“Okay.” He gets up and goes to a monitor on the wall. I saw a doctor use one of these once to show me where I had a broken rib. Except this time, it’s got a map on it. “This is where Owen’s staying. I pulled some records. The past few months he’s had a huge increase in his power bill.”
“You think he’s got a grow operation?” Drew asks. “He doesn’t really strike me as the keep it together type who could.”
“Maybe that’s what he needs the money for. What if he’s not only buying into the trade, but paying people to do his work for him?” I theorize. “There’s plenty of people in this town who need work, but don’t necessarily want others to know they’re making money.”
“The only way we’re gonna find out is if we go take a look.” Drew gives me a shit-eating grin. “You do remember how to pick a lock right?”
“Fucker, I picked the lock to your house so many times.” I hit him in the stomach. “How do you think I got in and out without Liam finding out?”
“You picked my fucking front door lock?” Liam’s mouth hangs wide open. “Y’all are so goddamn lucky I’m finding out about this shit after you’re married with children. Y’all never woulda had kids, if you get what I’m saying, had I known the shit y’all were pulling under my roof.”
I chuckle nervously. “Dumb shit kids do, am I right?”
He eyes me, coming to stand nose to nose. “I curse you with your kid pulling the same shit on you as you pulled on me.”
“Damn, that’s harsh.”
“Not to mention he sounds like Tyler with the bad luck and curses,” Drew mumbles under his breath.
He smiles with his teeth. “Imagine what I could’ve done to you back in my ‘getting even’ days.”
“Point taken. I’m lucky.”
Drew chuckles. “Lucky as fuck.”
Liam looks over at him. “You wanna run your mouth, too?”
“No sir.” He clears his throat. ‘C’mon D, let’s head out.”
Running faster than we have in years, we head to our bikes to go take care of business.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Mandy
The guys told us to stay here, and that’s what we’re doing. In all of my years being a part of this family, I’ve never questioned what I’ve been told to do. But today, I almost didn’t want Dalton to go. Not because I don’t trust he’ll keep himself safe, but I truly felt like a part of my heart was leaving on his bike.
I’ve always loved Dalton, but until I learned to love myself, I never let him in deep.
He’s there now, and I know he’ll never go away.
Just like I’ll never go away again.
I’m pissed at myself for all the time I allowed us to waste. Me being irritated at him for not being what I needed him to be, but then never letting him know what it was I needed.
The two of us, we’re a damn pair.
“Mom?”
I’m so deep in my thoughts, Walker scares me, but I’m happy to see him. “Yeah?”
“Dad’s gonna be okay, isn’t he?”
It’s times like this I wonder what we’ve done to this kid. He seems to go around in a perpetual state of worry, and it’s because of us. One thing we have to make sure to get a handle on - is not letting him in on adult business. We’ve been way too open with him, and that needs to stop now.
“Dad’s gonna be fine. He’ll be gone for a while though, do you want to go watch some TV?”
“Will you lay with me?”
He’s only asked me to do it a couple of times since I came home, and the request makes my heart clench. “I would love to.”
I make a motion to my mom to let her know I’m going to spend some time with Walker. When we get to his dorm room, I ask a question I’ve been pondering on lately. “How do you like it here? Do you miss home?”
We lay side by side, he grabs the remote and turns the TV on, a pensive look on his face. At certain times he looks so much like Dalton, I’m scared for the girls as he gets older.
“I used to,” he says slowly. “But that place had a feeling.”
“A feeling?”
“Yeah.” He nods. “Ya know the bad feelings Uncle Tyler always talks about?”
“We’ve gotta get you away from Uncle Tyler,” I mumble, hoping he doesn’t hear me. It appears he doesn’t because he continues.
“It’s like there’s a sadness. One we can never fully get rid of.”
“A dark cloud?” I supply for him.
“No, the house itself. It’s sad.”
This is definitely Tyler shit and I’m way out of my league. “So are you saying you don’t want to go back there?”
“I don’t think so. I like being closer to the family and the twins. All I have to do is call and they’re over here in five minutes, and we can go up to Grandpa Liam’s.”
“Heaven forbid you don’t have your social club.” I ruffle his hair.
“It’s no fun being an only child,” he whispers. “That’s why I was so excited about a sibling.”
“Yeah.” I play with the ends of my hair. “That’s something most of us don’t know about. I’ve always had Drew, and then Tatum. The twins have each other. You and Carter aren’t close. I guess you are kinda stuck on your own, half the time.”
“I am.” He traces the shapes on his comforter with his finger. “And I was kinda looking forward to having a sister. Ya know, so I could be the cool older brother who protects her. Harley doesn’t need protecting and she takes care of Justice, so…”
A snort works its way out of my nose. “That kinda leaves you out, huh?”
“I’m glad they’re strong and independent, but sometimes it’s nice to be needed.”
That seems
