“Kettle!” Viddy said. “He can’t have that!”
“He can when he’s not popping those pain pills,” Kettle interjected. “And it’s not just for him. He may have visitors that want something alcoholic…like me.”
I grinned at the newcomer.
I’d seen him in the hospital. He was Oakley’s uncle and I’d found in the short time that I knew him that I liked him.
Viddy rolled her eyes. “They’re letting my baby out tomorrow.”
I smiled.
“Did you know that she’s two blocks over from you?” she asked. “This’ll be totally convenient. That way I can check on you both!”
I moved my gaze from her to the man that was standing at her back and held my hand out to him. “I don’t think we’ve met. My name is…”
“Pace, I know.” He took my hand. “My name is Torren. And if you ever need anything, I’m there. Oakley means a lot to us.”
I grinned.
“I’m beginning to understand everyone’s adoration,” I admitted. “I was almost sad to leave her behind in the hospital today.”
Viddy made a sound in her throat. “She was sad when you left, but happy that you didn’t have to be shackled there anymore. She’s so eager to go home it’s not even funny. Hey, is this your phone?”
I looked over at the phone. “Yeah.”
She started typing something on it, and snickered when she read, “Maybe Viddy?”
I shrugged. “My phone’s smart, what can I say?”
She shook her head and started to type on the screen. She did this for a full five minutes before she said, “There, done.”
She held it back out to me, which I took almost gingerly.
Viddy, realizing my hesitation, laughed.
“I was programming numbers into it. Just in case,” she said. “Mine, Ford’s, but you already had his. Trance’s. There are a few more in there. Also, I sent a text message to my daughter so she’d have yours.”
Kettle and Torren shared a knowing look.
I decided to keep my mouth shut and instead, shoved my phone into the pocket of my sweats where I’d thought I’d left it.
That was when Banner came in carrying a plate of food.
Real, home cooked food.
My stomach rumbled.
“I made you some dinner, too,” she said as she gestured to the counter. “Sit down and eat. I can hear your belly grumbling from here.”
I didn’t argue. Instead, I walked to the drawer with the forks and pulled one out, then took a seat at the stool that was next to the counter.
Then, I ate her delicious food—macaroni and cheese and baked chicken—and watched the men unload all the groceries. Ford finished with my postage-stamp-sized yard, then walked in and put his hands on his hips.
“You look like you just moved in,” he said. “But didn’t I hear that you have been here a little while?”
I shrugged. “Yeah.”
“You don’t have any personal touches, either,” Viddy said as she put away some canned goods. Then began rearranging my cabinets. “I should get you some throw pillows.”
My lips twitched. “Nothing pink.”
Viddy rolled her eyes but winked at me.
“Don’t worry,” she cooed. “I would never try to emasculate you like that by buying pink anything.”
I grinned. The only time pink was ever an option was when it was October and I was supporting fighting breast cancer.
Any other time, pink was nowhere near my life.
Not that it was a bad color or anything, but because I just wasn’t a fan of pink.
It reminded me too much of my mother and sister.
Two very girly-girls that wore pink all the time.
“I’m surprised you’re not arguing,” Banner said as he took a seat next to me. “You’re a smart man.”
I rolled my eyes. “I figure that she’s going to do what she wants to do because she feels like she owes me, which she doesn’t. For now, I’ll let her have her way. As long as it’s only small things. When she starts moving into trying to buy me a car territory, I’m going to start denying her.”
Banner laughed.
So did the rest of the men in the kitchen.
Viddy rolled her eyes and took my empty plate.
“Tomorrow I’m making million-dollar spaghetti casserole or maybe lasagna,” she said. “Do you like pasta dishes?”
I nodded.
“Wonderful,” she said as she washed the plate in my sink. “I’ll be sure to give you more, though. I didn’t think you’d eat that much after surgery. Oakley still doesn’t quite have her appetite back.”
That was when the phone in my pocket started to buzz.
I pulled it out to see Oakley’s name on the screen.
Grinning, I swiped my finger across the glass and stared at the message.
Me: Hi, this is Pace. Just checking in.
That was definitely something I wouldn’t say. Nor did I use punctuation like that.
Oakley: Hi, Pace. How are you feeling? Is it everything you thought it would be? Being on the outside sounds phenomenal.
“All right, Vid,” Kettle said as he started to gather all of the stray plastic bags that my groceries had come in. “That’s all of it. We’re heading back to the hotel.”