“It’s only a small pizza, Brian. Just let her have it. She’s been working since lunch.” Brian just kept filling his plate with food from the bar. “You’re a real piece of work, aren’t you? This woman works herself to death, and you have the nerve to take what little bit of compensation she gets. Why would you do that to her? Better yet, why don’t you get yourself a job?”
“I don’t need a job if she’s working. Besides, who would keep an eye on her if I had to go someplace daily? This is working out for us, Margaret. You get on back there and make me that pie. And it won’t hurt you none to put a little extra meat on it for your best worker, now would it?” He was laughing all the way back to his seat. Houston noticed he had three heaping plates of mostly pudding and desserts instead of the salad he actually needed to be eating.
Tru put her hand on his, and he looked at her. “We’ll save her.” He nodded. “Houston, you have to pull your beast back in. He’s showing, and I’m worried you’re going to scare the kids.” He didn’t realize his cat wanted to come out and hurt the man until Tru said something. “Are you going to be all right with this?”
“More than ever.” She nodded and smiled at him. Houston looked at Sammy when he continued to stare at him. Leaning very close to him, he whispered to him. “I’m a cat. A big mean cat that is going to make sure your new friend and his momma are never hurt again. But I will never, for so long as I live, ever hurt you. You understand that, don’t you?”
“I do.” He looked at Clark, then back at him before speaking again. “Uncle Houston, is all of your brothers like you? And your mom and dad?” He said they were. “Good. I feel so much better now. Nobody is gonna hurt us again. Never. I love you, Uncle Houston.”
Houston thought he could have walked on a cloud. Those three simple words had made him feel that good. As they finished off the pizzas, taking the ten free ones home with them, Houston was ready for this plan to get moving. He wanted everyone to feel as good as he did at this moment.
~~~
Tru had the pleasure of going to the back and getting Lacy out of the restaurant. She’d already spoken to Margaret and told her what they were going to do. The woman had cried for a good five minutes while they were on the phone together.
“Lacy is such a good person, Tru. She really is. And she’s worked for me since she was sixteen years old. Such a happy person. Then she got herself pregnant with that little Clark, and she just ain’t been happy since her mom and dad made her marry that boy’s father.” Tru told her Clark was the one that had told them what was going on. “I just knew that boy had a good heart. But he doesn’t have a lot of people showing him how to be a good man. I’m glad this is going on. And thank you for the heads up. I’m going to call me someone in to take her place as soon as I get off here. You just knock on the back door when you’re all are ready, and then I’ll let you in. She knows, doesn’t she?”
“She knows we’re aware of the situation, but I don’t know how much she’s figured out about us getting her out of here.” Margaret told her she’d gather up her check money for her too. “Thank you. I’m sure she’ll appreciate that.”
Standing up when the check was brought to Houston, Tru kissed him on the mouth, much to the disgust of her nephews. Kissing him again, this time longer, she was still laughing as she told them she had to get back to work. As she was leaving the restaurant to go to the back door, she hoped everything went to plan. She didn’t want anyone hurt.
As soon as she knocked on the big door, it was opened by Lacy. She was sobbing by then, and Tru came into the back room and held her while she babbled. Tru hurt for the young woman. All she’d done, she told Tru, was try her best to make a good life for her and her son.
“Then this asshole comes along and moves in with us. I just came home from work, and there he was.” Tru asked about the grandma. “Oh, she came later, after I tried to get him arrested. There is a restraining order out against him, but he doesn’t care. Neither does the stupid police department. I think it has to do with the fact he took these forged papers to them and told them we were married now. We’re not, but I guess he’s got Clark so afraid to call him anything but his stepfather that he might well believe it by now. He hurts poor Clark, and his own father also treats him like shit. When I saw him in here today with your family, all I could think about was how wonderful it would be for him to have a nice night out like this.”
“Lacy, I’m taking you out of here.” She said he’d hurt her. “No, he won’t. Not ever again. Not if he wants to be upright for the rest of his days. Which, I might add, might be numbered if he messes with Houston out there.” They both laughed.
