Or as Doc might say, in her wise tone, the road to happiness is always under construction.
Namaste.
***
The phone in Gash’s office rang just as he was leaving to meet the guys in the kitchen for a beer. It was ringing straight from the caller since nobody was manning the front desk.
He stood by the door, letting it ring twice more to see if anyone else picked up. No luck.
Sighing, he lifted the receiver to his ear and tried to sound professional. “Lake Haven Lodge, Gash speaking.”
“Good. Just the person I was looking for.” Rigor’s voice echoed across the line like he was calling from a metal box. “What the hell did you do to your brother, man? He can’t shift. None of the cats can. I mean, what the hell kind of shit did you get into up there, Gash?”
“I told you I’d take him out of commission. I did. We’re done. Why are you calling here?”
“I… I just… wanted to tell you, I’m dealing with Aaron Redman myself.”
“Good.”
“And you and me… we’re even.”
“Yeah.”
“And… I don’t want to ever see you around here again. Got it?”
“Got it. And, you know, same goes for you. Come around the Ouachitas and you’ll suffer like the Alley Cats do. Understand?”
“Completely,” Rigor rumbled out.
Gash felt another measure of relief pile onto his shoulders. Fear was sometimes the best defense. Rigor being afraid of Ouachita was just another benefit of taking Felix out of play.
“And Rigor…”
“Yeah?”
“Remember what I said about changing your life for the better. If ever you had a chance, it’s now.”
The line was silent for a beat.
“Yeah,” Rigor murmured. “I’ll keep that in mind. Have a nice life, Gash.”
And then the call disconnected.
Gash set the phone back in the cradle and stared at it. The conversation with Rigor felt like another nail in the coffin of his old life. He was well and truly done with the shadow clan, with the human mob, with the Junkyard Dogs and the Alley Cats. It was goodbye to the part of his life that led him here, to the place he belonged.
Turning, he strolled down the hall to the kitchen. Some straggler guests were still having dinner in the dining room and as he passed, he gave them a friendly salute. Pushing through to the kitchen, he saw the party had started without him.
Renner, Eagan, Magic, and Owyn leaned against the counter, each nursing a half full bottle of brew while Ryan and Mason bounced pennies off the counter trying to make them land in a red cup.
“Hey, Gash,” Renner drawled. “Thought maybe you’d gotten lost looking for the kitchen and found it in Bailey’s mouth. Underneath her tongue maybe?”
The others snickered, but really, it was bad as far as jokes go. A smile tweaked Gash’s lips as he reached in the cooler for a beer. Renner, damn lightweight.
“Naw, Bailey’s at yoga. I can’t go there.”
“Aw, yes,” Owyn nodded. “The sacred weekly yoga meeting.”
“I know it. Know it well.” Magic swigged from his bottle. “‘There shall be no sex right now,’” he said in an authoritative mocking tone, wagging his finger the entire time. “‘I need to meet the girls for yoga.’”
“Damn,” Eagan muttered. “You get that too?”
Ryan raised one hand high while eyeing his next penny shot. “Me too. ‘Yoga this, yoga that. Yoga is good for the body and mind. You should try it sometime.’ Big hell no to that. I’ll stick with lifting weights.”
Gash chuckled, remembering his own yoga experience. Except he didn’t regret a goddamn minute of it. Later, Bailey had even showed him that ass-in-the-air move. It was called the dolphin or some shit. And yes, he’d totally taken advantage of her experience holding the form, and fucked her like that.
Yoga had his total and complete support. Yoga for president. Yoga for life.
“Dude. Yoga is awesome,” Mason said, tossing Gash a pointed stare.
Gash tipped his bottle in agreement. “Respect the yoga.”
“Oh, yeah,” Magic said, eyeing Mason. “I forgot you do that shit too.”
“Damn straight,” he murmured, lining up another shot.
The guys exchanged a glance, silently agreeing to mock Mason to the ends of the earth. With a nod, they gathered around him, forming a circle, palms upward, middle finger and thumb making a ring.
“Ohmmmmm,” they hummed in unison, unable to keep it up for long before they burst into raucous laughter.
Mason nodded, a wry smile on his face. “Aw, yeah. Laugh it up boys. But the yoga gods shine on me. I’ve seen the light and I’ll never stop yoga-ing the hell out of life. Nama-fucking-ste.”