by Marla Monroe
“Mom?” Tommy looked over at her from his seat next to Gunner. “Would it be okay if I went to play a few games before the pizza gets here?”
“Sure. Stay where we can see you and check back in a little while to see if the food is here,” she told him. She’d already given him the money so he wouldn’t have to ask in front of the guys.
“Thanks, Mom.” He looked up at Gunner. “I won’t be long.”
She watched as he walked over to the game room and disappeared inside. She looked up at the monitors and tracked his path to the “Storm Troopers” game he liked the most. He would stay at that game until he checked to see if the food was out. She could always count on him to follow directions.
“He’s really a good kid,” Scope said, watching the monitors as well.
“Yeah. He is. I was telling Gunner that the only problem I ever have with him is the condition of his room.” She laughed.
“Come on, Mom. Let the poor kid have his messy haven,” Scope said with a laugh.
Darla couldn’t help but laugh with him. It had been a sticking point between them when they were growing up. His mom would harp on him to clean his room and Darla had always agreed with her. She’d told him that nasty germs grew under his bed.
The waitress returned with their drinks then left just as quickly. The place was filling up now.
“Do nasty germs grow under Tommy’s bed?” Scope asked.
Gunner’s eyebrow lifted as he watched them. He was sitting on one side of her with Scope sitting on the other side.
“No. I don’t let it get that despicable. Plus, he never leaves dirty dishes in his room like someone I know did.” She grinned over at Gunner. “Did you know your pal here used to grow penicillin in half-empty glasses in his bedroom?”
Gunner stared at her for a few seconds before shaking his head. “I’m not surprised. He’d still be doing it if I let him.”
“What the hell, Gunner?” Scope scowled around her at the other man.
“Language, man. We’re in a public, family oriented place.” Gunner’s half smile warmed her despite it being for his friend.
“Need I remind you who had to clean the shower before I could use it every time? I’m so glad you have your own shower to man-scape in now.” Scope shivered as if it had been a truly terrible thing.
“I can’t believe you went there,” Gunner said, his face deteriorating into an angry expression that would have scared even the most dangerous of criminals.
“Tone it down, Gunner,” Scope said with a frown. “Sorry. Didn’t realize you’d get that pissed off.”
Both she and Gunner said, “Language” at the same time, to Scope’s amusement.
“Sorry, Darla,” Gunner said.
“You didn’t bother me. I’d have punched him if he’d said something along those lines about me. That’s hitting below the belt.”
Scope looked up at the monitors and mumbled under his breath. “In more ways than one.”
Gunner leaned closer to Darla. “Don’t worry. I’ll get him back later.”
She whispered back. “I’m sure you will. Just don’t hurt him too badly.”
“What?” Scope looked back at them. “What did you say? You know I can’t hear, man.”
Darla frowned. That was the second time he’d mentioned he had a hard time hearing.
“That was the reason I spoke low, so you couldn’t hear me. Deal with it.” Gunner actually grinned wider than she’d seen before.
Scope’s scowl turned into a grin of his own. “He takes advantage of my hearing loss a little too much sometimes.”
“Aren’t you a little young to have hearing loss already?” Darla asked.
“Injury from overseas. It’s the reason I’m out now,” he said.
“You’re never out of the Marines, Scope. You know that.” Gunner’s expression had darkened.
“Yeah, well. It’s why they sent me home. Was too close to an IED, an improvised explosive device, when it was hit by one of our trucks. It affected my hearing. It isn’t safe to not have all of your senses in perfect working order when you’re on enemy ground, so here I am.” Scope and Gunner exchanged looks that Darla wasn't about to question.
“I’m sorry, Scope. I didn’t know.”
“Hey. Don’t be. I’m lucky to be alive and have all my arms and legs. A lot of guys aren’t that lucky.” Scope wrapped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her before pulling it back to lay across the back of the booth.
“Were you injured as well?” she asked Gunner.
“Just a few shrapnel wounds. Scratches was all. I didn’t re-up and followed Scope home. Figured he’d need me to watch his back since he’s deaf as an old goat.”
Gunner had said the last in a near whisper.
“What did you say? Don’t start that, man.” Scope had a mock expression of anger on his face, but Darla could see it was all in good fun.
“Just said you need me since you were hard of hearing now,” Gunner told him.
Scope just shook his head. Darla loved how they sparred with each other without really meaning any of it. She also liked that they didn’t try to pull her one way or another. They really seemed at ease with the situation. She thought about it and realized sort of out of the blue that they were sharing her between them. It wasn’t that she hadn’t already understood that deep down, but really acknowledging it was another thing.
“So how long have you been working two jobs?” Scope asked.
“Um, about a year now.” She wasn’t going to elaborate. They didn’t need to know anything about her finances.
“I hate the thought of you working at a place like that. It could be dangerous, Darla.” Scope wasn’t going to drop it.
Darla sighed. “I know, but the extra money goes toward any emergencies that can crop up. You know, car batteries, new tires, and stuff like that.”
“Where’s Tommy’s dad, Darla? Why isn’t he helping you?” Gunner asked.
