Page 62 of Playing for Keeps

“There are women in Tumbling Rock who’ve never enjoyed your qualities.”

“So you think.”

“No, I bet there are divorced teachers and never-married nurses. Real normal professional women.”

“Not strippers, basically.”

Sighing, I fess up, “I can’t have you married to a woman who is still stripping at forty because she loves the job.”

“She’ll be married and have a few kids by the time she’s forty.”

“But not with you.”

“I don’t want more kids,” Duke says and eyes me warily. “They’re awful. Sure, they start off cute and make you laugh with their terrible sausage-eating skills. But then, they get older and meddle with your love life. No way am I going through that crap again.”

“Oh, well, then maybe you need to marry a woman older than you. Someone who won’t get accidentally knocked up. I have an old art teacher who might interest you.”

“Just leave me alone. Focus your crazy matchmaking skills on your grandmother. She’d love to date dozens of men while you find the right one.”

“Okay, but I also plan to search for someone for Edith,” I say and consider my new pals. “I’m excited about living at the homestead. It’ll be fun to have people to hang out with all the time. You and Clover are too self-sufficient.”

“You used to be self-sufficient, too.”

“Val broke me. I’m a needy bitch now.”

“Well, nothing good comes without costs. To have him, you’ll need to live with being weak and needy.”

“I know you don’t want grandkids yet, but I hope I’m knocked up by Christmas.”

Duke stares upward as if begging God for guidance. I smile at his irritation. I also know by the time my baby is born, he’ll be over his worries.

I suspect the stripper will be in the past by then. Duke can settle back into his usual routine once Val wears the Blood-Red Suns’ vest and rides Basin Rock’s roads. My dad already seems calmer than he was only a week ago.

I’m calmer, too. The idea of living at the homestead seemed like a line I wasn’t willing to cross. Basin Rock was the only home I needed. Now the idea of hanging out with the girls from the homestead feels like a party.

The next day, I get a chance to bond more with them when Clover and I head to a Rockwell salon.

Tuesday, Edith, and the others are already outside. Alexis lingers near the car, seeming nervous. Tuesday and Oana are forced to drag her forward.

“I had a bad salon experience before,” Alexis explains when they reach Clover and me at the front door. “But West still found me sexy, so it’s okay.”

Tuesday hugs Alexis from behind. “Yes, he did. And we’ve learned our lesson, so no facial treatments this time.”

“Wait, I’m scheduled to get a facial,” Clover mumbles and touches her cheek. “Grandma Erin said it would help with all the makeup I’ll have piled on my face at the wedding.”

“I think she was teasing you,” I promise my sister. “Everyone should wear the amount of makeup they’re comfortable with. And you can skip the facial if you want. Just have fun.”

With Clover calmer now, our group moves inside the building where we take up all the spots for various beauty procedures. I choose a hair trim and conditioning treatment. I don’t trust anyone doing anything different to my face that might cause a possible breakout before my big day.

I study the women I’ll soon live with on the homestead. Sunny blonde Tuesday talks enough for everyone. Pale ginger Alexis is slyly funny. Blonde rocker Oana seems nervous in each new situation before mellowing out. Roxie is a gorgeous yet awkward teen. Edith is back in her bitchy Instagram model mode.

Soon, I’ll live in a house at the homestead. These women will be my support system. Suddenly, Basin Rock seems like a million miles away. Clover, Duke, and Erin will become strangers.

“What’s wrong?” Clover asks while getting her hair trimmed nearby. “Do I need to come over and hug you?”

“No,” I mumble, wiping tears from my eyes. “I’ve gotten myself worked up over how far away Tumbling Rock and Basin Rock are from each other.”

“Oh, it’s not so bad,” Tuesday assures me. “When Val was stalking you, he’d be over in Basin Rock all the time. But we’d call him and he’d be back so fast. Once you get the hang of driving back and forth, you’ll see how the distance is nothing.”

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