Good Girl (Playroom) (31 page)

“Our local hero, Officer Devon, was a big drinker until a few weeks ago. Now he won’t even take a sip.”

“Whoa…” For the first time ever, Violet gives me the
I don’t know you
look, and it’s mixed with one I’ve never see before-
total badass.

“I was never too fond of the drink myself.
I’m good for a taste now and again.” Kieren takes a hearty drink. I watch in fascination as he swallows it’s fuzzy, metallic goodness. I hadn’t realize that Devon was cold-turkeying it, too. I knew Devon was avoiding it for his job. But his white knuckles and clenched fingers tell me that Malcolm, Robbie, Isis, and Auggie performed an intervention and neither of us even knew it.

“I’d back off,
Kieren. Right now you’re holding the only drink in the Sahara and it’s been almost three months of thirst,” Malcolm warns his son as he walks into the living room. He plucks the bottle from Kieren’s hand and leaves the room. My eyes follow the bottle until it disappears out of sight. I meet Devon’s eyes and we share a guilty look filled with greedy thirst.

“Raven,
” Malcolm bellows down the hall, “Violet’s here.” He falls into a recliner and heavily sighs. Malcolm exhaustedly closes his eyes and runs a hand through his dark hair.

Rae comes out of hiding
, looking thoroughly put out. Half of her hair is wavy and the other half is straight. Her hairbrush is clenched in her fist in preparation for use as a weapon.

“Fine,” Rae
heavily sighs. “Make yourself useful and help me tame my hair.” She leaves the entryway, knowing her partner in crime will follow.

Violet drags her feet and scowls at me, but she
follows Rae without protest.

“I swear to God, if the next four years don’t go by in a blur, I’m
going to eat my service pistol,” Malcolm groans. “I wasn’t meant to have a daughter without a mother. I have no fucking clue what to do with Raven and she gets worse by the second. If Isis wasn’t breathing, I’d swear that Raven was her reincarnation. And if my house wasn’t filled with kids, two of which are recovering alcoholics, I’d drain a bottle of whiskey and sleep for a week.”

“Now
’s probably not the best time to enact part two of the Mason/Webster merge,” I whisper in Devon’s ear.

“Mmm…” he murmurs. “I think we’ve been merging those two families nicely for the past week.” I blush bright red and look away.

Kieren rolls his eyes at my embarrassment and walks to his dad. “Bad day?” Kieren asks Malcolm as he rubs his father’s shoulders.

“The worst- a Domestic Violence case. I could deal with it if it wasn’t for the little old ladies calling every night saying someone walked past their houses or the neighbor kids are too loud. Bullshit every day.”

“Hey, I’m the one who has to deal with those old women and they have roaming hands,” Devon says with a shudder.

“No shi
t, the rookie gets the bad jobs,” Malcolm’s incredulity is heavily laced with sarcasm. “At least they give you baked goods. All I hear is the bitching.” Malcolm groans when Kieren hits a sore spot on his neck. “Ah,” he says in relief. “Your mom always did this for me. Thank you, son.”

“I remember,” Kieren
quietly murmurs.

I give Devon a look of confusion.
Is this how Kieren usually is?
I get a nod and a shrug in reply. Must be Kieren reserves his atrocious behavior for girls sixteen and up, and is pleasant to the rest of the population.

“So… Dad, Willow would like to talk to you in private,”
Kieren uses as a segue into our plans.

“Does she now… What do you need, Willow?”
Malcolm doesn’t open his eyes or move away from his son’s massaging hands. It’ll take a lot to get Malcolm out of that chair.

“It’s private, s
ir. We have an idea to solve your wife issues.” I bluntly say.

Malcolm growls at me and
Kieren holds him in his chair. I instantly seek Devon for safely.

“Girl, please
, for the love of all that is holy, never say that word to anyone but Augustus. Bad things happen when you say that word. Give me a moment to collect myself, and then we’ll talk.” Malcolm recloses his pale blue eyes and sighs. “Rub my scalp,” he murmurs to Kieren.

