He wiped at his cheeks and gave the child a soft smile. “We named her Patricia. Patty. Or…well, Lacey liked Tricia.” He smiled at her and brushed her cheek. “Would you like to be a Patricia, too? I can’t think of any other girl names that ain’t a whore or a stripper.”
She stared at him, her face stoic.
“Okay, fine. You’re Patty now.” He went back to rocking and rubbing her back. “Years later we had a little boy. She named him after me, Trevor Junior. We called him TJ.” The tears flowed freely as he remembered. “I was out riding with my buddies when I got the call. Lacey had been in a bad accident.” He sniffled and wiped at his face again. “Neither one made it.”
He ground his teeth and clenched his jaw. “But you will. If it kills me, I’m gonna keep you safe.” He looked down at her and smiled, the tears still leaving streaks on his face.
Patricia reached up slowly and touched one of the tears dangling from his chin. She pulled her finger back and stared at the droplet, confusion etched in her tiny features.
“Sorry, Patty. I forget sometimes that I need to be strong.” He sniffled back the tears once more then sat up straight.
He pulled her close to him and she sat up and leaned against his shoulder. Trevor dragged his bag closer and dug inside. “Sorry there ain’t much of a selection. I did get some fruit cocktail.” He held the can up and shook it in front of her. “I loved this shit when I was a kid.”
He pulled the military can opener from his pocket and worked it around the rim of the can. “I know this ain’t human or cat or whatever the hell you’ve been eating, but I promise you, it tastes pretty good and it won’t give you hepatitis.”
He pulled the lid off and shook the can in front of her face. She simply stared at it, then to him. Trevor sighed then scooped some of the fruit out with his fingers. He made a big show of putting it into his mouth and chewing. “Mmm, see? It’s good.” He pushed to can toward her. “Now you try.”
She stared at the can then back to him.
“Okay fine.” He scooped some of the fruit out and held it in his fingers. “Please don’t bite me, Patty. I ain’t ready to lose my hair.” He gave her a goofy smile then rubbed his syrup coated fingers to her lips. “Come on, baby girl, open up.”
He set the can down and gently took her jaw. He pulled her mouth open and slid the fruit into her mouth. He pressed her jaw shut and waited.
Slowly her eyes widened and if she wasn’t chewing, she was mashing the soft fruit around with her tongue. She turned to him, her face frantic.
He handed her the can, a large smile forming. “See? I toldja it was good.”
She reached down and grabbed his hand. She pulled his fingers to her mouth and sucked the syrup from his fingers. Trevor froze, certain that she was about to chew off a couple of his digits. He nearly fainted when he pulled his hand back and all of his piggies were still intact.
“Okay, kiddo. I’ll feed ya this time.” He pointed at her and she eyed his finger longingly. “But next time, you’re learning how to do this yourself.”
He scooped up two fingers full of fruit and she was ready and waiting, her mouth open like a baby bird. “Good girl.” He slid the fruit into her mouth and she quickly mashed it and swallowed, her mouth open for more.
“See? You’re learning already.”
Chapter 11
Candy pushed her way into Hatcher’s office and dropped the bottle of cheap bourbon on his desk. Hatcher looked at the level then looked at her. “Please tell me you didn’t water it down even more.”
Candy blushed slightly and shook her head. “Well…I didn’t have to get him liquored up to remove his clothes with my teeth.” Her smile widened. “Turns out he’d just lay there and let me do pretty much anything I wanted.”
“I can’t know this.” Hatcher squeezed his fingers into his ears and started repeating “lalalalalalala” while Candy laughed.
She reached across his desk and pulled his finger loose. “Relax Hatcher.” She dropped his hand and sat on the corner of his desk. “But you might want to cut Roger a little slack this morning. I kept him up most of the night.”
“Lalalalalalalalala…”
Candy laughed as she turned for the door, then quickly spun, holding a finger up as though she had something important to say. Hatcher’s gaze narrowed and he pulled a finger loose. “What?”
“I ground him to a NUB!” She laughed deep in her throat as she turned and marched back down the hallway.
“I hate her sometimes,” he muttered.
“Bitches, right?”
Hatcher turned and saw Cooper standing in the Dutch door on the opposite end of his office. “When did you show up?”
“About two lalas ago.” He smiled broadly. “So, speaking of things that make you sing to yourself…”
“Don’t, Dave, please.”
“Your sister.” He wagged his eyebrows. “Do you know if she’s a classy-kinda lady or is she a down and dirty type?”
“Oh my god.” Hatcher pushed up from his desk and marched to the other door. “What is in the air around here? I got teenagers humping like rabbits, my right hand girl is in heat, and now a dirty old man chasing my sister.”
“I took a shower!” Dave called out to him. He watched Hatcher march outside then he lifted his arm and did a sniff test. “Yeah, I’m good.”
Hatcher marched outside, unsure of what he could do, but he quickly found Stanton. “Tell me that there’s something I can do to help.”
Will paused and pushed his glasses up. “Well, any of the work crews could use help I’m sure, however, most are simply completing their assigned tasks.” He shrugged. “Until we’re ready to stretch the fence fabric,
