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  She looked like she’d tasted something sour. “I think it’s a little soon for that, don’t you?”

  Yes, kind of. But, he really needed to be with a parent.

  “Why is he in that town, an hour away from Benton, instead of near your mom?” I asked. “Or why isn’t he here? Why are you here without him? Despite what you say, you could still be a part of his life.”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know, okay? I saw you that night at the Dixie Wardens party after your injury and thought that I was doing you a…” she searched for a word for a moment. “A disservice. I felt like I should try, at least.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that.

  Luckily, I didn’t have to answer her, because my phone rang.

  When I saw the name on the caller ID, my heart sank.

  I answered it with zero hesitation.

  “I’m…I’m at your door. I need you to come. Now. I’m about to do something really fuckin’ bad, and I need you to come.”

  I didn’t need to hear any more. I didn’t miss the desperation in his voice.

  I didn’t hesitate to stand and walk to the door. I didn’t say goodbye to Rosie, just waved.

  Her face went electric.

  She thought it was June. I could tell without actually having her confirm it that she was pissed.

  But it wasn’t June, it was the Rosie that I did care about.

  “I’ll be there. I’m in town…but I can be there in twenty minutes.”

  I got up and left, without taking a single second to glance back.

  Which is too bad, because if I had, I would’ve seen that there was something seriously not right with this Rosie.

  If I’d paid just a little bit more attention, I would’ve seen her following me out the door.

  But my mind was elsewhere—with my friend—who needed me.

  ***

  I’ll never forget what it looked like to arrive to the hallway that led to my apartment and seeing Roland crying in my woman’s arms.

  When her eyes met mine, I knew that she knew how sorry I was. She also knew without me saying how much it meant to me that she was giving this man comfort—one of my best friends in the entire world—and allowing him to hold her so tight, even though she was still so wary of a man’s touch that wasn’t mine.

  Yet she was doing it for me.

  I love you, I mouthed.

  Tears filled her eyes.

  I love you, too, she mouthed right back.

  Chapter 26

  Those loud sounds and flashing lights in your rearview mirror aren’t there for decoration or your entertainment. It means you’re being pulled over. You’ve done messed up, now.

  -Hostel PD FB page

  Johnny

  “Are you sure that he’s okay?” June asked worriedly, looking at the closed door of my apartment.

  I nodded. “He’ll be okay. I should’ve done this—brought him here—a long time ago. Yet I was so freakin’ caught up in the mess with the other Rosie that I didn’t think to check on him over the last couple of days.”

  Her face fell. “That’s my fault.”

  I drew her into my arms. “It’s not your fault. You had valid concerns, and I dismissed them instead of taking them seriously. I want you to know that I didn’t totally stop listening, and after tonight and a lot of thinking over the last week, I’m going to take your advice and get a DNA test. Anyway, Rosie is pretty fucked up right now.”

  She started to grin.

  “Are you talking about Rosie, or Rosie?” she teased.

  I rolled my eyes.

  “How about we call the male Rosie, Roland, and your ex Rosie, Rosie, so we’re not confused?”

  She grinned, but that grin fell just as quickly as it appeared.

  She blew out a breath. “How mad would you be if I told you that you didn’t have to?”

  I was confused for a few seconds until I realized that we were talking about the DNA test that I had mentioned before she’d gone off on her tangent.

  I found myself grinning. “I’d say that I was thankful,” I admitted. “Because then I wouldn’t have to wait for the news that I probably won’t like either way.”

  She stepped away from me and walked to her apartment door, opening it, and reaching just barely inside to what looked like her purse that was on the table just inside the door. She came back out moments later with a sealed envelope in her hands.

  “I did it without your permission,” she admitted.

  Then she held out the paper.

  I reached for it about the time that I heard two very distinct sounds.

  The first sound was my apartment door opening. It had a very distinct squeak once you got it halfway open, and when I looked, I saw Roland standing there with a look of confusion on his face.

  Then I heard the tell-tale click-click of a gun cocking.

  I had no time to think, let alone act.

  The gunshot rang out, and I watched June fall out of the corner of my eye.

  I turned, but before I could catch her, she was on the floor.

  Seeing June on the ground with an ever-growing puddle of blood surrounding her felt like someone had taken my heart straight out of my chest and used it as clay target while they were shooting skeet.

  I hit my knees, looking at my woman’s life bleeding out right before my eyes, confused by what I was seeing at first.

  But Roland was more than aware.

  He hit Rosie like a linebacker taking out the quarterback before he can run it in for the winning touchdown.

  Rosie hit the ground so hard that I could hear the snap of bones from where I was on my knees at June’s side.

  Amanda came barreling out of her apartment moments later and then slipped in June’s blood which was pouring out of her arm.

  She hit the floor hard just as I reached to take my belt off.

  I quickly wrapped it around her upper arm, right around her armpit.

  “Johnny,” June whispered.

  There was no way that I heard the words amongst all the commotion that was now going on in the hallway.

  Amanda’s worried cries, Rosie’s pained screaming. Roland’s angry bellows for Rosie to stay down so he didn’t have to do anything more to her.

