by Fields, MJ
“Do you know how much I love you?”
“Yes. I love you, too, Daddy.” I leaned over and set a piece of furniture up inside her dollhouse. “Don’t. It’s a barricade.”
“A what?”
“A barricade. Barbie wants to be a Navy Seal so she’s practicing just like G.I. Jane did. She has to jump over barricades and climb down walls to practice.”
I held up my hands. “Oh, sorry, my bad. Barbie is badass, huh?” Callie giggled. “Does Nana always make you wear dresses?”
“Always.”
“Do you really hate them?”
“Really, really hate them.”
“Your mom hated dresses, too, did you know that?” Callie shook her head. “Yep, she hated having to wear a dress even for our wedding. I told her to wear jeans, but Nana and Grammy threw fits. So, your mommy wanted to make them happy and agreed to wear a dress.”
“They are just clothes. If it makes someone happy, it’s okay.”
“But are you happy?” I couldn’t believe that I was having this talk with my six-year-old and she was sounding so insightful.
“Most of the time.”
Her answer hurt me. I knew it was better than most people could say, but Callie was my kid and I wanted her to be happy all of the time. She had already had a tough start by losing her mom at an early age. She didn’t need to deal with anything else. “I tell you what, I’ll talk with Nana and then you and I will make a date to go shopping. I always want you happy.”
I reached forward and pulled her into my lap. “I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you, Callie girl.”
Six
Sadie
Standing in the Orange County Sheriff’s station was like a Red Bull energy drink for your senses; everything seemed to be amped up. Sniffers were on overdrive from the mix of scents. We had new carpet in some areas, a few walls had recently been repainted, there was always the smell of leather from uniforms, polish from fixtures, and sanitizers from the cleaning crew. Noises were louder, and yet you were able to define them more clearly, the beep of the metal detectors, the ringing from phones, and the chatter from people.
“Yo, Aiden, a penny for your thoughts, five bucks if they’re dirty,” Harley whispered when another deputy walked by.
“No. Stop, no, no, no,” Bridget’s voice continued to get higher.
“Baby, you couldn’t handle what I’m thinking,” Aiden retaliated.
“Will you stop, Harley? That’s my brother.” Bridget covered her ears. I cracked up laughing. “Can we go? I can’t take any more. Plus, tonight is my night. I get to choose what to do, remember? And if I don’t separate the two of them, I think I’m going to vomit.”
“Yes . . . and you need to remember that I’m coming along against my will.”
“It’s a movie, for god’s sake, I’m not asking you to sky dive.”
“Sky dive? I totally would do that. What you’re asking us to do is worse, you’re having us go to a movie theater to see a Disney movie.”
“It’s Aladdin, the live version.”
“You’re missing the point, Bridget. It is Disney, which means kids. I don’t do kids. Kids are snotty, bratty, and demanding.”
“You are not normal. How old are you? Don’t you have any maternal genes?”
“Sure, maternal like a spider . . . don’t they eat their young?”
“Freak. Okay, where are Kat and Piper?”
“We’re here.” I turned just as they came to a stop.
“Sorry,” Piper said. “Kat and I were going over some motorcycle skills, since she wants to interview for the motors opening.”
“Well, I’m ready so let’s go.” Bridget clapped her hands together.
We headed out the back and all piled into Bridget’s SUV, which was designed for five people, so we were more packed than piled. They probably assumed a few of the passengers would be children, not five grown-ass women.
“Are you ready for my news?” Bridget asked, practically bouncing.
“Don’t tell me, you’re getting married?” I asked.
“Really? I’d have to find a man first.”
“You’re pregnant?” Piper, the only other woman on the motor squad, guessed. Piper was sort of our matriarch, since she was the first female motorcycle deputy. Soon there would be four; I couldn’t believe it.
“Once again, I’d have to find a man,” Bridget reminded her.
“You’ve decided to give Aiden to me as a sacrificial offering? Solstice is coming up,” Harley announced unabashedly.
