by Bijou Hunter
“Dad said you drive a girl Harley,” Makoa announces.
Frowning at Oz who only grins, I say, “He’s right. The girl Harley is faster and better for heavy traffic.”
“I don’t know about that,” Oz says, wanting to protect the honor of his Harley.
“Well I do, so there it is.”
“Tutu said girls shouldn’t ride motorcycles,” Makoa says, now walking to my Harley. “It messes up their vaginas.”
“What’s a tutu and, really, Oz?” I ask as he laughs. “Messes up the vaginas?”
“Tutu is their grandmother, and she was only teasing.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Don’t be mad,” he says, wrapping his free arm around me.
“Are you worried I brought my sniper?”
Oz loses his smile and shakes his head. “Don’t even kid.”
“What did she say?” Alani asks, but Oz only shakes his head again.
“I came by to say hi.”
“Come inside and meet my mother.”
“No.”
“Why not?” Alani asks.
“I don’t like getting ganged up on.”
“I’ll protect you,” Makoa says, suddenly next to me. “Like a Power Ranger.”
The little boy tugs me to the front door where Oz waits for us. Alani is already inside, announcing my arrival to their tutu. I’m not in the mood to meet Oz’s mother, who I’ve heard wonderful things about but know will hate me. Though there’s no rational reason to believe she’ll disapprove since I’m very good at making a positive first impression.
Except I know she’ll hate me.
Tutu Tana Savo walks from the kitchen with a rag in her hand and a disapproving expression on her beautiful, weathered face.
“She’s blonde.”
“And you’re not,” I reply because I’m too nervous to keep my big, fat mouth shut.
“She’s rude too.”
“Strong women don’t have to be enemies,” Oz states as if this will have any effect on Tana and my instant dislike for each other.
“Want to show me around, Oz?”
“If we knew you were coming,” Tana says, wiping her already dry hands on the towel, “we would have cleaned up, but you didn’t call ahead.”
“I like clutter.”
“Our house isn’t cluttered.”
“Umm, I beg to differ.”
“Are you going to punch her, Tutu?” Alani asks her grandmother.
“Violence is not the answer.”
“Umm, I again beg to differ.”
“Trashy types punch people.”
I frown at Oz. “She does know what you’re the president of, right?”
“Did you miss the part where I was playing peacemaker?” he asks as if he can’t take sides.
“No, I noticed that.”
“Then what makes you think I can answer your question honestly?”
“Don’t lie on my account.” When Oz exhales loudly, I can’t help laughing. “Poor, put-upon Oz. How will you survive such a burden as having two women fight over you?”
“Three!” Alani announces, yanking on her father’s arm.
Tana gently slaps Oz’s butt with the towel. “He’s always been too sensitive.”
“I’m a gentle spirit,” he says, laughing before he finishes. “A tender soul.”
“Stop tooting your horn,” Tana says. “And show the blonde around. I’ll see if I can find something to serve her.”
Oz mischievously ruffles my hair like I’m one of his kids. I’d prefer he didn’t play the daddy thing with me. I won’t complain, though, and I refuse to run. Mostly because I’m as stubborn as a mule, and the equally obstinate Tana just challenged me. With neither of us willing to step aside when it comes to Oz, Tana and I are on a collision course that’ll end in either friendship or all-out war.
➸ Oz ★
Ginger’s lips remain tightly closed while I give her a tour of my house. She nods when Makoa shows her his Power Rangers Halloween costume and then when Alani shows off her soccer trophies. Her gaze never finds me, instead focusing on whatever someone points out to her.
I finally gain her attention once we enter my small bedroom. Ginger looks around before glancing at me and laughing.
“What’s so funny?” I mutter.
“How do you stretch out?”
“Very carefully.”
Still smiling, Ginger follows the kids into the living room and past the kitchen where Mom quickly whips up the coleslaw she offers all guests. The kids introduce her to our indoor cats in the screened porch and then insist on tugging her outside to meet the outdoor cats.
