CHAPTER 26
I never lose. Either I win, or you’re a bitch.
-Mavis to Murphy
MURPHY
6 weeks later
“Thanks, man.” I held out my hand to Jeremiah.
Jeremiah rolled his eyes and took my hand anyway.
“It’s not like I really did much. The dogs died. I had them cremated,” Jeremiah grumbled gruffly.
A motorcycle pulled up into the alley that Jeremiah and I shared between our two places, and I was surprised to see that it was Haggard.
Haggard got off his bike, his leather cut slightly askew, and that’s when I finally made the connection.
The two of them were in the same motorcycle club.
“Damn, I’m slow.” I shook my head, a grin forming on my face.
“What?” Haggard asked as he strolled toward us.
“I just now realized y’all were in the same motorcycle club.” I laughed. “I’ve been seeing the two of you separately for a while now, but I just now put two and two together.”
Haggard grinned. “Jeremiah doesn’t usually wear his cut all that often because it makes his ex-wife a little stabby. He wears it more now that they’re divorced.”
My brows rose. “When did that happen?”
“While you were dying,” he grumbled. “I told your wife. But I’m sure she had other things on her mind rather than my problems.”
I snorted. “A few other things.”
I eyed the patch on Haggard’s breast pocket. “Thief?”
“Road name,” Haggard said. “At least mine’s not ‘Sparkle’ like his.”
I looked at Jeremiah’s patch and sure enough, his name was ‘Sparkle.’”
I snorted. “I like it.”
Jeremiah snorted, but then turned thoughtful as he checked me out.
“So does your being here mean you’re gonna be back?” he asked.
I grinned. “A few more weeks yet. I just wanted to come down here and check the place out, make sure everything was okay. I know you’ve been keeping an eye on it for me, and I really appreciate that.”
Jeremiah jerked his head in understanding. “I’m sorry about the dogs.”
I sighed.
The dogs were old.
I knew that when I’d bought this place and they’d come as kind of a package deal.
I’d only had them for a short time, but it bothered me more than I realized, them passing away.
“Gonna be lonely here when I come back,” I admitted. “I enjoyed having them here.”
Haggard remained quiet while Jeremiah and I spoke but perked up when the woman that dominated my dreams rounded the corner of the alley with a very pissed off Vlad in her hands.
Since I couldn’t take him—I’d yet to be allowed to pick up more than ten pounds, and sadly, Vlad was almost triple that now—I had to watch her struggle with him.
That was until Haggard offered her his hands.
“I’ll take him,” he offered. “I don’t mind screaming kids. I had to get used to that shit when my girl was little since her mother poisoned her against me. Getting her on the weekends and holidays was like a bittersweet dessert. You enjoyed the hell out of it afterward, but during, you’re not quite sure it’s worth the calories.”
Mavis handed Vlad over gladly.
“I really should be more upset that he hates me,” she admitted, “but I’m just glad that he likes other people.”
Haggard frowned, but it was Jeremiah who said, “He hates you?”
“He definitely doesn’t prefer me,” she admitted. “Since he was a little bitty baby, he’s always preferred everyone else over me, and I don’t know why.”
Jeremiah grunted out something unintelligible before saying, “My youngest was like that. Absolutely couldn’t stand her mother. Loved me. Drove my ex-wife batty, too. She didn’t handle it anywhere near as well as it sounds like you are.”
Mavis shrugged. “I mean, it sucks because I can’t even hold my own kid. But I can make him happy. He doesn’t mind sitting near me, he just doesn’t like me holding him. It is what it is at this point.”
“Funny that you say that,” Haggard said. “The moment you handed him over, he stopped crying. But though I’m holding him, he’s staring at you.”
We all blinked, and I thought back to all the times that I’d been holding him after Mavis had handed him off, and how every single time, Vlad had turned to stare at his mother.
“You know,” I said softly, “I’ve noticed that, too. It’s like he wants to see you.”
“Something to consider the next time he’s acting up. Does he really want to get away from you? Or does he just want to be able to see you?” Jeremiah rumbled.
Mavis sighed. “Something that I’ll hopefully know when he starts talking. In the meantime,” she looked at me. “I have some bills to pay in the office, and I need your keys to get inside. Do you mind providing those for me?”
I grinned and reached into my pocket for the keys, handing them over to her.
She started to step toward Haggard, but he shook his head. “Go get your bills paid. If I need to leave before you come back, then I’ll bring him to you.”