Page 13 of Shelter for Shay (Broken Heroes Mended Souls #2)

MOOSE – LAKE GEORGE, NEW YORK

T he bar hadn’t changed much.

Peeling paint. Neon signs humming behind dusty windows. The smell of cigarettes clung to the siding, even though smoking had been banned decades ago. Kelly’s Taproom was the kind of place that didn’t care about appearances—it only cared if you could hold your liquor and knew when to shut up.

Moose had spent more time in this bar than he cared to admit. He’d practically been raised in it. He knew every inch of it. He knew all the secrets. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Honestly, not much good came out of Kelly’s Taproom. It was a cesspool for drugs and sex workers.

When he’d been a teenager, the cops would get called at least once a week.

If it wasn’t for a drug bust, it was because of a fight.

Or because someone was soliciting sex for money.

There was always some form of criminal activity taking place.

Occasionally, the health department would get called in and every once in a while, the bar would get shut down.

When that happened, Moose hoped things at home would get better.

He’d had it in his head that if his mom was out of job, or away from all the drugs and the people who frequented the bar, she’d have to pay attention to her only son.

But that’s not what happened.

Not exactly, anyway.

She did pay more attention, but oftentimes that came in the form of a slap across the face. A fist to his gut. Or a demand that he go out and lie, steal, or cheat so she’d have money and drugs. It was a never-ending cycle.

Moose leaned against the hood of his rental, arms crossed, boot scuffing the cracked asphalt. His cell phone buzzed in his back pocket. He pulled it out, glanced at the screen, and smiled.

Shay: I just wanted to send you some good vibes. I know this isn’t easy for you.

Moose: Nothing worth doing is easy.

Shay: Now you sound like my mom.

Moose: I carry her with me. I’ll text you when I’m on my way back.

He tucked his cell back in his pocket.

The decision to see his mother still conflicted his heart.

He understood his motivations. Or at least he thought he did.

A bit of nostalgia, driven by death. A desire to put the past out to pasture.

A need to stick his middle finger up at what nearly knocked him down.

But there was so much more than that. The little boy who still lived inside wanted his mom to see him, wrap her arms around him, and tell him how much she loved and missed him.

The man knew that wasn’t going to happen and also knew it wasn’t true.

The evening breeze was thick with pine and faint motor oil from the shop down the street. He didn’t know why this felt harder than every mission he’d ever run. His mother wasn’t a sniper sitting in the tree line waiting to kill him. She was simple flesh and blood.

Nothing more, nothing less.

But for whatever reason, this felt harder and heavier than anything he’d ever done in his damn life. Hell, SEAL training was easier than this.

Headlights flashed across the lot as Andy Harmon pulled in.

The state trooper climbed out, shades tucked into the collar of his uniform shirt, and strolled over like they had all the time in the world.

His hair was still cut short. His face still clean-shaven, making him look like an innocent young man.

But he had a few wrinkles around the eyes, which carried with them a lens that had seen some shit.

“Jesus, you look fucking intimidating in that damn uniform,” Moose said.

“And you’re just intimidating.” Andy smiled, stretching out his hand. “It’s been a long time.”

“Sixteen years.” Moose nodded. “Last time we were actually in the same room together, we nearly beat the crap out of each other.”

“That’s because you were a dick.”

“And you were an arrogant asshole who didn’t believe your shit stank.”

Andy chuckled. “Not true. But I was a cocky teenager who, because of my dad and all his trooper buddies, walked around like I owned this town.”

“What about now?”

“Oh, not much has changed except I know how to check my ego.” Andy leaned against the hood of the vehicle. “This fucking place still smells like regret,” Andy said, nodding toward the building.

Moose huffed a laugh. “And broken promises.”

“Miles’ son now owns this place. We don’t have to come out here as often as my dad used to, but it’s a shithole.

” Andy looped his fingers in his gun belt.

“Two weeks ago, there was a 9-1-1 to this address. The caller stated someone was having a heart attack. We always send a patrol car on those calls, but especially to this place.” Andy shook his head.

“Turns out, the heart attack was a knife to some dude’s chest—all thanks to his wife, who caught him with his dick in someone else’s mouth. ”

Moose stuck his finger in his ear. “That’s a visual I could’ve done without.”

“Sorry. Job hazard.”

“I bet,” Moose said.

“So… chasing ghosts, huh?”

