Page 16 of The Sunny Side (Rojo 2nd Generation: Rojo Police Department #3)

B RAWLEY

I checked my camera as soon as I turned off the trike, and once I saw that Max was content by himself at home, I carefully got off and stretched my leg while I waited for my friends.

Jonas and Lawson Dean were the first to arrive, and before they could even get parked, Corey and Garvey Forrester pulled in. Dutch Turner and Booker Duke were the last ones to get there. I waited patiently for everyone to get off their motorcycles and join me.

Usually, we played Texas Hold ‘Em at one of our houses on Monday nights, but we’d changed our plans to meet some of our friends for dinner. From the looks of the parking lot, I could see that most of them were already here.

“I’m glad to see you out and about again,” Lawson said as he and his twin brother walked over to me. “Sweet bike. Is it yours?”

“Don’t start giving me shit about it,” I grumbled.

“About riding a trike? I’m not gonna give you shit. Papa Smokey and Tink have had trikes for years, and you and I both know what happens to people who insult them.”

Jonas laughed before he said, “Yeah, Gamma and Nana fuck them up.”

Everyone who could hear us started to laugh although we all knew that was the truth.

Martha Forrester, who we all lovingly referred to as Gamma, and her best friend, Sandra, the woman we called Nana, were forces to be reckoned with, especially when you messed with their man or one of the people they considered family.

And since they considered all of us family, we knew that having them in your corner was better than having an army at your back.

“Seriously, though, is that yours?” Booker asked.

“I borrowed it from a friend of my dad’s who is looking to sell it. This is sort of a test drive to see if I like it,” I explained. “Since I’m not sure how long it’s going to take to get my knee back in fighting shape, it’s either ride a trike for a while or give up riding altogether.”

“I’ve taken Mom out on Rowdy’s trike before, and it’s pretty damn comfortable,” Dutch admitted. “Mom enjoyed the hell out of it and said it was much better than riding on the back of my bike.”

As we walked toward the front door of Grazie’s where we’d be meeting everyone, I said, “I haven’t seen your parents in a while. How are they?”

“Dad’s still working in the oil fields near Odessa, and since they sold the house, Mom’s been living there in the RV with him,” Dutch explained. “They’re looking at houses, though. When he retires in a few months, they’ll be here permanently.”

“I bet Rowdy and Sierra are excited about that,” I told him. “I know my mom will be.”

“Susan is so great,” Booker announced. “I love your mom, man.”

“You just like her food,” Dutch teased.

“She makes some damn good banana bread,” I said as I pulled the door open and let the guys walk through ahead of me. “I miss her.”

“I’ll let her know you said that. I’m sure you’ll get a few loaves with a sweet note saying she misses you too,” Dutch assured me as he walked by.

Since we knew our friends were in the meeting room normally reserved for big parties, we smiled at the hostess, the younger sister of one of our friends, and walked through the restaurant to join them.

I was happy to be out with friends tonight and glad that my new stalker hadn’t reappeared at my house today. I wasn’t as worried about running into her now, though, since Marcus had called to let me know that the protective order she had against me had expired a few years ago.

It still irritated the hell out of me to think she’d found that necessary, but I was relieved that it was over and done with. I still wasn’t sure I wanted to talk to her, but at least if I did now, I knew I wouldn’t have to worry about any repercussions.

I looked around the room and nodded at friends before I walked toward my sister who was waving me over. I sat down in the empty chair at her table and stretched out my leg, unconsciously rubbing my thigh where the brace was cutting into it after a long day on my feet.

“Are you hurting?” Lotus asked.

“It’s just stiff. I should be home icing it, but I’ll do that later. I’d rather be here to hang out with you” I said with a fake smile.

“Shut up, dickhead,” Posie said as she rolled her eyes. She smiled at a woman I didn’t recognize before she said, “Tansy, this is my brother Brawley.”

“Brawley?” the woman asked.

I nodded before I stuck my hand out to shake hers. “I know, it’s unique, but that’s my dad’s name too.”

“You’re Brawley.” It wasn’t a question but a statement. She stared at me for several seconds before she said, “Wow. She described you perfectly.”

“Who did?”

“My sister Clancy.”

“I don’t know a woman named Clancy,” I assured her. “Where did we meet?”

Tansy tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at me before she said, “The first time was when you pulled her out of a car that was sliding down a mountain.”

