Page 31 of Coyote
“Don’t worry about Rufus. I’m taking care of him.”
“Um, did you hire someone to shadow me?” I asked tentatively.
“Well yeah. I assigned three prospects to take turns looking out for you when you’re not with me. I had a bad feeling that Rufus wasn’t going to stay away and I don’t trust that asshole any further than I can throw him.”
Truth be told, I’m feeling some kind of way about him doing that without asking. “I don’t believe hiring me a bodyguard is necessary.”
“Clearly, it is. How can you even say that after he just accosted you in the store? Mace told me what happened. That asshole has no right to keep harassing you.”
“Well, he didn’t really harass me. He confronted me about you telling him to stay away from me. He was pretty upset.”
“Well, it sounds like he’s having problems following orders. If he keeps it up, he’s going to be sipping his meals through a straw.”
This was exactly what I didn’t like about being with Coyote before, this arrogant vigilante attitude. Coyote and his club brothers honestly thought they had a right to take matters into their own hands and in doing so become police, judge, and jury for whoever was foolish enough to cross them. The Dark Slayers claimed to be a law-abiding club, but they were no better than Twisted Metal when it came right down to it. And that broke my heart. Becoming emotional, I tried not to let it show in my voice.
“Look, I’m going to get off here. We’re still in the parking lot and I’ve got ice cream melting in the car.”
Coyote hesitated for a second before agreeing, “Yeah, you’d best get home. Your kid will scream the walls down if her ice creams melts.”
“I’ll talk to you later,” I murmured before ending the call.
I glanced into my rear-view mirror and saw that my darling daughter had somehow managed to open the bag of cookies and was happily working her way thought the entire bag. There were broken cookie bits and crumbs everywhere. Damnit.
I hit the ignition switch, put the car in gear and headed home. God, I was the world’s worst mother. I had a lot on my mind but that was no reason to make rookie mistakes like this. It wouldn’t kill her to have cookies before dinner, but I was not about to let that happen again.
As I drove, my mind drifted to Coyote again. The big man who stepped in was called Mace, and there were two more besides him, all apparently trading off shifts. I’m not the kind of person who merits a bodyguard. Those are for celebrities, and CEOs of multinational corporations. Not for small-town event planners. Surely, this was overkill on Coyote’s part?
Well now, who do we have here? Rufus’ oily voice showing an interest in my daughter was genuinely alarming. It’s strange how I didn’t speak up for myself but turned mama bear in an instant, once he indicated a casual interest in my child. That told me I should be sticking up for myself as well. Lesson learned, I guess.
***
When I got home, Reggie was working in his garden. He loved fussing over his vegetable patch. He came over and started helping me carry my groceries into the pool house. I nodded towards his garden.
“Your tomato plants are looking strong and healthy this year.”
The older man grinned and took the bags I handed to him. “I’m really tickled with size and yield. The key is to prune the plants vigorously early on, so all its energy is concentrated on making fruit.”
I opened the back car door and brushed cookie crumbs off my daughter. She had a butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth look as she waved the empty cookie bag at me.
“No cookies,” she said licking her lips.
Well, there’s someone who wouldn’t be wanting her dinner tonight, and no doubt after a sugar high would get cranky and wake up in the middle of the night saying her tummy hurt and she was hungry. I sighed, “Uncle Reggie has tomatoes, they’re much nicer than cookies.”
My daughter pulled a face, “I like cookies.”
Reggie laughed, “Me too, but the doc says I need to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables.”
“We could all do with eating healthier, especially a certain little girl,” I murmured as I carried my daughter into the house with Reggie following close behind me.
Once inside, Nessa ran off to play in the living room, I started unpacking my groceries and settled down to have a chat with Reggie. I’d not had much of a chance to speak with him since he returned from Vegas, and I was dying to hear his news.
“Would you like a cup of coffee, Reggie?”
He perked up, “I’d prefer a cold drink if you have one.” Looking at him, I could see the sweat on his forehead from working hard in his garden.
“Sure. Let’s see, I have iced tea, cola, or milk.”
“Iced tea sure sounds good about now.”