Rock Chick 03 Redemption (46 page)

The light dawned.

“I think Hank cal s them ‘conversations’,” I told her.

Her eyes got big and she nodded to me, once, slowly, saying, “Unh-hunh.”

“So, what your sayin’, Sugar Bunch, is that you are now official y moved in with Eddie,” Daisy said.

“Yes. We’ve just beaten the world record for the fastest moving relationship in history,” Jet replied.

Indy and Daisy smiled.

“No, I think I may get that one,” I said.

Jet, Daisy and Indy looked to me.

“I’m moving to Denver,” I announced.

Without hesitation, Daisy threw an arm up, punching the air. “Yee-ha!” she screamed.

Jet and Indy high-fived.

Everyone else looked over to us.

“Roxie’s moving to Denver!” Indy yel ed across the room to Lee.

Lee’s eyes crinkled and cut to Hank.

Hank rocked back on his heels and he crossed his arms on his chest. I rol ed my eyes at him and when I was done with my eye rol , his lips were turned up on the ends.

“You’re moving to Denver?” Mom asked, staring at me.

“You’re moving to Denver?” Mom asked, staring at me.

Oh shit.

I hadn’t told Mom and Dad yet.

“Um, yeah,” I said.

Mom’s face froze then she blinked.

“You can’t move to Denver,” she said. “What’re you gonna do at Christmas? Thanksgiving? Oh, Sweet Jesus.

Easter! You know we always have a special, honey-baked ham at Easter. You’re the best with the Easter egg dyes too. Mimi and Gil can’t dye eggs like you. Who’s gonna dye my eggs?”

“Mom, I’m thirty-one years old. We haven’t dyed eggs in fifteen years.”

She ignored me and went on. “And, do they even have persimmons out here? How are you gonna make persimmon pudding? I can’t
mail
them to you. You have to have them fresh or it doesn’t taste right. You know that.”

“Mom, I don’t make persimmon pudding, you do.”

“Wel , I can’t mail
that
to you either,” she said and then whirled on Hank. “We get Christmas!” she told him, as if she was cal ing shotgun in the car.

“Trish, calm down,” Dad said.

“I wil
not
calm down. My baby girl is moving halfway across the country.”

“She’s been moved away before,” Dad pointed out.

“Yeah, but that was with Bil y. We al knew he wouldn’t work out. We’re talking about Hank here. Look at him,” she pointed to Hank. “She’s never coming home.
Never
.”

“She ain’t movin’ to the moon, Trish,” Dad said.

“Might as wel be,” Mom turned back to me. “You hear even a hint that a blizzard’s coming, Roxanne Gisel e, you go straight to the store and buy toilet paper, you hear me?

And make a pot of chili or stew. Don’t get caught out. I don’t want a phone cal saying you starved to death, stuck in the house with no stew.” Her eyes moved to Daisy. “I hear the blizzards are bad here. People die.”

“That’s usual y old people, Mrs. Logan,” Daisy explained.

“And they normal y freeze to death.”

Daisy was trying to help but it was the
wrong
thing to say.

Mom’s eyes got big, then her back went ramrod straight and she grabbed her purse from the espresso counter.

“Right. We’re going out to buy blankets. Hank had, like, one extra blanket. He needs blankets. And logs for that fire in the back room. We’re getting blankets and logs. Come on, Herb.”

Dad dug in. “Woman, I’m enjoyin’ my lah-tay.”

“You want your daughter to freeze to death?” Mom screeched.

Dad shook his head.

Mom glared at him.

They settled into a staring contest.

I looked at the Hot Pack. “How many of you have a gun?

Anyone? Someone shoot me!”

Then I realized that Luke was standing there and what I said was a little insensitive, considering he’d been shot in the bel y a few months before.

“Um… sorry Luke,” I finished, feeling like an idiot.

Luke crossed his arms on his broad chest and smiled at me but didn’t say a word, which I decided to take as indication that he bore no il wil .

Hank disengaged from the Hot Pack and walked to me.

He walked right up between my legs, wrapped an arm around my waist and yanked me off the counter so I was standing ful frontal with him. He tipped his head down to look at me.

“Your Mom can have Christmas,” Hank said quietly.

“Thank you!” Mom shouted to Hank’s back.

I shook my head.

