Breathe (41 page)

Except Misty for reasons he couldn’t avoid, Chace had never taken a woman to meet his mother not only because there wasn’t a woman he’d had that was important enough to meet her but also because his Ma would work herself up about it. Chace took great pains to avoid working his mother up even before his life went to shit for the ultimate pain he took to avoid just that. An unnecessary meeting with a woman not important enough for it wasn’t worth it.

Faye Goodknight would most definitely be meeting Valerie Keaton. Chace already knew this. But, until that moment, he hadn’t been dreading it.

Now he was.

He barely got his ass in the couch and his woman arranged in the curve of his arm before Robbie was standing in front of him.

This time, he smacked his hand on Chace’s knee and demanded, “Badge!”

Chace uncurled his arm from around Faye, leaned forward and pulled his badge out of back pocket. As he was doing this, Liza handed Faye a glass of wine and his beer.

But she also leaned in and whispered low but loud enough Chace could hear, “My baby sister finally got laid.”

He felt Faye stiffen at his side even as he felt his own gut get tight, sensing her embarrassment.

Robbie, missing this or more likely focused, snapped, “Badge!” again with another smack on Chace’s knee.

Liza went on, “Written all over you, babe.
Awesome
.”

Liza moved away, grinning to herself and making big eyes at Faye.

When he noted Faye was glaring at her sister with narrowed eyes, deciding to be annoyed, not embarrassed, Chace decided for her sake to ignore it and concentrate on her nephew.

So he flipped open his badge for Robbie who instantly tore it out of his hand.

Faye handed him his beer and muttered, “Too bad you didn’t bring your gun.”

Yep, annoyed.

And cute.

Chace grinned.

Robbie heard Faye and agreed with, “Yeah! Gun!”

“No, gun, Robbie. Shut your trap about it, kid, jeez,” Boyd ordered, coming in carrying a bottle of beer and taking a seat in one of the four armchairs scattered around the space. This gave Chace a clue why Faye, who lived alone, had more armchairs than anyone he knew.

Robbie whirled on his father and fired back, “Shut
your
trap.”

Boyd’s face changed to the Dad look no kid wanted to see and his voice was rumbling when he said one word.

“Robert.”

Robbie scrunched up his face then wisely stopped giving attitude, dropped his head and got lost in his study of Chace’s badge.

At this point, from nowhere, Jarot popped up in front of him.

“You ever shoot anyone?” he asked.

“No,” Chace answered.

Jarot looked crestfallen and Robbie’s head snapped up showing he thought his brother’s line of questioning was more interesting than Chace’s badge.

Jarot perked up again and asked, “You ever shoot
at
anyone?”

Since he had, albeit only with the intent to warn thus miss, Chace looked at Boyd who now had his wife sitting on the arm of his chair and he got the entire story with one glance.

Liza was sipping her wine and gazing at her son as if he just masterfully played an entire piece by Chopin on the piano and did it using nothing but the power of his mind.

Boyd had his eyes aimed at the ceiling.

No help there.

Faye, luckily, chimed in.

“Jarot, honey, maybe this conversation can happen when you’re twenty-five.”

Chace felt his lips tip up but Jarot just looked to his aunt, back to Chace and didn’t give up.

“You ever
get
shot?”

“No,” Chace answered.

“Shot at?” Jarot persevered.

Chace was silent because he had. This was the time he shot back as a warning, missed, scared the wired junkie out of his mind, as was his intent, and the junkie dropped his gun. This he was not going to tell Jarot
or
Faye.

Faye read his silence and her body got tight beside him so he lifted his arm and curled it around her again.

“Jarot,” she said softly when he had her tucked close.

Jarot again changed tactics. “Arrested anyone?”

“Yes,” Chace answered.

“
Lots
of them?” Jarot kept up his interrogation.

“My fair share,” Chace told him.

“
Cool,
” he whispered.

“Hey,” Robbie spoke up and Chace looked at him to see his head tipped to the side and his face screwed up. “Why you holdin’ Auntie Faye?”

“Because she’s my girlfriend,” Chace replied.

His upper lip scrunched up into his nose and he said with disgust, “
Auntie Faye
is your
girlfriend?
”

“Robert,” Boyd clipped and Robbie whirled on his father.

“She’s gross!” he shouted then immediately shared the reasons behind his opinion. “She gives sloppy kisses!”

“Only to you, honey,” Liza told him and her dancing eyes went to Faye before she went on, “Hopefully, she gives Detective Keaton other kinds of kisses.”

“All kisses are sloppy,” Robbie retorted with authority then finished, “
and
gross.”

“Trust your father on this, boy, they aren’t,” Boyd informed him with true authority that Robbie completely missed.

“They are,” Robbie disagreed. “I know ‘cause Molly keeps givin’ ‘em to me at recess and they’re gross.”

“Molly’s Robbie’s
girlfriend,
” Jarot shared then looked to his brother. “
Molly and Robbie, sittin’ in a tree, k… i… s… s… i… n… g
,” he sang, grinning an evil kid grin at his brother.

Chace was surprised that song endured but apparently it had.

Robbie leaned into his brother, face screwed up again but a different way this time, “Shut up, Jarot!”

“
You
shut up, Robbie,” Jarot shot back, leaning in.

“I’m having all girls,” Faye whispered and Chace swallowed down a chuckle but did it on an arm squeeze for Faye.

