Page 63 of Clint & Ivy
“No, you underestimateme,” I grumbled at my VP.
“I could talk to Jagger,” Rowdy offered, mentioning the LM Jokers’ VP. “He likes me. I’m nice to him.”
“You’re a real sweetheart,” Rock grumbled, winning a smile from Rowdy. “You know Jagger’s only faking his friendship with you to get info.”
“No, dum-dum,I’mfakingmyfriendship to get info fromhim.”
“Did he give you any so far?”
“Did you know Tricky drives by the Sorority House from time to time in the hopes of catching a glimpse of Cher and Stevie?”
“Both of them?” I asked, thinking he was messing with us.
“Well, they look alike, so seeing one is like seeing the other.”
Rock scowled hard. “That’s weird.”
“Yeah, but Jagger told me anyway,” Rowdy said and kicked a pillow in Rock’s direction. “See how I get info? I’m a useful spy.”
“Did it occur to you that Jagger might be fucking with you? Now, you believe Tricky has a weakness we can exploit, but it might be a setup.”
“No, man, you’re just being stupid. Stop being so damn slowwitted, you big dum-dum.”
Rock gritted his teeth and looked ready to pound on Rowdy, who tossed another pillow at his VP.
“Look,” Rowdy said and sat up. “I love Tricky. He’s my boy. I’d bleed for the motherfucker, but he isn’t playing 4D chess here. It’s all checkers, and you’re a dum-dum to think otherwise, you big fucking dum-dum.”
Laughing was no doubt the wrong move, but I couldn’t help myself. Rowdy’s “dum-dum” thing never failed to piss off people. I always ignored him when he said it to me. All those years trying to live up to his dad meant Rock couldn’t help pushing back.
The men stood in unison, eyeing each other. When Rowdy got aggressive this way, he was the spitting image of his dad. Pax had a notorious temper, while Rowdy was mostly known as the most easygoing of his siblings. However, plenty of men had paid a painful price for reading my cousin wrong.
The men sized each other up like they were prone to do. Rock was thicker, more obviously intimidating. Rowdy was wiry and fast. As usual, they didn’t do more than shove each other and stare hardcore like two crazed lovebirds.
While they had their morning fun, I came up with a list of foxes to bring along. I wanted Elle there since she had a good sense about people. She might pick up something about Zodiac and his club that I missed. Sabrina liked to talk shit during these things. If Zodiac couldn’t handle Sabrina’s mouth, he wasn’t much of a man.
Graham and Orion were older members capable of disappearing into the background while the foxes distracted people.
My club was filled with the children of badasses. I knew any of them could handle themselves well in battle. But I still missed Boone. Rock was the guy who pushed me to be better. Rowdy was the guy I could goof around with. Boone was the one who understood what I was thinking without me saying a word.
The world was changing while he was locked away. I couldn’t imagine what Little Memphis would look like by the time he got released.
While Rock and Rowdy settled down, I read texts from people around town. Most were in code. A lot of them sounded like they were talking about child care or yard work.
I glanced through them, relieved by how Little Memphis had chosen to behave for the time being. I hoped Ivy could get settled in before I needed to worry about the next threat.
Elle texted me not long after Rowdy and Rock got into a tussle over whose mom was the worse cook. They were both wrong, of course. Shay was terrible. She once burned peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Elle’s message read, “Gonna get the pint-sized field ready for your plow. We’ll be at the doctor for a while. Don’t pester me. I won’t have you second-guessing me. Just knock it off already! No more, okay? God, you never quit!”
Grinning at her taunting, I still wondered if there was more going on than she was sharing. Elle tended to get overly chatty—even in written form—when she was full of shit.
“Hey, boss man,” Goldie said, shuffling out onto the porch.
Nearby, Rock held Rowdy in a headlock before my cousin swiped the larger man’s ankle and took them both to the ground. Ignoring the men’s behavior, Goldie wiped her groggy eyes and hugged me.
“When do we get to meet your soulmate?”
Boone’s older sister spent most of her time down in Rawlins, but it wasn’t uncommon for her to bunk at the Sorority House. Her bleached blonde hair needed a touchup around the roots. Her round cheeks were rosy as she grinned at the “soulmate” comment.
