Page 35 of Side Hustle
Her face morphed into a grimace at our extended silence. Clearly, she couldn’t read the room. Or the parking lot, as it were.
“Please. I can’t be alone in the house with these two any longer today.” Her voice went scary deep and a shiver went up my spine. “Mama needs a break.”
I put a hand on Rip’s arm and we walked over to the driver’s side window. Lucy needed help. Our trip down memory lane could wait. Forever, if I had my way. “Okay, honey. A beach day sounds great. I’ll follow you and help get those precious babies out of the car while you set up the tent. Sound good?”
“When’d you get a minivan?” Rip asked, completely oblivious to my soothing tone. Lucy was a mama on the edge and asking about her car wasn’t exactly what she needed right now. Gah! Men.
“Bain insisted I needed something roomier now that Heston is here. It’s nice. Right?” Lucy’s left eye started twitching.
I jabbed Rip in the side and he finally caught on, thank God. “Yeah. It’s gorgeous. Never seen something so perfect for your family. Might have to get myself one. I’m sick of trucks. Minivans are so much better.”
Okay, that was laying it on a little thick. Lucy would see right through that bullshit.
“We better get going so we get set up before nap time, right?” I interrupted.
Lucy blinked and thankfully her eye quit dancing on her face. I pushed Rip toward his truck and gave Lucy a thumbs-up and my broadest smile.
“See you there!”
Rip offered to drive us both, but I didn’t want to leave my car at work, nor did I want to be in a truck alone with Rip being forced to talk about that day back in high school. It was in the past. Best to just forget about it. Besides, the more we talked, the more we seemed to argue. Just getting right to the kissing seemed to work better for us.
* * *
The logs were popping, a huge blaze that gave off enough heat to keep us all warm. The beach afternoon had turned into a bonfire night, as they frequently did. Finnie and Charlie had joined us, bringing Chester with them. He was such a good boy. Never went close to the fire, and just sat next to one of us and soaked up the petting until he moved to someone else for more love. If we weren’t petting Chester, we were holding Heston, feeding Heston, burping Heston, or changing Heston’s diaper.
“Damn, these newborns are kinda needy, huh?” I joked, swaying back and forth to soothe a whiny Heston. Sure, I meant it to be funny, but this experience was really cementing in my head that I needed to be damn sure before having one of my own. Those thirty condoms were sounding smarter by the second.
Roxy had been a tough baby too, what with her never wanting to sleep, but she’d turned into an easy toddler. A shovel, a bucket, and a beach full of sand kept her occupied for hours.
Chester barked, deep and loud enough to startle Heston, and I had to increase the swaying to a maniacal speed to keep him happy.
“Hey, party people. Fear not, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson have arrived.” Amelia sauntered up to the group of us, Titus right behind her, his gaze firmly on her ass.
I rolled my eyes, but secretly, I was happy for my friends. A flash of something black and white raced around Amelia and went straight for Chester. It was shaggy and floppy and reminded me of a huge teddy bear I’d won at the carnival when I was a little kid.
“What the hell is that?” Rip asked as the thing moved in a circle around Chester. God bless his sweetness, Chester just eyed him like he couldn’t be bothered to get too excited.
Titus clapped his hands and the furry thing quit sniffing Chester’s backside long enough to dart over and jump up on Titus’s legs. A pink tongue hung out the side of its mouth.
“This is Sheepdog,” Titus announced, ruffling behind the gentle giant’s ears.
“You meanasheepdog?” Bain asked.
Titus nodded. “He’s a sheepdog and we also named him Sheepdog.”
Rip snorted and I had to agree with him. That was a ridiculous name. “You named your sheepdog Sheepdog? Jesus, you don’t have even an ounce of imagination, do you?”
“I suggested Bear Claw, because have you had one lately? They are so damn good.” Amelia closed her eyes and looked like she was daydreaming about donuts right this very second. Uh-oh, looked like living with Titus was rubbing off on her.
“Sheepdog was the better of the two.” Titus shrugged. “Figured we’d raise a dog to make sure we want to have kids. A trial run, you know?”
“What the fu-French horn?” Lucy sputtered, remembering Roxy’s presence in time to curb her cursing. “You could have just babysat for us, you numb nuts. No need to get a dog. Which, by the way, that’s insulting. Caring for a dog is nothing like caring for an infant. Just so you know.”
The group went silent while Bain moved to stand behind Lucy and began rubbing her shoulders with a wince on his stoic face.
“That’s a great suggestion, Lucy, thank you. We’ll for sure babysit for you, but we also wanted to have a dog to help us herd the flamingos in the backyard. You want us to babysit Heston tomorrow?” Amelia spoke in soothing tones, which I knew cost her. Her natural response would have been to strike back with equal snark and venom, but we all knew an overwhelmed new mom deserved some extra coddling.
The group put more effort into talking Lucy off the ledge while I kept swaying with Heston. His little eyes were shut and his mouth moved in his sleep. I grinned down at the warm bundle in my arms. I was the goddamn baby whisperer.
