“Quincy’s dying to be too far up your hole,” Dixie said with a laugh.
Red glared at her. “Seriously, Dixie Lee Whiskey? Did I not just tell you that all the men are like my sons? That includes Quincy!”
“What?” Dixie poured a glass of wine with a mischievous expression. “It’s not like I said his Jolly Green Giant wants to explore her cavern of love.”
Everyone busted into hysterics. Even Red.
“Okay, okay,” Red said, trying to rein in her laughter. “We’re here to plan Sarah’s baby shower, so let’s get planning. I’ve spoken to Isla about having Petal Me Hard handle the flowers—”
“Flowers? It’s a baby shower, not a wedding,” Dixie said.
Red gave her a deadpan stare. “This is our family’s first baby shower, and we’re doing it right. We need to get the addresses for the friends Sarah made at the shelter, and Chicki is going to invite the girls who work with her at the salon.”
“I’ll handle the food,” Finlay said.
Penny waved her hands and said, “Wait a sec. Josie’s box of goodies has gotten lost in the shuffle.”
“It’s okay,” Josie said.
“No, it’s not.” Dixie pushed the box over to Josie and said, “But it’s par for the course. We’re always going off on tangents.”
Josie stood up and said, “I’m not sure what really goes on at baby showers—”
“For those of us who aren’t pregnant.” Gemma glanced at Crystal and said, “Lots of wine and food, games like Pin the Sperm on the Egg or Guess the Poop, which is disgusting but funny. You melt candy bars and put them in diapers, then everyone guesses which candy is in theirs. The winner gets a prize.”
“I’m kind of hoping that comes after we eat cake,” Josie said.
“Trust me, if you drink enough wine, you’ll eat that candy right out of the diaper,” Isabel said.
“I’ll remember that,” Josie said as she reached into the box. “If you like what I’ve brought, I can make them for the party. But I don’t want to step on Finlay’s toes.”
Finlay eyed the box and said, “If you’ve got gingerbread cookies in there, then please step on them. Did I tell you guys that Josie’s going to work with me on two catering events next month?”
“Bullet mentioned it,” Red said. “I’m so glad you girls are finding ways to help each other. When I was growing up girls were such bitches, always competing instead of helping one another.”
Dixie laughed. “They still are, Mom.”
“Well, sweetheart,” Red said, “I’m proud that you girls aren’t like that.”
“Fin works with us all the time for the Princess for a Day parties,” Gemma said. “And Josie is making a gingerbread castle for an upcoming party.”
“You’ve all been so good to me and Hail.” Josie looked at the faces of her new friends and said, “I never imagined having so many friends or so much support. I never thought I needed it, but now I can’t imagine going without it.”
“Aw, we love you,” Penny said as she came to Josie’s side and embraced her.
“We sure do.” Red put her arms around both of them.
The other girls got in on the group hug, embracing Josie so tight she wasn’t sure where everyone else ended and she began. It was a great feeling.
When they released her, she said, “Thanks. Most of you guys know that Brian’s grandmother taught me to make all sorts of gingerbread treats, and over the years I’ve experimented a bit.” She reached into the box and withdrew the gingerbread baby carriage and set it carefully on the table. The girls huddled closer to get a better look.
“That’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Look, the carriage has wheels, and you decorated the canopy as if it really can fold down. And the little pink blanket is too cute,” Isabel exclaimed.
“I want a carriage at my shower,” Crystal said. “Aw, there’s a baby in the carriage. Yup, you’re making these for my shower.” She narrowed her eyes and said, “You bitches are throwing me a shower, right?”
Everyone laughed.
Red touched Crystal’s hand and said, “Baby girl, don’t you know me by now? Any chance to celebrate family is one I’m not going to pass up.”
As they peppered Josie with ideas and questions, she withdrew the other things she’d baked—pink-and-white-frosted cookies shaped like rocking horses, baby bottles, and bibs. She set the gingerbread bowls she’d decorated with pink flowers around the rims on the table beside the cookies, and then she placed the yellow-and-green pacifier-shaped cookies-on-a-stick beside those.
