“I’ve never had a dog before,” I said. “I’ve always wanted one, but each time that I went to get one, something would happen, and make me realize that I didn’t really have the time to put into having one. I’m gone quite a bit, and I’d hate to leave a dog at home for twelve plus hours a day.”
Oakley was nodding but stopped when her mother came in juggling the pan of lasagna and the phone that was to her ear.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can load Oakley up,” Viddy said. “Yes, I’ll be right there. Chill pill, Trance. Chill pill.”
I stood up and walked to Viddy, taking the lasagna out of her hands. She smiled at me gratefully and muttered a thanks before saying, “Swear to God, Trance. I’m coming. Give me a fucking minute. Yes, love you, bye.”
Viddy sighed and looked at her daughter.
“Your father got into an altercation with the sergeant that Pace was lucky enough to have as a boss. Your father said if I didn’t come now, he was going to kick the guy’s ass.” Viddy looked at her daughter. “I’m sorry to rush you but…I believe him.”
Oakley snorted.
Her eyes turned to me, though.
“Do you care if I just sit here for a while?” she asked hopefully. “I won’t bother you.”
I snorted. “No. I have no problem with that at all.”
Oakley’s eyes turned to her mother. “You can go get Dad from wherever he is. I’ll stay here until you’re done.”
She smiled then.
“He’s at the police station working with the new puppies.” Viddy grinned. “He wanted to ask if he could borrow some of their heroin.”
There was a long, stunned silence at that admission, and then Pace was laughing.
“That sounds really odd,” Pace snorted. “Hey, can I borrow some heroin so I can train my dogs?”
I grinned. “He actually does do that sometimes. Swear to God.”
I shook my head, unable to believe it.
“Okay,” Viddy said. “We’re going to get dinner afterward, though. Remember?”
Oakley’s eyes turned to me.
“She can stay here as long as she wants, Viddy,” I promised, understanding the look Oakley had turned on me.
With that assurance, she left with a flourish, leaving her daughter exactly where I wanted her.
“There’s a big family dinner tonight,” she said. “They’re all leaving tomorrow. They’ve been off work and school for two weeks now, and it’s getting a little ridiculous for them to stay here much longer.”
I grinned. “And you’re tired of the hovering.”
Her eyes met mine. “I’m sure you’re used to the hovering. Your aunt has been worried about you from what my mother tells me.”
I rolled my eyes.
“My aunt is also extremely pissed at me,” I admitted. “She is still pissed that I didn’t call her and tell her before so I could give her enough time to get here.”
Oakley pulled her legs up slowly and crossed them, tucking them in close to her body as she wrapped her arms up tight to her chest.
“Cold?” I asked her.
She nodded.
I walked to the bedroom and pulled the comforter straight off my bed.
Coming back, I laid it softly against her and tucked it lightly into her sides.
“This is a big blanket,” she said teasingly.
I grinned down at her. “Yeah, but it’s all I have. I don’t have any throw blankets or anything.”
She smiled. “I assumed that when you came back with this. How long have you lived here?”
I sat down on the couch and leaned back until the pressure was off my belly.
“I’ve been here for a few months now,” I said. “I used to live down in Uncertain. Then, I was in Hostel, Texas. I moved up here because I heard some really good things about your aunt Mercy’s business. From there, I worked a few odd jobs with her while I was waiting to get hired on at the police department.”
She gestured to my feet.
“How’d that go?” she asked. “Were they hard on you?”
I grinned. “I didn’t let them know that I was missing any limbs until my first day of police academy. And even that wasn’t by choice.”
Her eyes went wide. “You didn’t tell them that you were a double amputee?”
I shook my head. “No. I wore my ‘make everyone else comfortable’ prosthetics. They’re the ones with the actual shoes. They’re nowhere near as comfortable or as efficient, though. So I don’t wear them at work.”
She nodded. “And what happened for them to find out that you had prosthetics?”
I grinned then, loving the story.
“The first day we were working on hand to hand combat,” I said. “The instructor was being a complete asshole, trying to prove that he was tougher and more badass than the rest of us. He was all bowed up and asked for a volunteer. So I offered to do it. Walked up to him and waited for him to do what he was going to do. The man tackled me to the ground mid-sentence. I let him take me. Though, granted, I’m not all that steady on my feet without two actual feet. So my ground game has to be really strong. Which I’ve been working on for a while. Jiu-Jitsu and shit like that.”