Margaret handed Lacy a thick envelope and gave her several hugs, telling her to make sure she contacted her when she was settled. Lacy was ready to leave but stopped, asking about her son.
“He’s going home with my parents to spend the night. I know Brian is aware of it. He’s already tangled with Houston once. But once they’re all gone, Houston will pay the check and leave. Hopefully, he has to deal with Brian. Houston hasn’t ever wanted to hurt someone like he does that bastard.” She asked why she was doing this. “You mean helping you? Because you need it. No other reason. I guess I could tell you we wanted to help you because we like you, but I don’t know you well enough to say that. I could have said it was for Clark, but it’s not that either. I guess you could say I’m doing this for Sammy and Jacob, my nephews. I want them to understand that if you can help people, do it. And there is no harm whatsoever in asking for help when you need it. Houston did that when he realized you were in trouble more than even your son is aware of. Aren’t you?”
“Yes.” They got into her car, and Tru had Lacy get in the back seat and lay down. As she pulled into traffic, what little there was, Lacy spoke again. “I don’t suppose I could go to the emergency room first, could I? I was beaten up pretty badly this morning, and I don’t think I’m going to make it very far.”
“You just hang on. Thatcher and Dawson are doctors, and they’ll get you taken care of.” She told her she thought Clark had been hurt as well. “You’ll both be fine. I promise you.”
She hoped when this was over that everyone would be fine. Tru was also going to have a long conversation with Andrew, the chief of police, about not taking restraining orders as seriously as he should.
~~~
Houston went up to the counter to pay the bill. He knew that usually, the waitstaff did it for you, but he was hoping by then that Lacy and Tru were gone. Clark was terrified for his mother, but once he saw them leaving, his mom hiding in the back seat, he felt a great deal better. The kid was going to get a good start. Houston hoped he took it while it was being offered to him, and became a better person for it.
“I noticed you didn’t leave her a tip.” He looked over at Brian when he spoke to him. “You didn’t leave Lacy a tip. That’s not good of you. The famous Robinsons not leaving a tip for a hard working woman? That ain’t right.”
“It’s going to be on the bill.” Brian said that didn’t work for him. “And that is supposed to bother me why? The tip is for the person that waited on us. I don’t care how it affects you.”
“You’re not very nice, are you? Why don’t you just fork over the cash and I’ll take it. Lacy, she doesn’t have a very good head for money.” Houston just stared at him. “Come on, Houston. You know you have enough cash on you to tip in cash. If you put it on the bill, it’ll be a week before I see that money. I need it now.”
“Again, this is supposed to bother me how? You didn’t wait on us. All you did was try and ruin my dinner by threatening a little boy. Does that make you feel like a big man, Brian? To hurt a little boy?” Brian asked if Clark had been telling falsehoods about him. “No, I believe he told me the truth. How the other day when you came in to have lunch with him and my nephew, you took food off his plate and ate it. And the orange that Sammy gave him, you ate that as well.
”
“A man should be entitled to eat what he wants when it’s there. Don’t you think?” Houston told him no, he didn’t, not at the expense of a kid going hungry. “He’s forever whining about being hungry. I just tune him out. Are you going to fork over the cash or not?”
“Not.” He handed the bill and his credit card to Margaret. “Everything all right, Margaret? You look a little upset.”
“I’m fine and dandy now. Brian, get away from here before I call the cops again. They said if you showed up again, they’d not talk to you but haul your butt in.” He laughed at her. “You won’t think it’s so funny when they show up here.”
Almost as if she summoned them, two officers walked through the door. Margaret told them Brian was stealing food, and the officers asked to speak to him. Houston watched as, not only was Brian escorted to an empty booth, but he was in the middle without any way to escape.
He and Margaret stood there at the front counter, watching the “talk.” Since he was sure Margaret, as a bear, had hearing as good as his, they heard when Brian was told he needed to get his things out of the government housing he was staying in with Lacy, as she was no longer living there.