The girls oohed and aahed.
“I’m catering a baby shower next Saturday. I know it’s short notice. I just booked the job four days ago. Want to get in on it?” Finlay asked.
“I’ll have to see if I can get a sitter, but if so, absolutely,” Josie said.
Everyone offered to babysit, and Red said, “I have grandmother seniority, but y’all can come help if you want.”
“We totally forgot to tell them our big announcement,” Penny reminded Josie.
“Oh gosh. You tell them!”
Penny looked at each of the girls, baiting them with her silence, until the air pulsed with energy, and said, “We’re going to start an annual gingerbread week at the ice cream shop!”
Everyone talked at once, sharing in their excitement.
“I was just going to ask if you’ve thought about selling gingerbread in a bigger way,” Finlay said. “Maybe offering delivery to local businesses for special events? Izzy and I could help you set up a website, get brochures together, that sort of thing. I think you could make a pretty penny doing it and still work part time with Penny.”
“Do you think they’re good enough to do all of that? It’s always been a dream of mine.” Josie couldn’t help but get excited about actually earning money doing what she loved.
“Are you freaking kidding me?” Crystal said with a cookie in her mouth and one in her hand. “Someone better move these away before people start asking if I’m having twins.”
Isabel nodded in agreement as she grabbed two more cookies.
“Can you make gingerbread men in G-strings for the auction?” Dixie asked.
“Yes!” Penny said. “And dollar bills, too! How cute would that be?”
“They’re not strippers,” Gemma reminded them.
“Hey, you never know what you can get single guys to do,” Isabel said, “Auctions are good, but I don’t think I’m the only woman in Peaceful Harbor looking for more.”
“That’s what he said,” Dixie teased.
Red made a tsk sound. “My word, Dixie. What is going on with you?”
“Red, I do believe your daughter needs to get laid.” Crystal bit into her cookie.
“Crystal!” Finlay chided her.
“I know it’s awful to put it like that,” Crystal admitted. “But someone had to say it. Poor Dixie. Every time a guy looks at her there’s a Dark Knight around to growl at them.”
Red put her arm around Dixie and said, “Are your brothers being that oppressive?”
“Do you know them?” Dixie said dryly.
Isabel leaned closer to Dixie and Red and said, “I say we surprise the men and put Dixie on the auction ballot.”
“Technically speaking, a family member of the hosting family is supposed to be auctioned off,” Red reminded them. “And since all of the Whiskey boys are hitched up…”
Isabel raised her glass and said, “To auctioning off Dixie! This’ll set apart the men from the boys in this town, won’t it?”
There was an excited murmur of agreement.
“But mum’s the word,” Finlay said in a secretive voice. “If Bullet gets wind of this, Dix will be wearing a chastity belt and locked in our basement for the rest of her life.”
Josie laughed with the others, but she would have given anything to have grown up with Scotty scaring off her boyfriends. She thought back to the first morning after Jed had slept over. The morning Hail had found them o
n the couch. Scotty had come into the kitchen as they were making pancakes and raised an eyebrow at Jed. He knew Jed was a good man, but Josie had read the unsaid words that had passed between the two men—Hurt my sister and you’ll have me to deal with.
Maybe for girls like Dixie, the overprotective-brother thing got old, but Josie would soak it up for all the years they’d lost.
Chapter Sixteen
JED AWOKE WITH a start as Hail shuffled into Josie’s bedroom in the middle of the night. He glanced at the clock. Two o’clock Monday morning. “You okay, buddy?”
Hail padded over to Jed’s side of the bed. His hair stood up on one side and was flat on the other. He rubbed his eyes and whispered, “Yeah.”
“Did you have a bad dream?”
Hail nodded. “Are you going to die like my daddy did?”
He asked it so matter-of-factly, Jed felt his heart slice down the middle. How could he not have seen that question coming? Was this what Hail thought about? He seemed so happy. “No, buddy. I don’t think so.”
