Page 85 of As Thick As Thieves

“You’re a sweet boy,” she answered, hugging me a little tighter for a moment before letting go and moving onto Drake who happily hugged her back, Cruz being just as accepting when it was his turn.

“Thank you,” Penn whispered as she took my hand and gave it a squeeze, my face softening as I looked down at her to find the brightest smile on her pretty face.

“Anything for you,” I murmured, kissing her forehead. Estelle eyed us but didn’t say anything, ushering us into the kitchen to make coffee, but she paused when she saw how clean the room was.

“Who cleaned up?”

“Drake and Cruz,” Penn said proudly, knowing I was still a little uncomfortable, so she pushed me down into a chair and perched herself on my lap. “We were hoping to crash here tonight if you have room. Our house kind of got, uh, shot to pieces.”

Estelle gasped, the coffee forgotten as she looked us all over. “No one’s hurt? Who tried to hurt you?”

“That’s what we’d like to know. Someone’s stalking me, but they’re like a ghost.”

“What happened to those boys who saved you?”

“That’s whose house we’ve been staying at. They’ve got their own families to worry about, and I’m fine now that I have these guys,” she smiled, patting my cheek. “Knox usually scares anyone off with his resting bitch face.”

“Fuck off,” I grunted, trying not to wince once I realized what I’d said, but Estelle laughed, turning to finish the coffee.

“I’m not surprised if he's grumpy. You’re a handful, Penelope. They deserve an award.”

Penn was quiet for a second before speaking. “How’s Dad?”

“Being a stain on society as usual. He’s at a private poker game tonight out of town. Enough about him, what have you been up to?”

“I’ve been working a little,” Penn said proudly. “It’s not much, but Harley from Harley’s Bar in Ashburn Valley lets me help in the kitchen sometimes. I made real money from it, and it was all mine.”

“A job?” Estelle asked with excitement, bringing cups of coffee over with a smile. “Tell me more. I want to know everything.”

They talked for ages, and the more Estelle talked, the more I liked her. She asked us questions about ourselves, too, swiftly changing the subject when it was obvious she’d asked something too personal, and that made me relax even more. I could see why Penn looked up to her as a parent figure so much.

“How about you all sit outside and light the fire pit? It’s a lovely evening. I’ll cook some dinner and let you know when it’s ready,” Estelle suggested after a while, and Drake frowned.

“We can help. I can’t speak for Penn, but the rest of us are good cooks.”

“Hey!” Penn huffed, but Estelle gave her a knowing look.

“You’re unteachable. There’s no way your cooking skills have improved.”

I grinned, kissing Penn’s cheek to soften the blow as I answered. “Penn burned instant noodles and set all the alarms off once because she didn’t know she had to add water to the pot. Trust me, she’s probably gotten worse.”

“Sounds about right. She put a tin of beans in the microwave once and blew it up,” Estelle said with amusement, getting to her feet. “I mean it, go light a fire. Relax.”

Penn got to her feet and let Drake drag her outside as she giggled and pretended to curse him out, and I was surprised when Cruz grabbed his guitar from the living room. He shrugged like it was no big deal, but he rarely played in front of people.

We wandered outside to find Drake attempting to light the fire, and I nudged him out of the way with a shake of my head. “Move, your survival skills suck.”

“I can light a fucking fire, asshole. It’s not hard.”

“Just sit down before you hurt yourself,” I grumbled, pointing to a bench close by, grateful when he did as he was told. Penn’s eyes were glued to Cruz and the guitar as he sat on another bench opposite Drake’s across the fire, and I motioned for her to sit with him. Drake could get over it. If Cruz intended on playing anything, he’d prefer Penn beside him while he did it.

I quickly started the fire and sat beside Drake, dropping an arm around him to let him lean into my side. As much as I’d never been an affectionate person, this shit was growing on me. Cruz stared into the flames for a while in silence, but he eventually picked the guitar up and draped it across his lap. Drake relaxed into me more as Cruz’s fingers started plucking at the strings. He was a little rusty, but the gentle strumming soothed me as I closed my eyes, soaking in the peace surrounding us.

Penn was fascinated by it, her eyes bright as she watched him play, and I had to admit, it was good to hear him playing again.

Cruz

I never thought I’d play in front of a woman. It was something I held close to my chest that only my closest friends knew about. This guitar was more than just an instrument, but Penn was more than just some woman.

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