“I don’t like cats,” Ginger whispers to me while the kids chase an indoor cat who escaped outside.
“Tough,” I say, wrapping my arm around her shoulders. “Life is full of hardships, and I come with cats and kids and an amazing mother.”
“She hates me.”
“Why would you say that?”
“She said the words before asking if I wanted a glass of water.”
“Oh, you heard that, huh?” I say and fight a smile. “Nothing personal.”
“Sure.”
“You were the one who threatened to shoot her.”
Ginger cocks an eyebrow as if ready to challenge me. “Does she know that?”
“No.”
“Well, that thing with the sniper was business. If I threaten her in the future, just know it’s personal.”
“Don’t threaten my mother.”
“Or what?”
I lean down, so our noses nearly touch. “Or I’ll find a way to piss you off.”
“Right because it’s been a struggle for you to come up with ways so far.”
Studying Ginger, I notice her watching my kids, and I’m dying to know what she’s thinking.
I end the suspense by asking, “What are you thinking?”
“You make pretty babies, Oz. They look so much like you too.”
“I wonder what ours will look like.”
Ginger immediately shakes her head. “I don’t want kids.”
“I’m a package deal with my kids.”
“I mean of my own.”
“You’ll change your mind. You have a tender, mommy side to you.”
“Or you’re a bully who thinks he’ll get his way with me just as he does with everyone else?” she says, reaching up on her tiptoes to give me an eye-to-eye glare.
“Why can’t it be both?”
Ginger rolls her eyes. “I should leave.”
“No. The kids want you to stay.”
“They’re busy playing with the cats.”
“Yes, but the second you try to leave, they’ll beg you to stay. That’s how kids work.”
“Do they like school?”
Smiling, I lean down and give her lips a quick kiss. “Look at how you care about them already.”
“Everyone cares about children.”
“No, they don’t.”
Feigning indifference, Ginger shrugs. “I’m curious about them. No need to piss yourself over a question or two.”
“Parents love talking about their kids.”
She fights a grin and rests her head against my chest. “So, do they like school?”
“Yeah, they’re lame that way.”
“I liked school sometimes. I liked having solid meals, and normal people to talk to. Learning was even fun, and a few teachers were cool.”
“What a fucking nerd,” I say and laugh at her expression. “How can Ginger Snaps be a teacher’s pet?”
“I’m a well-rounded person, dingus.”
“So is Alani. She’s good at school and sports. She makes friends easily and tries new foods without blinking an eye. The kid’s fearless.”
“What about Makoa?”
“He’s really good at math. They give him extra work because he learns it so fast. Not great at the rest of school. Just okay, but at math, he’s a little nerd.”
“Does he like sports?”
“Makoa likes skateboarding and playing with his friends. He doesn’t want to be bossed around and says the coaches only tell him what to do, so he doesn’t want to be on a team.”
“He sounds like his daddy.”
“Yeah. I see more of me in him than Alani. She reminds me more of her tutu. Tough as nails. Smart and loyal.”
“You have a real sweet family, Oz.”
“Thanks, Ginger,” I say, cupping her face. “Aren’t you relieved you swallowed your fears and dropped by? Nothing scary here.”
“True, unless I feared cats. Then I’d be in trouble.”
“Most of the cats aren’t ours.”
“At the Silver Swan, you said Tana wanted to move closer to the center of town. How many cats would you bring with you, if that happened?”
“Five,” I say and then remember how one of the outdoor cats weaseled his way into staying inside most days. “Probably six.”
“Don’t you rent?”
I get where Ginger is going with her line of questioning. Her concerns have been voiced many times to my mother. Landlords aren’t cool with so many pets. Though Rawlins isn’t a big enough place for landlords to be so picky, I’ve worried about finding anything decent when our family comes with a litter of clawed monsters.
“Yes, but I’ll figure it out,” I say, not wanting to discuss cats or rental issues.
