From Smoke To Flames— Amazon: A West Brothers Novel

by A. M. Hargrove

  “Have a seat,” she said. “Montana, go wash your hands.”

  Montana cast a glance at me and said, “Come on Mister, you gotta wash yours too.”

  Setting my coffee cup down, I started to follow her, but Rose stopped me. “You know you don’t have to let her order you around.”

  “True, but I do need to wash my hands.”

  She gestured toward the kitchen sink. “You can do it there.”

  “Nah, I’ll go with the Muffin.”

  Her eyes twinkled with mirth as she nodded. I caught up with Montana as she stood by the sink. “You gotta scrub the germs off before you eat.”

  “Can you give me a squirt of soap?” She pumped some foam into my hands, and I washed them until they were clean. We both dried off and hustled back into the kitchen. Rose had already served us our stacks, so we sat down to eat.

  The first bite melted in my mouth. “Oh, God, these are delicious.”

  “Told ya,” Montana said with her mouth stuffed.

  “Montana, you’re not supposed to talk with your mouth full.”

  “Sorry.” She chewed, then swallowed. “Mommy’s pancakes are the bestest in the whole world.”

  “I agree,” I said, going in for another forkful. I polished off the stack on my plate when Rose asked if I wanted more. “Are there more?”

  “Plenty more.”

  “Then, yes!”

  She went to get them, but I beat her to it. “I’m a grown man who can serve himself. Can I get anyone anything?”

  “Nope,” Montana said.

  Rose corrected her by saying, “Pop Tart, you should say, ‘No thank you.’”

  “No thank you,” she mimicked her mom.

  Rose didn’t want anymore, but I loaded up for round two. I couldn’t get enough of these.

  After everyone was finished, I started to clean up the kitchen. Rose tried to object, but I said, “You cooked, I clean. It’s only fair. After I’m done, I’ll shower and then we can go into the city to grab my things. How does that sound?”

  She finished off her coffee and said, “Sounds great. I’ll jump in the shower now. Montana, I laid out your clothes for today. I want you to get dressed now.”

  They both left me to clean up, which was a breeze. Then I headed for the shower. By the time I was dressed, they were both waiting on me.

  The drive into the city was quick since it was Sunday morning. I pulled into the parking garage and it was strange since it had been so long since I had been here. My apartment was a half block away. I lived in a building with spacious lofts. When we walked up to the door, I said, “Just a warning. I haven’t been here in a while, so I have no idea what shape the place is in.”

  “Hey, don’t worry,” Rose said.

  “Hudson came by a few times, but other than that, it’s been empty since, well, you know.” I unlocked the door and was met with a sign that said, “Welcome home, bro.” I chuckled at it. “My brother.” I checked everything out and it was immaculate. “He must’ve had the place cleaned because I can assure you this is not how I left it.”

  “I see. But this place is fantastic.”

  “Have a look around.”

  Montana took off and ran up the steps to the loft. There was a sitting area up there, but I never really used it. My nephew, Wiley, had some toys up there because he called it his fort. She yelled down to us, “You got toys up here.”

  “They’re my nephew’s, but you can play with them.”

  There was also a TV and some video games. I went back to my bedroom to gather up some clothes. When I went into rehab, Hudson only packed casual things. I needed some suits, dress shirts, and ties, in case I went to court with Miles. I also needed more clothes, so I packed two large suitcases. There were other things I wanted, such as my computer, iPad, chargers, and messenger bag. In my desk drawer, I kept dozens of flash drives from my files at work. I was mostly interested in the one from Rose’s divorce. They were labeled by month and year. I took them all so I could look at them later. I packed a few more pairs of shoes too. As I was zipping up the duffle, I heard, “Knock knock.”

  I looked over my shoulder to see Rose standing there. “Come in. I was just grabbing some extra shoes.”

  “I love this place. Do you rent?”

  “No, I bought it then had it done to my specs.”