Then he called, “Yo,” and both boys looked at him. “Robbie, give me back my badge.” Robbie looked ready to decline this order until Chace removed his arm from around Faye again. After a quick head to toe of Chace whereupon he correctly ascertained Chace could take him, he then thought better of it and jerked Chace’s badge his way. Chace took it but didn’t flip it closed. Instead he showed it to them and asked, “This cool to you?”

Both boys nodded their agreement avidly, eyes aimed at his badge.

Chace flipped it closed and got their eyes aimed at his face.

“You’d be right. It is. Man has this, he doesn’t say girls are gross and he also doesn’t tell anyone to shut up. Even his brother. Even when his brother is teasin’ him. It’s cool because he’s cool. You don’t get one of these unless you can be cool. Now, can you two be cool?”

“I can be cool,” Jarot offered immediately and Chace reckoned he could but Robbie clearly had to think on this awhile.

“Robbie?” Chace prompted and Robbie looked at him.

Then Robbie proved he might be a cuss but he was an honest one.

“Maybe,” he answered.

“How about you be that way just for tonight?” Chace suggested. “No more callin’ your Aunt Faye gross.”

Robbie’s head tipped to the side again and he sought clarification, “Can I call her gross if she kisses me?”

“No,” Chace answered.

Robbie’s mouth moved around for a bit before he asked, “Can I fight with Jarot?”

“No,” Chace repeated.

Robbie’s mouth moved around some more as Chace buried his urge to laugh.

“Well, I’m bein’ cool,” Jarot put in at this point, back straight, voice haughty, looking down his nose at Robbie. “’Cause if I am, Dee-tetive Keaton’ll put a good word in for me when I become a cop. And the first person I’m arresting is,” he leaned toward his brother and finished, “
you.
”

“You aren’t arresting me!” Robbie shouted.

“I am!” Jarot shouted back.

“Jesus,” Boyd muttered.

“What’s with the shouting?” Silas shouted, walking into the room carrying his own beer. He stopped and looked down at his grandsons. “What? A man gets his shoutin’, fightin’ kids outta the house only to have his
kids’
shoutin’, fightin’ kids come into it? Yeesh. Give an old man a break,” he said to the boys.

“But Jarot said he’s gonna arrest me,” Robbie defended himself.

“He probably will, you don’t clean up your act,” Silas returned. “A good time to start is now. Your grandmother’s settin’ the table. She could use some help.”

Faye made a move to get up at the same time Liza did but it was Faye who said quietly, “I’ll help, Dad.”

“You’ll sit your keister down, visit with your old man and the boys will help their grandma,” Silas returned then he looked down at Jarot and Robbie, his brows up, “Boys?”

Jarot shuffled out.

Robbie hesitated.

“Robert,” Boyd warned.

Robbie shot his Dad a rebellious look before he shuffled out too.

Chace returned his badge to his pocket and put his arm around Faye again.

Silas settled into another armchair.

“Just so you know, she might be quiet and she’s always been cute as a button but both of these hid the demon within,” Silas informed him, not leading into it even a little and Chace did his best not to stare. “There’s a temperament behind that hair, son. So, my advice, don’t catch it from Faye.”

“Totally,” Liza agreed.

“You guys,” Faye put in, shifting uncomfortably at his side.

“Don’t act all innocent,” Liza told her then looked at Chace, “She chased me around the house with scissors.”

“I did not!” Faye returned heatedly. “
You
did that to
Jude.
”

“You
so
chased me around with scissors.
Jude
chased
you
with the fire poker.”

He felt Faye turn to look up at him, he gave her his gaze and she confirmed, “This actually happened.”

“And she actually chased me with scissors,” Liza took their attention by repeating.

“Liza, I did
not,
” Faye retorted.

“You totally did,” Liza fired back.

Faye gave up and tried something new. “You were a hair puller.”

“So were you,” Liza returned.

“Of course I was, because
you
were. It called for retaliatory measures and that was my only choice,” Faye replied.

Liza gave up on Faye and looked to Chace. “She also mixed all my makeup together.”

Faye didn’t give up on Liza and leaned toward her. “That was because you told Danny I had a crush on him.”

Liza’s eyebrows shot up. “So?”

“I didn’t have a crush on Danny!” Faye shot back. “I had a crush on his brother Dillon! Danny thought I liked him so he kissed me
in front of
Dillon
.
” She flounced back in the couch, throwing out a hand, “And there went my shot at Dillon.”

“Like you’d take that shot,” Liza muttered the God’s honest truth.

“No, but if Dillon had, I would have taken
that,
” Faye returned on an out and out lie.

“Now I’m glad I got boys,” Boyd said to no one.

“Who’s Dillon?” Chace asked Faye and, for some reason, Liza found this hilarious and he knew this because she burst out laughing.

“Nobody,” Faye muttered, glaring across the room at her sister.

“Cutest boy in school,” Liza answered and Chace looked back to her. “Or
was
. Now he’s got a beer belly the size of Texas, is thirty-one years of age and is working on wife three, kid five and still thinks his stuff doesn’t stink because he was captain of the football team fourteen years ago.”

Jesus, Chace knew the guy.

“Dillon Baumgarner?” he asked.

“You know him?” Liza asked back.

He did, unfortunately. The guy was a dick who, Liza was right, had a huge gut and thought his shit didn’t stink. Regrettably, he was able, with a bewildering frequency, to convince women of this fact. He went through them like water, whether he was committed to one legally or not. This wasn’t the only reason he was a dick. He was just a dick.