dibs (29 page)

“Yes, you do…Dad.” She winked and started walking to the kitchen.

“Dibs,” I said as she scurried away from me to tend to her son.

“You can’t call dibs on me, Mac. Dibs people are unattainable!” she called back over her shoulder.

“The hell they are,” I laughed and trotted up the stairs two at a time.

Three months later…

“Seriously, you guys. I hate cemeteries,” Juls whined.

“Not us, Juls. Kat and I love them,” I said sarcastically. “Who says shit like that? No one likes cemeteries. It’s like saying I don’t like funerals or hospitals. Well…no shit!”

Kat laughed. We were almost to Becca’s grave. I took out the flowers Peyton and I’d left in the pot a week or so ago and replaced them with the fresh flowers keeping a few separate.

“Can we do this? Please? Then get the hell out of here?” Juls pled.

“What is wrong with you?” Kat asked. “It’s the middle of the day. This isn’t The freaking Walking Dead for Christ’s sake. There are no walkers here.”

“If there are, I call Dibs on Daryl,” Juls added.

“Daryl?” I yelled. “He’s dirty. I call Dibs on Rick!”

“Yeah, he’s clean,” she chuckled sarcastically.

Kat pulled the plastic wine glasses out as I opened the wine. Silence fell over us while I poured, the gravity of the situation weighing on us. None of us knowing whether to laugh or be serious—caught somewhere in the middle.

“Happy birthday, Bec,” I said raising my glass in a toast.

“To Becca,” Kat said.

Juls chewed on her cheek. My badass bitch of a friend had a heart and dealing with Becca’s death had been a struggle. We all brought something different to the table…making our friendship unique. Becca left a hole in that. One that would never be filled.

Finally, Juls raised her glass. “God, I miss you, Bec,” she choked out. “What do you think she’d say if she found out I was going to partner with Blake and help run a ladies and gents club?” Juls asked.

“You really gonna do it?” I questioned.

Juls shrugged. “I don’t know. Blake hasn’t been with a woman since the damn cruise. He’s sort of backing out of the deal. Not sure he wants me working there.”

“You haven’t been with others!” I exclaimed. We’d all talked about this.

“No. But I told him I have.”

“Juls!” Kat said.

In a matter of seconds, Juls downed her wine. “Seriously, we made the toast. Can we go?”

“Why would you tell him that?”

She shrugged again. “I don’t know! Isn’t this supposed to be about Becca?”

Becca would have been 41 today…

“Should we tell a memory?” Kat asked.

Juls rolled her eyes. “Oh for God’s sake. Shall we hold hands and sing Kumbaya as well?”

Clearly Juls emotional moment had passed.

“Fine! Let’s go,” Kat gave in.

“I’m not trying to be a bitch but we paid our respects, we can go talk about memories and shit while we grub on chips and salsa and toast with a margarita.”

“Here,” I whispered, handing Kat my glass.

While they cleaned up, I grabbed the extra flowers and walked over to the grave four away from Becca’s.

Sarah McAllister

Mac and I had purchased a tombstone for her so we had a place to come visit. We called it the ‘remembering place’ for Peyton instead of the cemetery. When we came here, it was a family affair and truly something Mac and Peyton had bonded over. He continued to hang on to the ashes until just the right place came to him for spreading.

When Mac made the move from Carson City to Tahoe, he wouldn’t move in with us. He wanted to make sure Jake understood that Mac was doing it the right way.

One of the best parts of my last three months—Mac’s tires came up slashed one weekend. One guess as to who did that. With great pleasure, a group of men resembling the Village People beat the living shit out of Bryan. Only time would tell how Bryan would react—history indicated that he was a few fries short of a happy meal. The verdict was still out on if he’d learned his lesson. Honestly doubtful.

“So. I think I’m going to have a full hysterectomy, you guys,” Kat said after we were served our adult beverages at the little cantina.

This wasn’t news to me since Kat and I had discussed it over the past few weeks.

“That’s sucks…but if were up to me, I’d have ‘em take all the shit out of my body too,” Juls said, her words flowing with compassion. “You know, they say when that happens, the woman becomes a raging bitch.”

I winked at Kat. “So, you had a hysterectomy at 12?”

Juls threw a tortilla chip at me.

“Why is sarcasm always coming from you in 3, 2, 1…” Juls asked.

“You’re just a little bundle of bitch today, aren’t you? And I’m sorry if you can’t keep up,” I countered.

“Did they pull you aside in medical school and teach you this shit?” she asked not backing down.