“What do you mean, she’s not living there anymore? She’d fucking better be. Wait. She’s working today. I brought her in myself. Margaret, you tell Lacy to get her skinny ass out here right now and clear this shit up. I’m not going to have people telling me I have to move when there is no way I’m going to be. You tell her that before she comes out here.” Margaret looked at him, and Houston smiled. Telling Brian she wasn’t there was the most fun he’d had in a very long time. “She was just waiting on you guys. What the fuck is going on around here? I’m telling you right now, she had better be back there. Or so help me, I’ll show her who is boss again.”
“You think you’re her boss, Brian?” He told Andrew he was. “Well, I have to say, you’ve surely been acting like you were. You told me the two of you were married now. How long do you think it took to find out not only were you not married, but you’ve been violating that restraining order she had against you? Then there is the fact your momma told us Lacy had agreed to have her living there to watch the kid while you were working. There isn’t a thing of that true either, is there? I can’t find a soul that said you worked for them. Not to mention, most of them said they’d not have you coming by even if you weren’t looking for a job.”
“My mom has been watching the kid.” Andrew only shook his head at him. “She has been. I come here to make sure Lacy doesn’t try any of her shit, and she keeps an eye on the boy, so he doesn’t bother the things in the house that belong to me. I want you to tell me where Lacy is, damn it. She’s supposed to be working. I’m not going to be happy if she’s run off again.”
“Why would she want to run off, Brian, if you two were married? Happily so, by what your momma told me today. By the way, your mom is down at the station house. She got herself into some heat by pulling a gun on my men. That just doesn’t sound to me like a good role model for watching Lacy’s little boy. What do you think?” Brian asked them if they were finished with him. He had to do some hunting. “I’m afraid that is going to have to wait. You see, since you were violating the restraining order Lacy had put in place, as well as living in the house she didn’t want you in, you’re in heat with my department. And by heat, I’m telling you I’m going to be taking your ass in. You lied to us—not just once, but several times. I’m also going to talk to you about some of the bruises we saw on young Clark’s body.”
“I didn’t try and break his wrist. We was playing around, and he had to be put down.” Andrew just stood up and told Brian to do the same. “So help me, Andrew, if this is all just some bullshit Lacy put you up to, I’m going to beat her to death.”
“That’s what I was hoping you’d say.” Even watching them, Houston didn’t see Andrew move. He had Brian pulled out of the booth, turned about, and his face slammed onto the table, cuffing him. Houston laughed so hard when Brian was read his rights—which, Andrew told him, he didn’t have much in the way of. Also, he charged him with conspiracy to commit murder. Houston was still laughing when he paid his bill and left the restaurant. It was the most fun he’d had in a few weeks.
Chapter 7
Before she could even say, “Hi, Dad,” he answered the phone with “Shasta, what do you want?” It was hurtful in a way, but she really did want something from him. Smiling, she tried to make her voice sound cheerful, even though she was feeling pretty pissed off about things.
“What a thing to say to me, Dad. I was just wondering if we could talk about what I’ve had happen to me. I just can’t make it on the hundred and fifty a day you gave me.” Dad told her that it was a one time thing. “Yeah, I thought that was what you’d say. It’s not really fair, do you think? That I have to suffer when no one else is?”
“Over what? That your husband, the one I told you not to marry, is going to prison? Or is it the fact you feel owed something because you’re Shasta Arnold? Either one isn’t really my concern.” She asked him how it wasn’t his concern. “You mean because you’re my daughter, I’m assuming.”
“Of course, it’s that reason. What did you think? I can’t do this. I need money. The money you gave me before barely got me something to wear. There wasn’t anything left over after I ate so I could get myself a decent hotel. I’ve been sleeping on other people’s couches. How is that even right?” He told her she had a roof over her head, and she wasn’t getting any more money from him. “What about the boys?”
