Page 16

Chapter 15

Making Plans

Boone

“You’re sick.” She knots her hands and brows in unison.

“You’re fucking adorable, you know that, Cupcake?” I grab her hand and yank her down on top of me.

“Boone,” she grumbles as she gives a weak attempt at freeing herself from my clutches.

“It’s a slight fever, a three-day thing,” I tell her like she told me when she took over with Lily so I could take care of other shit. “I’ll be all good by tomorrow. You and the little flower have been holed up in here since Tuesday. Go get mani-pedis and lunch on Big Daddy Boone.”

“Would you stop calling yourself that?” She rolls those big, beautiful blue eyes.

“Is BDB okay? Or just for your group chats?”

“Yes, that.” She giggles.

Lily comes flying out of the bathroom, grabs Syd’s foot, and pulls on her. “I will save you, my Syd!”

I get a hold of Lily, pull her up on us, and tickle the hell out of her.

“Daddy, stop.” She laughs and squirms, and it feels so damn good to see this, see Lily happy.

“All right, all right, all right.” I stand, holding them both and setting their little feet on the ground. “Coats, boots, hats, and mittens, little ladies—it’s a cold one.”

“But we getta get fancy nails!” Lily cheers.

“Getta get,” Sydney whispers. “Could she get any more adorable?”

“Could you?”

“Hey, Mom.” I clear my throat and sit up in the brown leather, Boone-sized recliner Syd ordered for me to add to her cute-as-hell living room.

“How you feelin’, Beau?”

“Dragging ass physically. Emotionally, I’m feeling a little bipolar. You?”

She sighs. “This marriage, you love this girl?”

“I’ve been falling for her since I first saw her. She’s sunshine personified.”

“Oh God,” Mom groans.

I laugh. “She drives a Jeep. Sydney and her girls are going out West, Jeeping this summer.”

“There’s hope.” She laughs softly.

“Did I mention her Jeep is pink?”

“No, and I wish you hadn’t,” she grumbles.

“All right then, I’ll let you make up your own mind, but you’ll love her.”

“I just want to make sure that you remember who you are. You’re my son, not his. You’ve proven that by the father you are and the one you want to be.”

I smile. “Yes, ma’am.”

I hear the sound of a screen door slap shut and know she’s coming in off the porch.

“All right, you’re on speaker. Your brothers are here and willing to do whatever to make tomorrow whatever you want it to be.”

“Trimmed beards, hair …” I pause. “I don’t give a shit. Just put a hat on—a winter hat, not ball cap. If you can’t get a trim or manage that shit—yes, I’m talking about you, Bronson and Benton.”

Benton chuckles. “You seen Bishop lately?”

Bishop pipes in, “Why you messing with me? Blane’s gonna need a chainsaw for his beard alone.

“Yo, Ma.” I laugh.

“They’ll be presentable,” she assures me.

“Can’t wait to see y’all. Lily’s gonna flip.”

“You keeping us a surprise?” Bronson asks.

“She needs all the good she can get right now,” I admit. “She’s on the same emotional rollercoaster as I am. Syds keeping her busy when I can’t.”

“She’s hot, man. Good catch,” Bishop says.

“The honk-honks on her?—”

Smack.

Oof .

“Dang, Mom,” Blane huffs.

“Don’t be a tool,” Mom replies.

“Better that than titties.”

Smack.

Oof .

“Shit, Ma,” Bishop groans.

“Honk-honks?” Benton laughs, and then we all do.

I look at the clock. “Y’all have ten hours before you need to be at the airport. Can’t wait to see you tomorrow. Love you. Fly safe.”

“Son, you should be resting,” Sydney’s dad, Cory, says as I walk in with another armload of chairs to set up. In the enclosed portion of the pavilion, we’ll gather for our vows and a toast before and after the ceremony.

“Wanted to get the feel of the place. Your vows were exchanged in here?” I ask.

“Hey,” comes from the group of women—Molly, Tessa, Phoebe, and Linda Hart—as they walk in, arms full of bags and boxes.

“Thought you ladies were in Skaneateles getting pampered?” I ask as I take bags from them and set them down on the chairs.

“Funny, we thought you were home resting so you would feel better for your wedding day,” Molly scolds.

“He wanted to get a feel for the place.” Cory winks at her.

“Which means you have some surprises up your sleeve,” Molly says suspiciously.

Grinning like a fool, I admit, “I sure do.”

“Spill it, Boone.” Tessa Links, one of Sydney’s aunts, smiles as she pulls fabric from a bag.