  Then there were the neighbors that had started coming out of their apartments.

  But I heard her, and I looked down in her eyes.

  “I don’t want to die when you finally made me want to live.”

  Then her eyes fluttered closed, and I followed suit.

  ***

  “If there was one thing in this world that could’ve snapped me out of that…it was this.” Roland breathed roughly, looking at me with fear in his large, worry-filled brown eyes. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Would you two shut up already? My head is throbbing. Jesus Christ. Is it still there?”

  I looked over and stood up at the same time, hurrying to the bed where June was laying.

  She’d been shot in the upper arm, and she lost a lot of blood before I was able to slow it down, and she also had a concussion. After she’d been hit, June fell to the ground, hitting her head hard on the wall on the way down.

  “Hey, baby.”

  She narrowed her eyes at me. “If you loved me, you’d go get me some water. I taste metal. Why do I taste metal?”

  I found myself grinning. “A metallic taste. Blood, maybe?” I guessed.

  She squinted, and then pursed her lips.

  I dropped mine down on hers. “Now…water.”

  I went and got her some water, but as I was bringing it back, something caught my attention, stopping me in my tracks before I could go back into June’s room.

  And that was the sight of Rosie’s mom, Sharon, at the entrance waiting for me.

  “Hello, Johnny.”

  Chapter 27

  My debit card is starting to feel like a gift card. I don’t know how much this has on it, b
ut we’ll give it a try.

  -June to Johnny

  Johnny

  Sharon looked at me with concern.

  “I didn’t think to tell you, Johnny, because the baby’s not yours,” she admitted. “Hank’s father is the man that she met after you left for basic training. They had a two-year fling, and as far as I can tell, had something going until he died in a car wreck about a month before you showed back up after being injured.”

  I touched my fingertips to my forehead. “Not mine?”

  She shook her head. “Not yours, no.”

  I felt Amanda’s attention on me as I spoke with Sharon, and I looked at her.

  “Not yours,” she agreed.

  I didn’t bother to ask her how she knew that.

  I trusted her.

  But it was doubly confirmed when Sharon held her phone toward me moments later and showed me the screen where a photo was pulled up.

  I definitely saw the resemblance between me and the man on the screen.

  He could’ve been my doppelganger, except for all the tattoos.

  I had a few, but that man was practically covered from head to toe in them.

  “Shit,” I finally said. “What in the ever-loving hell? Why would she say that he was mine?”

  “I think that’s my fault,” she admitted. “After Baron—the father—died, she sunk into a depression. I had her rights revoked, and I told her that she’d have to get help before I allowed her near my grandson again.”

  I nodded, waiting for her to continue.

  “Anyway, she and Baron were never really a part of the boy’s life anyway. I did most of the heavy lifting with him, so to speak. After his heart surgery, I hired a home health nurse to care for him when I couldn’t be there. It was decided by both me and the home health nurse that Rosie would be given very limited visitation until we could be sure that she was in a place where she wouldn’t accidentally harm Hank. I think when she saw you, she saw an opportunity to get back at me. You were a means to an end, I assume.”

  Well, that sure felt like shit.

  But, although I felt horrible for Hank, who was an innocent in this situation, I was honestly glad that this wasn’t what my life had become.

  I sighed.

  “Well, thank you for enlightening me,” I finally said, sounding just as tired as I felt. “I can’t say that it was good to see you, but I won’t keep you long. I know that you want to go check on her.”

  Rosie had been assigned two unwilling babysitters about twenty minutes ago—Tyler Cree and another cop, Pence Pierson. Rosie who looked none-to-happy to be in the predicament she found herself in.

  And that was all before she’d seen her mother.

  “I don’t plan on doing anything this time,” she admitted. “Once I knew that she was okay physically, I had an epiphany. I realized that I’d been doing all the wrong things as a parent. I’m not helping her get better, I’m enabling her to stay exactly the same, and I’m done.”

  Rosie had been checked over by the physician, and had been found to be perfectly fine other than a few broken ribs that they could do nothing about.

  “Take care of yourself, Johnny. You’re a good boy. I’m sorry for what my girl did to you and your June.” She stood up and offered me a soft smile.

  Then she was gone, and Roland was standing next to me with a bemused expression on his face.

  “Well, that was fun.”

  I looked over at my good friend and narrowed my eyes. “Don’t think that what’s going on with you is going to be swept under the rug. You’re next, Rosie.”

  He flipped me off. “If you call me that name again, I will kill you. I hated the name then, and I sure as hell hate it even more now.”

  I winked at him. “Sure thing.”

  He flipped me off with the other hand. “Why does it feel like you’re going to ignore that request?”

  I shrugged. “You don’t know me.”

  He laughed. “You’re wrong there, Johnny. I know you damn well better than anyone on this side of the great big sea.”

  Truer words had never been said.

  “Let’s go break the news to my woman.”

  He fell into step beside me. “Speaking of women…that roommate, though.”

  I looked over at him. “That roommate, I fear, is taken.”