“Woman, if you are talking Wiccan shit, don’t be talking it around my ma or da. Good god, Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, nothing like giving an Irish Catholic a heart attack and having her bring out the rosary.” We all laughed because whenever Bridget got to talking about her family, her brogue seemed to come through, even though she claimed to have lost it when she was two.
“You just saved three hundred dollars on your car insurance by switching to GEICO?” Kat asked, which had us all laughing harder.
“The big news is . . . I just found out today that I got accepted into . . .” Bridget paused for dramatic effect. “The law enforcement academy and that Orange County is paying for it provided I still work part time.”
“Holy shit, that’s fabulous.” Since I was in the back seat, I reached forward and squeezed her shoulder.
“I can see it now, Bridget, the baddest of the McGuire deputies.” Piper fist pumped the air.
We all fist pumped in solidarity.
“I start in August. I know that it will be a year, and then I have two years minimum as a patrol deputy before I can even try out for motorcycle, but I don’t want to wait until I’m a deputy, I want to start learning to ride now. You’ve worked with all of them, and now Kat and Harley are interviewing, will you start working with me?”
“Of course,” Piper assured her. “If you want, we can call Leo to see if she knows of any used bikes in great shape.” Leo was our motorcycle mechanic, she opened a shop last year called Little Shop of Motors, and she usually had a few used ones around for sale. The best thing about Leo’s shop was that she catered to women, and since she was Harley certified, we could take our bikes there even for warranty work.
“Really? I’ve been saving up for one, so I would love it. I had been meaning to talk with you all about it.”
“I’m on it.”
“Does this mean I can be an Iron Orchid?” Bridget asked.
Piper let out a loud chuckle. “Of course. I think Sophie owes you anyway.” I knew who Piper was referring to—after all, Sophie was married to our sergeant.
“Hey, where’s my invitation to join?” I asked.
“Ahhh.” Piper blew me an air kiss. “You can ride whenever you want. Just let me know when.”
“I’ve met all of them, hell we’ve all hung out at Sixes together, but they’re married now. Maybe we need our own girl gang.”
“I totally agree. I like all of them, but we are different, we are us. And let’s be honest, that group is really bound together, because they’re all related to the Christakos family,” Kat explained. “I’m Greek, and I know for a fact that is one tight bond. Hello, my mom and Christine Christakos are good friends. But they’re all settled down and having babies. I’m ready for fun. I think we should be different.”
“Different how?”
“I don’t know. Just different. We are a different group. What do bikers call it?”
“Chapters?” I offered. “Most are based on cities, like in Sons of Anarchy, Redwood chapter,” Harley explained. Of course she would be the one to know this, she had an unhealthy obsession with Charlie Hunnam.
“Yeah, a chapter. Deputy chapter.” Kat pulled out her phone and began typing. “I’ve got notepad open, let’s brainstorm, things associated with deputies.”
“I’ll take cop categories for five hundred, Alex,” Harley said, and I stuck out my tongue at her. “Fine. How about a star or handcuffs?”
“U
niform, badge, or gun,” I said as Kat wrote, adding the word ‘power’ to the list as well.
“I like this idea. We could try to get together with the Orlando Police Department’s female motorcycle deputies,” Piper suggested.
“Badges, Iron Orchid Badges, people associate badges with law enforcement, I mean, come on, badge bunnies,” Bridget pointed out.
“Wait, don’t gangs sort of get upset when people copy them?” I asked.
Piper, Bridget, and Kat let out raucous laughter. “First, it isn’t that type of gang, second, if it were, there would be bigger problems if sheriffs wanted to join,” Piper stated, making me see how stupid my question had been.
“I guess I’m a gang member, then. Oh my god, I’m in a gang, I’m so excited.”
As Bridget fought her way through evening Orlando traffic, we talked and laughed. “So, Sadie, tell me about that BOLO. It came and went so fast that I didn’t get to hear the whole story,” Harley said.
“Oh, the most adorable little girl—”
“Whoa . . . what? The most adorable little shit?” Harley asked as she stuck a finger into one ear and wiggled it around.
