Page 73 of Played

Grabbing his phone, Riot called Ben. “Ben, listen…”

“Yeah, you didn’t get the text?”

“Don’t know, haven’t looked. Listen, are the keys for the Monterey house?”

“Yeah, why?”

“We’re changing the way we deal with today. Call Mal and Dan. Call Jason and Michael. Bring everyone to the house. We will figure it all out once we are there.”

“Sounds like the best plan you’ve had in years.”

“First time I’ve had a clear head in years.” Riot hung up. Taking a breath, he looked over at River, who sat staring out the window. “I can call him back…”

“No. I want to do something besides cry today.”

Pulling back out onto the highway, Riot made a mental list of everything they would need for a great weekend. “I don’t know if Mal packed anything but a pair of bikini bottoms and a floppy hat.” When her head popped around, Riot laughed at her surprised expression. First of many to come for them, he hoped.

***

Turned out to be a great evening when everyone arrived. The house was equipped with a heated pool and hot tub paired with a huge gas fire pit. Riot sipped a glass of merlot with the others. He knew they were probably concerned he would relapse into a bottle of scotch, but he realized he could handle things in moderation. A half glass of wine was more than what he wanted or needed for his evening to be wonderful. Handing the glass off to Ben, he continued grilling steaks as Jason told stories about how Cypress was a cheat at cards and how Jason hated playing in the monthly poker game because he would lose his ass every time. He heard River laugh and Riot relaxed a little more. Michael told River about how they had met at the track when they were young.

“We were racing peewees. Damn we thought we were badasses back then. Turned out we were. Cypress had walked it like he was king. He commanded attention. We thought he was cool as shit. He crashed into the infield, tore up his car, broke his ankle and cried like a bitch.” River laughed so hard she nearly fell out of her chair.

“I never knew he broke his ankle.”

“Your dad kept him on the track. They didn’t miss a race no matter where it was. Your mom, well she hated every minute of it.”

“She resented every cent spent on it also.”

“How did you get into racing bikes?”

“I wanted something for myself. Dad had been into the cars and Cypress had followed suit. Mom was popping Little Mother’s Helpers and downing them with a carafe of sangria every night. I had ridden for years with friends out on the levees—mostly dirt bikes, which I still love. One night I boosted a bike from a friend’s dad and took it for a ride. I was in love after that.”

As the evening went on, things got a little somber as they talked about the things they missed. The comments were more about missing the feel of family and the camaraderie between all of them.

Jason looked at River and quietly said, “Cypress loved you with every piece of his soul. He was a hard man to read sometimes and he made everyone work for whatever they got but he loved her and was damn proud of her. The last thing your brother said to me before we got in our cars, he said, ‘y’all need to be ready to celebrate with River, she’s going to win big today.’ You did win. You earned your points to get a pro license you were picked up by DD. Now even when the chips were down you played your hand right. You have accomplished so much that Cypress knew you would. Celebrate that, little sister. Celebrate his faith in you.”

River didn’t want to go down the sappy road just yet, so she told them about when she first moved in with Cypress. She had been racing amateur bikes and wanted to move up. Her life had been turned upside down then, also. “I came out here to live with Cypress. I remember walking into the house and the room was full of guys. All of you were there. Cypress pointed out each one of you and told me one detail about each of you and said always remember that about them.”

“And?” Riot asked suspiciously.

River smiled at Riot. “Oh, he told me you were a heartbreaker and I should never let my guard down with you or I would find myself crying in the mornings.”

“That asshole.” He laughed.

“When I told him, I wanted to go for my pro license, Cypress said if I went down that road and kept racing, I had to do it on my own. He didn’t cut me any slack, that’s for sure. I busted my ass to get where I am.” River wondered if any of them knew what had happened back when Riot was in the hospital. “When everything happened, I was a mess. If it weren’t for Mal and Dan, I would have…” She didn’t look at Riot while she said that part, but he knew he was part of that. “When I was told Laurel had the legal right to the house and I had thirty days to move out before she took possession, I asked the judge if any of the contents belonged to her, or just the house itself—as in the shell.”

Riot busted out laughing, losing his breath. He waved her on to continue the story because so much made sense to him now.

“Well once I got out of court and went home, at first I was upset that she won because we all knew that paperwork was a lie. Then I called Mal and, as usual when things go south, she brings the pinot and we make the world right again.”

“Please tell us how you made the world right,” Michael asked while pouring wine into her glass.

“As Mal and I sat there drinking wine (two or three bottles), we thought over what the judge had said. The shell is hers, so everything inside was mine.” River smiled when Riot laughed harder. “We decided that everything had to be taken.”

“What did you two do?” Jason asked.

“Oh, it wasn’t just the two of us. Ben and Dan helped, and a few other friends I called in to strip that bitch down. We took everything that would come loose.”

---