“Can you go to the doctor to make sure?” he asked in a sleepy whisper.
Jed put his arms around him, pulling him closer. “Sure, buddy. I’ll do that. But I don’t want you to worry. I’m not going anywhere, okay?” He pressed a kiss to the top of Hail’s head, making a mental note to talk to someone who knew something about kids and grief.
Hail nodded again. “Moon?”
“Yeah?”
“Can I sleep here, just for tonight?”
“Sure, just for tonight.” He didn’t know if Josie had a policy on Hail sleeping in her bed, and she was sleeping too soundly to ask, but he knew from Tru and Bones that they tried to discourage the kids sleeping with them. As he helped Hail onto the bed and wrapped his arms around him, he had a feeling this was different. And even if it wasn’t, there was no way he could have turned away the scared little boy he’d already grown to love.
On the tail of another yawn, Hail said, “Good night, Moon. I love you.”
And just like that, that fissure in his heart healed up. “’Night, buddy. I love you, too.”
JED HAD BEEN awake for most of the night worrying about Hail. As he lay with Josie tucked against one side and Hail curled against the other, he wondered if she worried about something happening to him, too. He loved them so much, he wanted to understand everything there was about grief, so he could help them both.
Josie made a sleepy sound and tipped her face up toward him. “Morning.”
He kissed her forehead. “Morning, beautiful.”
“You’re very awake. Are you nervous about presenting the program to the club tonight?”
He was as ready as he’d ever be. He shook his head and whispered, “Hail’s on my other side.”
She lifted her head and her brows knitted. “Did he have a bad dream?”
“Something like that. Let’s not wake him. We can talk after he’s up.”
Jed worried about Hail being sad today, but when the alarm went off, Hail popped up to his knees, full of energy, and said, “Can we make chocolate chip waffles?”
“Sure,” Josie said.
“Yay! I’m going to play.” He climbed off the bed and ran out of the room.
“I need some of his energy in the morning,” Josie said as they sat up against the headboard.
He put his arm around her and pulled her onto his lap. “I kind of like that you save it up for nighttime.” He pressed his lips to hers, and then he said, “Can we talk about Hail for a sec?”
“Of course. Is something wrong?”
“I don’t know. I hope it was okay that I let him sleep with us. He asked me if I was going to die like his daddy.”
Her smile faded. “He used to worry about me dying or going away, too. That’s fine that you let him in bed with us, but what did you tell him?”
“I said I didn’t think so, and he asked me to go to the doctor, which I’ll do just to make sure we don’t miss anything.”
She put her hand on his chest and said, “You don’t have to do that. When he was asking about me dying, his doctor said it was a natural fear and just to reassure him. He hasn’t asked in a long time, more than a year. I think it means he really likes you.”
“He told me he loves me.” He brushed his thumb over her cheek and said, “And I told him I love him. I do, Jojo. I love you both with all my heart.”
Her lips parted and her eyes widened, but that surprise quickly bloomed into affection and delight. She put her arms around his neck and said, “I love you, too, Moon, so much.”
Even though he’d known she was falling for him, hearing her say it made him love her even more. As happy as he was, his heart was still heavy over Hail. “I’m going to talk to the therapist Crystal worked with about Hail to find out what we can do to make sure he feels safe. I think I’ll also swing by the bookstore on my way home after the club meeting to pick up a few books on kids and grief. Don’t worry, babe. I’m not going to overlook anything where Hail’s concerned.”
She laughed softly and said, “You ask him if he has homework every night, and he’s only in kindergarten. I don’t think you would ever overlook a thing.”
He kissed her again, and Hail bounded into the room and onto the bed. “Come on, Mama! I’m hungry!”
“Sorry,” she whispered to Jed as she climbed off his lap.
He gave her ass a smack and said, “Don’t be. I love our mornings.”
As she walked out the bedroom door she turned back and mouthed, Thank you, and blew him a kiss. Didn’t she realize it was him who should be doing the thanking? She’d made his life more wonderful than he’d ever imagined possible.
