21.

Z OEY

“In other news, residents say they witnessed a miracle in Rojo, Texas. Three raging assholes, formerly known to be enemies of not just each other, but at least the majority of the entire town, were seen traveling together on motorcycles headed west toward the canyon. There were no visible weapons and the number of hostages is still unknown at this time. Back to you at the news desk, Zoey. Stay safe out there.”

I glared at Janis as I watched her sit down across from me and hold out an imaginary microphone.

I decided to play her game and cleared my throat before I said, “Thanks for your report, Janis. Your bias on the issue notwithstanding, I’d like to point out that multiple people have reported that a prominent baker in town has the personality of a wolverine and . . .” I was interrupted by at least four women around the table who raised their fists and yelled, “Wolverines!” but I ignored them and continued, “A list of mental illnesses that professionals have rarely seen grouped together with morals that can only be described as gray, one of the most boring colors on the color wheel, which makes sense because even her face is structured so that it’s easily forgettable other than the scowl which has been known to terrify children and cause the elderly to die before their time.”

Lark and Rain both crowed with laughter and I heard Vivi and Evi snickering. Bella and Cydney, who were attending by video, didn’t even try to hide their laughter. I glanced at the screen to see them wiping tears off their faces as they cackled like hens.

“Now, can we discuss new business, or are we going to rehash old hags . . . I mean old business?” I asked.

“I’m younger than you are, asshole,” Janis retorted. “And I’m not undiagnosed, the meds just haven’t taken hold yet.”

“I’m ‘bout to take a chokehold if you don’t stop talking shit about my man,” I threatened.

“Bring it, Dizzy!”

“You’re such a bitch.”

Janis giggled before she asked, “I know, right?”

“Moving on!” Lark said loudly to catch our attention.

“How is progress going at The Flower Patch?” Janis asked cheerfully, as if we hadn’t just insulted each other.

“It’s going really well! They leveled the ground for the store and have already laid the utility lines. We’ll be getting concrete in the next few days, and then they’ll put the building up.”

“That’s awesome,” Janis said happily. “I need to come look around again soon. I’m sorry I haven’t been out in the last few days, but I’ve got some new ladies in my program who have needed a little extra TLC.”

“Did you find someone to give it to them?” Lark asked. When Janis flipped her off, she grinned and said, “You know we love you, Janis.”

“Whatever.”

“How is your health, Zozo?” Cydney asked. “Are you still going to therapy?”

Before I could answer, Bella joined in with her own question and asked, “And are you still dizzy, or is Janis just being a bitch?”

“I only go to therapy twice a week now because I can do a lot of it at home. All the physical labor I’m putting in every day is really helping, too, and yes, I still get dizzy. They seem to think that might never go away, but I do have exercises that seem to help some.”

“I saw that shirtless Garvey picture that you sent to the group. I’ll bet you’re getting plenty of exercise,” Cydney teased.

“That was not meant to be a pin-up. I was asking if anyone had ideas on how to make mosquito bites stop itching.”

“I thought there was something weird about his skin!” Bella said in shock. “How did he get so many mosquito bites?”

I couldn’t help but giggle. Vivi looked at me warily and said, “Nothing good ever comes from that laugh.”

“Oh, I was coming, that’s for sure, and so was he, but then we realized that the mosquito spray he put on didn’t help at all after he removed his shirt and pushed his pants down for easy access. We had at least a million mosquitos dining on Garvey while I was enjoying him too.”

“No!” Vivi said through her laughter.

Evi snorted as she laughed and finally choked out, “That’s why his skin looked like that! Oh my God.”

“So, just for future reference, ladies, if you’re gonna partake in naked fun time while in the great outdoors, you should douse all of yourself in mosquito spray.”

“Please tell me there was at least one mosquito bite on his nuts,” Janis begged. “Please. That would be epic.”

“Nothing on the twig or berries, thank God, but he had bites from his scalp down to mid-thigh, at least on the back. His front was covered, so . . .”

