Page 75 of Angel

Angel thought the boy was asking if Harper had twenty-two puppies, but Harper seemed to understand something that Angel didn’t. “Is the ceiling twenty-two feet high?”

The boy’s fingers stopped their tapping. Scotty popped two pieces of cheese and a cracker into his mouth at once. “Eight beams. Only two are weight-bearing. Why eight beams?” He turned his face towards Harper but did not look at her. His eyes remained upwards. “I would like to see your puppies.”

“Of course.” Harper moved closer to the boy. She did not touch him, almost remaining close as if to catch him. From her familiarity to Carter, Angel could only assume he was one of her students at the high school. She placed him at thirteen or fourteen.

Carter gently got off the stool. He brought the tips of his fingers to his mouth and blew on his fingers in three quick breaths. Then he climbed back onto the stool and tapped the bar three times. He got off the stool again. Carter repeated his process three times before he took a step forward towards Harper.

Scotty excitedly led the way and Carter followed.

Harper turned towards Bree and Aaron. “You guys coming?” Harper had a key to Pirate’s apartment and permission to enter whenever Scotty wanted to see the puppies.

Aaron and Bree followed behind. Spot loped after them, excited to see his little friends. If Pirate wasn’t caught up by the traffic at the gate, he should be back soon and could help with the puppies.

Lucky had already put his foot down and told Scotty that he could not have a puppy because he already had Spot. Scotty was upset about this but seemed to make peace with his dad’s decision after Lila had been promised a puppy. Per Scotty, that was nearly as good as him being able to keep one. Originally four puppies, there were only three that now resided in the clubhouse. Sophia, Jasmine’s best friend, had already taken ownership of one of the girl puppies. Angel knew that Pirate already planned on claiming one of the males, which meant there was only one other puppy who needed a forever home.

Angel was pouring herself a glass of lemonade as Pumpkin came out from the apartments. In the few days since discovering that he was the father of Cheryl’s baby, he seemed to have lost his stride. He had a pale, almost gaunt, look about him.

From a purely woman’s perspective who was completely in love with her man, Angel had to admit that Pumpkin was good looking. He kept his dark full beard trimmed neat and short. Generally, he had a backwards baseball cap on his head, but it was currently replaced with a skull cap. She’d seen him without a shirt on during the summer and in her tattoo shop and knew that he was hiding a six pack under that loose shirt.

Using his key, he unlocked the mini fridge under the bar, pulled out a beer, and popped it open on the side of the counter. Then he chugged half of it down.

Angel watched him in silence. She could feel the eyes of the women waiting to be interviewed on them. Picking up her lemonade glass, she reached over the bar to take Pumpkin’s hand. She dragged him down the bar and through the swinging door that led to the commercial kitchen.

She dropped his hand as soon as the door swung closed. Angel crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re not even a dad yet and you’re already acting like a real shitty one. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Pumpkin drained the rest of his beer and then tossed it into the recycling bin. “Apparently I was always destined to be a shitty dad.”

“What are you talking about?” Angel demanded. “You still have close to three months before your son is born. You have plenty of time to learn what you need to.”

Pumpkin shook his head. “It’s not him as a baby that I’m worried about.”

When he didn’t elaborate, Angel gestured for him to continue with her right hand.

“What the fuck am I supposed to tell him when he starts asking where his mom is? ‘Well, you see, son, that’s a really funny story. Your mommy was a whore I used to fuck around with for fun until she pissed off your Uncle Bulldog and he fired her. Then she started working for this really bad guy who threatened her so she tried to kidnap your Uncle Cage. Actually, drugged him too. As a result, your daddy had to take a paternity test to see whose balls you came out of because your mommy spread her legs for so many men, no one knew whose you were. Oh, and then your daddy killed your mommy because she was such a rotten person.’”

Angel stared at Pumpkin for a long moment. “I mean, that’s a bit much for a kid to understand. Maybe just start with she’s dead and save some of those details for after he turns eighteen.”

Pumpkin did not find her answer amusing. “What the fuck do I know about being a father?” he shouted. Like the dam on his frustration had finally broken. “All of you make it look so simple. I never had a dad. Mine walked out on my mom when I was three because he liked fucking his secretary more than he liked being my dad. How the fuck do I know how a dad is supposed to act or dress or anything?"”

"Simple?” Angel scoffed. “Pumpkin, I’ve been a mom for just over a year. My daughter has nearly died twice since entering my care. Do you think I’m doing a good job raising her?”

“You’re doing an amazing job,” Pumpkin told her. “That’s the problem. I’ll never be a perfect dad.”

Angel rolled her eyes. “There’s no such thing as perfect parenting. There’s definitely shitty parenting. But perfect? Fuck no. It’s a myth blogger moms create to boost their ratings. You will never be a perfect dad, Pumpkin. All you can strive to be is a good one.”

“I’m not really sure that makes me feel any better.”

Angel shrugged. “Bree came into my office to find Cage eating me out a few days ago. Would you still call me a good parent?”

Pumpkin’s eyes widened. “Oh shit.”

Angel gave him a knowing smile. “Parents are still human. We make mistakes. I promise you that you will make mistakes. It’s how you handle those mistakes that your kids will remember.”

Slowly, Pumpkin’s panic seemed to wean. “Bree really saw you and Cage like that?”

Angel nodded. “Yup. Claimed she needed ice cream over at the diner to wipe the image from her mind, but I’m pretty sure she knew she could have gotten away with anything that day.”

Pumpkin snorted. “That kid’s kinda awesome.”

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