I’ve asked myself more than once in the past few weeks why in the hell doesn’t Reese get shot of the bitch? Looking at his daughter, I have my answer. I continue my way toward them, crouching down to see her stash. “Did you get a bunch of candy?”
“I got a lot.” The gap-toothed red headed girl smiles up to me. “I even got twenty whole dollars in the golden egg that the Easter bunny hid in my Dad’s pocket.”
I reach out and tousle her hair. “That’s great, Pebbles.”
She scrunches up her nose. “My name’s not Pebbles. I’m Rosalie.”
“You look just like Pebbles Flintstone to me, so you’ll always be my Pebbles.”
Reese chuckles as he bends down to give his girl a kiss on the top of her head. “Why don’t you go show Mindy and Jenna your candy, yeah?”
“Sure, Dad,” she says, before giving him a quick hug around the neck. She then runs towards the picnic tables that all the old ladies are sitting at.
We watch her run away and laugh at her excitement. I look back towards Reese and smile. “She’s a cute little thing.”
“Sure is. I can’t believe she’s nearly ten.” He looks at me with a proud smile on his face. “I know she’s too old for all this Easter bunny shit. She doesn’t believe in it anymore, but I wanted to have just one more year.”
“I understand” I say, nodding.
“I saw that face you were wearing when you walked up. I know you didn’t come over here to talk about my kid. What’s up?”
I shake my head then tell him about my upcoming trip to Mateland. I ask him what his take is on the shit that’s going down with the Mateland MC. Reese ends up telling me everything that he knows about the MC, which isn’t much, but it’s enough to make my stomach clench. Underage girls, drugs, and trouble with the local police are just a few of the shit storms that the club’s dealing with. All in all, it’s too much shit for one person to handle.#p#分页标题#e#
“Fuck!” I say, running my hands through my hair. “What in the hell am I going to do?”
“Nothing on your own. You need to take a crew with you. Men that know how to use their fist, but aren’t afraid of using fire power when needed.”
“What about you?” I ask.
He looks towards his daughter, anxiety flashing across his face. “I’d go man, but things didn’t go very good the last time I left Rosalie alone.”
I take a second to consider my options then lay my plan out to him. “What if she stays with Mindy and Chipper while you’re gone? You could come back every few weeks and talk to her on the phone every day.”
“I could do that, but I don’t know if Mindy’s up for taking care of her.”
“Jenna will be there too. She’ll help.”
He finally nods in agreement. “That could work.”
Within ten minutes, we’ve got it all settled. Mindy quickly agreed, seeming to be excited to have another kid in the house. Chipper seemed a little reluctant at first, but he relented as soon as he saw the excitement on Mindy’s face.
Jenna walks up, holding Pebbles hand, just as Reese and Mindy are ironing out the detailing. “What’cha talking about?”
A huge smile crosses Mindy’s face as she explains. “Rosalie is going to be staying with us for a while.”
“That’s cool.” Jenna says, looking down to Pebbles. “You can share my room with me.”
Pebbles seems excited about staying with Jenna, but her apprehension comes through when she looks at her dad. “Where are you going?”
Reese lays his hands on her head. “I’m going with Kidd on a road trip.”
“How long will you be gone?”
He crouches down in front of her. “I’m not sure, but I’ll come home to visit you as much as I can.”
She continues to question her dad, but I don’t hear a word she says. Instead, I’m stuck on Jenna’s reaction. She looks like she’s about to cry. It’s the same look she had on her face earlier. I see Mindy grab her hand and give it a squeeze, and I know it’s more than just a piece of dust in her eye.
I walk over to her and drop my arm around her shoulder, pulling her into my side. “What’s wrong, baby doll?”
“Where are you going?”
I have to tell her, because I know if I don’t, someone else will. I hate having to bring up bad memories for her. “I’m heading up to Mateland.”