Becks frowned up at the man. “He’s my brother. I’d never ‘shun’ him, even if he was an addict by choice.”
Ranger winced at the classifier Becks added onto his condition. He wasn’t an “addict not by choice”. He was anaddict. Full stop. Do Not Pass Go. Adding the classifier was an excuse, and while it might ease her guilt, it did not aid Ranger in coming to terms with his addiction. It was like adding an addendum to his affliction.
He was an addict. No excuses, no modifications. He. Was. An. Addict.
Cross must have seen something in Ranger’s expression at Becks’ words, because he said, “You’d be surprised how quickly family members can remove their support, especially in this day and age with social media. They show support to get likes and followers, but when that camera is off, their support vanishes, too. But seeing all of you here, as well as what I understand is a very large extended family, you’ll see the difference, and hopefully, so will Ranger.”
As everyone took their seats, Cross explained his own history. “I was a child prodigy back in the eighties. Couldn’t give me an instrument I didn’t automatically know how to play without lessons. But the pressures of my family and teachersbecame too much, and I needed an escape. It was the eighties, so it’s not too surprising that I turned to cocaine. By the time I was twenty, I was living on the streets, selling my body to anyone who would give me money just so I could get my next fix. Fortunately, not many people showed interest in a six-three bean pole with no hygiene, and I ended up robbing a bank to get my next payday. That failed, obviously. I was so high at the time, I couldn’t tell the bathroom door from the exit door, and the police found me trying to flush myself down the toilet, like they do in Harry Potter, to escape.”
All four of them stared in stunned silence at this man’s confession.
“It’s okay,” he assured them. “You can laugh. I’ve come to terms with my own stupidity.”
Thank goodness for that permission, because none of them were able to hold back their laughter much longer. Once they were calmed down, Cross continued.
“I served seven years for armed robbery, but I don’t regret it. It got me clean and gave me the chance to start my life over. Got the chance to give back to the system that helped save my life, and now that I’m retiring in a couple of years, I’ll be able to help out even more.”
Ranger’s eyes narrowed. The man seemed too clean-cut, too goodie two-shoes. No one wasthatsaintly.
Thankfully, Becks was on the same page as him because she crossed her arms over her chest. “What’s wrong with you?”
Cross blinked. “Excuse me?”
“What’s wrong with you? I’m not buying the Good Samaritan act. No one is that saintly,” she defended, echoing Ranger’s thoughts exactly.
Cross raised a silver eyebrow at her. “Did you miss the part where I am an addict and tried to teleport myself out of a bank robbery through a toilet?”
Becks scrunched up her face and leaned over to Ranger next to her. “I’m still suspicious.”
Ranger bit the inside of his mouth before leaning over and kissing her forehead. “Don’t worry, little sis. I’m sure I’ll get plenty of dirt on him soon enough.”
To Ranger’s surprise, Cross did not get offended by their exchange or Becks’ accusations. “This right here,” he said, pointing back and forth between Ranger and Becks. “This isexactlywhat you need in your life, Ranger. The best thing your family can do for you is treat you normally. You’re not fragile. Joke, have fun,live your life.” Especially to Becks, he added, “He’s going to have good days and hard days. Your job isn’t to fix the hard days. Just be present for them.”
Becks studied the older man for several seconds before she let out a long sigh. “Ugh. Fine. I guess Ikind oflike you.” She laced her fingers through Ranger’s without looking away from Cross. “I need you to swear to me, though, that you’re going to take care of my brother. I recently got like twenty-two other brothers, but he’s my first and my favorite. I’d hate to have to replace him.”
Cross leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. “I swear to you, I take excellent care of all my sponsees. He has my phone number and I’m available twenty-four-seven. But I am not responsible for him,” he clarified, gaze turning to Ranger. “You did the hard part. You got clean, but recovery isn’t a destination. It’s a decision you make every second of every day for the rest of your life. Onlyyoucan keep yourself sober. You don’t have to have it all figured out today. Today is a big enough day as it is. Having me, having friends and family, we’re not the medication. We can’t ‘fix’ you, but we can guide you and help you with as much or as little as you need.”
Ranger squeezed Becks’ hand without looking away from Cross. “I know. They went over all this in rehab.”
“In rehab, you didn’t have the constant temptations and stress of everyday life. Rehab was the smooth highway compared to the pothole-filled road you’re about to go down. Your sobriety can never be taken lightly, never be taken for granted. You already relapsed once. You know how easy it was, how out-of-body it felt. That’s why going to meetings is so important. I’m not your parent or your babysitter. We’re going to build a routine that works for your life, but at the end of the day, your sobriety is your own. Succeed or fail, it’s on you.”
While Ranger did not like the scolding tone Cross took, he could appreciate it. Even though alcohol wasn’t his addiction, Ghost and Becks had still removed all the alcohol from the house. If the bar was still around, Ranger would not be able to work there. As it was, it was under construction with their Grand Re-Opening planned in a couple of months. The bar had been such a big part of Ranger’s identity since he’d joined the club. Was the club going to take that away from him too? Like being the enforcer, would it only be in name now? Would he still co-manage the bar with Ghost but never step foot in it again?
When Cross spoke next, he reverted back to that calming tone he’d started out with. “Your life is different now, Ranger. Take it or leave it. I won’t baby or coddle you.That’smy promise to you. Pure, unadulterated honesty. You won’t like it. You may even hate me for it. But good or bad days, I will always be in your corner rooting for you.”
Ranger studied the man for a moment before nodding.
“Good,” Cross said with a smile. “Now, for this week, I will pick you up and drop you off from meetings. Obviously, we’ve already chosen the eight-thirty meeting for tonight. They generally take about an hour. It’s good to find you some closed meetings in the beginning so you don’t feel so much like there’s a spotlight on you. My suggestion is to double up this week. AA in the mornings, NA in the evenings. Let’s get you going strongfrom the beginning. Eventually, you’ll start driving yourself and I’ll just meet you there, and then I might just be a phone call a day with the occasional in-person check-in outside of meetings. My other sponsees know I’m helping you this week, but that I’m always still available to them. We meet outside of meetings every Sunday for dinner, too. We rotate whose house we go to, and I always bring pizza so no one feels obligated to cook.”
Next to Ranger, his mom let out an appalled sound. “Absolutely not. I’m cooking for you from now on. If it’s not here, then I’ll send Liam with the food. Just let me know how many people and if there’s any allergies.”
At Cross’ surprised expression, Ranger added, “She’s already made you four different pies, not knowing what it was you liked.”
Cross reached diagonally across to grip Loretta’s hand. “You’re too kind. We usually just have coffee cake and old coffee at these meetings. I’m sure the pies will go over very well.”
“Oh, I didn’t think about the meeting. Wait here!” Becks’ and Ranger’s mom quickly got to her feet. “I just dropped off pies to the clubhouse. If those sweet-tooth vultures Liam calls brothers haven’t demolished them by now, that’ll be six more pies you can bring with you. Mr. Cross, make sure you get me that list of allergies. I’ll need to go to the store if you’re doing two meetings a day. I’m thinking twelve pies per meeting. That’s twenty-four pies per day…” She continued talking to herself as she rushed from the room.
Everyone stared after her a heartbeat before Ghost let out a long sigh. “She keeps forgetting that we have prospects who can do her bidding for her,” he said before kissing Becks on the lips and chasing after his mother-in-law.