“Chair covers?” I ask, avoiding the question.

She nods. “Just like we did for Molly and Cory’s wedding.”

“Appreciate it.”

Phoebe smiles. “And bows.”

“And booze.” Jade pulls out two bottles of champagne.

“The only thing missing is the thing that really matters—our people.”

Linda Hart, who has become such an important person in Lily and my life, wraps her arm around me. “You’re a good man.”

“Never gonna stop making sure I stay that way.”

Walking back over the stone bridge from what they call the Cow Shed, I look at the waterfalls that look magical with frozen water suspended over the rock.

“I want pictures there, for sure,” I say then blow into my hands and nod to the snow-covered stairs. “Maybe there, too.”

Reaching into my pocket, I wink at Molly and Tessa. “How beautiful will my bride look in a horsedrawn sleigh coming through this space and meeting me at the altar?” I look at the screen. “Speaking of my bride.” I hit accept . “Hey Cupcake, how was your day?”

“Daddy,” Lily sobs. “Daddy, the mean police pulled over the pink Jeep and taked my Syd in the woods. We need to help her!”

I take off toward the parking lot. “Where are you, Lily?”

“I stuck in the pink Jeep, Daddy. I gotta help my Syd, but I can’t get my buckle open,” she says through sniffs.

“Okay, okay,” I say, looking at my friend, happy as hell her little seat has an AirTag in it, something I put in there after the accident. “I know exactly where you are, little flower. You stay right there and do not get out until you see me.” I look beside me and see Cory. “Or Poppa Cory, okay?”

“Daddy, he hurt her hair, and she said a bad word, but … ’cause he was mean.”

“Yeah, Lily girl, he’s mean, and he’s gonna get his. You hear me? You stay right there, and if you do get unbuckled, sweetheart, you lock those doors, and you don’t open them until I tell you it’s okay.”

I slide into my truck and start it up.

“Or Poppa Cory?” Her voice comes over the speaker. “You gotta hurry, Daddy. The mean police pushed my Syd”—she sobs loudly—“inna snow.” She cries. “And they goed in the woods, but my Syd dinna wanna.”

Cory is in the truck and heard Lily, who is now sobbing uncontrollably.

I turn to back out when four women pile in the back.

“Lily, sweetheart, it’s Miss Linda.”

“Miss Linda, we gotta help my Syd. She’s having troubles.”

“We’re on our way, Lily. I know exactly where you are, okay?”

“How do you know, Daddy? Can you see me?”

“Your seat,” I answer, trying not to show any sign of fear, but I am fearful. “It has a little device that tells me where it is.”

“We needa get one for Lovey and Cakey.” She sniffs.

“We will. I promise we will.” I exhale quietly as I come out of the village, going ninety miles per hour. The roads are clear, and so is the sky, thank God. “Are you parked on the lakeside or the other?”

“Other, but the mean cop took my Syd to the water part.”

“Okay, little flower, that’s good information. I’m so proud of you, sweet girl.” I silently scream fuck into the air.

“Daddy, the phone is made a crazy sound.”

“Okay, okay, Lily sweetheart, the battery might be dying, but I still know where you are, and I am going to be there in three or four songs.”

“Daddy, there’s no songs on.” She whimpers then begins to cry.

“Okay, you and me are gonna sing one of our favorite songs, and when you can’t hear me, you keep singing, and then do it three more times, and I’ll be there, you with me?”

“Me’s with you, Daddy.”

“ The way you move is like a full-on rainstorm, and I’m a house of cards. ” I clear my throat.

“Our Sparks song, like Syd, Daddy?” Her voice breaks.

“Exactly like that.”

And my girl starts belting the chorus. “ Drop everything now, meet me in the morning rain, kiss me on the sidewalk, take away the thing, ’Cause I see Sydney Sparks fly whenever we smile. ”

The last chorus is when the phone dies, and I smash the gas as I turn onto State Route 41A.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” I beat the shit out of the steering wheel.

“Hudson and Roman are almost there,” Linda says.

“Linda, you tell them I get that motherfucker for ten minutes alone,” I hiss.

Molly sniffs. “So are the police.”

“And our boys,” Phoebe whispers.

“Please pass the same information. If I’m not there first, that piece of shit has now fucked with my ex, my forever, and my little girl.”

“I need five myself—that’s our everything,” Cory says so calmly it raises the hair on the back of my neck.

That’s when Molly breaks, and the others console her.

Cresting the hill, we see the Jeep. I throw on my hazards and nose my vehicle to it. Then I throw it in the park as I lay eyes on Lily, and when I kill the engine and get out, I can hear her singing and fucking crying, and it shatters any bit of hold I have on my anger.