Ginger grins at my annoyed tone. “Do I really have to eat the pineapple thing Tana’s making?”
“Every single bite.”
“I like you, Oz, but it’ll take some practice to accept you come with a family.”
“I feel the same way with your crew. Pepper threatens me every time we cross paths.”
“Just assume every one of the crew has a shitty backstory when it comes to men. It’s not personal.”
“Will they ever warm up to me or should I always prepare for daggers in my back?”
Ginger clearly enjoys my fake fear. “They’ll only hurt you if you threaten them. I know you won’t, so you should be fine. And, yes, they’ll warm up to you, but we’ve only lived in Rawlins for a few weeks. Once we’ve moved into the townhomes, and the town feels like home, you’ll be surprised by how mellow they can get.”
“Mellow, huh?”
“Well, for us,” she says, smiling at the thought of her friends. “Do you think your guys will ever stop making lewd comments?”
“Sure. Once they find women that’ll keep them on tight leashes. Until then, nothing will keep their tongues from wagging.”
“Well, you could keep them from being pigs to my crew.”
“Wouldn’t be good for morale,” I say, nearly laughing at the thought of me telling the guys to edit their mouths.
“Remember that whenever my crew mentions dissecting balls when your guys are around. I mean, I could tell them to stop, but, you know, it would be bad for morale.”
“If no balls are harmed, I don’t care what they say,” I murmur, kissing her forehead and wanting to go lower.
“You know, one day one of my girls might have a problem with one of your boys. What happens then? Well, besides my girls winning the fight and you putting together a memorial?”
“Weird how you can call your friends ‘girls’ and it doesn’t sound derogatory, but whenever you say, ‘boys’ for my guys, I feel like you’re insulting me.”
“Maybe a therapist could help you with that problem?”
Shoving my hand into her back pocket, I tug her against my body. “I’m glad you stopped by.”
“Me too.”
We look to my kids in unison, drawn by the sound of Alani’s laughter. Ginger smiles at the sight of Makoa trying to sweet-talk one of the cats into jumping down from the back shed. The way her blue eyes light up when watching my kids twists up my heart. Just fucking Ginger won’t satisfy me. Rather than girlfriend material, she’s the woman I plan to keep. I have no doubt that sooner or later she’ll submit to the reality of our connection and stop trying to escape what we both need.
➸ Ginger ☆
Tana watches me eat the pineapple coleslaw, studying my every movement. I purposely chew slowly and wipe my lips after every bite. Her gaze narrows into thin, pissed lines, but she doesn’t say anything.
Meanwhile, I moan approvingly for Oz’s sake. He knows I’m screwing with his mother, and that she’s dying to find fault with me. Stuck in the middle, he smiles too much and laughs at shit that isn’t funny.
“Smokey bit Champ’s face,” Makoa tells us, and Oz giggles like a man on the edge.
“Are cats always that violent?” I ask.
“Yes,” Alani announces while her brother immediately declares, “No.”
“They have their moments,” Oz says, clenching his fist when Tana suddenly stands.
“If I knew cats were so entertaining, I might have gotten one,” I say, throwing him a bone.
A relieved Oz smiles at me. I give him a wink and ask the kids about school. This opens the door for them to talk—non-stop—for twenty minutes. I finish the coleslaw and then get stuck with seconds because Tana wants me to know this is her damn house. I obnoxiously ignore the bowl she places in front of me.
Unaware of the tension, Alani and Makoa share tales about their teachers, friends at recess, and how they’re the last kids to get off the bus every day. I hear a hint of unhappiness in this last information. Oz must hear it too because he tells them what he told me and what I suspect he tells Tana.
“I’m looking for the right place.”
Studying him while he leans against the counter, I wonder if he’s afraid to leave this house where his life makes sense. Possibly, he fears his kids and mother will abandon him once they have more options. Isolated out here, the family is forced to remain close. However, I can’t imagine much would change for the Savo clan if they lived in town. They’re natural outsiders—exotic, dangerous rebels in a town of dull, harmless conformists.
