Page 225 of Smooth Sailing

“Yeah,” Hugger grunted.

But he liked that.

It was what his ma told him in that song.

She’d be gone, and her memory would get him through.

And she was with him, maybe just in his thoughts, but every day, whenever he needed her, he could call her up, and she’d be right there.

His attention was taken when female cackles rent the air, and both men focused on the women in the pool, seeing all of them lost in laughter.

“With what Margaret did, there was always something, like a blanket smothering our happiness as a family, Di’s and mine,” Armitage said as he watched the women laugh. “Never seen her so happy and carefree.”

Hugger felt his throat close.

Because what Armitage just said…

That was for him.

The man was giving him that gift.

Armitage turned to him. “Thanks for that, Harlan.”

Christ, that was for him.

“You can call me by my Club name, Hugger or Hug,” Hugger pushed out.

Armitage smiled and murmured, “Honored.” Then he walked to the edge of the pool and asked, “Anyone ready for me to put the burgers on the grill?”

Pete woke for that and yelled, “Fuck yeah!”

“Want help, Dad?” Di called.

“I’d love it, Buttercup,” Armitage answered.

Armitage glanced at Hugger with a dip of his chin as he took his beer back into the house.

Diana paddled her way to the Baja bench, listed off the noodle and pulled herself out of the pool.

Dutch and Gerard got off the loungers, Dutch going to sit on the edge of the bench, Gerard commandeering Diana’s noodle and floating in the pool.

Jagger lifted his glasses off his nose, looked at Hugger and grinned.

And Hugger set his beer aside and toweled off some more so he wasn’t dripping.

Then he went into the house to help Di and her dad with the burgers.

24

THE ISLAND OF CHAOS

Hugger

Two weeks later…

Hugger stood in his house in Denver and decided (all the shit that meant anything to him packed and sitting in High and Millie’s basement, waiting for him to load it up and drive down to Phoenix, all the rest of it, furniture, kitchen shit, whatever, taken to the dump), the place looked better than it ever had.

The rooms with carpet had been stripped of it, the kitchen and bathrooms gutted, the wall that separated the kitchen from the living room had been torn down so they could create a great room.

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