JED CALLED CRYSTAL on his way to work. “Hey, shrimp. Can I get the number to that therapist you saw?”
“Dr. Lantrell? Sure. Why?”
He told her about Hail. “I just want to be sure we’ve got all our bases covered for him.”
“Aw, the poor kid. I’ll text you his number. You’re really into them, aren’t you?”
“I love them, Chrissy. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure they’re okay.”
“Oh, Jed. I’m so happy for you. I think Josie feels the same way. She gushed about you at Red’s yesterday, and I have to admit, it was nice to hear.”
“Thanks.”
“I’ll text the number now, and I’m almost done with that jacket you asked me to alter. I should be done next week.”
“Perfect. Thanks, Chrissy.” He ended the call and called Quincy. “Dude, I need your help.”
“Sure. What’s up?”
“Are you working today?”
“Yeah.”
“Great. I need books about dealing with kids and grief, and you know what? Adults and grief, too. And a few parenting books, general stuff, you know.”
“Did you get Josie pregnant?”
He laughed. “No, man. Hail’s talking about his dad and I just want to be prepared. Do you mind pulling them for me? Get the best ones. I don’t care what they cost.”
“Sure. Things going okay? I haven’t seen you in a while.”
“Yeah, going great. Sorry about not being around much.”
“Don’t be sorry, man. Keeps me from having to keep the ladies quiet when I’m driving them wild.”
“Yeah, right. Thanks, man. I’ll swing by after the meeting.” Quincy had about a million women after him, but he wasn’t the kind of guy who was with a different woman every other night.
JED MET WITH Crystal’s therapist after work and was relieved to hear that he agreed with Josie’s assessment and that Hail was probably reacting to his feelings for Jed. He’d said it was natural for a child who had lost a parent to worry that someone else they love might suffer the same fate. He’d offered to speak with Hail, and Jed would bring that up with Josie, but he’d also said that given how well Hail was doing in other aspects of his life, it might be best not to rock the boat unless Hail continued to talk about it. He alleviated the worst of Jed’s concerns, which allowed J
ed to focus on preparing his presentation for the Dark Knights.
Jed paced the clubhouse parking lot, mentally rehearsing his presentation. The importance of the night weighed heavily on him, making the burger he’d tried to choke down feel like lead in his gut. Not only would he be scrutinized for his presentation, but he believed wholeheartedly in the mentoring program and he hoped the club would approve it. Ricardo had been in the bar seven of the last ten afternoons washing dishes while Marco worked on homework at one of the tables or helped bus tables. Marco had also shadowed Jed at the auto shop a few times, and he and Jed had both enjoyed it. When Jed was Ricardo’s age, he hadn’t thought he’d ever be the type of guy someone would look to for answers. Now he wasn’t just that person for those boys, but for Josie and Hail, too.
How many other kids could they help with a mentoring program?
The clubhouse door opened, and Bear stepped outside. “Come on, man. You’re up.”
Jed filled his lungs with the cold night air. Even though he’d gone over the presentation with Bear several times this past week and he was pretty sure he’d covered all the important aspects of it, he still threw a few prayers up to the biker in the sky, hoping he’d do a good job of selling the idea to the members.
“Nervous?” Bear asked before they went inside.
“What do you think? I’m only a prospect. Will the other guys take my suggestion seriously? Or will they see me as a lowly prospect spouting off about shit they don’t want to hear about?”
Bear patted his shoulder and said, “Relax. You’ve got this. You wouldn’t be here if Bullet didn’t think the idea was worthy of serious consideration. Biggs already introduced you, so get up there and go for it.”
The sense of brotherhood hung in the air, comfortingly familiar. The room was filled with badass, attitudinal men like Bullet and Diesel, clean-cut businessmen and doctors, like Court and Bones, and just about every type of person from every walk of life in between. As Jed strode toward the front of the room, acknowledging greetings from the guys as he passed, his chest filled with pride. It was an honor to be allowed to bring his idea before the members.
Mad About Moon Page 21