“No. But 9 out of 10 doctors agree that you are a bitch most of the time.”

That earned another tortilla chip to the face. Kat laughed.

“Here’s the deal Juls,” Kat intervened. “At least you’re a very pretty bitch.”

Juls held her head high. “Thank you, Kat.”

We laughed and teased and thankfully reminisced about times with Becca for nearly three hours. Not one of us remained sober. These girls were my heart and soul.

“Dibs,” Juls said.

With unreasonably slow reactions, Kat and I turned around.

Mac…

My breath was stolen as he walked toward us with Peyton holding his hand.

“Never mind. That guy is NOT even attractive,” Juls groaned pulling up her lip in disgust.

I ignored her lie.

“Hey,” he said with that side grin of his capturing my heart and soul all over again. This was an every day occurrence. “You gonna tolerate someone else calling dibs on me?” he winked at both me and Juls but then his blue eyes rested on me.

I shrugged. “It’s just a silly old game. Doesn’t mean a thing.”

“It means everything,” he said. The low gravely timber in his voice caused a swarm of goose bumps to break out over my skin.

“What are you two doing here?” I asked Peyton in particular.

“Bree asked if I could sleep over. We are going to have a girls night too and celebrate Mommy’s birthday.”

My heart swelled as my throat constricted. “That sounds perfect, sweetie.”

“I’m running her over there. Jake’s with a buddy tonight. That means the house is empty.”

“This is a ladies night, get lost, Thor!” Juls said.

Something flashed inside his eyes…humor?

“Peyton, you go wait in the car. I’ll be right there.”

Jul’s hand shot up trying to stop him from talking.

Peyton kissed my cheek and took the keys from Mac who then leaned over the table toward Juls.

Juls quickly said, “We gotta fight. For our right. To party, Thor. The Beastie Boys said so!”

A slight smile touched his lips. “Party all night. My lady will be picked up as soon as I drop Peyton off. I know her well enough that she’s a drink away from really good sex or drooling. If you two need a ride, I’ll drop you off first. And screw the Beastie Boys.”

Kat laughed out loud. “We will take a ride.”

“Speak for yourself.”

Kat rolled her eyes. “I’m speaking for both of us. You need a ride too.”

“Dibs!”

We heard the male voice from behind us. All our heads turned.

Blake stood behind our table grinning.

“You can’t call dibs on me, Blake,” Juls said.

“I didn’t. I called it on that girl over there,” he said.

All of us, including Mac, looked to where he pointed. A beautiful Hispanic girl sat sipping on a margarita.

Juls glared at Blake. “Shut the fuck up.”

“You, shut the fuck up,” he challenged back.

Juls stood, causally strolling over to Blake. “Is that who you really want?”

With no words, he simply shook his head from side to side.

“Prove it,” she said and off they went leaving the three of us sitting there and me with the damn tab! Figures.

RULE 1: The four of us are friends for life.

Even after death for that matter.

“Your chariot awaits, my ladies,” Mac joked.

Both Kat and I walked out with him.

My dibs guy worked out…it was never meant to be this way…maybe that’s why it happened. The bottom line—sometimes you have to go through a lot of nail-biting, limp dick, hip-hop artists to get to your very own pussy crook…but I did it. Dibs!

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With every book I hit publish; I pray that the words will resonate with someone. This book made me laugh while writing…and I have to thank my dad for helping me find my sense of humor when I was little. Laughter truly is the best medicine. And dad—pumpkin/dog/cup! ☺

Thank you to the readers who support me. Making Amazon bestseller last year made my day…my week…my month…my year…my life! Truly. Can’t express my gratitude. I will say this a thousand times over—there are so many authors out there better than me…but you giving me a chance means the world to me.

MCM—man crush Monday? Nope! Megan, Clista, and Madison. The girls who believed in me before I believed in myself! Hugs always. My Georgia peach…Tera… My Red Sux lover…Lisa. I got nothin… Words cant express what I feel #foreverloyal Amber W—Thank you doesn’t cover it. Snapchat, messenger, text—love your positivity for life and family. Sandra—this is the year! Ketty—love your honesty! Thank you for always reading. Traci—another book for the shelf. Elaine and Janet—‘ville rules #always Michelle F…hawks over gators! ☺ Welcome to the author world. Laura—love from across the pond. Jazzy J—give Vin a kiss! Kelly—maybe another Texas hello. Riza—RMG Lacy and Renee E—thanks for the blog love. Amber R.—don’t be scared #noclownshere Lorelei, Heather, Brittany, Rachelle—thank you!

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K, B, Z…1