Page 95 of Mouse
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Mouse
“He’s not going to like this, you know,” I told Ingram as she pulled her phone out to call Ky.
We’d spent the last few hours talking and holding Sparrow, but now she had it in her head that she was going to stay the night. Her excuse was that I needed to get some sleep and with her here, she said she could take care of Sparrow during the night. I knew that was only part of the reason. But I could admit that her wanting to stay because of me felt good, really fucking too. This was why she needed to call her brother to ask if he didn’t mind taking care of Chry for the night.
“Maybe I should send him a text message instead,” she said with a giggle.
I chuckled and shook my head at her. The fact that she always said ‘text message’ was so damn cute.
Honestly, I didn’t care if Ky drove over here and beat my ass, I’d take it if it meant she would stay.
Though we were sort of joking, I wasn’t all that sure what Ky would be okay with and what might send him over the edge. I had a feeling that we needed to do things slowly. You know, break Ky into this thing with delicate baby steps and all that. I realized it was ridiculous, but I cared enough about Ingram and Ky that I wanted to make this work.
“Oh, fuck it,” I said as I pulled out my phone and a second later, it was pressed against my ear. “Hey man, what’s up?”
“I just stood in the bathroom for twenty minutes because Chry didn’t want to be alone while he pooped. How do you think it’s going?” He didn’t sound angry at all. I could have sworn he was trying hard not to chuckle. “At least I don’t have to deal with diapers like your dumb ass.”
I guessed Chris had filled him in. Not that I could be mad, I got it. It actually made this a little easier.
“Yeah.” I let out a huffed laugh that was a little shaky. “I don’t mind it so much, though.”
“You good?” he asked but it almost came out more like a statement.
“I’m good,” I told him honestly. I was happy despite all the stress the last few days had brought. “Thanks.”
“Ingram need to stay a bit longer?”
My eyes went wide and snapped to look over at Ingram. She stood there looking a little antsy and nervous herself.
“Is that okay?” I asked.
“Yeah. Tell her that we got Chry for the night.”
“Thanks, brother. I can’t tell you what this means to me.”
“I know. Not going to throw a party and shit, but I kind of want it to work out. My sister deserves to be happy.” He sounded like he had to choke the words out. But he’d said them and I wasn’t going to let him take it back.
“Going to try my damnedest to make that happen every day,” I told him but my eyes were pinned on Ingram’s.
“Next time, you don’t drop her. I don’t give a fuck what you have going on in your life, but if you ever pull that shit again, I will put you in the ground.” He wasn’t joking. Not even a little bit.
“Lesson learned, brother.” I realized that Ingram was the type of person that would be there for me through anything. Maybe I’d known that all along but I was afraid that I didn’t deserve to have it all. I had been stupid not to reach out to her and my brothers. “Thank you.”
“Yeah.”
“I mean it,” I told him with a hint of playfulness in my tone because I really needed to lighten the mood a little.
“Uh huh.”
I laughed at his response. He was trying to hold onto that gruff attitude but even I could tell that he was cracking.
“And Mouse,” he said catching me right before I pulled the phone away from my face to end the call. “No more babies.” He sounded like he wanted to throw up with that statement. I couldn’t hold my laugher in as I pictured his face.
“I hear you loud and clear, brother.”
Then he was gone and I filled Ingram in on most of what she missed of the conversation. That was actually easier than I thought it might be.
