by Lynn, JB
Annoyed with me, he turned around so that his back was to me. “Talk to the tail.” He held up his tail dismissively.
Leaving him there, I got out of bed and went into the kitchen where I found Zeke and Armani seated at the kitchen table, arguing over whether Rhett and Scarlett, Rose and Jack, or Armand and Albert made the best movie couples.
“Pairs, huh?” I grabbed an empty mug and the coffee pot and poured myself some.
“You can be the tie-breaker,” Zeke suggested.
“Nah-ah, not me,” I declined, eyeing the plate of pastries that sat in front of Armani.
“Why didn’t you introduce me to your brother?” Armani asked. “He’s hot.”
“You think every man you see is hot,” Zeke teased lightly.
Armani grinned, a devilish glint in her eyes. “I appreciate the male form in all its glory.”
Chuckling, Zeke shook his head, grabbed the plate of pastries, and slid them in my direction.
“So what happened to him?” Armani pushed.
Strolling over, I picked up a cherry Danish. “He left.”
“He could have come inside for just a minute, or were you too ashamed to introduce him to your friend?”
I looked at Armani sharply, wondering where that accusation had come from. “Of course not.”
“Because I know I’m not perfect, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be a perfect match for someone.”
I considered the fruit in the pastry, careful not to meet her gaze. “Is that what this pairing thing is about? You’re worried about finding someone?”
She drew herself up to her full height and reminded me, “I’m a very successful matchmaker.”
“I know, I know,” I soothed. I glanced sideways at Zeke to see if he knew where this was coming from, but he just shrugged at me helplessly.
“I just asked why you couldn’t bother to introduce your brother to me,” Armani huffed. “No need to read anything else into it.”
“You don’t understand. He disappeared. One minute he was there, the next he was gone without a word.”
“Must be genetic,” Zeke interjected, knowing full well how often my father had disappeared without warning while I was growing up.
“I don’t think he’s Archie’s son,” I murmured.
Armani leaned forward to take advantage of that little nugget of information. “Really? Your mom was stepping out on your dad?”
I shrugged. “Maybe. I have to wonder though if she even knew what she was doing.”
Zeke let out a low whistle. “Now that’s a tangled web.”
I nodded and took a big bite of cherry goodness to save myself from having to answer whatever question I saw forming on Armani’s lips.
Thankfully, Zeke decided to save me from her interrogation. “So,” he began. “I need a favor, Armani.”
I shot him a warning look, reminding him that I didn’t want Armani involved in this scheme of his.
She turned her attention to him expectantly. “What can I do for you, Handsome?”
“I need you to flirt with someone.”
Instead of having a normal reaction, like asking why, she batted her eyes and gave him her best come hither look. “And you think I’m up to the job?”
“I don’t think there is anyone else better equipped for the job,” he murmured suggestively.
I considered leaving so that the two of them could have the room. Instead, I cleared my throat.
Armani chuckled. “Maggie’s feeling left out.”
“Maggie will have her own job,” Zeke assured her. “Just one that’s not as fun.”
“Sorry, Chica,” Armani cooed.
I got the distinct impression she wasn’t.
“I’ve got to feed the cat first.” Leaving my coffee cup on the table, I took the rest of my Danish and hightailed it out of there.
Once I was outside, I called, “Mike?”
He swooped down, landing at my feet. “How’s my gal doing today?”
“No bread or breakfast meat,” I apologized. “You’ll have to settle for this.” I tore off a doughy chunk of the pastry and tossed it to him.”
He gobbled it up greedily. “Pretty good.”
“Glad you like it.” I ate the cherry center and then gave the rest to the bird before heading into the RV.
“Morning, Sugar.” Piss stretched as she greeted me.
“Morning. How’s the patient?”
“He’s doing much better.”
I peered at the tiny white creature curled in the corner of the plastic box. He didn’t look any better to me.
“What do you eat?” I asked him.
Instead of answering me, he squeezed his little eyes shut like I was a giant monster he couldn’t bear to look at.
“He’s not hungry,” Piss supplied. “I already asked.”
“What about you?” I asked.
“I’m starving. I worked up an appetite with last night’s adventure.”
“Is that what we’re calling it?” I got out her cat food. “An adventure?”
“Do you prefer rescue mission?”
“I would have preferred to know what I was walking into.” I put her bowl down on the RV’s floor.
She sniffed at the contents before looking up at me. “I couldn’t have known that he’d be in the midst of one of his murderous rampages.”
“Does he do that often?”
“Too often.”
“So how did you escape?” I asked.
“That’s a story for another time, Sugar.”
“Now,” I demanded.
“Can’t. You’ve got company.”
“No, I—”
Three sharp raps echoed off the side of the RV, interrupting me and proving her right.
“Later,” I amended.
She began to eat as I climbed out of the camper. Seeing who my visitor was, I let out a tired sigh. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
Chapter Twenty-five
“You could look happier to see me, Maggie May,” my dad boomed.
“You disappeared again.” I leaned against the side of the camper, too tired to stand on my own. The previous night’s adventure had worn me out and my father’s reappearance sucked the energy out of me faster than I suck the pimento out of an olive. (And trust me, that’s pretty fast.)
