“Kilpatrick. Yes. Pleased to meet you, sir.”
“You want iced tea or a beer, Brett?” Maddie asked. “We have Bud Light and Dos Equis.”
“Tea is great for now.” He would bet the Dos was Ezra’s, and he wasn’t going to presume. He’d get him some local microbrew IPA when they went out next.
“Cool cool cool.” She got everyone a drink, and bingo, the Dos Equis went to the older Duran.
“Thanks, baby girl. Now sit down and eat.” Rowdy looked so different without the glasses he’d been wearing all this time,and Brett felt honored to get to be one of the people Rowdy was comfortable with.
Blake’s was definitely a cut above Sonic, though he still loved his favorite burger joint. But damn. So good. And the green chile, which they had gotten on the side for him, made Brett sweat.
“God, that was good.” Brett leaned back when they were done with burgers and onion rings and everything that was good about fast food.
Madison winked at him. “Come on, Pappy. Come sit with me in my front room and talk, and I’ll show you all the stuff I got in Fort Worth. That way, Daddy can go ahead and get Brett settled in like he was supposed to before dinner.”
Rowdy’s soft, warm chuckle told him that he knew exactly what Madison was up to. Brett had to admit he didn’t mind. In fact, he was grateful. Full as a tick from the food, he was also pretty tired from the trip, and he was a little overwhelmed by the house. He didn’t want to make a fool of himself in front of Ezra, either.
“I’d like that, baby girl,” Pappy said. “Can I bring my dogs?”
“Sure. You should go get them. You know I don’t care about dog hair on the couch.”
It felt a little dizzying, how all of them had their own space. His head swam with having to listen to them talk about a front room, because he didn’t know exactly where that was supposed to be.
“What kind of dogs do you have?” he asked Ezra.
“Oh, I’ve got me a couple of chihuahua mixes. They’re both something else too. One of them, I think, is a chihuahua dachshund; what do they call that son? A chiweenie?” When Rowdy nodded, he went on. “The other one, I think, is half Shih tzu or Yorkie or both. I ain’t never had the DNA done, but they’re good little monsters.”
“Don’t let him fool you. The chiweenie is a terror.” Madison giggled. “But he’s cute. He looks sort of like Sir Didymus inLabyrinth. Have you seen that movie?”
“Have I seen that movie? It’s only one of my favorites,” Brett said.
“Oh my God! We’ll have to watch it together.” Madison actually bounced. “And maybeWillowandThe Princess Bride.”
“Like all kids her age, Madison thinks the ’80s are the shiz. I told her that was before our time,” Rowdy snarked.
“Daddy, did you just say shiz? Nobody says that anymore. Not even Snoop Dogg.”
“Well, get over it. I figure if I ever was turned into a vampire, I would use slang from every century I ever lived in. Do you want me to get started and show you what it would sound like?”
“No, sir. I’m gonna go get washed up and change into jammies. Pappy, I’ll see you over at my place.” She bounded off, and Brett chuckled.
“You’ve really got her number.”
“I’m her daddy. It’s my job.”
“Right.”
Rowdy rolled his eyes and grinned, eyes wrinkling at the edges. “Come on, let’s go. I went ahead and had them stock our fridge with Dr Peppers and the beer you like.”
“Thanks.” Someone stocked Rowdy’s fridge. Jesus fucking?—
BAROO!
Mr. Mann’s howl rang through the house, and Brett took off at a run. That was not “oh, I’m playing”. That was an “alarm, Dad, alarm” sound.
He hit the door hard, finding Mr. Mann standing at the back of the doggy door, staring out into the quickly fading sun. Something or somethings moved outside, and he was trying to focus on them when a face appeared at the window, a fuzzy head staring in.
Mr. Mann set to howling again, and he made a not particularly manly squawk. “Jesus Christ, what is that?”