“How was it covered but . . .” Rain’s voice trailed off as her eyes grew wide, and then a smile lit up her face.

I wiggled my eyebrows at Rain and said, “It was touching me, and you know mosquitos don’t like me.”

“Shit,” Lark said with a chuckle. “That’s horrible and fantastic at the same time.”

“Before we start talking about business, I have to know how my wedding flowers are coming along,” Bella said cheerfully. “Are they beautiful yet?”

“Right now, they’re still seeds.” I told her with a shake of my head. “I’ll have to plan it just perfectly to get them ready in time. Not that I feel any pressure or anything.”

“No pressure. Whatever you manage to grow will work out just fine.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to go with an actual florist, Bella?”

“There’s going to be press covering this wedding whether I want them to or not. I think it would be the perfect way to get the word out about the good you’re doing in Rojo in the hopes that people might see the need for places like yours and get an idea of how to start their own or even throw some money your way to help in your endeavors.”

“And I thank you for that, but believe me, the pressure is on.”

“You’ve always been magical in the garden, Zozo. I have faith you’ll have plenty of beautiful flowers for my wedding.”

“I hope so. Unfortunately, I don’t live under power lines or next to a nuclear reactor, so they’re gonna take some time to grow. I’m going to have to carefully plan and pray that they’re ready on time.”

“You can do it,” Lark said helpfully.

“No need to worry this early, Zozo. We’ve got a few months left.”

“I can’t believe you’re dragging that man down here to Texas to get married when you could be flying all of us to New York to attend a big wedding surrounded by hoity-toity rich folks and mobsters,” Janis complained.

“He doesn’t give a shit about the snobs attending the wedding, he just wants me to be happy. The way for me to do that is to be surrounded by my family and friends, and believe me, New York is not ready for Rojo to invade, and there’s no way in hell we could ever get most of the older men to come up here. You know how they are.”

“Don’t we?” Rain asked with a sigh. “Can you imagine my dad in New York?”

“Or mine?” Lark asked. She grimaced before she said, “It would be like a live action remake of Godzilla versus Kong.”

We all laughed at the image, and I said, “Let’s get down to business, ladies. The sooner we get finished, the sooner we can take a nice long ride.”

“You just want to find Garvey so you can take a different kind of ride,” Cydney teased.

“Maybe.”

“Definitely!” Cydney grinned before she said, “I may not be able to ride with y’all today, but I just got released this morning, so I’m going to be doing some riding of my own.”

“Where is the squidlet?” Rain asked. “I need a peep.”

“He’s napping right now, but if y’all can manage to keep your traps closed for a few minutes, I’ll take my laptop in there and give you a quick view.”

“Lips are zipped,” Janis said. “Show us the squish.”

“For such a cranky person, you sure do like babies,” Cydney said as the view on the screen jostled as she got up and walked around.

“They don’t talk, and they don’t irritate me. Of course I love babies!”

“When you talk, it irritates me,” I teased.

“Shh,” Cydney chided before she opened a door. Finally, the camera focused, and she whispered, “Isn’t he perfect?”

He absolutely was.

◆◆◆

GARVEY

“Do you want a turn in the ring? I’m sure Zane won’t mind going a few rounds with you,” my cousin Hawk said with a grin before he turned to watch his brothers, Phoenix and Crow, try and kill each other in what had quickly gone from a normal sparring match to a no-holds-barred fight to the death. Of course, the fact that they were laughing while they beat the shit out of each other wasn’t strange at all if you considered their last name. “I’m surprised he’s been nice so far.”

“He wants to beat me like a dirty rug, but he’s been able to resist.”

“I wonder why.”

“Probably because I refuse to fight back.”

Hawk looked at me like I’d sprouted horns before he asked, “Why? Better yet, how? I didn’t realize that was in your genetic makeup.”

I shrugged before I said, “I’ve seen enough violence to know that adding to it isn’t going to make anything better. If I were in his position, I’d probably quit being such a pacifist and beat the hell out of me too.”

