Craving Vera (The Aces' Sons 4.5)

“Oh, yes,” Poet replied. “Doc thought he was helpin’.”

“The best laid plans of mice and men,” Trix muttered.

“That’s right,” Amy said, nodding. “He had it filed at the courthouse and everything.”

“Wait, so they were legally married?” Hawk said. “Interesting.”

“Sound familiar?” My mom said dryly.

“At least I agreed to it.” Hawk laughed.

“Poor Vera,” Brenna said, shaking her head. “Losing her gran must have been devastating.”

“She said it was one of the hardest things she’d ever had to deal with,” Amy replied. “Her grandmother was more of a parent than her mother and father ever were and the loss couldn’t have come at a worse time.”

“Hey, you okay?” Lily asked me quietly.

“Yeah.” I turned to look at her. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” she said, staring at me. “You have a weird expression on your face.”

“I’m fine,” I said, waving her off. Lily had listened to too many of my guy troubles already. It was weird, we’d grown up together, went through everything together, and then when she and Leo hooked up everything had changed.

We were in different places in our lives now. It was inevitable, but it still stung. She was all about baseball practices and making dinner for her boys, and I was still going out on the weekends and eating ramen at nine o’clock at night when I finally got around to making it. I didn’t understand her anymore, and I was pretty sure she felt the same way.

“Can you believe this shit?” I asked, half listening as Poet described Slider’s face when he’d drunkenly told his best friend the story of how he’d gotten Vera.

“Not really,” she said, grinning. “I can’t imagine them so young. Like, I knew that they’d met and fell in love at some point, but I’d never realized that she’d been just a teenager when they met.”

“I’m surprised she never told you any of this,” I said, stretching in my chair. I’d passed out on the floor last night and woken up stiff and sore.

“No,” she said. “She told me stories about her gran and working in the garden together, that type of thing, but never her love story.”

“You think she’d be pissed that they’re telling us about it?” I asked curiously.

“Probably not.” She shrugged and turned toward my mom.

“That must have gone over like a lead balloon,” Mom said. “I can’t imagine someone making that decision for me.”

“Especially when she’d told him she needed some space,” Brenna added.

“I think she was so worried about going north that she couldn’t even deal with it then,” Amy said.

“It was a precaution,” Poet said. “She was married to him, there was nothin’ her da could do to her. His power was gone.”

“She was only seventeen, was that even legal?” Hawk asked.

“The deed was done,” Amy replied. “In those days, that was the end of it. No one came between a man and his wife.”

“Not even her parents,” Poet said.

“Damn,” Hawk muttered. “Doc was kind of a genius.”

“Jesus, I’m glad he’s not here to hear you say that,” Brenna joked. “He’d never let us forget it.”

“He was a good man,” Amy said, a soft smile on her face.

“Aye, he was,” Poet murmured, lifting her hand so he could kiss the back of it, his lips lingering on her fingers.

I looked away, feeling like I was intruding on a private moment.

“Where’s your mom?” I asked Lily, realizing that she should have been with us at the table.

“Cecilia called,” Lily replied. “And they went down there.”

“What?” My mouth dropped open in surprise.

“Yeah,” she said. “Cam went with them.”

“Oh shit,” I muttered. “Do you know what’s going on?”

“Not a clue.” Lily shrugged like it didn’t matter, but I knew her better than anyone and I could see the fear she was trying to hide.

“Well, she’s always been dramatic,” I said, trying to downplay what we both knew must be a hell of a situation. “She probably hooked up with the wrong guy.”

“Or borrowed money she can’t pay back.”

“Slept with some crazy broad’s husband.”

“Crashed her car and can’t afford a new one.”

“Got arrested for hooking,” I said easily.

Lily burst out laughing, giving me exactly the reaction I hoped for.

“It’ll be fine,” I said, leaning toward her so I could bump my shoulder against hers. “Your dad and Cam will figure it out and fix it.”

“I just hate not knowing what’s going on.” She sighed. “Is she coming home? Is she in actual trouble, real trouble? Should I actually be worried about her? What are we dealing with? What am I going to have to deal with?”

“Yeah, all the cloak and dagger shit is bullshit. You want me to ask my dad? You know Uncle Casper told him and Dragon what’s happening.”

“No.” she sat back in chair. “It’s okay. I’m sure they’ll let us know what they find when they get there.”

“Even if she’s coming home,” I told Lily seriously. “It won’t be like it was before.”