  “It’s fantastic. I love the way you designed the kitchen and the open floor plan, but the bedroom areas are so private. And you have so much space. It’s amazing.”

  “Yeah, I enjoyed living here, probably a little too much.”

  “It’s so well thought out, even the closets.” The doorbell rang, cutting into our conversation.

  “Would you mind answering that? I’ll be out in a sec.”

  She left and as soon as I had everything together, I went out to the front door to see who was there and fuck it all. Standing there was one of my former heroin suppliers.

  “Pearson, where in the hell have you been? You owe me money for a shit load of H and Dwayne has been on my ass, threatening me. I’ve been stopping by for over two months now, but you never answer your fucking door. What the hell is going on?”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Rose

  * * *

  When I answered the door, I should’ve looked through the peephole first, but I didn’t. It never occurred to me that whoever was out there posed a threat. I turned the knob and the door was shoved open, nearly knocking me on my ass. Then a woman, and I use that term loosely, marched through into the room.

  “Who are you?” she asked.

  “Shouldn’t I be the one asking that question?”

  She grabbed my shirt with her fists and jerked me up against her. “Shut your fucking mouth. Who are you and where’s Pearson?”

  She smelled like garbage off the streets, her hair was snarled and filthy, and her clothing didn’t look much better. About that time, Pearson came into the room. She let me go and started in on him, wanting to know where he’d been.

  “How much do I owe you, Letty?”

  “Five, but I need to charge you interest for taking Dwayne’s fist too many times.” She was so filthy I hadn’t noticed the bruises on her face at first. But now as I inspected her more closely, sure enough, they were there. One on her cheek and another on her jaw.

  “I’ll pay you.”

  He left the room and came back with a roll of cash. Who the hell keeps that much cash around?

  “Here. Count it out.”

  She did and there were fifty-five hundred dollar bills there. He must’ve been using a ton of heroin to owe her that much money. She slipped the roll into her bra. “So, where’ve you been?”

  “That’s none of your concern. And just so you know, I won’t be needing you to stop by anymore.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean I’m out of the market.”

  “What? You mean you got clean?”

  “That’s right,” he said. His posture was straight and firm.

  She let out a bitter laugh. “How many times have I heard that? Don’t lose my number, sweet cheeks. You’ll be calling me.”

  “I don’t think so. Do me a favor and lose my address.”

  “You’re that sure of yourself?”

  “I am.”

  “And how many times have you tried to quit?”

  “My first and only. I won’t be going through it again.”

  She stared at him for a long time. “Well, just in case, you know where to find me.”

  As she started for the door, I said, “You may want to consider the same thing before it’s too late.”

  “Ha. And who are you to know what I need?”

  Before I could stop myself, I mumbled, “I know you need a bath.”

  She was on me like lightning. Pearson yanked her away and told her never to come back. The door slammed behind her and he said, “I’m so sorry about this.” Then he escaped to his bedroom.

  I followed because it was nothing to be
ashamed of. There would be countless people who would remind him of his old life, and I would help him get through it. He wasn’t in his room, but the bathroom door was closed.

  “Pearson, can I come in?”

  “Give me a minute.” It sounded like he was sick, as in throwing up. I heard the toilet flush, and then the water running in the sink. When he emerged, he wore a downtrodden expression.

  “I’m sorry. That whole encounter literally made me ill.”

  “Hey, don’t worry about it. Situations like that may happen again. You never know who you’ll run into.”

  He sat on the bed, with steepled fingers, his gaze riveted to the floor. “You don’t understand. I … uh, slept with her. When I was high and drugged out.” His tone was smeared with disgust. “I don’t remember any of it, only waking up next to her. Thank God I got tested for HIV. Did you look at her, I mean really look at her? She made my skin crawl and the whole idea of being with her … that’s what made me sick.” His hands trembled as he spoke. “I’m so fucking humiliated.”