Hawk laughed. “A pacifist, huh?”

“Not completely, but I’m not going to fight back when I know that I deserve what’s coming at me. Corey knocked the shit out of me when we first saw each other, and I don’t blame him at all. The fact that I refused to engage and fight back made it a moot point, so he put his fists down and actually used his big boy words which helped us get on track.”

“Wow. It’s like you’re speaking an entirely different language.”

“If Emerald was here, she'd look at you like you’re in a petri dish and say things about nature versus nurture,” Adam, another cousin, said from my other side. He leaned around me and looked at Hawk to say, “Maybe the blood was diluted since he’s from a different Forrester.”

“That has to be it,” Hawk said as he nodded in agreement. “That’s the only explanation.”

“I’m not sure either of you understand anything about DNA or the nature versus nurture debate, so the fact that you’re arguing either makes me believe that you’re just as crazy as your fathers but a hell of a lot wordier.”

Hawk laughed and then leaned forward to look at Adam before he said, “He thinks he’s insulting us.”

“He probably does,” Adam agreed. “But then again, he may not be thinking right because he’s been poisoned. Em said that Brighten told her Lexi said that she overheard Carlie make an offhand remark to Sarah and her mom about poisoning him, so . . .”

“Did you just hear yourself?” I interrupted.

“What?”

“Everyone talks about women getting together and gossiping but . . .”

“God, yeah. Em and her girls get together and talk about this and that until it just makes my head want to explode.”

Hawk nodded in understanding and said, “Yeah. Brighten sits on the patio with her girls, and they gab and gab. That’s why there are no secrets between our families because the women just talk and talk and talk. It’s endless.”

“Did you hear that Brawley met a woman on a call and asked her out on a date?” Hawk asked.

“I didn’t,” Adam said in shock. “Is that even legal?”

“I guess so. Posie was telling Brighten and Lana about it when she was over the other day.”

“Seriously, can you guys not see the similarities here?”

“In what? Posie is his sister, so she’d know, right? That’s not gossip, it’s fact,” Adam insisted.

“Shit! Ruff is getting in the ring with Rip. I wonder what that’s about,” Hawk said, changing the subject. “I wonder if everything’s good between Ruff and Jovi.”

“I’m sure it is. Rip’s just probably giving him a dose of ‘act right’ to make sure it stays that way.”

“Good grief. I’ve got to get out of here. I’d rather run three miles barefoot on a newly gravelled road than listen to you hens pecking around and telling everyone’s business.”

“Prison made you testy, didn’t it?” Adam asked.

“No, prison made me realize that men gossip just as much, if not more, than women do. The two of you just proved that.”

“Maybe we should drag you into the ring and toughen you up a bit,” Hawk suggested. “You’re awfully prickly.”

“If he’s a pacifist, all that’s gonna do is get his ass kicked,” Adam said sadly.

“I didn’t say I’m a pacifist, and if I don’t put some distance between myself and you two harpies, I’m going to prove it. Jeez, you’re making me crazy,” I said as I stood up to leave.

“You’re gonna have to get a thicker skin, Forrester,” Hawk called out from behind me.

I turned around and walked backwards as I flipped him off and called out, “Kiss my ass, Forrester! ”

I had completely forgotten where I was when I yelled that and laughed when no less than half a dozen different men turned around and looked at me in shock. And, nature versus nurture or not, all six of them joined Hawk and Adam in a resounding, “Fuck you!”

Oddly enough, that made me smile and realize once again just how good it felt to be home.

◆◆◆

“Any chance I can join you gentlemen for a cup of coffee?” I asked when I saw my Uncle Bird sitting across from Tucker Martin, Zoey’s uncle and my new sponsor.

“You’re a little early, son, but you can sit and chat with us if you want,” Tucker offered.

Bird wasn’t nearly as happy to see me and frowned before he said, “I was about to leave anyway.”

