Page 68 of Lorna's Savior
When he gathered himself, he looked at his cousin, and whistled. “Holy shit, the person who doesn’t believe in the institution of marriage is getting married?”
“Only if I can fix this fucking mess,” Andy sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck.
“So, what exactly happened?” Grover asked. “You didn’t want to talk about it last night. I know what you said earlier, but I have to ask.” When he paused, everyone looked at him with raised brows. “Did you hook up with her because of your investigation?”
“No! I met her days before I even met the person who hired me. I met her first.”
“Yet, when you found out she was involved, you said nothing?” Lucky frowned. “Did you take any money for the investigation?”
“Yes, I have to pay my bills somehow.”
“Jesus, I know we joke about and call you Ball Buster because of your last name,” Brian shook his head. “But that takes big balls to take money after using your girl like that.” His tone of voice held nothing but disappointment.
“I didn’t use her!” Andy practically screamed.
“You must have done something wrong,” Brian said, shaking his head.
With a frustrated sound, Andy grabbed his phone off the counter and accessed the message. He looked at the others and said, “This is the only thing my Lorna contributed to my investigation. It’s in her own words, how much of a liar her mother is.” He pressed play and stood back as he watched the others as they listened. Several minutes later, they looked at him in shock.
“What did that all mean?” Brain asked. Andy again told them what his whole investigation was about, and they looked at him in shock. “Wow, and she had nothing to do with your actual investigation?”
“Nothing.”
“Wait,” Lucky said as he held up his hand to stop everyone. “What’s so important about her lying about her father. What does that mean?”
“It means that my client is her father. Her mother’s maiden name was Wilson, and their married name is Hepplewaite. All her life, Lorna was told her father had died in Afghanistan when he was across town. Kristen Hepplewaite is a lying bitch. And I have a fear that the shit is going to hit the fan when she returns and finds out that Lorna may know about her father.”
“How so?” Lucky frowned at him.
“If Marvin is the businessman I know him to be, he’s going to cut off all his financial support. She’s such a liar that she conned an extra fifty grand a month from him. She’s about to lose damn near a hundred thousand a month of free money. Knowing her, she’s going to go after Lorna with a vengeance, and damn the consequences. Thank god, she’s still on her world cruise.” Andy shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. Instead of reaching for the coffee pot, he opened the refrigerator and began removing items for them to make breakfast. As he began, he looked over at the men. “What?”
“I understand about the investigation, but that doesn’t seem why she went off on you like she did. What else aren’t you telling us. I feel like there’s something more that you’re not telling us.”
Andy hung his head and stepped to the side as Grover edged him away and took over cooking. “Talk,” they all told him.
“The night I met Lorna, I met a friend of mine at a local club. He had set me up on a blind date of sorts. I had no interest in the woman whatsoever. None. She wasn’t my type, but she was my friend’s type to a T.”
“How?” Brian asked.
“I like my women with meat on their bones. When we do it, I don’t want the fear of her bones breaking if I get into it. You know. I bumped into Lorna on my way to the bar, and she laughed, and said if I wanted to be with a real woman, look her up.”
“Bold.”
“It was. Anyway, my so-called date said something along the lines that Lorna, who I didn’t know her name then, said that she needed to lose some weight. It pissed me off, and I told her she needed to eat something, because she looked sick. I looked at my friend, apologized, then walked away from them. I sought Lorna out. We danced, several times, and it wasn’t long before I dragged her out of there and to my hotel room. I guess I don’t have to tell you that it was fantastic.” He shook his head, and smiled as he remembered.
“And?” Brian prompted him when he remained silent.
“And?” Andy threw his head back and laughed. He held his hand out, and held his stomach. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to laugh, but Lorna said she was trying to stop swearing, so instead of using swear words,” he grinned at his cousin. “She used monk or ball, or both of them as swear words.”
“Oh my god!” Brian threw his head back and laughed. “What? Like Monking balls? Or, oh my monk?”
“You got it. Let me tell you, when she’d call out holy monk when we were doing it, it made me feel ten-feet tall. I never corrected her. I was always Andy to her. I have no idea how she found out my real name.” He sighed and hung his head. “That’s why she flipped out. Because she thought I was laughing at her for using my name as swear words.”
“Why didn’t you come clean?” Lucky asked.
“I don’t understand by the name,” Grover said.
“My birth name is Monk Andrew Ball.”