“But I’m back.”
“For how long?”
Dad shrugged.
“Ian disappeared too,” I complained.
“He’ll be back.”
I hoped he was right considering Teresa had insisted that we needed him. “He is my brother, isn’t he?”
Dad kicked the dirt at his feet, unable to meet my gaze.
“I really don’t have time for your secrets and games, Dad,” I growled.
He nodded slowly.
“And his father is…?”
He shrugged helplessly.
We stood there as an awkward silence magnified the sounds of distant traffic.
“You shouldn’t think badly of your mother,” he said finally. “She was so beautiful.”
“Uh huh.”
“And she was going through one of her…spells.”
“Spells?” I mocked.
“She was lost in a romantic haze,” he explained. “She imagined every man she met was her white knight.”
“Because she needed rescuing from you?” I needled.
He scowled. “Because she was like a princess locked in a turret in that damn B&B with the witches.”
“Her sisters took care of her.” Having only recently come to fully appreciate how much my aunts, especially Susan, had done, I felt the need to defend them. “And they took care of me and my sisters.”
Ignoring me, he continued, “So you can’t blame Mary for any bad decisions she might have made. After all, if I, her husband, can forgive her, you have no right to hold a grudge.”
“Who said anything about a grudge? I’m not holding a grudge. I’m just trying to figure out what the hell is going on.”
Mike cawed from on top of the RV, “Want me to put the screws to him, Maggie?”
I looked up and found him watching us, head cocked, eyes gleaming. I shook my head. When I returned my attention to my father, he was staring off into space as though on a journey to recollect a memory.
“She slept with Delveccio, didn’t she?” I asked as gently as I could.
Dad’s gaze snapped back to meet my gaze. “How do you know that?”
“Lucky guess?” I said weakly, unwilling to admit that I knew that Delveccio had been infatuated with my mother.
Dad frowned, not believing me.
“He looks a lot like Angel, Delveccio’s nephew.”
His expression eased, obviously hearing the truth in those words. “You should stay away from that family. They’re nothing but rotten trouble, the entire lot of them.”
Pushing myself off the RV, I stood up tall. “Delveccio was very kind and generous when I needed help with Katie.” My voice shook with anger as I remembered that, unlike my father, the mob boss had been supportive, even when the support consisted of him hiring me to be an assassin so I could pay for Katie’s bills. “And Angel was an amazing manny.”
Dad snorted derisively at the use of manny, but had the good sense to not argue with me. “Fine. The kind and generous Delveccios took advantage of your mother’s fragile state and they slept with her.”
I swallowed hard as his words sunk in. “They?”
“Both of them were besotted by her. Not that I can really blame them; she was so beautiful and everyone wanted to have a taste of that magical thing that makes her her.”
I bit my tongue to keep from blurting out, “You mean her insanity?”
“So I don’t know which of the Delveccio brothers is Ian’s father.”
“But why have Thurston raise him?” I asked. “Why did you send him away?”
Crossing his arms over his chest, Dad kicked the ground harder. “Because I didn’t want to look at your mother’s indiscretion.”
“The one you’ve forgiven her for?” I snapped.
He glared at me. “I forgave her. I just didn’t need to be reminded of it on a daily basis. The boy had a good home, just not in my home.”
“He was an innocent baby!” I raised my voice as I leveled the accusation. “He was a child. He was my brother!” By the time I reached the end, I was shouting. “You had no right to keep him from me. From any of us.”
“I did what I had to do to keep my family safe,” Dad yelled right back. “If the Delveccios had found out, all of my girls would have been in danger.”
“What does that even mean?”
“He would have laid claim to your brother, taken your mother, and ripped apart the family.”
I reflexively defended Delveccio. “You don’t know that.”
“You have no idea what that man is capable of.”
I shook my head slowly. I knew the mobster had a lot of faults, but he believed in the sanctity of family. “So, instead, mom’s in the loony bin, my brother has never known his siblings and you’re barred from ever seeing any of us again. Your way worked out a lot better, Dad.”
He scowled. “You should consider yourself lucky that you have no idea the lengths some people have to go to in order to protect their family.”
I stared at him, fighting the urge to tell him that he had no idea how far I’d gone to protect those I love.
Chapter Twenty-six
“Boxing gloves.”
Having just re-entered Zeke’s house after my dad had announced it was once again time for him to split, it took me a second for me to find the source of the blurted out words.
“Boxing gloves,” Armani repeated, frowning at me.
Confused, I blinked. “Excuse me?”
“Boxing gloves. They’re important.”
“Why?”
She tossed her hair and limped toward the kitchen. “How should I know? I’m just relaying the message.”
I followed her. “Who is the message from? Teresa?”
“Nope. It’s just an image I keep getting.”
“Boxing gloves,” I muttered, trying to figure out what that meant. I didn’t say out loud that they come in pairs, but I had no doubt that it was important.
Armani glanced over her shoulder at me and frowned. “I’m going to take a bath. Are you going to follow me there too?”