“My company plans to renovate a dozen houses we’ve bought in town and then rent them out. I imagine at least one of them will suit your needs.”
“We’ll see,” Oz says before I finish speaking.
I frown at his clear irritation. He looks at me as if I’m clueless for not realizing why he’s annoyed. Standing up, I smile at the kids.
“Soon, I’ll move into my complex, and we’ll have a party. You can come over to swim if you want. You know, before it gets too cold.”
“I love swimming,” Alani says immediately.
Makoa pipes in seconds after his sister with, “Me too.”
Oz steps closer, maybe thinking he can block me from leaving. He grossly underestimates my willingness to knock him down and make a run for my Harley.
“The townhomes should be finished in a week or two,” I say, inching toward the door. “That’ll leave plenty of time to swim before autumn shows up and makes it too cold.”
“That sounds fun,” Tana says in an edgy, suspicious voice.
The woman is so obviously messing with me again that I nearly laugh. Tana is what I assume the girls in the crew will be like one day. They’ll look just like anyone’s grandma while in fact possessing the hearts of troublemaking bitches.
“I need to get going,”
“No,” Oz declares.
I roll my eyes before turning to the kids. “It was nice meeting you. I’ll see you guys soon, okay?”
They surprise me with hugs. I’m not a cuddly person, but I do my best impression of one. Turning to Tana, I put on a big smile.
“I don’t usually like pineapple, but the coleslaw was still great.”
“Pineapple is a staple of my people’s food.”
“What people would that be?”
“The Hawaiian people,” she says through gritted teeth.
“Oh, I wasn’t certain where you were from. Oz hadn’t mentioned anything.”
Tana narrows her gaze, making me smile wider. “I’m glad we understand each other.”
“Me too, Tutu.”
/>
When she growls at me, I burst into laughter. The kids laugh too because they have no clue what’s happening. They take my hands to escort me to the front door. I glance back and catch Tana’s frown shifting into a grin. Ah, she like-hates me.
Somehow, Oz ends up in front of me and the kids when we exit the front door. Shit, did he run around the side of the house to beat us? What an egotistical dick! Admittedly, he looks extremely sexy while blocking my way.
“I have to go.”
“I said no.”
“It’s important that I leave right now,” I say and then smile at the kids.
“You can stay for dinner.”
“No, I can’t.”
“Why?”
“I ate at Taco Bell yesterday, and I feel diarrhea coming,” I say, struggling against laughter. “I don’t want to stink up your house.”
The kids love the poop talk and laugh their cute little asses off. Oz isn’t impressed, but he relents when I grab my stomach and groan.
“I feel the first round coming.”
“Shit here then.”
“No, I need privacy, and possibly a change of clothing. This is going to be pretty bad.”
Grudgingly, a smile appears on his face, and he moves the hell out of my way. I climb on my Harley and smile at him. Before he can whine about my leaving, I rev the engine and wave goodbye to the still laughing kids. Their love of poop talk bodes well for us getting along since crap comments are my go-to in tense situations. Well, assuming violence isn’t feasible.
I pucker up so Oz can give me a kiss, but he only frowns and crosses his arm. Shrugging, I move to leave. He, of course, grabs my arm and covers my mouth with his. I let him kiss me for less than ten seconds before pushing him off and speeding away. When I reach the end of the road, I glance back to find him glaring at me. Once again, Oz’s glare tugs at me, and I nearly return to him.
Before he wins our struggle of wills again, I force my gaze on the road ahead and accelerate. Every mile between us is another reminder that I’m Ginger Snaps, and he’s someone’s father, and those two facts might never mesh.
➸ Oz ★
Ginger refuses to bow to my will and return to the house. I know she considers it, though. I possess power over her but not enough to get my way. After she disappears from view, I turn to the kids who’ve already lost interest in our visitor and now play Transformers.
