“Nah, never met him.” Ren shrugged.
Barber’s face fell. “Well, we can change that. He’s better than the ’rents, I’ll tell you that. Anyway, he says there’s your version, their version, and the cold-hard truth that will fuck you up the ass sideways.”
Ren shot him an incredulous look, and Barber fell against his seat, laughing.
“Honest to God, that’s what he says. He’s a crazy bastard, but I wouldn’t have him any other way.”
Ren’s lips quirked. “He sounds fun. Father always had shit to say about him.”
“Eh, you know Father. He’s stuck up his own ass.”
“How are we so different from the rest of them?” Ren asked. The question hung in the air, clearing some of the tension until I could breathe again.
“Same answer as to why Uncle Errol’s so different from Father, I suppose. Though, fuck knows what the answer is.” Barber huffed out another laugh and stood, walking toward the counter where the cash register was. “I’m gonna get a drink. Want one? I got bourbon.”
Oli glared. “You have alcohol under my counter?”
Barber waved a finger at him. “Uh uh, Oli. This isn’t your counter anymore. You can’t tell me what to do.”
Oli grumbled under his breath, and I swear I heard something like “you’re a child” somewhere in there.
“How about we leave you both to talk alone?” I pointed at Barber, then moved my finger toward Ren. “No killing each other. No fighting. No arguing. If either of you come back with any more bruises or cuts, I’ll let Pa deal with both of you. Am I clear?”
Ren chuckled then and it sounded nice, a note of relief that made my shoulders relax. Warmth spread through me as I leaned down to kiss him gently on the lips.
“Be good,” I said.
Oli did the same.
While Barber watched curiously, he didn’t say a word. I didn’t put it past him to give Ren a warning not to hurt either of us, but that was between them.
I gave Barber a hug and Oli did the same before we left—after a promise we’d be back in an hour. We could let them hash it out. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be blood.
“What should we do?” Oli asked, smiling.
“We can get lunch, and you can tell me why you lied about there being problems with your car,” I responded with a knowing smile. “Because I’ve checked the Subaru from bumper to bumper. My buddy Scar checked it, too. There’s nothing wrong with it. We even had someone else in the shop checkit. Then, I went over it again because I didn’t want you to get stranded somewhere.”
Oli groaned and hid his face. “Why are you so wonderful?”
“You can’t sweet talk your way out of this. Fess up.” I nudged him.
He mumbled something.
“Excuse me?”
“Oh my God, I wanted a reason to talk to you! Okay?” he howled, but he was still hiding behind his hands, refusing to look at me.
I started laughing and couldn’t stop.
The hour came and went, and by the time we picked Ren up, he was quieter than usual. I didn’t ask questions and neither did Oli.
We went to Ren’s apartment and settled in for the night. His home had become ours in a weird way and his king-size bed fit all of us. I still lived with Pa and Oli stayed with his mom, so this was the best place for us to beus.
The dog-size rat—okay,ferret—stared at me with its crimson eyes as I sat on the couch. He scurried closer, and I tensed as he climbed up the arm of the couch and bounded toward me. Oli and Ren were in the kitchen, making dinner.
Mr. Fucking Wiggles was hesitant, almost like he could sense my unease. He watched me with those beady eyes, head cocked. Taking a deep breath, I held out my hand, palm up. I wasn’t sure how to play with a ferret. I’d never had one. Or any pet. My grandpa had an elderly dog I’d loved, but when she passed on a few years ago, my heart broke into pieces. I wasn’t sure I could go through another loss of an animal.
Finally, Mr. Fuc—Mr. Wiggles—scampered closer and ran up my arm before I realized what he was doing. He jumped from my arm to my lap and circled a few times, then settled down there, burying his face into his fur. I froze. He snuggled in deeper,letting out a tiny sigh that stole my heart. He looked sweet this way, a small creature who was comfortable enough to go to sleep on me.
