Page 63 of I Do, or Dye Trying

“Hey, you’re the one who wants me to raise your daughter,” I told Adrian. “What’s that make you?”

“Uhhhh,” he said when he couldn’t think of anything else.

“That’s what I thought.” I left my best friend grinning like an idiot at his precious daughter and went to circulate amongst our guests.

I was glad to see that Emory was still around, but I wished he looked happier. Josh and I had become that annoying couple that wanted everyone else to be happy too—like Kyle, Chaz, Emory, and even Silver. It was nearly a painful experience to see people looking at one another longingly but doing nothing about their situation. Silver would watch Emory when he was busy looking away, and Emory would do the same when Silver was engaged in conversation with someone else. I had no clue what the hell was going on between Kyle and Chaz. They looked chummy and on the verge of taking the leap during our wedding reception, but they looked like they’d rather be anywhere other than our barbecue that night.

Stay out of it. Stay out of it. Stay… Oh fuck it!I headed over to the corner where Kyle broodily sat nursing a beer. “What did you do?” I asked.

“Me?” Kyle sounded shocked that I’d think such a thing. “Me?”

“Yes, you,” I said. “You looked like you were so close to getting everything you deserved and now… Well, it looks like everything went tits up.”

“Tits up?” Kyle asked.

“It’s a saying that Josh is prone to use on occasion. That one and ‘calm your tits.’ So, what did you do?” I asked again.

“It’s not me,” Kyle said, holding his right hand up like he was swearing in before giving testimony. “I thought we were finally heading in the right direction, but he put the brakes on when I asked him on a date. He turned me down flat.”

“You asked Chaz on a date, and he turned you down flat? No explanations or nothing?”

“Nothing,” Kyle said, shaking his head like he still couldn’t believe it. “One minute he was looking at me with eyes that begged me to kiss him again, and the next he was telling me that he couldn’t go out with me, but didn’t say why.”Kiss him again?I caught that part, but I bit my tongue instead of saying anything. “I think I’m just going to give up.”

“Don’t do that, Kyle,” I said firmly. “If you weren’t upset about it, then I’d agree with you, but you are upset. That means you do care and brushing away your feelings isn’t the right thing to do.” I thought back to the times I could’ve given up on Josh because Lord knows he tried my patience something fierce. I looked across the expanse of the family room and saw him laughing with Mere and Harley. I couldn’t imagine a day without Josh in it and fighting for him, and with him, was the best thing I ever did. “I promise you that it’s worth the battle.”

Kyle inhaled deeply and released his breath slowly. He turned his head and looked over to where Chaz was sitting next to Emory. Chaz looked up just then, and their eyes met and held for a few seconds before he looked away again. If Kyle couldn’t see how much Chaz wanted to be with him, then he was a lost cause. Kyle looked back at me and the crooked smile I always associated with him appeared on his face. “Yeah, okay.”

“Good man,” I told him.

“You guys going to open your presents?” Mama Richmond asked. “It’s getting late, and some of us have to work tomorrow.”

“Yeah, okay,” I said, echoing the words Kyle had just used.

Josh and I took turns opening our gifts, which were thoughtful and perfect. There wasn’t a single dud or gag gift in the bunch. Josh loved the cast iron cookware he received, and I loved my grilling stuff. We received some beautiful picture frames for our wedding photos.

“I’ll walk everyone out then come back in and help you clean the kitchen so we can go upstairs and get some sleep,” I told Josh.

“No sleep for a while,” he said in what he probably thought was a menacing voice.

It sounded promising to me, so I didn’t linger outside for too long. I said goodbye to everyone and returned to the house. “I’m ready for my punishment, Sunshine. We can clean up the mess later,” I said as I came through the kitchen door. Josh wasn’t in the kitchen, he didn’t answer me, and I didn’t hear him moving around anywhere on the first floor. I wanted to think that he’d gone upstairs to wait for me, but the hairs standing on the back of my neck told me that danger awaited me instead.

I wanted to charge through the house and find Jimmy and Josh, but I had to be smart. Adrian and Dorchester probably hadn’t made it down the street, but I couldn’t risk their families becoming involved. I dialed 911 and whispered into the phone my name, location, and that I needed backup right away. I asked them to come in quiet, so they didn’t tip Jimmy off. I set the phone down on the kitchen island and went in search of my husband. Maybe I was overreacting, but I didn’t think so.

I pulled my backup gun from the tea and spice tin in the kitchen cabinet and turned the safety off. “I know you’re here, Jimmy,” I yelled as I eased toward the family room where I last saw Josh. “There’s no point in playing games with me.” Buddy wasn’t barking, and that scared me. If that sick bastard hurt my husband or my animals…

“Who’s hiding,” he responded smugly. I rounded the corner, and sure enough, Jimmy De Soto stood in our family room with one arm tight around Josh’s neck and held a gun to his head with the other. He had dyed his hair and eyebrows black, but the hatred in his pale blue eyes was the same. “Put the gun down, or I’ll blow his head clean off. Well, I plan to do that anyway, but not before I finish destroying your life. Put. Your. Gun. Down.” He jabbed the barrel of the gun in Josh’s head with each word.

“Okay,” I told Jimmy. “Easy, Jimmy. Let’s talk about this.” Adrian and Josh always joked about television and movie villains talking so much that they gave the hero a chance to save the day. I never considered myself a hero, but I desperately wanted to be that for Josh. “I’m the one you want, not him. Let’s take a drive and settle this away from here.” I would do anything to protect my husband. I didn’t chance looking into Josh’s eyes because I had to concentrate on Jimmy and the hand that held a gun to Josh’s head.

“Where the hell is the fun in that?” Jimmy asked. “Kid, I’m going to strip you to the bone then I’m going to take away everything you love. You might get the drop on me, but not before I destroy your life like you did mine.”

“Jimmy, I didn’t do anything to you. I only testified to what you said to me about the situation with Ace Dixon. I never implicated you in any wrongdoing,” I told him, hoping I’d have enough time for the cavalry to arrive. “We were partners, Jimmy. We were friends—more like family. You took me under your wing when I was just a young pup and taught me everything you knew.”

Jimmy snorted derisively. “You were only my partner so I could keep an eye on you. I couldn’t let an overeager little bastard like you ruin my career. I guess the joke was on me after all.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. “The only case I was eager about was my brother’s shooting.” The wide, evil grin that spread across Jimmy’s face turned my stomach, and I thought I might throw up all over Josh’s fancy schmancy area rug. “You knew who killed my brother all along, didn’t you?”

“You could say that,” Jimmy answered mockingly. “I see his killer’s face every time I look in the mirror.” Jimmy laughed when he saw my horrified expression. “He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was shaking down the store owner for Big Saul. I thought the clerk was reaching for a gun beneath the counter and I put a bullet in his chest. I didn’t even know Dylan was in the store until I looked up in that big round mirror up on the wall. He was cowering behind a row of chips and snacks with a tub of ice cream in his hands. He refused to look up at me and kept saying that he didn’t see any faces so he couldn’t tell the police anything. It wasn’t a chance I could take.”