  Roland grunted, and we both turned to survey Amanda being held by some geeky man who looked like he was in second heaven. He had his arms wrapped around June’s crying best friend, holding her tight.

  “Yeah,” Roland grumbled. “But maybe this is still where I need to be.”

  I had a feeling he was right.

  ***

  I told June everything that I’d just learned, and she didn’t look the least bit surprised.

  “I met with Brigid today, the home health nurse?” I nodded, and she continued. “She told me all of that. Since she had no loyalty to Rosie, she felt that she didn’t need to keep her secrets. She told me exactly what you just told me.”

  I groaned and pressed my hand to my forehead.

  “This is a clusterfuck,” I admitted.

  Just as I was about to expound on how hard I’d fucked up, my mother and father burst into the room.

  My mom took one look at June and burst out crying. “Oh my God! Are you okay, honey?”

  I found myself smiling for the first time in I couldn’t remember how long. June looked absolutely flabbergasted at my mom’s use of the endearment. “I’m—I’m okay.”

  My mother wiped June’s hair off her forehead. “I’m so, so happy that you’re okay. Now, tell me what the hell is going on!”

  That last part was directed toward me.

  I opened my mouth and explained everything, starting at the beginning with meeting Rosie after work earlier in the evening, and I didn’t stop until I relayed what Sharon had just told me.

  My mother looked murderous. My father, however, didn’t look anywhere near as surprised.

  And that likely had to do with my grandfather who came in moments later, nodding in agreement.

  “Sorry, I had a phone call. But I heard what you said. I just got finished explaining to your father what I found on my own when we got the call that your June was shot.” He paused. “Now, can you direct me to Rosie’s room? I heard she’s here, also.”

  I looked at my grandfather and shook my head. “Don’t bother. You just missed her. Once she was cleared with four broken ribs, she was hauled out of here by two of my fellow police officers.”

  ***

  “I’m okay, I promise. It’s a nick, they say. The only reason I’m still here is because it hit an artery…yes, I’m quite aware that that is really bad, but the doctors don’t seem too concerned about it. I’ll be back at work…fine. I’ll be there next week if Johnny thinks I should be.” She rolled her eyes and glared at me.

  I couldn’t help but grin.

  She hung up with Coke moments later, only for it to ring again flashing her grandfather’s name.

  “You answer that one. I’m tired.”

  I grinned and pressed the phone to my ear. After explaining to Tennessee what had happened, and then promising to bring her by tomorrow so he could see for himself, I hung up and started to laugh.

  She punched me on the arm, and I couldn’t help but kiss her.

  “Let’s face it, honey,” I whispered into June’s ear. “You’re stuck with me now. And you have a lot of people that care about you.”

  I pulled back to see tears filling her eyes. “I only need you, though.”

  I moved until I pressed my lips against her tear-streaked cheek. “And I’ll always be here, whether you want me to be or not.”

  She turned her face until our lips touched.

  “I never doubted you for a second.”

  I pulled back so I could look into her eyes. “Did you know that I want you to be my wife?”

  She blinked, and I would’ve laughed had her
eyes not filled with tears.

  “I…”

  “June Common, will you marry me?”

  She blew out a shaky breath. “We haven’t been together that long.”

  I shrugged. “I don’t care. I feel it right here. What we have is right.”

  I pointed at my heart.

  A tear spilled over. “Then I don’t care, either. Yes, I’ll be your wife. I’ll marry you, Johnny.”

  Epilogue

  Apple needs a ‘nap’ setting so it will automatically send out an ‘I’m napping’ message so my family doesn’t think I’m dead.

  -June to Johnny

  June

  “Why are you pacing?” I asked my husband.

  Johnny shrugged. “I’m fuckin’ nervous.”

  He tilted the bottle of beer to his lips and took a hefty pull.

  I rolled my eyes and walked away, knowing that he needed to get his head on straight before he came inside.

  That was his second beer in ten minutes.

  Poor thing.

  Today was the day that we celebrated Blaise’s choice to go into the Army. Today would officially be her last day with her family before she shipped off to Missouri and spent the next ten weeks in basic training and then five more months after that in training to become military police.

  Needless to say, none of the Mackenzie men were in a good place.

  Not brother. Not father. And certainly not grandfather.

  Which was proven as fact when I walked down the side of the house and found the eldest Mackenzie, Silas, standing next to a tree, a half-filled beer bottle in one hand and two empties at his feet.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” he grumbled.

  I zipped my lips and pretended to be ambivalent.

  I wasn’t.

  But it was easier to let these big ol’ Mackenzie men brood it out rather than try to convince them of something that they already had ‘figured out’ in their heads.

  Needless to say, they didn’t have anything figured out, yet.

  I bent over to grab the empty beer bottles as I passed, and he grunted out a ‘thank you.’

  I murmured out a ‘welcome’ to him as I continued to walk. Then I came upon a third Mackenzie man, Sebastian, who was leaning against the deck railing with his arms crossed, a beer dangling from his own fingers. He had four empties beside him, meaning he’d started earlier than the other two.