How It Rolls (26 page)

             
I stuck my fingers in my mouth and whistled as loudly as I could, a trick I learned from one of my foster moms who had too many children.  They all turned to me in shock. 

             
“Everybody calm down.  What’s going on?”

             
Owen started, “Oh nothing.  Just that I’m going to beat Falcon’s ass for not immediately coming to get me when my
wife
had a miscarriage.  He thinks the best friend thing trumps marriage.”

             
Falcon was back in his face again, as close as he could get with Chase in between them. “I do not you stupid steroid oaf.  She asked me not to tell.  She made me promise.  What’d you want me to do, swim around the f’in Gulf of Mexico until I found you? Don’t be an asshole, Owen.”

             
“You’re calling me an asshole?  You? I oughta kick your punk ass just for that.”

             
Falcon retaliated, “You’ve never dreamed about the day you
thought
you could kick my ass bro. Get a grip.”

             
It was at that moment that Maddox stepped in. He grabbed Falcon and Owen by the ears and dragged them both outside.  Maddox was just as tall as his elder brothers and was somewhere in between them, muscle wise.  Chase moved to Sylvia who was crying right along with Nellie.  I felt like an idiot, a party crasher. 

             
“Reed, honey, come here.  Nellie told us how you took care of her and called the ambulance.  Thank you, Honey.  At least my two girls have some sense about them.”  She pulled me close and lowered her voice to a whisper.  “And we’ll talk about that rock on your finger when things aren’t so heated.”

             
I looked at her in awe.  She noticed my ring in the midst of this craziness.  I nodded at her and the boys came back in at that moment.  Maddox had apparently straightened them out because they both looked guilty as Hell. 

             
Owen approached me and my eyes widened and I tried to take a step back but I was against one of the counters.  He picked me up under my arms and squeezed the crap out of me.  He put me down and said, “I’m sorry Reed.  You and Falcon took care of Nellie when I wasn’t here.  I’m sorry for being such an ass. You’re gonna be my sister soon and I would do anything for you just like you would for Nellie.  Thank you for everything.”

             
He put me down and I looked to Falcon for assurance. He mouthed, ‘it’s ok’ at me and I knew that they had somehow made a truce outside. 

             
Sylvia clapped her hands and we all came to attention.  “Ok, I’m cooking for us all.  I could use a meal made from my own hands.  Everybody’s ok now, right?  The Black family is cool, right?”  She looked to every face in the room for some kind of confirmation of her words.  They all nodded or smiled at her separately.  I waited for them to disperse, looking at the floor when I realized they were all looking at me. 

             
“Ahem, you too, Missy, you’re gonna be a Black soon.  I need a nod or something.”  Serious, take charge Sylvia was spectacular, by the way.

             
I said “Yes Ma’am,” and she went into motion fixing a meal fit for kings. 

             
Falcon approached me and enveloped me in his embrace and sighed loudly next to my ear.  “You saved the day sweet girl,” he whispered to me.  “I just whistled, Falcon.” I chuckled back at him.  “Yeah, but it was what we needed to snap us out of our ridiculousness.  You came just in time like always. And my mom totally noticed your ring.”

             
“I know.  She said we would talk later.  I almost didn’t put it back on after practice but I figured they’d found out sometime.”

             
“I can’t wait until you’re wearing that ring and nothing else at all.” I gasped and quickly poked my head around.  Thank God everyone else was involved in their own private conversations to hear him say that.  I pulled back a little to look him in the eye.

             
“I’m glad I’m not alone there.  ‘Cause I can’t wait to see your face when I’m wearing nothing but this ring.”

             
“So mean.” He kissed the tip of my nose and went to help his mom.  Owen joined them on the other side of the counter and I watched the three brothers look at each other and all was forgotten. 

             
“Jeez,” Nellie sidled up next to me, “And they say girls are dramatic.” We laughed as we sat on stools and watched the Black magic happen. 

             
By the end of the night, we were all back to normal.  Falcon and I were thoroughly interrogated about the proposal and the wedding details, which there were none.  By the end of the night, I had blushed so much, I was afraid the rose color had permanently inked my face. 

             
We drove home and as he unlocked the door I said, “We have the best family.” It just came out of my mouth.  If I wouldn’t look absolutely ludicrous for slapping myself in the mouth, I would, because it deserved it. 

             
He smiled and I could tell he wanted to say more but instead he simply replied, “Yeah, we sure do.” 

             
He went to the bedroom and I went for the freezer and grabbed a pint of blackberry cobbler ice cream, two spoons, and headed for the bedroom.  I stripped down and only changed my shirt, not caring a lick about only being in my t shirt and boy shorts.  I climbed in bed, pint and all and turned on the TV.  I flipped channels while he was in the shower and came across
Pretty in Pink
.  I knew he was an 80’s fanatic, but there was no way a guy would watch Molly Ringwald—no way. 

             
He came in and before I could even tell him what was on he said, “Has Ducky sang that song yet, in the record store?”
You’ve got to be kidding me. 

             
“No, not yet.  It’s just the beginning.  Her Dad’s making her eggs.”

             
“That she doesn’t eat—nice.”  He ran a towel through his hair and sat next to me.  I scooped a glob of ice cream onto a spoon and handed it to him.  We ate the pint as we watched that rich guy make an ass of himself again and again. 

             
I got up to put the spoons in the kitchen and went to brush my teeth.  I turned around and leaned against the counter, still brushing my teeth and met the glare of Falcon, clearly fighting some kind of internal battle.

             
“Wutswrongwibyou?” I said over my toothbrush and foam filled mouth. 

             
“Are you purposely trying to kill me?  Put some pants on woman.” 