“You do not even know what you’re saying. Do not give her Christmas. Christmas is Crazy Land in the Logan household and I think you’ve realized by now that that’s saying a lot!”

“Roxanne Gisel e Logan, do not tel tales out of school.

So your father usual y gets drunk and burns the turkey. It’s Christmas!” Mom snapped.

“I do not get drunk! And I do not burn the turkey!” Dad yel ed. “It’s crispy. Everyone likes crispy turkey.”

“No one
grills
a turkey, Herb. Standing outside in thirty degree temperatures with your Budweiser like it’s the Fourth of July.”

“Roxie likes my mesquite turkey. Don’t you Roxie?” Dad cal ed.

I closed my eyes and when I opened them, Hank’s face was al I saw.

“Have you changed your mind yet?” I whispered.

Slowly, he shook his head.

“Give them time,” I finished.

“Wel ? Roxie? You like my mesquite turkey, don’t you?” Dad asked.

I put my forehead to Hank’s chest for a second then lifted it away.

“Yeah Dad, I like your turkey.”

It was true. I did. It was great turkey. The best.

The bel over the door went and I peered around Hank’s shoulder to see Al y, Malcolm and Kitty Sue walking in.

My eyes widened, my body stil ed and I stared at Hank who moved, placing an arm around my neck, holding me reassuringly tight against his side.

“Did you cal them?” I asked Hank.

“Um… that would be me,” Indy said from behind me.

Good God.

“Roxie’s movin’ to Denver,” Daisy told Al y.

Al y’s eyes got bright. “Righteous,” she said.

Malcolm’s gaze settled on me and his eyes crinkled.

“I’m so pleased,” Kitty Sue smiled.

“Holy fuckin’ shit,” Tex boomed and I looked at him and his grin was so big, it split his face.

“Don’t look so damned happy,” I snapped at him as he pounded out from behind the espresso counter.

“I heard your Dad was here,” Malcolm said to me as he came close and kissed my cheek.

My eyes lost their scowl and I nodded to him with a weak smile. “Right here,” Uncle Tex said, pushing Mom and Dad forward.

“What’s going on?” Mom asked.

“This is the rest of Hank’s family. You already met Lee.

This is his sister Al y and his mother and father, Kitty Sue and Malcolm,” Uncle Tex did the introductions.

“Sweet Jesus!” Mom cal ed. “Sweet, sweet Jesus. I’m so happy to meet you.”

Mom went forward on a rush and gave Kitty Sue a big hug. To my shock, Kitty Sue didn’t recoil and not only accepted the hug but hugged Mom tight in return.

“I’m Herb. This is my wife, Trish,” Dad said, thankful y going the shaking hands route with Malcolm.

“Good to meet you,” Malcolm said.

They dropped hands and Dad took Malcolm in. “Your boys been lookin’ after my girl,” Dad told him.

Malcolm nodded. “That’s right.”

For a few beats, Dad and Malcolm just looked at each other. Something passed between them, something I could feel. I felt the tears sting my eyes and I pressed deeper into Hank. Al y’s gaze came to me and she winked. I smiled at her and felt the tears subside.

“Means I owe you a beer,” Dad said quietly.

“I’d like that,” Malcolm replied.

“I know. Let’s have a party!” Al y announced.

I was beginning to realize Al y didn’t need much of an excuse for a party.

“My party is tonight,” Daisy pointed out.

“We’l have it Friday night,” Al y said.

“Works for me,” Indy put in.

“Me too,” Jet said.

“You makin’ those caramel chocolate brownies?” Uncle Tex asked Jet.

“What caramel chocolate brownies?” Dad asked.

Uncle Tex turned to Dad. “Loopy Loo’s brownies beat the fuckin’ shit out of your turtle custard sundaes any day.”

“Them’s big words, big man,” Dad threw down the gauntlet.

“Fuckin’ better believe it,” Uncle Tex declared.

“You’re on,” Dad replied.

“I better make the brownies,” Jet mumbled.

I noticed everyone had drifted over, Lee, Eddie and the rest of the Hot Pack.

“You boys have tuxedos?” Daisy asked.

Al their eyes turned to her.

Even Daisy blinked under the force of the Hot Pack Stare.

“Okay,” she gave in. “I’l let you al in with suits.”

“Tuxedos?” Mom asked.

“Formal party, my house, tonight,” Daisy announced.

