Page 146 of Lucky Mother Pucker

“They’re the only pair I have of hers.”

“What happened to the rest?”

She looks down at the floor. “They’re at my house with my stepdad. He still has them. Or maybe he sold them. Or threw them away.”

Her eyes are glassy with tears. Rage pummels through me. That piece of shit still has all of Lucy’s parents’ belongings—he’s withholding the only things she has left of her parents.

“That’s not right. They belong to you, Lucy. Your parents would want you to have them.”

She sniffles and blinks quickly. “Yeah, but I can’t think of a way to get them back. And my stepdad won’t ever let me step foot in that house again.”

She’s quiet for a long moment. She flashes a sad smile, then leans down and kisses me. “I’ll see you after my shift.”

She walks out of my bedroom, closing the door behind her. I sit up and start to get dressed, determination and anger twisting through me.

I need to figure out a way to help Lucy get her parents’ things back.

* * *

It took the whole morning for me to come up with an idea.

It’s crazy, but it’s the only one that makes sense. I think I can pull it off. I just need the guys to help me.

When I head downstairs, Blake, Nick, and Travis are in the kitchen drinking coffee and looking at their phones.

“I need a favor from you guys.”

“Sure, what’s up?” Blake asks.

I look at them, working up the nerve to say it. “You should probably sit down for this,” I say.

They all exchange confused expressions, but they follow me into the living room.

“What I’m about to ask you to do is pretty messed up. And probably illegal.”

“You a secret drug mule or something, Peretti?” Nick asks.

I’d laugh if I weren’t so pissed at Lucy’s piece-of-shit stepdad. “No. Nothing like that. It’s to help Lucy.”

They all look at me.

“Look, she’s really private about her life, but if I’m gonna ask you guys to do this with me, you deserve to know the full story,” I say. “Her dad died of cancer when she was in high school. And then her mom married a guy who was an alcoholic. He was verbally abusive to Lucy and her mom. He was driving drunk one night and crashed the car. Her mom died of her injuries.”

All the guys look at me like they’re about to be sick.

“After all that, Lucy’s stepdad kicked her out of her parents’ house. He took Wally to the pound and tried to get him euthanized too. She saved him, luckily. But for the past two years, she’s been couch surfing and living in her car, just trying to survive.”

“Are you fucking serious?” Nick asks.

I nod at him.

“Holy shit,” Travis mutters.

Blake has gone totally pale. “She’s been through so much. I had no idea.”

“She doesn’t like to talk about it,” I say. “Her stepdad is still living in her mom’s house. He still has a bunch of Lucy’s parents’ stuff, but he won’t let her go get it.”

“What the fuck, why not? What’s this guy’s problem?” Nick asks, pissed off.