Dream Keeper (Dream Team 4)

Now, I didn’t want the man screwing over my dad and leaving him responsible for a shit ton of debt at all.

But since that was probably out of my hands, if I had my druthers, if I couldn’t stop it, he’d do that at a time my mother wasn’t counting on a prayer circle she undoubtedly hoped Reverend Clyde would lead to cure her cancer.

Auggie didn’t have the memo about church-wear and as such was wearing a pair of army-green pants with a white tee, over which was a blue button-down (that was unbuttoned). A brown-banded, bulky, sporty watch interfered in a cool way with the cuff of his left sleeve.

He looked fantastic.

And if memory served, the men at church wore slightly more dressy clothes than Auggie had on, but they weren’t expected to be as formal as the women were.

But Auggie’s outfit was a smidge under what was the norm.

I felt this meant I had to go in alone.

Therefore, when we were in his SUV and on our way, I said to Aug, “Since you’re not dressed for church, I’ll run in, find them, have a word, and get them out.”

“The fuck you will.”

Surprised at his response, not just the words, but also the tone, I turned my head his way.

“Sorry?”

“Will your family be there?”

“Indubitably.”

There was a tightness to his cheekbones, and at my word, he sucked in his lips like he was distributing ChapStick, and when he stopped doing that, they quirked.

“Indubitably?” he asked.

“Yup,” I answered.

“You’re not going in alone, Pepper.”

“They’re not going to grab me, wall me up in their compound and Patty Hearst me,” I pointed out.

He glanced at me then said quietly to the road, “Baby, take a second and let what I’m gonna say next sink in, okay?”

Oh man.

“Okay,” I agreed.

“Your mom is gonna be there.”

My body tightened.

Of course she was.

I hadn’t thought about that.

And of course again.

Because Auggie did.

“And this is the gig,” he went on. “Shit like this, I’m not gonna let you go it alone. Are you understanding what I’m saying?”

Oh yeah.

I thought I did the last time.

I’d even had a moment because of it.

But definitely this time I did.

“Yes, Auggie.”

“I said this yesterday, at least I thought I did, and you just said you were going in alone. So just to make sure, do you really understand what I’m saying?”

Mm-hmm.

I really understood what he was saying.

I wasn’t going in alone…

Because I wasn’t alone.

“Yes, honey,” I whispered.

He lifted his hand palm up between us and demanded, “Hand.”

I placed mine in his.

His fingers closed around, he brought them to his chest and pressed them in, the back of mine to his t-shirt.

It was then it hit me.

It was likely I was going to see my mom.

It also hit me I knew how deep the shit was that my dad was in.

And it hit me that I’d spoken to my brother, and I’d told him about Mom, and he might reach out. And since a day had passed, he could have already done that.

Last, it hit me Auggie knew all this when I hadn’t thought about any of it.

And as this hit me, reflexively, my fingers tightened around his.

He brought my hand to his lips, touched it there, then dropped it to his thigh, still holding it in his.

We were quiet until we reached the street that led to True Light.

Me, because I was gearing up for what was to come.

Auggie, I sensed, because he was giving me space to gear up.

I didn’t remain silent when we got close to the church.

This because there was a one, two, three of Mo’s big black Ram truck, Boone’s shiny black Charger and Axl’s graphite Jeep parked on the side of the street.

And on the sidewalk there was the one, two, three strike of Mo with hands on his hips, Boone with his arms crossed on his chest, and Axl leaning one hand to the hood of his Jeep, his other hand fisted at his waist.

And all their eyes watched us come up the road.

Upon seeing them this way, coupled with the expressions on their faces, I made a mental note never to make a crew of commandos unhappy.

Thus, I broke our silence with an entirely appropriate, “Oh shit.”

Auggie didn’t respond but he did slow to a stop across from them and slid down his side window.

“We’re going right in,” he told them.

“Tell Hattie I moved her car from the parking lot and she’s to walk her ass directly to me,” Axl ordered.

I pressed my lips together, which for some reason made my eyes bug open.

This was partially to stop myself from laughing, and partially to stop myself from speaking, because Hattie was shy, and she was cute, and she was definitely the girlie-est of our bunch.

But even if she’d let her dad shit all over her (families), she’d never let a man do it.