“They’re fine. They’re having a good time playing with the kids around here. Eating well too, from all the garden things—”
“That’s not what I mean, Dad.” She paused to take a breath. “They’re wearing those cheap things still, aren’t they? I’m even betting you allow them to play in the yard where people can see them. Not to mention, they more than likely are playing with all kinds of children.”
“I’m not at all sure what you mean by all kinds of children, Shasta, but yes, they’re having a good time. They wear what I give them, and as for playing in the yard, they’re also playing in the pool.” If Shasta had been standing there with him, she would have made sure he could see her eyes rolling. “Why is it you called me? I’m sure it wasn’t so you could comment on what you think are nasty things I’m providing for your children.”
“They can be yours.” He didn’t say anything, so she plunged forward. “I could sell them to you. Both of them. I’m sure now you’ve let them run wild like animals, they’ll never be the kind of children I want to be seen with anyway. I could sell them to you, and then you wouldn’t ever have to give them back to me.”
“I don’t understand this. You want to sell me your children, so you don’t have to be seen with them again? That’s cold, even for you, Shasta. What has gotten into you?” She let out a long breath. “I thought you were coming back for them.”
“I could. But like I said, they’d never want to be the kind of children we, Mike and I, require when we go places. When I think back on my childhood, I can’t believe you ever left the house with me, and especially Tru. The kind of things we pulled.” She shivered and Dad laughed. “It’s not funny. We should have been more well behaved, acted better. My kids would never have worn the things you have on them if I wasn’t in the predicament I’m in now. Dad, you give me enough money that I can buy tickets for Mike and me to leave the country, and some spending money for me right now. I’ll be more than happy to sell the boys to you. Oh, and pay the bail for Mike to get out of jail. I need him around me. I never realized how much I depended on having a man at my side to make me look good.”
“I see.” Shasta was glad for that, but she had a feeling he really didn’t see anything the way she needed him to. “So let me get this straight in my head. You want me to pay the bond for Mike to get out of jail, no matter what it is, and then give you money, and you�
��ll sell me your sons for all of this. Am I correct on this? You’re telling me you’ll just hand them over and never want to take them from me again? Simply if I pay out what you need right now?”
“Unless I need more money than you give me to start with.” He asked her what that was supposed to mean. “I mean, I don’t know how long it takes for someone to be released on bond. I might need more if I have to hang around this town waiting for Mike to be free so we can leave the country. You have no idea how much easier this is going to make it for me to just pick up and go when Mike is released. I know you didn’t like him, none of you did. But you have to care that he’s given you an opportunity to be with your grandchildren all the time.”
“That doesn’t change my opinion of him at all, Shasta. And for that matter, I’m shocked you’re still in love with him.” She told her dad she hadn’t ever loved him. “What? You married a man you didn’t love? You made me pay for that extravagant wedding you just had to have to a man you don’t love? Christ, Shasta. What the fucking hell is wrong with you? Don’t you see he’s ruined everything he’s touched?”
“Not to me, he hasn’t. Oh, I knew about the drugs and the prostitution rings. I knew when he was to take over the company that he’d take money from it. I didn’t think he’d make it just up and die the way he did, but I knew with him being there, he’d have to take a little here and there. I’m sure you did the same thing when you started making it big.” Dad told her he had not taken anything that wasn’t a part of his pay. “Sure you didn’t, Dad. Sure. Everyone does it. There is no reason for you to get huffy about it. Mike just went a little too far, that’s all. But we lived in a way I loved. We had money and friends. The country club would send us nice fruit baskets every holiday for spending so much money at their place.”
“You think that is a good thing? That you’ve spent so much money at a place they remember to send you a gift? Shasta, that’s not a way to live. Look at where you are now. Not a penny to your name, and you’re trying to sell me your sons so you can flee the country to be with a man you don’t love.” She asked him if he was going to buy her children, almost forgetting why she’d called him. “Hold on a minute. I have to talk to your mom. This is the most— Just hang on a minute.”
Houston: Robinson Destruction – Paranormal Tiger Shifter Romance Page 9