She couldn’t stop the instant anger that surged whenever someone asked about the bastard. It always felt like they saw her as the reason that he wasn’t around for Tommy.
“He didn’t want anything to do with us once I told him I was pregnant. Since we weren’t good enough for him, he wasn’t good enough for us,” she said through gritted teeth.
“That’s what Tommy said that day,” Gunner said. “You told him that his dad wasn’t good enough for him. I agree.”
“Has he ever contacted you about seeing him?” Scope asked her.
“No, and he never will. I made him sign his rights away when he tried to deny that Tommy was his, so now he isn’t. His name isn’t even on Tommy’s birth certificate. I was just the ‘wetback’ he used until he was ready to settle down with someone socially acceptable for his station in life.” She put up her hand when Gunner started to say something. “I screwed up. I was too young to realize what was going on. That’s on me. I’ll never allow anyone to treat my son as anything other than the amazing, special child he is.”
She watched as Gunner visibly pulled the almost living anger back inside of himself for her benefit. She knew that all she had to do was give him the name of the bastard who’d tossed them aside like so much garbage and the man would never do it to anyone else again. A bitter, ruined woman might have given him the man’s name, but Darla wasn’t that woman. She’d never really been that woman at all because she’d had her parents there to support her and remind her that she wasn’t defined by any name or label that could be put on her.
“Wishing I’d never joined up all those years ago wouldn’t have changed anything, though,” Scope said looking over to where Tommy was still fighting the enemies of the universe. “I always thought you were too young for me and watching you grow from a sweet teenager into a woman wouldn’t have changed how I saw you.”
“And you never would have met Gunner if you hadn’t joined. I think you two were meant to keep each other out of trouble. Lord knows you can get yourself into some situations,
Scope,” she said with a giggle, breaking the tension that had settled around them.
“Scope said your parents had only recently died. I’m sure they were a lot of help while they were alive. It must be tough raising a boy alone. I can’t imagine how strong you have to be,” Gunner’s half smile lessened some of the resentment at Scope’s statements. She was doing the best she could.
“They were a big help until Dad had his stroke. After he died, Mom lost her will to live and died only a few months later. I miss them so much sometimes it hurts,” she admitted.
“What about the house? I would have thought you could have lived there. It was in good shape, if I remember right,” Scope said.
She bowed her head then looked up at the monitors to check on Tommy. He was still at his machine, playing away.
“They mortgaged the house to help me with Tommy. I couldn’t work the last two months because my blood pressure got too high. Then after he was born, I was sick for a while and couldn’t get back to work right away. I didn’t know they’d done it. It broke my heart to lose it when they died. I’m sure Dad never expected to die before the loan was repaid.” Darla blinked back the tears.
“Sick? What was wrong, Darla?” Scope asked, rubbing her shoulder.
“Um, I wouldn’t stop bleeding for a while and had to have blood. They kept me in the hospital for a week then the doctor wouldn’t let me go back to work for a few months.”
“You nearly died, didn’t you, Darla?” Scope said.
“But I’m fine. It was just a fluke thing.”
Before Scope could say anything more, the waitress returned with their food. After setting it up and making sure they were happy with their order, she left them to dig in. Gunner stood up.
“I’ll go get Tommy,” he said.
“No need,” Darla said with a chuckle, pointing to the monitor. “He has a sixth sense when it comes to food. Here he comes now.”
They all looked up, and sure enough he was making his way out of the game room. Gunner nodded and sat back down. They waited on Tommy to arrive before they started spreading the food around.
“How’d you do with the game?” Scope asked her son.
“Still hanging at my top score, but at least I’m not backtracking,” he said before stuffing a piece of pizza in his mouth.
“Takes practice to improve anything,” Gunner said.
Tommy finished chewing then grinned over at the man sitting next to him. “Have to get to practice for that to happen. We don’t come here real often. I don’t mind. It’s a lot of fun when I do get to play. I’d rather play ball instead.”
“Now ball is a lot better for you than standing or sitting around playing video games any day,” Gunner said. “What ball team are you on?”
Tommy didn’t miss a beat. “Oh, I don’t play on a team. Maybe next year. I just throw with some friends.”
Darla watched him smile at the two men before stuffing another huge piece of pizza into his mouth. She tried not to wince at both the fact she couldn’t afford for her son to play and the exceptionally poor table manners he was using. Well, it was pizza.
“Maybe we can throw the ball some to get you ready for next year,” Gunner said out of the blue.
Tommy’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. Darla had to blink back the tears at the obvious hope shining in his eyes at that offer.
Please don’t let them disappoint him. He doesn’t deserve that. I’ve already done that too many times to count.
“Really?” Tommy asked. “Would you really have time?”
“Sure, kid. Scope and I would love to toss the ball with you. If one of us can’t do it, the other one of us sure can. If your mom is okay with it, we could do that next Saturday or Sunday. Depends on if we’ve found a job yet as to what day,” Gunner told him.
Darla hadn’t heard the man say that many words at one time since she’d met him. There really was a lot more to him than she’d realized.
“Do you play football any?” Scope asked.
