Page 4 of Gator
I instructed the onboard system to call Wolfe and then pointed the SUV towards the exit. It didn’t take him long to pick up.
“Wolfe here.” I rolled my eyes at his usual greeting. Who else would be answering his personal cell phone but him?
“Hey, just wanted to let you know that Colton and Ryan have been safely deposited at the door of Colton’s private jet. So unless you need me to do anything else here in Austin, I want to stop by my sister’s for a minute, and then I’m headed home.”
“No, we’re all good. I appreciate you taking that one last minute.”
“No problem, you know I’m always up for a road trip.”
“Will you be back in time to go to Daddy Night? Mika will be disappointed if you don’t make it.”
“Mika will be too busy hanging all over Hawk to notice if I show up or not.”
About six months ago, my friend Hawk had finally found his forever boy, and Mika had wormed his way into all of our hearts. Ever since I took a bullet during his rescue, he’d made it his mission to make sure I never wanted for sweet treats, not that I was complaining. My mee-maw sent me care packages from home on the regular, but they never lasted long, so I appreciated anything Mika made for me.
“True enough,” Wolfe said with a chuckle. “They’re still in the honeymoon phase. Hell, last time Mika even got Hawk out there doing a line dance.”
“I heard. Of course it happened when I was in Seattle, and I missed it. I can’t believe none of y’all recorded it so I could see it for myself.”
“Anyway, if you make it back in time, you should join us. A little birdie told me Julius is single again and that he might be there.”
“A little birdie?” I asked. Wolfe was not one for gossip, but I knew who was.
“Okay, Mika might have mentioned it to Caden, who, in turn, suggested I let you know in case you wanted to come.”
I chuckled. Because, of course, it was Mika. But if Julius actually was single and was planning to be there, I would show up. So far, our timing had been shit. I’d just decided to make my move when I was sent on a job in Seattle. We’d expected it to be a short assignment, but I’d ended up being gone for three months. By the time I got back, Julius had started dating some bigwig from Austin. I thought I’d missed my chance because, seriously, what kind of idiot would let Julius get away?
“I should be home in plenty of time.”
“Good deal. We’ll see you when you get back.”
We hung up, and I headed towards my sister Lisette’s place. Most of my family still lived in the swampy part of Texas known as the Golden Triangle, but not Lisette. She made a run for the city as soon as she was old enough. That was where she met her husband, Charles. About a year ago, they moved from Houston to Austin, and I tried to stop by to see her and the kids any time I was in the city.
It took me a good forty minutes to make the fifteen-minute drive because traffic was horrible, but it was worth it since I saw two little faces looking out the front window watching for me when I pulled in.
I barely made it out of the SUV before the two munchkins were barreling towards me, calling out my name.
Robin made it to me first and threw herself into my outstretched arms. “Uncle Harlan, you’re here!”
“That I am, sweet pea.”
Ann Marie wasn’t far behind her, her little legs going as fast as they could before she threw herself into the hug I was already sharing with Robin.
I squeezed them both tight and looked over their heads to see Annette standing on the porch, grinning. My mama and papa had both come from big families, but they’d opted to keep it smaller. It was just me, Marcel, and Lisette, and with Lissy being the baby of the family, Marcel and I had both teased her relentlessly and spoiled her rotten. Luckily, she’d found a man who treated her like a queen.
I swooped up both the girls and carried them to the porch before setting them down and wrapping her in a hug.
“How are you, Lissy?”
“I’m right as rain, Harlan. How about you?”
No one but my family called me by my given name, and about half of them had taken to calling me Gator, but not Lissy. Like my mama, she insisted on calling me Harlan, and I figured she always would.
“I’m good. Real good.”
“Well, come on in and let me get a glass of tea. How long can you stay?”
“Just a couple of hours. I have some place to be tonight.”