Page 9 of Mistaken Identity
I watched the entire interaction and grinned when Damon wobbled on his one foot.
I reached out to offer my hand, and Damon’s small hand closed over my fist.
“Thanks.” He smiled. “That would’ve hurt.”
Damon bruised easily with the chemo, according to Creole.
I’d bet he would hurt if he fell. The kid had no meat on his bones.
Damon let go of my hand and ran off, knocking his mother to her ass in the process. I stayed where I was, opening my palm to offer help to get Creole to her feet.
Creole looked at my hand that I was still holding out for her for a long second before offering me a tight smile and taking my hand.
I inwardly watched her flinch before she let me go with a muttered thanks.
“I have to go,” she said to Laney. “My mom and dad should be here really soon.”
“Safe travels, friend.” She smiled. “Love you.”
“Love you, too.” Creole took off without saying another word, the door closing behind her.
“What’s going on?” I asked as I watched Creole disappear through the living room window of Laney’s apartment.
“Creole got a new job with the airlines,” she explained. “She started it last week. It makes pretty good money, but also, it offers great benefits and healthcare to boot. Which will retroactively go into effect.”
She jerked her head in Damon’s direction.
Ahh, made sense.
“Why doesn’t her mom have him if she’s busy?” I asked.
I watched Laney’s face fall. “Joy has colon cancer.”
I closed my eyes.
Fuck.
Creole couldn’t catch a break, could she?
“Fuck,” I said again.
“That’s another reason I want to get married.” Laney looked into her bedroom where we could see Damon playing on the floor. “She has medical bills, too. I’ll pay them both off.”
And that was the final nail in the coffin.
“Are you sure about this, Laney?” I asked.
She smiled. “More than.”
“Then we’ll go to the courthouse Monday.”
“Anything for you, Detroit,” she teased.
My brows rose. “Detroit?”
“Yeah.” She grinned. “Your shirt. It has Detroit on it. I figured I’d coin you with your new motorcycle club name.”
I shook my head.