Tommy smiled and nodded. “We mess around with the football sometimes, but I’m not big enough to play at school yet. I’m hoping I get bigger so I can.”
“I’m sure you will with the way you’re putting away that pizza, young man,” she told her son. “Slow down and actually taste it before you swallow it whole.”
He grinned and took a small bite, acting as if he were some great food connoisseur he’d probably seen on one of the cooking shows one of his babysitters watched on TV. They all laughed.
“That was pretty good. I don’t think I could have done that,” Scope told him.
“I know you couldn’t have. You’d die laughing before you got the facial expression right,” Gunner told him.
“I’m finished, Mom. Can I go back to the game room now?” Tommy asked.
“Go ahead. Don’t stay too long. We’ll need to leave soon,” she told him.
“We should have asked first, but if we don’t have to work, will you be okay one or both of us playing catch with him?” Scope asked when Tommy had walked away.
“Yeah. He loves to play ball,” she told him. “Do you already have interviews set up for jobs?”
“Not yet. We’re going to start looking Monday morning,” Scope told her.
“What sort of jobs are you looking for? I may know of something you’d be interested in.”
“Well I’m trained in diesel mechanics, so that’s what I was thinking about doing if there are any openings around here,” Scope told her.
“Really? I happen to know there are. A friend of mine’s husband works for Carpenter Big Rigs just outside of town. They landed a new contract to service a fleet of trucks and don’t have enough help. I bet they’d snap you up in a second,” she told him.
“Hey, that’s great. I’ll check that out first thing Monday morning,” he said. “Thanks!”
“Think they would have room for two mechanics for now? I don’t think I want to do that long term, but I need to keep busy until I figure out what I want to do with myself,” Gunner said.
“By the way my friend was talking, they need at least two or three to keep on top of all of it. Her husband has been working seven days a week lately and getting tired.” She hoped this would work out for them. She had no way of knowing if they were hurting for money, but buying the house and then totally reworking it had to cost quite a bit of money.
“Sounds good,” Gunner said, looking across at his friend.
“So when are you off work next?” Scope asked her.
“Um, I’m off both jobs on Monday, but work the rest of the week. I’m working the weekend, too. If you decide to try to take Tommy to play catch, let me know ahead of time so I can set it up with the sitter,” she told them.
“No problem. We’ll talk to you before then. Once we’re both settled into working, we want to spend more time with you and Tommy, Darla. Is that okay with you?” Scope asked.
“Sure. I mean, I’d like that, too.” She felt as if she were on her first date, all tongue tied and nervous.
Gunner moved closer to her and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek before whispering in her ear. “We aren’t screwing around, Darla. We like you. I think Scope is already in love with you. Think about that until we can take you out again. We will be.”
Chapter Eight
“What did you say to her before we left?” Scope asked his friend.
“Just that we couldn’t wait to see her again.”
“How did she react when you kissed her? That was smooth, by the way,” Scope said with a chuckle.
Gunner shrugged. “She didn’t really. I think she was expecting it when I scooted closer.”
Scope hated it when his friend made him pull the words out of him. It frustrated him to no end.
“Look. Do you think she’s dealing with the two of us dating her okay? I couldn’t tell. She seemed fine with it, but I wasn’t sure.” Damn, he felt like an idiot wanting his best friend to reassure him.
Gunner shrugged
again. “I think she’s fine with it. Evidently it’s not as unusual as I thought it would be for her. With there already being several ménage families here, she doesn’t seem too freaked by it.”
“Yeah, she’s friends with Tessa and Taylor. She probably even knows Kelly. She’s Marx and Jackson Callahan’s wife. They own a ranch outside of town. Oh, and there’s Stacey. She’s married to Steve and Ben Tyler. Steve owns Heavy Trinkets in town, and Ben is the town’s veterinarian. We’ll be doing a good bit of business with Steve once we have Darla between us. He specializes in BDSM supplies and paraphernalia.” Scope was excited. Things were going much better than he’d ever hoped.
“Is that where you said we’d go and stock up on what we needed later?” Gunner asked him.
“Yeah. I thought we’d do that sometime next week once we had the house cleaned up and everything squared away. I want to make sure everything is ready for when we show her around.” Scope was having a difficult time containing his excitement. He’d been thinking about this ever since he’d seen her again at Rizzoli’s that day.
“I get the feeling she’s struggling more than she’s letting on. She’s working two jobs and the only reason I can come up with for why Tommy isn’t already playing ball is because she can’t afford the cost. He’d need a good glove and then there are the fees and the cost of good cleats.”
Gunner was probably right. Scope hadn’t thought about it like that. It would cost money for Tommy to be part of a team. Even if it were a school team, he’d still need the glove and cleats.
“Hell, Gunner. How are we going to keep from blowing this by trying to take care of her and Tommy too soon? I don’t want her in that store at all. Not one more night, but I can’t do anything about it without compromising our chances with her,” Scope said before punching the railing on the front porch.
“If you keep that up, we’re going to be rebuilding the damn porch before we can bring her over. Get a hold of yourself, man. We’ll figure out a way.”