Posie and I reared back in shock. While I was quiet, Posie had never acquired that skill.

“The bitch who accused my brother of being a stalker is your sister?” Posie asked in outrage.

Tansy scoffed as she shook her head and said, “First, you don’t get to call my sister a bitch, and second, she did no such thing. That all happened when she was out of it with a head injury. She didn’t even know about it until a few nights ago when some guy named Heath told her.”

Posie and Tansy looked like they were ready to square off and start throwing hands, so I jumped in and asked, “What do you mean she didn’t know about it? Your mom said . . .”

“Our mom died when we were kids, so I assume you are talking about Collette, the gold-digging hosebeast that is our stepmonster.”

Sophie Turner and Ava Forrester, who had been sitting at our table focused on their own conversation, were now actively watching the drama unfold. I was surprised when Sophie said, “Catch me up because I think I missed something. How did you meet Collette?”

“I met her at the hospital when I went to check on this one’s . . .” As I motioned toward Tansy, I heard her growl, but I ignored her and continued, “ . . . sister, Clarisse.”

“No one calls her Clarisse but the IRS, DMV, and people who don’t know her,” Sophie said before she laughed. “She doesn’t even look like a Clarisse. She’s Clancy.”

Posie lifted her hand and pointed at Sophie and Tansy, as she said, “They are cousins.”

“Well, I think I should go,” I said as I pushed my chair back to stand.

“Clancy had no idea who you were. When she woke up after surgery, she was groggy from the medication and started mumbling about her knight in shining armor and her first kiss, but we thought it was the drugs talking. Once she was finally firing on all cylinders, she described a handsome hero who promised he wouldn’t let her die, but she couldn’t really remember anything else.

When she asked about you, our stepmother told her it was a truck driver who happened to be passing by and saw the accident happen.

” Tansy laughed before she said, “We chalked it up to her first experience with drugs and thought she’d just imagined you. ”

“I’m right here, just like I was there on the mountain and then kicked out of the hospital when I went to make sure she was okay.”

“Collette filed a restraining order against you?” Sophie asked.

Tansy answered for me. “Of course she did. He probably didn’t look like a member of the country club, so she assumed he was beneath them and did everything in her power to keep him away.”

“Why would she do that? It wasn’t like I was asking for your sister’s hand in marriage. I just wanted to talk to her and see how she was!”

“Why does Collette do anything that she does?” Tansy asked rhetorically. “God knows we’ve never been able to figure out any other motives besides greed and narcissism.”

I looked at my sister and said, “It seems like we’ve been pissed at the wrong person for the past thirteen years.”

“It would seem so,” Posie admitted. She looked at her new friend and said, “I’m sorry I called your sister a bitch, but now I have to say that about your stepmother.”

“I found out today that the protective order expired, so I don’t have to avoid her anymore,” I announced out of the blue.

“Is that why you’re not locked in your house or hiding at Mom and Dad’s?” Posie asked.

When I nodded, Tansy asked, “You’ve been avoiding her when she comes by because you thought you might get in trouble? That’s pretty weak, buddy.”

“I’m a cop. The last thing I need is to be arrested for violating a protective order, even if it was a bullshit order in the first place,” I explained.

“Oh. Avoiding her like you did makes more sense now.”

“We’ve gotta tell Mom,” Posie announced. When I nodded, she said, “I’ll send her a text letting her know she should calm down.”

“Why is your mom part of this?” Tansy asked.

My sister and I clearly didn’t understand her question, so Sophie jumped in and said, “Because that’s what real moms do, Tansy. They get in the middle of your shit, and when you need them, they go to battle for you instead of against you.”

“I think my mom would have been like that,” Tansy said sadly. She gave me a small smile and said, “God knows that’s what Clancy does for us. I’m sure she learned it from Mom before she died.”

“I’m sorry your stepmother is a raging bitch,” Posie said sincerely. “Once we give her another round of rabies shots and a few tranquilizers, our mom will calm down and I’ll introduce you.”

“Oh,” Tansy said with a grimace before she lied and said, “I can’t wait.”

“Autumn isn’t that bad,” Sophie assured Tansy with a grin. “She’s actually pretty great.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “It sounds like your sister is pretty cool too.”

“She is. I think you should get to know her.”

“I’d like to. I’ve always wondered about her.”