***

“Spill it,” Malcolm commands. “I’ve known you little shits were up to something for weeks. We’ve been curious to figure it out. You willingly hanging around Kieren was the tipoff.”

Malcolm lean
s on his footboard with his arms crossed over his chest and his legs crossed at the ankles. I look him over. I don’t know what Clover likes in a man. Her whole life was Sam. Malcolm has captivating blue eyes. His hair is black instead of Sam’s chocolate brown. Sam’s face was soft and kind, with big chipmunk cheeks. Malcolm’s features are rugged and manly. He looks his age of late-thirties, whereas, Clover is like me and looks a lot younger than she is. I guess that would be a plus for Malcolm. I could see where they would find the other attractive.

“You finished checking me out, Girl, or do you want m
e to take my shirt off?” Malcolm sternly asks in a gruff husky voice.

“I…” I open my mouth and close it a half dozen times in ind
ecision. I don’t want to see Malcolm shirtless, but I kinda do at the same time. Is he really willing to do it?

Malcolm
smirks at me and chuckles. I close my eyes to the sound that is so familiar to me. He laughs deeper at my reaction and I shiver. I swear Malcolm and Auggie practice that laugh. I wonder at what age guys go from the boy laugh to the man laugh. I look forward to hearing it out of Devon’s chest.

“You
said something about a wife?” Malcolm arches a sinister black brow above his twinkling blue eye. Oh yeah… Clover will like Malcolm. I see the resemblance to Isis and Rae. I also see where Devon and Kieren get their drool-worthy faces.

“I noticed that you’re having a difficult time of it. I… I have someone in min
d. She’s a real good mom. She’s the best cook in world. I don’t know much more about her because she’s usually yelling at me, but I know she works hard and tries real hard.” I bashfully look at the floor.

Malcolm
laughs for such a long time that my toes curl in my sneakers and my hair stands on end. I have a feeling that laugh is the equivalent of me saying sir to a dominant male.

“Girl, I know Clover better than yo
u do, and that is just sad.” Malcolm shakes his head in amusement, but it causes tears to prickle my eyes.

“
I know. I’m a bad person,” I shamefully mutter. “I’ve been trying lately. I’m doing this to make Clover happy. I’m gonna ask her to teach me to cook so we can spend some time together. I thought I’d have the girls join me. Seth already knows how to cook because he’s glued to Clover most of the time.”

“Hey now,” Malcolm
murmurs. “That’s what kids do to their parents. My oldest didn’t start seeing me as a person until they were teenagers. I doubt Raven ever will. I’ll just be her daddy for life. It’s good that you see Clover as a woman rather than a mom.” He pauses for a heartbeat. “I grew up with Sam,” he sadly admits.

“You knew
Sam,” I say in awe and Malcolm softly smiles at me.

“Um-hum, I did. I miss that
pretty bastard every day. I know Clover real well, too. Well, not since school. When Clover ran off to college Sam and I got closer.”

“So you’ll do it,” I
excitedly exclaim.

“I’l
l think about it.” Malcolm cautiously replies.

“I know Clover
can be difficult to be around, and that scowl makes her look grumpy. But I promise she’s kind and pretty.” I appeal in desperation.

“I know exactly how pretty Clover is,” Malcolm
laughs. He tips up my chin with a fingertip and looks at my face. He eyes track every one of my features. “You look just like your parents,” he murmurs and holds my face between his palms as if I’m made of spun-glass.

I freeze for a second and relax. Auggie and Robbie trust Malcolm with their lives. He created all of those great kids. He won’t hurt me.

“You have your dad’s hair and almost all of his features. Your lips come from your mom… and your size,” he muses in a lulling and hypnotic tone. I’m not sure Malcolm’s looking at me or imagining someone else, because my mom has blonde hair and blue eyes and is a normal sized woman. None of the family got her hair, and only Clover inherited her eyes.

