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"What's this?" she asked, taking it.
"Ten grand. I really appreciate this, Lo. And thank Jstorm for me too," I added. "Take it," I pressed when she seemed like she was pausing. "No offense, but I don't want to owe Hailstorm. I think there's been enough crazy in our lives as it is."
"Understood," she agreed, tossing it into the open door of her SUV. "But if you ever need us again, don't hesitate."
With that, she jumped in and was gone.
"Can't say I enjoy how much trouble the women you pick to bring into this family have attached to them," Pops said as he walked up, "but it keeps a man young, I guess," he added, clamping a hand on my shoulder.
"Pops..."
"Not now," he said, shaking his head. "You have a woman to get home and comfort. We will all catch up once things have settled down."
With that, he threw an arm around my mother's shoulder and the two were off.
"I got eighteen texts from Fee about how much she likes Dusty," Hunter said, waving his phone at me. "And then twenty-four asking for updates while we were gone."
"I'd rib the shit out of you for that," Shane agreed, looking down at his own phone, "but I got twelve from Lea so I can't say fucking shit. Well," he said, nodding at me, "it was fun. Nothing like a little invasion and murder to keep brothers close. But I got a woman at home who needs some, ah, comforting of her own. Catch you later."
Hunt said his goodbyes too which left me with Eli and Mark.
"I don't have a woman at home, but I'm thinking there are at least... ten women in Navesink Bank right about now who could use some comforting, right?" he asked, giving me a nod and going inside Chaz's which, despite all the owners being off on a fucked up little mission, was still open. Business as usual.
"She's a good woman, Ry," Eli told me, nodding, then following Mark into the bar. While he likely wasn't on the prowl for a woman, one would inevitably find him.
There was, apparently, just something about Eli.
As for me, well, I planned to take my woman home.
And comfort her.
That was the plan anyway.EIGHTEENDustyI floated in and out of consciousness in Ryan's front seat as he talked to the large group of people, two of whom were obviously his parents. His father looked just like his sons with a couple extra years on him.
I shouldn't have been able to sleep.
With my usual cycle of anxiety, any minor little hiccup in life left me tossing and turning and obsessing about it for hours on end until my body was too tired to let my brain keep it awake anymore.
But there I was after a day, actually a week, from hell and I was floating off as happy as a swaddled baby.
It was many of the things I would need to think on. Eventually.
The slam of Ryan's door had me mostly awake and I sent him a sleepy smile as his hand went to my thigh and squeezed.
Then we were driving.
And everything was fine.
Until we passed our apartment building and I remembered.
"Stop," I hissed, shooting upward in my seat.
"Honey, what's the..."
"Oh, God. Okay. Alright. Um... phone. I need your phone."
"Okay," he said, pulling the car over and handing it to me from his pocket. "Here. But what's going on?"
"How could I forget?" I cursed myself, stabbing the number into the phone and hitting dial. "He probably has a freaking police report filed already," I added.
"Your uncle," Ryan concluded as I just listened to the ring.
"Answer your phone," I growled at it as it went to voicemail. I hung up and hit dial again. Nothing.
"Dusty, what's his address?" Ryan asked calmly, making my mouth part slightly and a weird, hysterical little laugh to escape me.
Address.
Right.
Because we could just... drive there.
It had been so long since that was my reality I had actually forgotten there was another way to contact him than by phone.
So I gave Ryan the address, just three streets over, and we pulled up out front a house that had literally not changed a bit since I had been there. The brick was red and power-washed as it always was. The shutters, molding, and doors were all a crisp white because my uncle believed in keeping up his place.
I felt a surge of nostalgia as we each reached for our handles in unison, as Ryan took my hand as we walked up the path, as I raised my hand to knock. A weird little giddiness bubbled in my belly, excited at the idea of him being able to see me functioning again, out of my apartment again.
The outdoor light flicked on and the door pulled open.
And there was my Uncle Danny.
There was a similarity looks wise.