             
I fell into giggles at him.  I sauntered to the dresser and should go to Hell for what I did next.  I bent over and got my pajama pants out of the bottom drawer and put them on slowly, one leg at a time.  I turned around to gloat and he was gone.  I walked through the house and he was nowhere to be found.  I saw a shadow move past the backdoor and realized he was outside.  I opened the backdoor and he stood on the porch, hands on his hips.  Oh boy, I was one wretched wench.

             
“Sorry, that was awful of me.” I thought he might be angry. But he didn’t answer.

             
“What the Hell Falcon?” He turned and smiled at me.  “Oh, I thought you were pissed.”

             
“I was totally pissed and then I realized that I was one lucky bastard if I got to experience what you just did in there for the rest of my life.  One damn lucky bastard.” 

Chapter 31

Falcon

I wouldn’t admit this to one single living soul.  But damn, Owen scared the piss out of me.  ‘Roid rage is a real bastard.  Plus, you never, ever, mess with Sylvia, Nellie, or Reed Black. Yes, in my head I called her Reed Black. 

What are you
gonna do, tell her?

              Five weeks later I got a call on my cell in between classes. 

             
“Hello?” I answered.

             
“Falcon Black, this is Forrester Malone, the private investigator you hired.  We have found Elaine Lyons.  She lives in Oregon, in a small town called Riddins.  We have her contact information.  I can text that to you now, if that’s okay.”  Shit, I expected it to take a lot longer than this.

             
“Yeah, that’s fine.  I paid you already, so we’re clear, right?”

             
“Yes, Mr. Black, we’re clear.”  He hung up and now I had to break the news to Reed.  Honestly, I didn’t know how she’d take it.  Over the last weeks she’d gone back and forth over the issue.  One day she wanted to run to a P.I. and find Elaine and the next she thought she was better off.  But I knew better.  I knew that one day, maybe not this year, or the next.  But one day she would want to know more about Elaine.  If nothing else, just to see if she had pictures of her parents.  This just added to the layers of guilt I was buried under already, the house, the money and now Elaine.  At least I would come clean about Elaine.  At least I didn’t have to feel like shit about that. 

             
It was her day off so I skipped Lit class and called her and asked her to meet me at the house.  I paced the floor wondering what her reaction would be. 

             
“Yo, Hawkeye, you’re wearing a path in the floor.  What’s up?”

             
“Sit down Reed, I need to talk.” She sat down with a confused look.

             
“Shoot,” she replied.  I rubbed the stripe on my head even though it had failed to comfort me so far.

             
“Ok, I’m just gonna come out and say it.  I hired a P.I. and he found your Aunt Elaine.”  She got up and paced for an eternity before she turned to look at me and then resumed pacing again without responding. 

             
She finally stopped and eyed the front door and I followed her gaze, thinking someone was approaching it.  Then she grabbed the keys and her purse and flew out of the door.  I wasn’t stupid.  I wouldn’t try to stop her. 
You know that thing I said earlier about not feeling like shit?  Yeah, scratch that.  Stick me to a boot and scrape me off on the concrete.  I was a piece of shit.
 

Chapter 32

Reed

He could’ve at least sugar coated it for the love of God.  ‘Hey, Reed, I got
friended by your aunt on that social media place.’ Or ‘Guess who I ran into at the cupcakery?’  No, that would be far too easy.  This way, he pierced my heart nineteen thousand times over in one slice.  Well played, love of my life, well played.

              The flight instinct took over before I could stop it.  I grabbed the keys and my monstrosity of a purse and hauled ass before he could even try to stop me.  Because right now, I felt like the biggest sap sucking idiot on the face of the planet.  And if I even looked in his direction, and he flashed me those gorgeous pools of false sweetness, I wasn’t going to survive.  I slammed the door behind me, not on purpose, it was just a side effect of my swift escape.

             
I got in my car and drove, and drove, and drove, until somehow I ended up back at my parents’ nursery in the middle of nowhere.  I walked out to the dock where we used to row a pirogue back and forth home. My beat up Cypress swing still hung in the branch over the water.  I used a long stick to bring it closer and tested it before making it my makeshift psychiatry couch.  I told the creek everything that night.  I told it how much I missed my parents and how I couldn’t really remember what they looked like sometimes.  I recalled the odd idiosyncrasies of every foster family I’d been through.  And I told the murky waters about Falcon.  How much I loved him and believed that although my initial reaction was hurt, that he’d done it for me.  He thought it would make me happy to find her.  But it hurt.  It felt like another family shoving me aside, making room for the new bright and shiny kid.  And let’s face it; I wasn’t very bright and shiny in the first place. 

             
I swung back and forth until the dry rotted rope made wickery imprints in my hands and in the cold air began to sting me.  But I couldn’t face him yet.  I looked at the house across the way and saw the remnants of a family.  The foundation was still there but the walls were gone.  I was all that was left. 

             
When the chill was too much, I curled up in my car and slept.  And I tried to pretend I was the old Reed again.  The one who needed nothing, from anyone.  The one who certainly didn’t need a guy with his warm arms around her.  She didn’t need his breaths tickling her ear as she tried to fall asleep.  She didn’t need anyone.  And she reveled in her loneliness.  That Reed lulled me to sleep, taking comfort in a forgotten pain.

Chapter 33

Falcon

Driving nails into my Achilles’ heel would be less painful than sitting here, not knowing where she was or what I could do to soothe her.  That was my job, no, my calling in life—to soothe her pain, to ease her ache, to cause her smiles, to block evil’s path, to love her heart, to devour her body.  And what did I do? I failed, that’s what I did.