“Something like that.”

They stood there for a beat, watching the sun dip behind the trees, the sky bleeding into amber and charcoal.

Over the years, he and Andy had exchanged many text messages, a few emails, and a dozen or so phone calls.

Moose thought it might be strange to be in the same space, considering the way they’d treated each other in school, but instead, it felt like two old buddies catching up.

“When was the last time you had a run-in with my mom?” Moose asked.

“Been a few months.” Andy nodded. “I pulled her over for a broken taillight. Wrote her a ticket, because my dad would read me the riot act if I cut her a break. She’s always walking a thin line with the cops, but ever since your dad went to prison, she’s been better.”

“Yeah, which that alone I think surprises people, but my old man is more toxic than she ever was,” Moose said.

“Take him out of the equation, and she’s halfway normal but still has one foot in crazy town.

The booze, the drugs, she can’t stop. Not sure she’s ever really tried.

About the only thing she’ll give up is having sex for money, but only when my dad’s not around. ”

“Had he not pulled that knife and killed someone, we were building a case for sex trafficking.” Andy winced. “I’m sorry about that.”

“Don’t be,” Moose said. “My father was oddly proud that his wife was a commodity. It was gross.”

“When was the last time you talked to her?” Andy asked.

Moose shook his head. “The day I left for the Navy. I was packing my bags and she was utterly shocked. She’d forgotten I was leaving. Then she told me to leave what money I had. Told me I owed her for carrying me for nine months.”

Andy’s jaw flexed. “At least she didn’t try to kill you like my biological father did me.”

“Yeah, that had to have sucked.”

“It wasn’t fun.” Andy chuckled. “Before you go in there, you should know, she’s aged. She doesn’t look well. Like the life she’s been living has finally beaten her down.”

Moose shrugged. “That doesn’t surprise me.”

“I gotta ask.” Andy nodded slowly, then glanced sideways. “Why now after all these years?”

“Margaret’s gone,” Moose said quietly. “Passed away last night. Shay made the tough decision to shut down all the machines around midnight. Margaret didn’t last very long.”

“Jesus. I’m so sorry.”

Moose ran a hand over his jaw. “Shay… she’s something. She’s strong—like her mom. But she’s carrying more than she lets on. I think… I needed to face this before I pretend I’ve got something to give someone else.”

Andy was quiet for a moment. Then he gave a low whistle. “Didn’t expect a confession tonight, Rhoades, especially about you and Shay, as in the two of you being a couple.”

“Not exactly what I’m saying.” Moose ran his fingers through his hair.

Whatever was happening between him and Shay had steamrolled him flat.

He couldn’t think straight. All he knew was that she’d somehow become the air that he breathed, kind of like his chickens.

“I’m simply just trying to put the past…

I’m trying to deal with the shit I’ve never dealt with before I…

hell, I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. ”

“But you and Shay?”

“None of your damn business,” Moose said. “And for the record, I just re-enlisted for another six years. I’m not leaving the Navy anytime soon.”

“Sounds like you’re one confused man.”

“Yeah. You can say that again.” Moose had spent the day in a haze.

Between helping Shay go through things around the house, putting the finishing touches on the funeral, and stealing kisses when he should have been keeping his lips to himself, he was walking around in a different universe.

One where he saw white picket fences and cribs.

Two things he’d never once considered before… ever. How the hell did that happen overnight?

Andy pushed off the fender and stretched his back. “So… you call me here for backup?”

“Honestly, I just wanted to see you,” Moose said. “I just needed someone to remind me I’m not the kid who used to wait outside that bar hoping she’d remember to come home.” He waved his finger. “Besides, you go in there in that uniform, half the bar, including my mom, will scatter.”

Andy’s expression shifted—softer now. “For the record, that kid would’ve walked away. This you? You’re still here doing all the tough things instead of acting out and making my dad or one of his buddies, or me, put the cuffs on you.”

Moose rubbed his wrists. “Stacey was always the worst. She still a trooper?”

“Much to her father’s dismay, yeah. But she mostly works admin now and is my dad’s second.

Both of them make me nuts. Hell, I should ask for a transfer, but I love living here and working for her and my dad.

This has always been part of who I am, especially after what happened with my biological mom and dad. Besides, I’m still a mama’s boy.”

“You were always that.”

Silence filled the space and Moose didn’t move. He needed a few more moments before he made his way inside.