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“Oh honey, what’s wrong?” She asks and I burst into tears. She pulls me in the front door, wrapping her arms around me and letting me cry. When I’m finally out of tears, she drags me through the house to the kitchen, where all the other girls are.
“I’m sorry, I’m not going to be much fun tonight,” I say as Clarissa shoves the bottle of scotch towards me. I pour myself a shot, relishing in the burn of it as it slides down my throat. “Genevieve doesn’t want to live with me anymore.” Clarissa narrows her eyes.
“What the hell do you mean, she doesn’t want to live with you anymore? With that little stunt she pulled yesterday, she should be grateful you’re still letting her live there at all.” She snaps and Lex scolds her.
“She’s pissed as hell that we took her phone and locked her laptop down with the security apps that Zander suggested and Wood installed for me. This is her way of fighting back.”
“She’s being hurtful,” Lex says with a frown and Whitley murmurs her agreement.
“Dean told me most of what happened last night, and I filled the girls in so you don’t have to rehash it, so can we skip that part and talk about the fact that you arelivingwith Jaxson?” Whitley exclaims and I roll my eyes.
“He forced me to live with him.”
“Yes, and I’m sure it’s such a hardship,” Lainey says with a smirk.
“Yes, I’m living with him. Yes, I’m working for him. Yes,Clarissa, we are banging.” She does a little fist bump and raises her shot glass in a toast. “With everything going on with mama and this Hank guy, Jaxson doesn’t want us alone. His house is bigger, so it made sense for us all to go there instead of him coming to my small house.”
“Ooh yes, Hank. What has Zander found out?”
“Not a lot,” I answer Lainey as I grab a hard seltzer out of the fridge and Whitley tosses me a can koozie. “They know that he’s not the top dog in all of this, they know he’s a dirtbag, and they know he’s been usin’ mama to recruit. That’s about it. Zander’s got guys working on it, but it all has to be on the up and up if they want to bring the entire organization down, which means they can’t use some of the tactics they usually use. I’m not sure, Jaxson tried to explain it to me, but a lot of it doesn’t make sense.”
“Ford says it’s because he does a lot of stuff that is frowned upon and not ‘by the book’,” Lex says, using her fingers to make air quotes. “The things he does aren’t always legal, but they always wind up closing the case.”
“Where’s Dean?” I ask Whitley, changing the subject and hopefully directing the conversation towards something other than my dumpster fire of a life.
“At Ford and Lex’s, building a crib.” She says with an eye roll.
“Aren’t you only like, a month along?” Clarissa asks and Whitley laughs.
“Three months, thank you very much, but that’s what I tried to tell him. He won’t hear any of it. He said that getting an early start on it gives him time to make it perfect and you should haveheardhim when I suggested we just buy one.No baby of mine is going to sleep in some crib that was probably painted with lead paint. Nope, it ain’t happenin’.” She finishes in her best impression of Dean and we all crack up. She happily rests her hands on her small little bump that is just starting to show.
“I’m so happy for you,” Lex says, wrapping Whitley up in a hug.
I’m younger than all of them by around ten years, but I grew up right next door to Dean’s mom's house when I was little, and we were really close. He’d make sure the kids and I were okay if mom were ever gone for more than a night or two, and he’s always checked on me since he left town. We would write letters and he’d send me postcards from whatever town he was in while he was gone. Working at the bar made me close to Whitley and then when Lex blew into town last year, we brought her into our fold of friends. With Lex came Clarissa, her best friend from New Jersey. And not too long ago, we finally convinced Lainey, the local hairdresser, to join our group of crazies. It’s like having one big nosy family, but I love all of them.
The girls chatter around me about anything and everything, from whatever gossip they heard from Polly, resident town gossip and Lainey’s grandma, and razzing Lainey about her crush on Zander. My phone dings with a text from Jaxson, saying that mama is at the house to pick up Vie and he wants me to be extra sure that I’m fine with her leaving.
Me: Will Zander still have men posted at the motel?
Jax: He added another guy when I told him Genevieve wanted to stay with Dana.
Me: Am I doing the right thing?
Jax: I can’t answer that question for you, Ace. Does it feel right?
Me: No, but if I don’t let her go, she could run away again. And this time I might not find her.
Jax: Ace.
Me: It’s fine. Let her leave.
Another tear slips free and Clarissa drops down onto the stool next to me.
“You good?” She asks, her brow furrowed. I give her a sad smile.
“As good as I can be, knowing my baby sister hates my guts.” Clarissa sighs and pours me another shot.
“She will thank you for it one day,” she says, but I’m not so sure.
