Page 116 of Bobby Green

“I let that woman stay here when she couldn’t keep her man—and she had nothing!” Frank snapped. “This? This is how she repays me?”

“She paid you in rent!” Bobby protested. “Jesus—what else did you want?”

Frank gave him a narrow-eyed glance that told Bobby a whole lot about how strong his mom was, and where Keith Gilmore had learned to be a blackmailing motherfucker.

“I hope your dick falls off,” Bobby said, feeling his entire body go cold.

“Cold bitch never put out—oolf!”

“Kane! I told you—don’t hurt him!”

“Just his ribs,” Kane said mildly. His jaw was clenched, though, and his eyes narrowed. “Maybe his kidneys. I don’t like men who bully women.”

“None of us do,” Ethan said, his usually warm, happy voice locked up and hard. “I think it’s really important that he knows that. Do you know that, Mr. Gilmore?”

Frank was still doubled over, clutching his ribs or his kidneys or whatever. “Yeah,” he managed. “I think I got it.”

“So yeah,” Dex said, folding the rental agreement up and putting it in his pocket. “You’ll get back the papers with her signature on them when she’s done working. You can’t rent the place out before then. So, you know. Maybe don’t go down to Truckee and tell stories, ’kay?”

“Keith, start the truck!” Frank wheezed, and this time Kane let him go.

They all watched as Keith executed a wide, destructive three-point turn. If Bobby’s mom had planted flowers this year, he would have decimated the beds, but she’d given up on that a couple of years past.

“That was exciting,” Kane said, not even rubbing his hand for show. “Can we move shit now? My blood’s all up. I need to work out.”

“Yeah, sure,” Bobby said numbly. He looked up to where Jonah and Frances and his mom were still petting horses. “Let’s get as much done as we can before they come back. If I know my mom, it’s all labeled and shit.”

HE KNEWhis mom.

Most of the books and needlepoint supplies were going to Bobby’s apartment. Most of the furniture was going to the storage cube he’d rented nearby. Everything else had been boxed and labeled, including dishes and clothes, and Bobby thought woefully of the stuff he’d put in boxes to take to Reg’s.

“God, that apartment is small,” he murmured. “We really gotta figure out where we’re gonna live.”

Reg came up to his side and bumped his shoulder. “You guys make enough—maybe just a better apartment?”

“Yeah,” Bobby said with a sigh. “Two bedrooms. That way she has someplace to put her needlework if I move out.” It would give him and his mom something to do after V came back, Bobby figured. Because he was going to need a break from V, even if he loved spending most of his time with Reg.

“When,” Reg said hopefully. “Whenyou move out.”

Oh God. “Sure. When.”

It was as close to a lie as he ever hoped to tell Reg, but he consoled himself with the thought that there was a way to be found.

IT TOOKthem less than an hour.

Part of that was because there were five of them, and the other part of it was that all five of them were freakishly strong.

“Jesus, Kane—put the couch down!”

“But Dexter, look—one hand!”

“Great—but it’s gonna crack in two if you don’t let Ethan and Reg get the ends.”

“Bummer. I want a try.”

Bobby grinned at Ethan. “You break it, you bought it. Twenty bucks at the Goodwill, I’m pretty sure.”

Ethan looked speculatively at the couch as Kane brought his other arm up and tried to decide how to lower it, now that he was exactly in the middle.