Page 59 of Wicked Pickle

Merrick frowns. “When did that happen?”

“Recently.” I shake my head. “Why do I know more about your family than you do?”

“My choice.”

“Your loss. Court got Lucy pregnant. She’s crunchy granola. Not the city type at all. So, he abandoned his post and bought her a farm in Colorado so they could raise the baby with her goats.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. And your cousin Nadia? She was supposed to move here to Miami to work with Rhett. But she bailed and started up an animal rescue. She wasn’t stuck, either.”

“Little Nadia?”

“She’s got an MBA. She’s raising money right and left to subsidize other no-kill shelters. Do you not even Google your family?”

“Why would I?”

This is infuriating. “Because they’re your family! I think you and Diesel got some weird ideas in your heads before your brains were fully developed and scorched the earth.”

Merrick stares out the windshield, silent for once. The truck rumbles along the black highway.

“Tell me this,” he says. “How did you all end up at the bar two weeks ago? Diesel thinks Rhett put Bailey up to it.”

“I don’t know. I want to ask Bailey, but they’re on their honeymoon. We’ll have to wait until they’re back to find out.”

The truck slows down. The Leaky Skull is ahead, the lot empty, only the big lights over the parking lot still on. The red neon sign has gone dark.

Marietta’s Volkswagen sits alone on the cracked asphalt. She’s lucky nobody did anything to it. I once saw six football players carry a teacher’s Beetle right onto a football field.

“Can you let us know what you find out?” Merrick asks. “Diesel says the Pickles aim to find our bar, and we’d like to know if they already have the intel. We hid who owns this place, so it’s not an easy search, but you were actually here. So was Bailey. If we’re going to get a visit, we’d like a heads up.”

He shoves the gear into park.

His request is fair. “Sure. If they know, I’d guess it will happen sooner rather than later. But I will say it’s not like Bailey to out somebody who doesn’t want to be found. Not big time, anyway. She might have come out here to see things for herself, but I wouldn’t count on her spilling your location once it’s clear you had a reason to hide it.”

“Good to know.” Merrick opens his door and walks around to fetch Marietta.

I fish around in her belt purse for the car keys.

I pull them out and scoot beneath the steering wheel. Merrick carries my lump of brazen best friend to the passenger side of her Beetle.

I open the door and watch him carefully strap her in, tucking her shoes beside her bare feet.

When he stands, we look at each other for a minute. I’m sure he’s thinking I might be the clingy sort, especially since it’s clear what happened between Diesel and me.

I get ahead of anything he might say. “I’ll report back to you with anything I learn,” I tell him. “I know what Diesel is. I’m not looking to keep chasing him.”

Merrick rubs his hand through his hair, making the curling black locks stand up on top. “He’s not one for relationships, that’s for sure.”

“I figured. It’s been a fun diversion. I’m back to classes tomorrow, anyway.”

“You know where to call.”

“So, I should call the bar once I hear from Bailey?”

“Nah. Here.” He grabs a receipt from his truck and scrawls a number on the back. “It’s Diesel’s.” He laughs. “He’ll kill me for giving it out to a woman, and I enjoy pissing him off.”

Shit. I have his number.