  “Remember, you weren’t in your right mind. People do all sorts of things they regret when they’re high on drugs, Pearson.”

  “But, she was foul. Totally disgusting. How could I have done that? I’m not sure how I’ll ever get past that.”

  I sat next to him and took his hands. “You’re going to have to find a way. I was proud of the way you stood up to her. You showed her you had a backbone. A lot of people would’ve curled up against someone like her. She noticed it too.”

  It took a few minutes before he braved a glance at me. “You don’t condemn me.” It wasn’t a question.

  “You should know this already. Addiction is a disease, not a choice. Of course I don’t condemn you.” I put my arms around him and hugged him.

  “Thank you. It seems I’m always saying those words to you. But I know I really need to attend my meeting today.”

  His bed was covered with two large suitcases, a messenger bag, a duffle bag, a large garment bag, and a backpack. It was doubtful we’d make this in one trip. “Let’s get this stuff down and then you can get the car and we’ll load up. How’s that?”

  “The best idea I’ve heard. I need to get away from here.”

  I took the two suitcases, he put the messenger bag and backpack on, and grabbed the garment bag, and pulled the duffle bag, which had wheels. We ended up, by some miracle, making it in one trip. Montana and I waited while he got the car. We were on the way home in no time.

  “I liked your playroom,” Montana said.

  “You did?” he asked.

  “Yeah. Can we go back sometime?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Yay,” she yelled.

  Once home, we put everything in his room, but he had to rush out to make it to the NA meeting. “I’ll be back in an hour and a half. Be ready because we’ll leave right away for my parents’ house.”

  “Yes, sir.” I saluted him and Montana mimicked me. He chuckled and tickled her under the chin.

  “See you later, Mister.”

  “After while, Muffin.” She waved as he drove off.

  “Mommy, who was that mean lady who came to Mister’s house?”

  “She was just someone he used to know.”

  “She was bad, wasn’t she?”

  “Yes, she was.”

  “Was she going to hurt you like Daddy did?”

  “No, and if she had tried to, Pearson would’ve stopped her.”

  “Oh. She scared me so I hid. Miss Caroline scared me like that sometimes.” She played with the buttons on her sweater as she spoke.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Sometimes Miss Caroline would get mean like that lady. And she would smell bad. Daddy would yell at her a lot. She would fall asleep after she took her medicine and I wasn’t allowed to wake her up. When she woke up was when she got mean.”

  Jesus Christ, she sounded like an addict. Is that why they locked Montana in her room? And is that why Greg had gotten so crazy? Was he using too? Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen Caroline in months.

  “Guess what?”

  “What, Mommy?”

  “You don’t have to be scared anymore or worry about that anymore either. Now come give me a big ole kiss.”

  She popped off the couch and ran to me. Her arms wrapped around my neck and squeezed. Then she gave me a loud smacking kiss on the cheek. “Boy are you ever getting strong.”

  “I know. Look.” She bent her arm to show me her muscle.

  “Who taught you how to do that?”

  “Mister did.”

  “He did?”

  “Yeah. He’s fun.”

  “I’m glad you like him.”

  “Do you like him, Mommy?”

  Hell yeah, I liked him. He was hotter than any man I’d ever seen. “Um, of course I like him. He’s a very nice man.”

  “Are you gonna kiss him?”

  “Why do you ask that?”

  “Because I want you to. He has a nice flower right here.” She pointed to her chest. I noticed that lovely rose myself. I wanted to lick the damn thing and if she hadn’t been in his room, I probably would’ve fallen to my knees and praised it.

  “He does? Is it pretty?”

  “Yeah, and it’s real big. You should ask to see it. I want one like that.”

  “I think you’ll have to wait until you’re older. You can get one when you’re legal.”

  “What’s legal?”

  “It means when you’re eighteen.”

  “Oh. How many fingers is that?” She started counting but ran out at ten. “How many more?”