I shook my head. “No. I need to see if Zeke has any cheese. Didn’t you take a bath last night?”
“Is there something wrong with a girl taking two?”
“No, of course not,” I soothed, noting it was another pair.
“I have to get dolled up to play a femme fatale. Right, Handsome?” she asked as she limped past Zeke, who was still sitting at the kitchen table.
He nodded, lifting his coffee cup to toast her.
“Chica needs cheese,” she told him as she left the room.
“Cheese?” he asked.
“Just a tiny bit, if you have any.” I grabbed the coffee cup I’d left behind earlier and drained the contents in a couple of selfish gulps.
“Sure. Help yourself.” Zeke patted the chair beside him, inviting me to sit down.
I lowered myself into the seat. “I just saw Archie.”
Zeke stood up, got the coffee pot, and refilled both our cups before asking, “How’d that go?”
“About as well as could be expected.”
He sat back down.
“Did Armani tell you about the boxing gloves?”
He shook his head.
“She says they’re important.”
“But has no idea what they mean?”
I nodded. “Now you’re getting it.”
He sipped his coffee. “Why do I have the feeling this whole thing is going to be a disaster?”
“Maybe you’re psychic too,” I joked, nudging his shoulder with mine.
Chuckling, he replied, “Or psycho.” He tensed immediately. “Oh god, Maggie. That was a horrible thing for me to say. Totally insensitive to your mom’s situation. I am so sorry. So, so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I soothed, patting his knee. “The situation is crazy.”
His phone, sitting on the table in front of him, buzzed.
“It’s the boss,” he said, glancing at the display. “I’ve got to take this.”
I nodded and sipped my coffee.
“Help yourself to the cheese,” he said as he jumped up, grabbed the phone, and hurried from the room.
I helped myself to another pastry, justifying the choice by telling myself I’d given half of the last one to Mike, snagged a chunk of cheddar, and went to tell God about my dad’s revelations about Ian.
“It’s about time,” God exclaimed the moment I walked back into the room. He’d been curled up in the center of the bed’s pillow, but he unfurled himself and stood in order to berate me properly. “If I’d known you were going to leave me here, stranded and abandoned for eternity—”
“It was less than an hour,” I interrupted as I wrapped the cheese in a tissue and stuck it in a pocket of my jeans.
He flicked his tail. “It felt like eternity.”
“Awww,” I teased. “Did you miss me?”
Instead of answering, he demanded, “Where have you been?”
I took a moment to recall my path. “The kitchen, the RV, and back to the kitchen.”
“And why did trips that short require you to be away for so long?”
“It was less than an hour,” I reminded him again. “And among other things, I had to check on Piss and Benny, and—”
God shuddered and interrupted, “Tell me that repulsive creature is no longer around.”
I wasn’t sure whether “no longer around” meant dead or just gone, but didn’t ask since my answer was, “He’s still there.”
“I don’t understand why you find it necessary to take in every animal with a sob story.”
“I took you in,” I chided gently.
Standing on hi
s rear legs, he drew himself up to his full height and said in his most superior voice, “I do not have a sob story.”
I rolled my eyes. “I thought you like DeeDee and Piss.”
“That’s neither here nor there.”
“And Mike doesn’t have a sob story.”
The lizard tapped his foot impatiently.
I sighed. “For whatever reason, Benny is important to Piss. She wanted him saved. I saved him.”
“That doesn’t mean you have to keep him,” the lizard countered haughtily.
Before we could continue the argument, my cell phone buzzed.
“It’s Darlene,” I told him just before I answered the phone. “Hello?”
“Morning, Aunt Maggie!” Katie crowed.
“Good morning, baby girl.” I sat down on the bed and held out my hand to God so that he could scamper up my arm, sit on my shoulder, and listen in on the conversation. “How are you today?”
“Aunt Darlene made pancakes shaped like hearts and bunnies,” Katie declared with breathless appreciation.
“That’s great.”
“And last night she braided my hair before bed so it’s all wavy like a princess this morning.”
“Wow. So you’re having a good time?”
She giggled.
The sound, light and carefree, washed away some of the lingering doubts I’d had about leaving her in my sister’s care. Darlene really was better than me at the mothering thing and Katie was happy.
God patted my cheek with his little foot as though he knew what I was thinking.
“Maggie?” DeeDee barked in the distance.
“Can you hold the phone so I can talk to DeeDee for a minute?” I asked Katie.
“Okay.”
“Hi, DeeDee. I miss you,” I said.
“You miss,” she panted back, her breath magnified by the phone so that it sounded like roaring.
“We all miss you,” God corrected.
“You miss,” she whined softly.
“We all miss you,” I repeated, swallowing the lump in my throat. “We’ll be home soon. Be a good dog.”
“Aunt Darlene wants to talk to you too,” Katie announced. “Bye, Aunt Maggie.”
“Bye,” I choked out.
“I think the dog may miss you more than the kid,” Darlene said as she took the phone from Katie. “Poor thing has been moping around. Doesn’t want to eat. Rumor has it that after Susan cooked her a chicken breast, she cut it up and sat on the floor to hand feed it to her.”