My cousin, Ava, Bird’s daughter, walked up and set a mug down in front of me before she filled it from the carafe in her other hand. As I reached for the cream and sugar at the end of the table, she sat down next to her dad and smiled at me.

“Garvey, it’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you, too, kiddo. You’re all grown up now.”

“I’ve heard that you are too,” Ava said cheekily. “How are things with Zoey? I heard that you were already living with her and Zane was plotting your death.”

“I heard something like that too. I’m surprised Sam didn’t just kill you on sight, but he said y’all actually had a pretty pleasant dinner together.”

“I heard that Carlie considered poisoning his food,” Tucker chimed in.

“I don’t remember everyone being so gossipy,” I said crankily. “I was down at the gym sitting between Adam and Hawk and had to hear about thirteen different stories I’ve got no business knowing anything about.”

“I remember a time when you were the hot gossip, Garvey. Somehow, you coming back didn’t make nearly as many waves as when you left.”

“When I was arrested, I didn’t leave willingly, sweetheart,” I reminded her.

“Do you bring that up because you’re proud of it or because you’re trying to remind yourself exactly how thin the ice is that you’re standing on so you don’t fall through again?” Bird asked, his blue eyes burning into mine.

“I’m not proud of the man I was then, but I’m proud of the man I have become in spite of it,” I said honestly.

“Hmm,” Bird huffed. He nodded his head once before he said, “Damn good answer.”

I chuckled and said, “I didn’t exactly answer your question, did I?”

“It works, though,” Bird allowed. “I know I’ve been hard on you when I’ve seen you recently, but I’m still trying to get a feel for the man you are now compared to the little asshole you were when you were an addict.”

“I’m still an addict, I’m just in active recovery and working everyday to make sure I don’t fall back into my old ways.”

“He’s starting to sound like you, Tucker,” Bird joked.

“Good. He’s my sponsor, so I’m sure he’ll be happy to know that he’s rubbing off on me.”

“You’re his sponsor?” Bird asked with more doubt than I thought the question required.

“I am.”

“You only bet on a sure thing.”

“Generally, yes.”

“Hmm,” Bird huffed again. He looked at me with a completely different expression and said, “Maybe you’re not quite as bad as I thought.”

“You decided that because Tucker’s my sponsor?”

“I’ve known the man for a long fucking time, Garvey, and I can tell you right now that he hates to lose, so he’ll drag you kicking and screaming to as many meetings as it takes to keep you on the right track. With him in your corner, your odds have increased dramatically.”

“Are you a magic sponsor or what?” I asked Tucker.

“I’m a tenacious asshole,” Tucker said with a grin. “Let’s hope you never have to find out how big of one I can be.”

“I don’t plan on it.”

“I should get back to work,” Ava said with a dramatic sigh. “You know, I’ve got some customers that brighten my day every time I see them and some that make me want to shove their heads in the deep fryer.”

“Well, looks like little Ava grew up to be quite the Forrester.”

“Unlike you, who walks around flashing the peace sign and avoiding conflict at all costs,” Ava retorted.

“Why does everyone think I’m weak because I won’t fight with the people who deserve the right to have their say about my past behavior?” I asked.

“Because it’s so unlike every other member of your family that they’re not really sure what to make of it,” Tucker answered before he burst out laughing. “You’re an anomaly that they just can’t figure out, Garvey. It’s fucking hilarious.”

“I’m glad someone thinks it’s funny because I’m starting to think I need to just haul off and punch someone to get all of them off my ass.”

“Stick to your guns, and keep them guessing, man. Right now, they all think you’re just playing possum before you go on a spree and raze the town when you lose your shit.”

“It’s a possibility,” Bird said with a grimace.

“I know you don’t need my vote, but I like the new and improved version of you, Garvey. The guy I remember was a complete and total asshole. You’re moderately tolerable.”

As Ava flounced off to take care of her customers, I watched her go and said, “I’m not sure if that was a compliment or an insult.”

“You’re a Forrester. Surely you understand that they go hand in hand, right?” Tucker asked.

“I’m quickly starting to remember.”