Page 31 of Legacy of Smoke
“They look the same.” Jewel’s mouth clammed shut as she indicated me.
Meanwhile, Lily moaned again and then puked into the dirt.
“Put me down!” Poppy practically bit my arm off. I let her go, and she ran to Lily to help her move to the shaded grass by her truck.
“God damn bitch is probably high on my stash.” Jewel wasn’t helping with anything except escalating the insanity. Worse? She didn’t move a muscle to help Lily.
“I want to go home.” Lily sobbed into Poppy’s chest.
And Poppy let her. She smoothed back her hair and rocked her as Jewel spit out vile lies. I motioned to Sprout and Griz to finish moving Lily’s shit into the truck. Meanwhile, I fisheda tarp out of a junk pile near Jewel’s hovel and used what I could to tie it over the loose clothes and crap we’d collected. It all smelled like Jewel’s mobile home. There was a musty-tang to the odor. Like bad dirt weed mixed with mold, old sex, and smelly shoes. It wasn’t that far removed from the RV I’d slept in a couple of nights.
“I think that’s everything,” Griz said.
Poppy helped Lily into the truck. She looked at me like this was goodbye. And I couldn’t let it be that way. “I’ll follow and help unload. Guys?”
“Sure thing.” Sprout said.
“I’m calling the cops on all of you for stealing my shit.” Jewel still hadn’t quit.
We looked at each other, deciding whether to take her seriously or not. Finally, Sprout ordered Griz to remain as a threat to Jewel should she do something stupid like ratting on Destroyers.
Two hours later, Lily was in her room, clean, but tired, and Poppy had started laundry.
Sprout stood in the living room with me as we discussed next steps. “Later when shit settles, we’ll take a little ride. Maybe hit up that nice brick rancher on Sherwood with the green trim and the cute bird mailbox, what do you say?”
Poppy froze in the arch between the living room and kitchen. “You’re not going to go after your brother, are you?”
Sprout played innocent. “Naw, we’re just goofing around, right, Smoke?”
I stared at him for a full minute. I had to stop doing stupid shit. “Getting even with him is what lost me ten years. I’m out.”
I didn’t have to look, because I could feel Poppy’s smile.
Sprout arched an eyebrow. “It’s like that?”
Yeah, it was. “I wanna be here for my girl and her family, if she’ll have me.” I cast a glance over my shoulder to Poppy. She scrunched up her nose and nodded.
There was a crash that emanated from the hallway. Poppy was faster than both of us. Lily was on the floor, shaking and sweaty. A photo of her and Poppy was on the floor. I picked it up and moved it to the side.
“She’s burning up.” Poppy ran to the bathroom to get a cloth.
“Probably ate something at Jewel’s.”
I glared at Sprout. “Make yourself useful. Call an ambulance or some shit.”
“Whoa, I was kidding. Really?”
I picked Lily up and carried her to Poppy’s truck. Poppy followed me and grabbed her keys as I struggled to get the door open and move the baseball bat out of the cab so we could all fit. I yelled at Sprout. “Not enough time for an ambulance. She’s unconscious. I’ll ride with Poppy to help.”
“Dude, I’m following on the bike. The cops try to pull you over, don’t stop, I’ll deal with them. Go!” Things like that made Sprout more of a brother to me than my own.
Meanwhile, I had more to worry about. Poppy had frozen in place. Her face a picture of heartbreak and fear. “Poppy, are you okay?”
She nodded and jumped into the driver’s side.
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