“Lily girl, Daddy’s here, and so are the ladies and Poppa,” I yell to her as I cross the road.

I don’t slow when I see how steep of an incline it is, but it’s steep as shit.

“Cory,” I yell, knowing he’s behind me. “It’s fucking steep, man.”

I quickly spot the boot tracks where he stepped and broke through the snow frozen over.

“Don’t forget he’s armed, kid,” he calls to me. “You have a little girl with a mother already in a coma; no one would hold it against you if?—”

“I’d hold it against me, and Lily would. She told Syd she loved her last night—she’s not losing her.”

Farther down, I see blood and tracks like someone is being dragged.

“I told you I was sorry, you stupid bitch,” rings through the air. “Told you I wouldn’t do it again, and I told you I’d fix this. Those cunt cousins of yours think they’re better than everyone else, and now, so do you.”

I hold a fist up and crouch down to see if I can figure out how far they are from us. That’s when I see Sydney with her arms around a tree.

“Do they know you’re a little whore, like them? That you gave me an STD and threw yourself down the stairs to kill our baby? Do they ?” He fists her hair and pulls her head back, his mouth at her ear. He then licks up the side of her face.

“Tastes like sugar, but you’re getting fat again. He’ll quit you then, just like I did,” he hisses.

I walk as silently as possible with my eyes on them, trying to see where his other hand is, if he has the gun in it.

When I see he doesn’t, I make my move.

Only, by the time I get to him, he does, and he’s pointing it at her head.

A shot fires, a pinch, and Sydney screaming, “No!” all happen at the same time.

That’s all I hear beyond the wildfire of anger and rage in my head as I smash his body into the ground, use his own cuffs to secure him, and do so while looking up at Sydney. “You okay?”

“You’re … you’re … you’re bleeding!”

I see her hands start to shake and stand up, placing my boot between Officer Dickless’s shoulders. “I’m good. We need to get up this hill before we lose our shit completely.” I kiss her hard enough to bring her back to the here and now, but not enough to bruise those pretty lips.

“Lily—”

“Called me, Syd. She got me here, and she needs to see you.”

“Okay.” She nods up and down quickly. “Okay.”

“You with me?”

She smiles sadly as she nods and Cory looks over my arm.

“In and out.”

“Good thing I’m not a QB,” I joke, but it’s not funny at fucking all with playoffs.

Cory wraps a scarf around my arm like a tourniquet. Then he wraps his arms around Syd. “Okay, sweetheart, let’s take it slow, okay?”

I look down and see my foot’s not between his shoulders; it’s on the back of his head. My bad.

As soon as I lift my foot, he starts in, “You can’t leave me here! I’m a cop! Uncuff me! I?—”

I grab his ankle and start dragging him up the hill.

“Someone call for help?”

I look up and see Hudson and his brother Rome coming down.

“Appreciated, but this is bitch work,” I huff.

“He’s shot.” Sydney’s voice quivers.

“In and out, no big thing, Cupcake. That’s why God gave me two arms.”

“You haven’t seen it, have you?” Hudson asks as he bends down and grabs the other ankle.

“Fuck no. Right now, I’m a hero. She sees me fall out, she’ll never get that swoony look in her stunning baby blues when she looks at me.”

“She’s a whore!”

I reach in my pocket, grab a glove, drop his fucking foot, move to his head, and force his fucking jaw open as he cries out like the little bitch-ass he is. “The next words that come out of your mouth is gratitude that so many people love her enough to show up. If it was just me, I’d have killed you with your own fucking gun and tossed you in the lake.”

“Need some help?” comes from the top again.

“Just need the State boys to get the shitbag’s pistol to put into evidence.” I see a couple cops reeling, with ropes and shit.

“We can take him,” one says and makes a move.

“Oh no, I’ll take him there.”

Remington and several others are at the top of the hill when I get there. Lily is with the ladies and runs straight for … Sydney.

Hudson chuckles. “How’s it feel being number two?”

“Damn good.” I kick the motherfucker in the side—real fucking hard, too. “Cory, he’s all yours.”

“Daddy, don’t,” Sydney says to him as she hugs Lily tight.

“Daddy, you’re bleeding,” Lily adds.

“Promise you I’m gonna be okay; just need a couple of stitches.” I lean in and kiss her head then Sydney’s. “Gonna warn you both. I don’t do well with seeing my own blood, so if I pass out, I’ll be fine.”

And everything goes black.