“Fuck, Mom.” Dev dropped back into the seat, tossing his hands in the air in the dramatic way he had while talking about anything and everything. “I haven’t told anyone yet. Nobody. Did you tell Shanna too?”
“Oh no.No,” Carly said. Cash could hear the instant remorse in her tone. “Devin, I’m so sorry.” The way she spoke reminded him of Dev, fast with emotion, shifting quickly through her thoughts. “Oh no. Cash, ignore me. I don’t know what I’m saying. It’s the house. I transferred the house to Dev.”
“So you own the house now?” Cash asked Dev.
“Mom, seriously, stop talkin’. We’ll call you back.” Dev reached for the phone, but Cash kept his hold on it. The struggle became real as he extended it away from Dev’s reach.
“Dev, I’m sorry. I’ll wait for your call. Please don’t let me have messed up this wonderful life you two are creating. I’m going. I’m sorry.” Carly ended the call, and Cash finally let go of the device.
“What’s she talking about?” Cash narrowed his eyes as if squinting could help him read Dev’s mind. “And omit nothing. I want to know it all.”
Dev sat back in his seat in a huff, staring out the front windshield. He was silent for several long moments before he let go of a hissed breath and started talking, not answering Cash’s questions.
“I want you to go to the parentin’ classes I told Tena I’d take. When enough time passes, I want us to get legally married. Maybe the ceremony can be at my mom’s place on the beach. I don’t know exactly where that is, but I have enough money to pay everyone’s way, includin’ your parents and Shanna and Keyes and his guy. Millie too. Trace if he wants to I guess. I like him well enough and his family’s pretty pissed that he’s comin’ to work for me at the parlor full time. He might need a new family. We could give that to him.”
Cash’s heart soared even as his head fought against letting down his guard. Regardless of Dev’s motivation, his words painted a beautiful picture. One he wanted to agree with but there was more behind the way Dev explained his ability to pay.
“I need to understand what ‘enough money’ means,” Cash finally said, staring at Dev’s profile.
Dev rolled his head toward Cash. “I want more children. We’re hittin’ thirty. The girls are growin’ up fast. We probably need to do it sooner rather than later. I have enough money to cover the cost of gettin’ the kids here.”
“Devin Fox, tell me how you can afford such a thing,” Cash commanded, using his sternest voice even as he realized he might not want to know the answer.
“No,” Dev said flatly. “You’re a good guy who believes in payin’ his own way. I agree with that and have done the same thing in my life but shit’s easier for us now. You just need to trust me.”
They stared at one another through two stuttered heartbeats. The missing pieces weren’t necessarily a hard puzzle to piece together. “How long have you known that you have enough money to cover everything?”
“Found out when she took off,” Dev answered, his gaze pinned on Cash.
“Okay.” Cash sat back in his seat, processing the facts. So Carly had left Dev with a substantial amount of money. Cash couldn’t help feeling like the government owed Dev an enormous debt for his role in bringing the Disciples organization back on track. Whatever this money was would go a long way in resolving that debt.
Cash looked down at his slightly trembling hands then gripped the steering wheel tight.
Where was this money? How easily could it be tracked? “Overseas? Maybe the Isle of Man?”
“Yes. Like I said before about the house…” Dev answered. He could feel Dev’s anxiety and stare on him. A questioning look, as if he was wondering what Cash was going to do with the information. In a world of manipulation and deceit, Cash still believed in doing the right thing. But what was that anymore?
“We need to get you a very good accountant,” Cash finally said and turned to look at Dev. “Maybe an attorney who specializes in accounting to secure what you have.”
Dev’s face relaxed and his body turned more fully toward Cash.
“From what I’ve seen, my mom knows what she’s doin’ and has someone on Man that can help us.” Dev reached for Cash’s hand, threading their fingers together. “I figure I need to bide my time. The fed’s payment for my help hit my bank account this mornin’. I also got payment for the houses. It’s gonna fund our life for a while. I’m not touchin’ any of the other until we know better what to do.”
“That’s probably the best idea. Get time between you and what’s happened,” Cash said and let go of an unsteady breath. He turned his body as far as the steering wheel allowed to better face Dev. “What else are you hiding? The way you come at me with these secret little truth bombs throws me hard. Just tell me.”
“I got nothin’ else,” Dev said and used his finger to do a crisscross over his chest. “But I am who I am. I want you happy, so I’ll probably keep things from you from time to time. I figure it’ll keep shit interestin’.”
“Are you serious about marriage and kids?” Cash asked, not allowing himself to be sidetracked.
“I am. I’ve brought it up before,” Dev nodded. “I love bein’ a dad and I think I’m gonna love bein’ your husband. You in?”
“How many children are we really talking about?” Cash asked. Of course he liked the idea a whole lot; he just needed to catch up.
“As many as you wanna have. I think maybe somewhere between five and nine total,” Dev said, as if he’d been thinking about it for a while now.
“Nine children?” he asked incredulously.
“Fuck yeah,” Dev answered as if a baseball team of children were perfectly normal. “They’ll come from you biologically, but they’ll be mine too. Maybe Shanna could toss in an egg or two. I’ll adopt ’em, and love ’em, and take care of ’em. I’d like some green-eyed babies runnin’ around. I’m ready to settle down and grow old.”
