Chapter Three

Laurel

“ You have everything? Lunch money, supplies, backpack? Are you wearing the new Spiderman undies I got you? Because clean undies are a must on the first day of school. Same goes for when you drive for the first time. Nothing like getting caught with your pants down around your ankles and wearing dirty drawers.”

“Geez, Mom,” Kai groaned. “It’s only school. I’m not leaving for an interstellar galactic war.”

“Well, you never know. The CIA did just confirm aliens a few months ago. Apparently, it’s anything can happen in 2024.”

“I’m good, Mom.” Kai looked up at me. “Are you good? You gonna be able to handle today? Nana is on a mission, after all.”

Now it was my turn to groan. “Yeah, I know. I’ve got that meeting with the owner of the country club and then there is the taste testing thing. I hate cake.”

“And don’t forget about the shop. There is a big delivery you need to sign for.”

“I remember,” I muttered, looking around as mothers and fathers happily dropped their kids off at Rosewood Elementary School.

Today was supposed to be my day to relax. The first day of school without the boys underfoot, driving me crazy or, in Nash’s case, forcing me to dip into my savings to bail his ass out of jail.

God, please throw me a bone and make that kid behave today.

“Don’t worry, Mom. As soon as school is over, I will help you sort through the boxes. We will have the shop shipshape and ready to open before this weekend’s grand opening. If you want, I can ask Cameron and Benny to help. They love comic books as much as I do.”

Smiling down at my son, I wondered what I did in a past life to get such a wonderful son. Kai was nothing like Nash. My boys were the complete opposite in every way.

When I moved to Rosewood last year, it was in the middle of the school year, which pissed Nash off big time. I knew he hated leaving his former school and all his friends, but I couldn’t afford to stay where we were without help. So, I sold everything that wasn’t nailed down and moved.

With a lot of hard work, I was almost ready to open my business, and with Kai’s help, it was going to be the best and more importantly, the only comic book store in the surrounding area.

According to Kai’s best friends, Cameron and Benny, they figured that with the town of Rosewood being a tourist destination and the constant influx of families with kids year around, kids would need something to occupy their time while their parents were off doing whatever they wanted. So, Kai, Cameron and Benny came up with the comic book store, and since I loved comics as much as they did, I thought it was a great idea.

I still couldn’t believe I was about to be a business owner.

I knew nothing about running a business.

I mean, I knew about buying shit. I was a pro at that, but running everything? Nope, that’s where Kai’s friends came in. Okay, well, mainly Cameron. With his guidance, he helped me formulate a viable business plan to submit to the city council and the Rosewood Bank.

And wouldn’t you know it? It got approved immediately. Apparently, mentioning Cameron’s name was all anyone needed to hear, because before I could say anything else, I got everything I asked for.

“KAI!”

Smiling, I watched as Kai’s friends, Cameron and Benny, ran over to greet my son. I loved those boys. They were instrumental in welcoming my son to the area. I didn’t know what I would do without them.

“Hi, Ms. Laurel!” The boys smiled up at me.

“Good morning, Cameron and Benny. Are you both ready for the first day of 1 st grade?”

“Yep!” they replied in unison as two pretty women walked over along with a very tall, gruff looking man, who was sporting a scowl.

“Boy, what did I say about running off?”

“Sorry, King.” Cameron smiled at the big guy like he hung the moon. “I wanted to say hi to Ms. Laurel before she left. She’s the new owner of the Comic Center. It’s going to be the bomb!”

“Oh, that’s right,” Benny’s mom, Sugar, said. “I wondered what was going on next door, but Benny’s been hush hush about it all summer.”

“It’s the perfect location, Mom.” Benny grinned. “Right next to the best ice cream shop in town. Told you it would be the perfect place, Ms. Laurel.”

“I suggested it,” Cameron groaned. “And it is perfect. I can’t wait till the comics arrive.”

“Oh,” Kai excitedly piped up. “They are arriving today!”

“SWEET!” Cameron responded, his face lighting up like a Christmas tree. “After school, can I go help Ms. Laurel with the comics? She’s gonna need me to help her sort and catalog them.”

“You’re grounded. Or have you forgotten that already?” King simply said, looking at the young boy.

“I can still be grounded and help Ms. Laurel. Think about it, King. I will be unboxing and unpacking hundreds of comics while cataloguing them into the system, then putting them on shelves. I won’t be able to read a single one. If that’s not punishment, I don’t know what is.”

King growled while the pretty woman next to him chuckled.

“He’s got a point, King. Cam loves reading comics.”

“I don’t know,” King hesitated, glaring at the young boy.

“Please, Mom,” Benny begged. “Can I go too? You will be next door. You can check and make sure we aren’t goofing off.”

“Yeah.” Cameron huffed, crossing his arms, glaring at King. “What Benny said.”

“While I wouldn’t dare interfere with punishment, I really could use their help. I wouldn’t even have the store if it wasn’t for them. Seems a shame if they couldn’t see all their hard work come to fruition,” I muttered, looking at the adults.

“What do you mean, all their hard work?” King asked.

“I wouldn’t have the store if it weren’t for Cameron and Benny. The boys were the ones who helped me formulate my business plan, and Cameron helped me fill out all the forms I needed to submit to city hall.”

“Cameron?”

“Sissy, I was only doing what you told me to do.”

“And what did I tell you to do?”

“You said it was my job to make people feel welcome. Well, Ms. Laurel wasn’t feeling very welcome. She couldn’t find a decent job and hated working nights, so Benny, Kai, and I came up with the idea of the comic book shop. We figured if she owned her own store, then she wouldn’t have to work nights anymore. We were helping.”

