Page 12 of Tru Blue
“Of course. I’ll call him in a sec. Just let me…” Bear scooped Lincoln into his tatted-up arms and rubbed noses with the baby. “Love the way babies smell.”
“Gemma helped me pick out baby wash and baby shampoo and about a million other baby things.”
“Gemma?”
Just hearing her name made him smile. He didn’t even want to think about how it had looked last night, two kids out with him at midnight, dressed in his shirts, while he stocked up on everything under the sun. He was surprised she’d even offered to help. She’d probably thought better of it this morning and would stay as far away from this end of Peaceful Harbor as she could. My loss. But he couldn’t help wondering what might have happened if they’d met under different circumstances. Different lifetimes.
Kennedy reached for him, bringing his mind back to the moment. “Come here, princess.” Princess. What is a princess boutique anyway?
Bear and Dixie were looking at him expectantly, and he realized they were still waiting for a response about who Gemma was.
“I met her last night at Walmart when I was out buying all this shit.” He looked at Kennedy and corrected himself. “Stuff. She helped me find everything—clothes, food, bottles, diapers. Man, there’s so much that they need. I’m not complaining, just saying. I never realized how much work babies were. This is all so messed up. Thursday morning I was checking in with the parole office and thinking about how I only had thirteen more months of that…” He glanced at Kennedy again. “Fifteen hours later, and thirteen months feels like a flash in the pan.”
“There are other ways to handle this,” Dixie said carefully. “You don’t have to raise them, and it wouldn’t make you a failure or mean you’re a bad person.”
Truman had thought about that when he was wiping shit off his hands at four o’clock in the morning and then again at seven when he realized that even taking a piss was a group process. But they were his blood, and he wouldn’t turn his back on blood.
“I failed Quincy. I’m not going to fail these two.”
“I JUST DON’T see what you’re worried about.” Crystal pushed her jet-black hair over her shoulder and heaved the other end of the box she and Gemma were carrying to the storeroom. She was in full goth-princess mode, from her dark lipstick to her chunky black leather boots and black lace stockings, tutu, and blouse. “Were the kids clean?”
“They appeared to be freshly bathed.” Gemma pushed the door open with her butt, holding it for Crystal to get a foot through, before inching into the room. They’d just received the new stock of rebel-princess clothes, and she was excited to see them. She’d dressed carefully this morning, choosing her Brave princess outfit, a short blue velvet dress with a thick gold belt and strappy leather sandals. She wasn’t normally nervous around men, but with Truman, she needed all the courage she could muster.
“Were they afraid of him?” she asked as they set the box down with a thump.
“No, but I got a little chill from him, which was nothing compared to the holy-shit-this-guy-is-all-man vibe he gave off. He wore testosterone like aftershave. It just seemed weird, that’s all. Kennedy had no shoes on. It was like he’d taken them out of bed, only he didn’t even have a crib for the baby.”
Her heart warmed with thoughts of Truman soothing Lincoln and the sweet way he’d caressed Kennedy’s face and spoken so reassuringly to her. “He loves them. That much was clear. But the rest is curious, don’t you think?”
Crystal pulled a box cutter from a shelf and sliced open the top. Her hair veiled her face, and she gave Gemma a you-know-what-I-think glance through the thick strands as she yanked open the box. Withdrawing a little black leather vest, she held it up with a gratified smile. “Being a rebel princess myself, I would have dropped off my car first thing this morning, gotten my fill of those glorious tattoos you described, a scorching-hot kiss—or ten—and I’d have left him wanting more. You’re the story seeker, the pushy girl no one sees coming. I’m surprised you didn’t march right in and interrogate him to get all those lingering questions answered. You even wore your princess Brave dress. So what’s the deal?”