“Ha ha. No, she really was cool. Like, badass cool. This kid was all about the movie G.I. Jane.”
“No shit?” Kat asked.
“No shit. Anyway, she ran away because she didn’t want to hurt her grandmother’s feelings.” I was telling them about her dress and backpack, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Harley, she kept shaking her head. “What the fuck, Harley?”
“I’m just trying to wrap my brain around you thinking a kid is cool and not the spawn of Satan. I know you do that volunteer shit and all, but I’ve never heard you actually talk about them.”
I flipped her off then continued. “Okay, this one still might be, but from the outside, she looks to be acceptable. And her dad—” I immediately stopped and changed subjects. “I got her to open up.”
“Oh, no you don’t.” Kat pointed at me. “What about her dad? Is he hot? Single?”
“Does he have a friend?” Piper asked.
“He’s hot. No idea, and no clue,” I said quickly, hoping those would suffice as answers. These were trained investigators, detectives, nosy sons of bitches, so I should have known better.
“Hot? How hot?” Harley tapped one finger against the side of her cheek. “Smoking, sizzling, or slap your baby sauce on me and call me done?”
I coughed and choked as I tried to regain my breath. “What?” Then between gasps I cracked up laughing.
“Dish, Lazar,” Harley demanded.
“He’s hot, okay? And he’s a doctor.”
“Umm, how do you know this?” Kat asked.
“Remember the accident outside the hospital the other day? He was on scene, and then, as some strange twist of fate, it was his little girl who went missing the other day.” I said it, and then cringed when I realized my mistake as everyone started pulling out their phones.
“Fuck,” Harley snapped. “He doesn’t have Facebook.”
Piper waved her hand, and our sergeant's voice came over her phone’s speaker. “Hello?”
“Carter, I need a favor.”
“Oh, god, am I going to regret this?”
“Not if you don’t ask for details.”
“Fine, what?”
“I need the last DAVID photo of Ryan Montgomery, Orlando, doctor. Can you send it to my phone?”
“You know that this is—”
“Yep, totally know that this is against protocol, but trust me, this is important.”
“Life or death,” Harley said from the back seat.
“Life or death?” I asked.
“Yep, god represents life and death. Oh, god, oh, god.” Harley’s voice got higher and higher.
Everyone but me laughed.
“Fine, but please don’t ever let me hear Harley make those noises again. It’s bad enough accidentally overhearing the comments between her and Aiden.” Carter disconnected.
Piper kept her phone out, and when it finally dinged with a text message, she grinned. “Is this him?” She asked, as she showed me the screen. It was his driver’s license photo, but damn it, even in that, the man was hot. She turned it back to her and read the information. “Hmmm, he’s thirty-four, marital status is widower.”
Bridget took a quick glance at Piper’s phone. “He reminds me of Chris Pine,” she said.
Chris Pine, that’s it, that was who played Wonder Woman’s love interest. I knew that he reminded me of him.
“Oh, he does,” Harley agreed.
“Did you know that he was single?” Piper asked.
“Yes. Callie, that’s the little girl I found, told me that her mom was an angel.”
“That poor man, you should comfort him,” Harley offered.
“He lives on Lake Shore. What a coinky-dink, isn’t that your patrol area?” Kat wiggled her brows.
“Bite me.”
“Nah, we’ll leave it to the good doctor. Truthfully, he is good looking.”
“Yeah, he is,” Bridget agreed as she turned into the parking garage for Universal City Walk.
By the time we got through security, purchased our tickets, and were actually in the theater, we still had thirty minutes before the movie started. “I’m buying Bridget’s.” I pulled out my debit card. “What do you want?”
“Small popcorn and Diet Coke.”
“Here’s some money, will you get mine as well? Bridget and I can go get seats.” Harley handed over a twenty, but Kat reached in and took it.
“I’ll get it for you,” she said, and when Harley and Bridget turned toward the theater, Kat and I headed to the concession line.