“You were ensuring you had easy access to something you enjoyed,” King clipped.

Cameron smirked. “Well, there’s that too. But come on, King. The only place for kids to hang out in town is at the bowling alley, and I’m sorry, Ms. Sugar, but Enigma doesn’t like it when I show up there. He’s always snarky and always hovering around me, like he doesn’t trust me or something. How he still owns that place is a mystery.”

The school bell rang.

“We will discuss this later,” Cameron’s sister said, escorting her brother into the school. Kai hurried to catch up, waving his hand while he did so.

“Bye, Mom!”

“Come on, Benny,” Sugar added. “Let’s go.”

Looking up at King, I said, “I’m sorry if I overstepped. I can get by without Cameron and Benny if they are in big trouble.”

“Did Cameron really help you get the comic book store?”

I nodded. “Yes, he did.”

Sighing, King looked around at all the kids running toward the building and conceded, “He can help you after school.”

“I promise not to keep them late, and I can drive them home before dinner.”

“I don’t know how to stay mad at him,” King muttered.

“What?”

King sighed. “Cameron. The kid is a pain in the ass, and just when I think I have him figured out, he goes and does something nice.”

“That’s kids for ya. I have two. Kai’s my youngest and the sweetest boy. Nothing like his older brother Nash, who is hellbent on snapping my last nerve in half.”

King looked at me. “That’s where I heard your name before. You are that Kai’s mom.”

“The one and only.”

“I heard Nash can be a pain in the ass.”

“If you mean his constant run-ins with the local sheriff, fighting in school, and flat-out refusing to listen to anything I say, then you would be correct.”

King chuckled. “Let me guess. Nash never listens to anything you say. Does whatever the fuck he wants, then bitches when shit goes sideways.”

Looking up at King, I questioned, “You’ve met Nash?”

“No. I just know someone exactly like him,” King said cryptically as he smirked, shaking his head. “Well, I need to get inside. I’ve got a meeting with Principal Kellerman regarding Cameron.”

“It’s only the first day of school.”

King groaned. “Yeah, and only ten more months to go before they parole Carnage for the summer again.”

“And the entire Country Club will be ours for the day?” my mom asked, looking around the large dining room, inspecting it with her keen eyes and expensive taste.

Rolling my eyes, I just sat my ass down in one of the over-stuffed chairs, kicked back, and plopped my feet up on the table.

Yeah, I know it wasn’t ladylike, but I never claimed to be a lady.

Nor was it my wedding.

Unlike my mom, I didn’t have to pretend to be someone I wasn’t.

I had other things to do today and not one single one of them was watching my mother schmooze the owner of the country club into giving her everything she wanted.

Poor sucker never stood a chance.

Flipping through my phone as my mom beguiled the man with her man-eating ways, I opened up my Candy Crush app and tried to get to the next level.

Stupid game was kicking my ass.

“Laurel Shay McDonald!”

I instantly cringed. I fucking knew the whole damn town heard my mother screech like a banshee. Bad enough she just full named me in public, but holy shit, how in the hell did it still have the same effect as it did when I was a kid?

Looking up from my phone, I smiled. “You bellowed, your majesty?”

“Real cute,” my mom clipped, shoving my booted feet off the white linen tablecloth. “Where are your manners, young lady?”

“Lost them, along with my virginity, when I was fifteen. You already know that.”

“Will you act your age?”

“Sure,” I said, putting my phone in my back pocket. “Just as soon as you do.”

If looks could kill, I would be minced meat.

“I should have brought your sisters instead of you. They don’t give me half the grief you do.”

“That’s because their heads are so far up their own asses, they can’t see the light.”

“Why do you have to be so crass?”

“It’s a gift.” I smiled, standing. “So, where did future daddy number seven run off to?”

“Mr. Stallworth went to go get me some menus, thank you very much. You know you are supposed to be helping me plan this wedding, not sitting around and doing nothing.”

“Mom, this is your sixth wedding. You could plan this shindig in your sleep. And the only reason I’m here is because you refused to watch your grandsons tonight if I didn’t show up.”

“Shush your mouth,” my mom whispered, fanning her expertly manicured hand in my face, looking around.

Slapping her hand away, I grimaced. “Watch the claws, woman!”

Her face turned an ugly shade of puce. “Will you lower your voice? I don’t want everyone to know.”

“Know what?”

“That I’m a grandmother.”

Laughing heartily, I looked at the woman and shook my head. “Woman, you are fifty-eight years old. The entire world knows you are a grandmother.”

“I’m fifty-two!”

“Yeah, five years ago.” I deadpanned.

“If you don’t behave and help me get through my list, then you, young lady, will not be going anywhere tonight.”

Narrowing my eyes, I shot back, “Nash is old enough to babysit, Mother.”

My mom smiled. “And who will protect poor Kai when Nash tries to drown him in the tub for just breathing?”

Shit.

She had a point.

Nash would do that, and no amount of bail money was enough to stop that fiasco.

Grumbling, I muttered, “I hate you.”

“Love you too.” My mom smiled, blowing me an air kiss. “Now get your ass in gear. We’ve got to go see the tailor about my dress. Stupid woman is trying to tell me I’m not a size four anymore.”

Throwing my head back, I groaned, muttering to myself as I reluctantly followed her out of the Rosewood Country Club. “Murder is bad. Murder is bad.”

“What was that, dear?”

“I bet your dress is RAD!”