Malcolm drops his hands and steps back. I watch as his eyes clear from
the fog of some distant memory. “Clover and Sam were very close. I loved my wife, but it wasn’t the same for us. It sickens me that someone so full of life was taken in his prime. Sam was so vital and alive, and it was a huge tragedy for you to lose him. Sam loved you kids so much. That’s why I said I’d think about it. I can’t just walk up to Clover like it’s the
Playroom
and take her. I have planning to do, but I want to do it.”

“Are you going to have a difficult time because of your wife?” I’d asked Devon and
Kieren if their dad dates. They both said he uses the Playroom as an outlet and that’s it.

“I will, but it’s b
een seven years. I know that my boys keep secrets well. My wife was weak. No matter the support I provided, she wouldn’t take it. Camille thrived in her misery and blamed me. If Camille would’ve loved her kids more than her trauma, she’d be here today. I hate her so much sometimes that I’d kill her myself if she hadn’t already done the deed.”

I
gape up at Malcolm in horror.

“I didn’
t mean that,” Malcolm mumbles. “Yeah… yeah- I did,” he strongly admits. “Only a coward leaves her children. Camille left me four kids without a mother. She couldn’t deal with her trauma, but left two boys to deal with it. We lose someone like Sam who deserves to live, and a woman like Camille cowardly takes her own life.”

Shock infuses me. I stare at Malcolm gape-mouthed. The public thinks Mrs. Mason was killed during a
home invasion. I want to hug Chief Mason. I want to run to the living room and hold both wounded boys. I don’t know what happened, but this is what plagues Devon and Kieren.

“I’m sorry, Willow. I’ve never said that out loud. Please don’t
repeat that to anyone.” Malcolm listlessly mutters.

“Okay,” I swallow.

“I…I’ve avoided relationships because of this shit. I’ll go slowly with Clover. She’ll probably turn me down, so don’t get your hopes up.” His blue eyes drill into my brown. “Thank you for helping my son. Devon was driven career-wise but hopeless in everything else. You and he were both walking Zombies. You’re good for each other. Thank you!” Malcolm clasps my hands in one of his and squeezes, and then leads me to the hallway.

“Wait,” I
abruptly say. “You picked someone for Kieren, too, didn’t you?” Malcolm’s devious smile is his only answer.

“Who?”

“No, Willow.” Malcolm shakes his head and smirks. “It was easier with you and Devon. You were friends, and he had a crush on you. His issues with sex made his crush on you more important than the one you had on Kieren. We’ve carefully weighed every possible trait and chose for them. Devon and you were going to come in contact with each other outside of the
Playroom
. Your naughty detour didn’t upset our plans too much. But if you knew who we chose for Kieren you’d upset the balance on accident. Just allow nature to take its course.” Malcolm pulls me to the hallway.

“Answe
r this question at least. It better not be a Prynne,” I growl at him.

“G
irl, that wasn’t a question.” Malcolm smirks at me the same way Isis always does. I don’t know if that means Kieren’s match is a Prynne or not… and that was exactly the point of that devious smirk.

The second I enter the living room
, I run up and embrace Kieren. It’s a compulsion I can’t stop. He tenses for a split-second, and then hugs me back. He’s soft and warm, and I’d do anything to make him not act like an asshole, because in reality he is a very good boy.

Kieren
lets me hold him for a long time, while Malcolm’s sharp gaze pierces me. I meet Malcolm’s eyes and he flashes me a Cheshire cat smirk- ridiculously proud of himself. That smirk answers my question- it’s a Prynne alright…

A flutter of lips on the nape of my neck and a hand on the small of my back turns me into Devon’s embrace.

~Chapter Twenty-Seven~

“Tell me again, why exactly
did I need an escort to drop off my twins?” I mumble in the dark confines of Robbie’s SUV. The amount of kid shuffling I’ve been doing lately meant I needed a bigger ride. My tiny
Beetle
only held two people. Rob has an older
Explorer
that I use on days when it’s more than Seth and me. Robbie didn’t mind since he and Auggie pretty much make me their bitch anyway. I drive Auggie’s pickup and Rob’s SUV more often than my car. I’m the grunt- I play goffer. Whether it’s tweens or lumber, I’m always hauling something around.