“Are you ready for the motorcycle course?” I asked Kat as we waited in the long line.
“She’s totally ready.” Piper gave Kat a shoulder bump. “She’s got this.”
“Well, I’ll be there for you, I’m excited to have another woman on the squad.”
“Thanks.”
“Why don’t we just get two large popcorns and set them between us?”
“Sounds good to me,” Kat agreed.
“I’m fine with whatever as long as there is popcorn,” Piper added.
We finally made it to the counter. “Two large popcorns, a medium Diet Coke, and a Dr. Pepper.”
“You really do like doctors, don’t you?” Piper asked.
“Shut up.”
“You love me, admit it. Nothing like having a girl gang.”
“I don’t know, I could think of several things I might prefer . . . a root canal, an enema . . .”
I grabbed my order and slid it to the side as I waited for Piper and Kat to order. When we walked into the theater, I searched for Bridget and Harley and groaned. “Why did they have to sit in the middle? I hate the middle.”
“Harley has no patience for people crawling over her, so she has to sit there. Haven’t you ever been to a concert or something with her?” Kat asked.
“No.”
“Don’t, she is not a people person . . . at all.” I laughed because I could totally envision it.
“Fine.” The theater was huge, and right in the middle of the seating was a large walk-through, then several steps before the next section of seats began, which created something like a slight balcony. Even if it was in the middle, it was a good row, with no one sitting in front of them and a half-wall to rest their feet on. The only issue was the two teenagers sitting at the very end.
They were obviously on a date, since I couldn’t imagine a guy coming to see Aladdin for any other reason, but even though he got bonus points for that, he totally lost them for un-gentlemanly behavior. He sat there and ignored me. Didn’t get up or even shift his legs so we could get by.
Girlfriend, I hope that you are paying close attention to this, because this is how he treats people.
Of course, I didn’t say that, but I thought it.
“Excuse me,” I said with snark. He quickly glanced up and then turned back t
o talking to the girl next to him. Okay, she was rude, too. They deserved each other.
Deciding that he would get what he deserved, I pushed my way into the row, knocking knees with the prick. I glanced over at my friends, who were laughing while I forced my way past the teenagers. Thankfully, the next two people stood so I could get past, and I made sure to thank them, loudly, for being so polite.
I made my way past the lady, but I was so busy trying to make a point about rudeness that I hadn’t noticed that the woman had left her bag on the floor . . . at my feet, which were shuffling along. You know that saying, what comes first, the chicken or the egg? Right then, I wondered which came first, my feet slipping out from under me, or my arms flailing? Either way, I still ended up crashing onto a stranger’s lap.
“Oomph.” The man let out a gasp of air.
“Holy shit,” Harley whisper-shouted, and when I looked up, she had her phone out snapping photos.
“Get up, get up!” Bridget yelled.
Piper and Kat were curled over each other laughing, and someone was making a horrible cackling sound, was it a laugh? Then, as things do, my world seemed to right itself and I realized that I was still sitting on his lap. I turned to my left and looked at his girlfriend. Her mouth was wide open. I twisted and looked behind me. “Did I break anything?”
“No, all good.”
“Okay, sorry.”
That damn cackling sound was still ringing through the theater.
I held on to the half-wall in front of us and pulled myself up, then slowly made my way down to where my friends were seated. “I hate you, I fucking hate you for choosing the middle.”
But they didn’t say anything, since they were busy laughing. Well, except for Harley, who hadn’t put her phone down long enough to laugh. “Who are you? We don’t know you.” Then she leaned toward me. “Sorry, I can’t claim you right now.” Then she let loose and laughed. I turned to look at the man whose lap I had fallen in, and he was flexing his fingers. Obviously I’d hurt the poor thing when I had landed on him.
“I hate you, I hate all of you,” I hissed and then laughed at myself.
“Miss Sadie, are you okay?” I cringed and then turned to see Callie sitting several rows back. Of course, right next to her was one gorgeous Dr. Ryan Montgomery.