  “Eight.” I held up mine in order for her to count.

  She frowned. “That’s a lot, Mommy.”

  “Yeah, but you’ll be eighteen before you know it. In the meantime, we can get you a temporary tattoo.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s one that washes off.”

  That got her hopping around the room in excitement, so when Pearson got home, she told him.

  “Mommy says I can have a flower like yours since I don’t have enough fingers.”

  He looked hot even with a confused expression. “She wants a tattoo like yours, but I told her she has to be eighteen, hence not enough fingers since she only has ten. I’m allowing her to get a temporary one. What kind of flower is it?”

  His puzzled look disappeared and was replaced by one of pride. Then he said with a sexy grin, “It’s a rose. What else would it be?”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Pearson

  * * *

  After the horrendous morning, the meeting was great—exactly what I needed to expunge the guilt I harbored over Letty. It didn’t really expunge it but allowed me to accept it and move on. There were so many things I had remorse over, we discussed ways of dealing with it. One of them was through apology. I did that with Rose this morning. It had been humiliating to face the truth of sleeping with Letty. Rose had been right. I never would’ve slept with her had I been in my right mind. But I hadn’t and now there was nothing to do about it but accept it and move forward.

  The group talked about the prayer, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” The first part was true with me. There were going to be many times, as Rose had said, that I’d probably run into people from that life. I would need to accept and realize I couldn’t change what I’d done. Going forward was the only way.

  Montana eagerly waited for me when I arrived back at the house so she could tell me the news about the flower. I closely studied Rose as I told her what flower it was. A lovely pink flush spread from her neck to her cheeks.

  “You were expecting something else?” I asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Would you care to see it?”

  “Uh huh.”

  I unbuttoned my shirt and showed her. She moved forward and ran her fingers lightly across it.
r />   “Kiss him, Mommy.”

  “Montana, hush,” Rose said. Her face turned an even brighter pink. “You shouldn’t say those things.”

  “Why not? I like Mister. He’s nice and you should kiss him.”

  “I agree,” I said. Montana clapped.

  I stepped even closer to Rose and said, “I can help if you want.”

  Her large eyes zoomed in on my mouth then my own eyes. I didn’t wait for more of an invitation. I took my chance. Her lips were silk and velvet and when mine touched hers, she sighed. I wanted more, so much more, but we had an audience yelling, “Yay.” I stepped back and winked. Then I asked Montana, “Was that good enough?”

  “More, Mister.”

  “Maybe later. We have to go.”

  We paraded out to the car and made the short drive to my parents’ where everyone waited on us, including the dogs.

  “Listen up. Don’t be alarmed. Mom and Milly share custody of a big dog named Dick. He’s huge, but he’s a gentle giant.”

  “I like dogs, don’t I Mommy?”

  “Yes, Pop Tart, you do.”

  We were getting out of the car when my dad and niece ran out. “Hey, do you wanna dance?” Kinsley asked Montana.

  “Kinsley, let her get out of the car first, and it’s poor manners not to greet everyone first.”

  “Oh, sorry. Hi Uncle Pearson and Miss Rose. Can Montana come and dance?”

  By that time, I’d gotten her out of her seat. “Can I, Mister?”

  “Sure thing.” The two girls ran off. Dad came up to Rose and greeted her.

  “We’re so happy you could join us today.”

  “Thanks for having us,” she said.

  We walked inside to mayhem. Dick was barking at Chester, the French Bulldog, as he ran around chasing Aaron. Wylie was yelling at Dick to stop, but he didn’t listen.

  “Where’s Hudson?”

  “Out back. Hi Pearson,” both Milly and Marin said. “Hi Rose.”

  Rose walked over to speak to them and see their sets of twins. Mom came inside and hugged me then went over to talk to the girls. I walked out back to hang with the guys. I took the dogs and Wiley with me. Hudson threw the ball and the dogs chased it as we chatted.