“Everyone’s invited.”

Mom gasped, then she uttered the immortal feminine words, “I don’t have anything to wear.”

“That’s okay, Trish. I’l take you shopping,” Kitty Sue offered, having missed most of the show and not having any idea what she was letting herself in for. I should probably have warned her but there was no time, Mom was forging ahead.

“Herb, we better go now. We need to get you a suit. I hope we can find somewhere that does one-day tailoring,” she said to Kitty Sue, linking her arm through Kitty Sue’s and leading her to the door. “We need to go somewhere to get logs and blankets. And we need to find a big grocery store. Maybe a Kmart, or better yet, a Target. They have ritzier stuff. Hank needs some stocking up.”

“Logs?” Kitty Sue asked.

“I don’t want Roxie freezing to death during one of your blizzards,” Mom explained.

The bel over the door jingled as they walked out, Dad throwing an eye rol over his shoulder as he fol owed, carrying his latte.

Once they’d gone, Hank curled me so I was facing him and I looked up.

“I gotta go to work,” he said.

I nodded.

“What time’s Daisy’s party?” he asked me.

“Seven o’clock. Come with your bel y empty, I’m havin’ a secret buffet in the kitchen for VIPs,” Daisy answered before walking away.

I put my arms around Hank as he watched Daisy walking away.

“The Rock Chicks have claimed you. You’re stuck now,” he said, looking down at me.

“Funny, I was thinking that about you, being stuck I mean.”

He rubbed his nose against mine, clearly not feeling stuck.

When his head came away I said, “I need to talk to Annette, tel her what’s going on and I need to cal my clients. I don’t think I’l lose any of them. I don’t need to be in Chicago to do my work. After I got that award I recruited clients outside Chicago, in Des Moines and Cincinnati.

They should be cool. I need –”

“Award?” Hank cut in.

I waved my hand between us. “Nothing, it was just some design award.”

He grinned at me.

The way he was grinning made me feel funny, al warm inside, like I’d done something great.

“Stop grinning at me, Whisky. It wasn’t a big deal.”

“Any award is a big deal.”

“This one wasn’t.”

“Sorry, didn’t you say you recruited two clients because of it?”

“Wel , yeah.”

“Then it was a big deal.”

“Whisky –”

“Sunshine, quiet,” he said, then he gave me a light kiss so I’d do as I was told. “I’l see you, and your folks, at my house at six thirty.”

“Do you have a suit?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.”

He gave me a squeeze and started to let go but I held on.

“You hear anything about Bil y –”

His eyes locked on mine and he interrupted me. “Yeah.” I sighed. “For a while there, I forgot about him.” Hank’s arms tightened and his face dipped close.

“Sweetheart, I promise, soon he’l be a memory.” I nodded because I believed him.

My body fitted itself close to his.

Hank’s head came down the rest of the way, this time, not for a light kiss but for a deeper one.

When I was dizzy, he let me go and then he was gone.

I was looking out the window of the black Explorer processing my day and preparing for my night.

I was in Fortnum’s when Luke walked in ten minutes ago, eyes on me and he said one word, “Home.”

I guessed that meant he was my ride.

Annette and Jason had been spending the day casing the other head shops to check out the competition. I cal ed to tel her Hank and I had sorted things out and I was moving to Denver. She was ecstatic. We’d been trailing each other for seven years, Indianapolis to Chicago and now to Denver.

“Bitch,” she said. “With you and me in the ‘hood, Denver isn’t going to know what hit it!”

I thought it was more the other way around but I didn’t tel Annette that.

I’d also cal ed al my clients and my landlord.

My clients were cool; they didn’t care where I worked, just as long as I worked. My landlord was freaked out. The cops had cal ed him about the break in and he thought my mutilated body was buried six feet deep in some woods somewhere. I calmed him down and convinced him I wasn’t a voice from the grave. He wasn’t too upset I was leaving, considering he’d never had a tenant who’d had their furniture torn apart and went missing for two weeks, presumed (by him) dead. Anyway, I was month-to-month and he was going to let me out of the lease at the end of November.

Simple as that.

In fact, everything seemed simple.

Al that had to be done was find Bil y.

No word from Hank, which I figured meant no good news. Also, there was no bad news so I decided that no bad news was actual y good news and I went with it.

“Babe,” Luke said, pul ing me from my thoughts.