Page 14 of Rascal

“Winnie, I think he’s speechless. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that my whole life.”

“Dad always has an opinion. I’m stunned.”

Rascal glared at Bear.

“How?” he asked when he couldn’t keep quiet any longer.

“I told you when we were out on Christmas Eve that you needed a woman because you deserve someone who loves you deeply. When we talked with Meg the first time, I hoped she’d be someone you were interested in. Her showing up early was just a wonderful coincidence. If she’d come on time, we’d planned to manufacture a crisis that you had to take care of with her.”

Rascal gazed at Meg, wondering what she was thinking. She slowly smiled.

“Well, I’m thrilled you invited me, and I found Rascal. I love to quilt and have gotten tired of making them only for myself. I guess I know who will be getting the first quilts I make after I move to Bluff Creek.”

Screams of congratulations had Rascal sliding his arm around Meg. Those meddling bonus daughters had given him everything he’d ever hoped for, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t going to do a little meddling in their lives too.

Meg smiled at the hugs, shouts of congratulations and merriment with the family she’d found at Bluff Creek.

Rascal had work this morning, and she planned on tagging along. She was fascinated with tattoos and had wanted one for years. The only thing holding her back was the college’s dress code, which hadn’t been updated in the last fifty years. Women were required to wear skirts and blouses, and the men were required to wear slacks and dress shirts. No tattoos were allowed nor facial hair on the men. She hadn’t agreed with it, but until the last couple of months, the positives had outweighed the negatives.

Now she could get a tattoo. Maybe she could get inspiration hanging with Rascal today. She finished her French toast and bacon, realizing she’d need to figure out an exercise program here. She didn’t enjoy cooking and many times just had a frozen dinner. The food she’d had since she’d come to Bluff Creek had been tasty, and if she ate on normal weeks the way she had this weekend, she’d need to walk or something to keep the pounds from piling on. Her clothes fit just the way she wanted, and after Rascal worshipped every inch of her body last night, she didn’t worry about being too big, but she wasn’t going to put on pounds and not have her clothes fit.

She followed Rascal to put their plates in the dishwasher and then thanking Regina and the kitchen crew for the lovely meal. Rascal led her to a pickup.

She paused at the door. “Why the pickup?”

“You dressed in shorts and sandals, so I thought we’d take the truck.”

“I can change.”

“I take the truck a lot just in case I need to take any of the grandkids home from somewhere. I don’t mind taking one of them as long as they have a helmet, but most times, if I’m needed, I have Joey too. Now, let’s get in so I can show you my work.”

Meg let Rascal help her into the truck, then he shut her door before going around the truck. She hadn’t really looked at the area of the compound. Rascal had kept all her attention, but now she looked around at the place she’d be living. The compound sat on a hill above the town. The road was steep going down. She wouldn’t want to be driving up or down the hill in an ice storm.

The ride to Rascal’s shop took less than ten minutes. He’d parked and was already around her side before she’d gotten through looking at the Bluff Creek Ink building. A stylish sign along with a large awning kept the direct sunlight off the glass front window set in the red brick building. It was the same brick the diner building was built with since they shared a common wall. Rascal held the door open for her. A bell rang as they walked in.

“Be with you in a minute,” a voice called from the back.

“It’s me, Roam.”

“Hey, can you check messages? Someone called, and I couldn’t answer.”

Rascal paused at the reception desk and picked up the phone. Meg walked over to the walls. They were covered with framed art of what she assumed were tattoos they’d done. One of Rascal’s tattoos was on the wall. It was the gray and black one stating: Assuming I was just an old man was your first mistake with US Veteran underneath it.

There was also a listing for piercings, including intimate ones. She wondered if Rascal or Roam did those. She wasn’t letting anyone with a needle anywhere near her down there. She’d lived this long without one and didn’t think she needed to experience that in her lifetime.

Rascal came up behind her and slid his arms around her. “You considering a piercing, Meg? I’ll warn you they take time to heal and would curtail some of the activities we’ve been participating in.”

She shook her head and giggled. “Nope, nada, not me. They just caught my eye. Do you and Roam both do those?”

“I don’t. Roam takes care of them.”

Roam and his client walked to the reception desk. Roam accepted his payment and said goodbye while she enjoyed Rascal’s arms around her.

“You have a ten-thirty, correct?” Roam asked.

“That was the message. They cancelled. What about you?”

“I don’t have anyone else. I’ll clean up, and then I can stick around for walk-ins for a while and update the books, then close. I don’t think we’ll be busy.”

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