was a hint of trepidation on her face as she looked at the cash in my hand. “We’re doing it then?” she asked. “I mean, not like we could tell him no, I guess. Right?”
“Of course we could have told him no,” I said br
usquely. “There are other funeral homes in the city. It’s not like we have a monopoly on the business. And I haven’t made up my mind yet if we’re going to take his business or not. Like you said, the guy is pretty full of himself. He expects me to have this funeral on Tuesday, as though we don’t have any other business other than him.”
Maddie gaped at me. “Do you know who that was?” she asked. “I’m getting the feeling that you don’t.”
I shrugged. “He said something about Red Eyes and this dead guy being their president. Sounds like some boys’ club, I don’t know.”
“Boys’ club, Jesus,” Maddie groaned, putting a hand over her face. “Red Eyes is the most powerful biker club in the area. I don’t know how you don’t know about them. A bunch of the local businesses pay dues to them.”
“Dues?” I laughed. “Why the hell would they pay dues?”
“Because otherwise, bad things happen to them,” Maddie said solemnly, her eyes going very round.
I snorted at her dramatic statement. “Bad things?” I quipped. “Like what, they might disrupt the local businesses with their outrageous demands to have things done their way?”
“No, like really bad things,” Maddie said. She shook her head. “I don’t know any of the guys personally, but I’ve heard a lot of stories. They’re pretty famous in the area. I’m surprised that you haven’t heard about them. You remember that business that burned down on Anderson? Apparently, they were behind that, because the owner was late on her rent. And there’s plenty of other guys who have had the shit beaten out of them by the guys in the club. All for money. And don’t even get me started on the rest of it.”
“The rest of it?” I asked, curiosity piqued in spite of myself.
“Those guys pretty much own the town,” Maddie continued. “They can steal and do whatever they want, and the sheriff just looks the other way. Plus, they’re involved in all sorts of illegal things, guns and drugs and what have you. Bobby’s seen them at the bar with their guns before, just showing off for all of the girls. But sometimes, things get ugly. Like, people end up disappearing before the night is over.”
