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“Please, sweet girl. Water, if you would.” Denver smiled as she kissed his cheek. “Such a good daughter.”

“I’d take a water too, please.” He could only do so much Coke.

“You got it. I’ll bring y’all a Styrofoam cooler of bottles.”

“Thank you, hon.” Denver glanced at him wryly. “You see how she is? She thinks she’s old.”

“Uh-huh. She’s decided the others are like her own.”

“She has. She’s so young, Tank.”

Tank tried not to grimace. She was, but he got it. Sometimes the mileage, in his case, or the responsibility in Deb’s, made a person feel older. “Some folks are made to be nurturers, Denver. Especially oldest kids.”

“I reckon so. She gets it from her momma. I’d just as soon let them act like wolves.”

Tank snorted. Somehow he couldn’t imagine the twins as that far out of control. Maybe Dakota and Darius….

“Tank! Where should we put all the stuff?” Buick and company breezed into the backyard, and Tank felt bad.

He really needed to learn the guys’ names.

“Just find a spot on the kitchen counter. Linda will tell us what to do with them later.” Denver stood, shaking hands all around.

“Thanks. Pleased to meet you, sir. Buick Davis. This is my brother, Dave, and my buddies Slim Ghering and Tyler Harlow.”

“There are some chairs out already, and that shed there has a bunch more. Make yourselves comfortable.”

“Thank you!” Buick tugged Tank up out of his chair for a hug. “Anything we can do?”

“If y’all want to get a bunch of chairs out, so other folks have places as they come….”

“Sure enough.” Tank smiled, and he and Buick headed to the shed.

“Where’s your boy?”

“Helping Miss Linda. She roped him into moving something with his brother.”

“Ah. Well, I’m happy to help move chairs.” Buick frowned when Tank shifted from foot to foot. “How’s your leg?”

“Sore as a boil, truth be told.”

“Then go sit, honey! Seriously. Do you have some salve? I can go fetch it.”

“No, I’m okay.” He did sit, though, his muscles cramping right up, surprising a grunt out of him.

Buick frowned, then held out one hand. “Gimme your phone.”

“Huh?” He held out his phone automatically, but he wasn’t connecting dots.

“Thanks.” Buick opened it right up and poked at the screen, then put the phone to his ear. “Yo. This is Buick. Tank’s hurting. You got some medicine for him? Uh-huh. Down by the little shed with all the chairs. Good deal.”

“What are you doing?” It wasn’t like Doc was there. Was he?

“Calling your boy. If he’s going to get the bennies from sex with you, he needs to take the shitshow too.”

“Hey! Dalton’s busy, is all.” His ears went hot. Tank wasn’t sure he was ready for Dalton to know how bad his leg hurt.

“Uh-huh. Suck it up, honey. I’ll let him have you, but I ain’t letting him do wrong by you, intentional or not.”