Chapter 11 I hate when somebody makes me be mean, and I had a pocket full of sunshine before that. -Audric to Creole AUDRIC "You okay?" Gunner asked, looking at me worriedly. "I'm fine, I promise," I said. "Now, stop treating me like a little girl and go to bed. I've slept in worse places." Gunner, though he had a very large house, he didn't have furniture to fill his large space. Him having no furniture made it quite easy to babyproof his place. Though, Parker, Gunner's uncle, had brought his wife and she'd made absolutely sure that she could run free in Gunner's house and not come to harm. The only issue was the pool in the backyard, but before I'd even gotten to his place with Lottie and her mountain of shit, he'd already had a company there giving him a quote on fixing the fence. He'd also placed an order for more furniture, but it wasn't going to come in for a few days, which left me on an air mattress in his spare bedroom. "Fine," I stood up from the bed and went to the bathroom counter where Lottie's antibiotic was sitting. I picked it up and said, "You or me, buddy?" Gunner winced. "Me, I guess." I handed it to him and followed him to the living room where his aunt and uncle were playing with Lottie. Lottie saw us coming and shrieked. "Uhhh," Gunner said when he only saw the shine of blonde hair behind her as she took off. "Does she not take this well?" "She takes it fine," I laughed. "She just expects a treat after. Usually that treat is a banana, though. You don't have any of those, do you?" "I have some oranges," he said just as Lottie came back holding an apple. "And apples," Gunner said. "Don't think that I helped her be this healthy," I said. "Your nanny friend Ms. Rocha introduced her to everything and encouraged her healthy eating habits now." "Rocky?" Kayla asked. "Rocky's back?" "Yep," Gunner said. "She's working with the Semyonov family." Parker's head whipped around, his brows lowering. Gunner lifted his hand and said, "She's fine. I promise." "Still in love with you?" Parker asked, his arms crossing over his chest. "Ready!" Gunner proficiently drew up her medication, then started to give it to her, but she took it from him and downed it like the expert she was. "Oh, my," Kayla breathed. "I've never in my life seen that kind of magic." I chuckled. "Chronic ear infections." "Jett had chronic ear infections, too." Parker could only shake his head, eyes deep in a memory. "But we had to chase him around like a damn feral cat. Then we had to hold him down. He was the worst medicine taker ever. The only thing that worked was getting him to a point where he could swallow pills. He hated that damn pink shit." "Do you remember that one that smelled like dirty diaper?" Gunner looked amused. "Oh, my god. I felt so bad about giving him that one." "Apple!" Lottie cried. Gunner took the apple and said, "Do you want it sliced?" "Just take a bite," I suggested. "Think Webber taught her that." Gunner took a bite and swallowed. Lottie clapped and took the apple. "There's a hundred percent chance she won't finish that and will leave it somewhere were it'll smell later," I admitted. Gunner snorted, his eyes sad. "Yeah, I remember that." I patted him on the back and said, "With y'all here, I think I'll leave you to hanging out with her." Gunner walked with me down the hallway. "You okay with all this? I know it can't be easy." I bumped him on the shoulder as I said, "I always knew she wasn't mine, Gunner. I know you think that you're stealing her away from me, but some part of me always knew that I was only a placeholder. I love the hell out of that little kid, and I'll do everything that I can to fight this battle you have coming up with her. But don't worry about me. One day, my time for a baby of my own will come. But she was never mine. She's in my heart," I thumped my fist over my chest, "but she's in it right next to y'all. Right next to all of the club kids." He smiled slightly. "You're a better man than I am." I snorted. "No, you're just processing." He sobered for a moment. "I know you've told us all about this battle with the Combs, but I don't think that I've given it near enough attention as I should have. What am I up against?" I winced. "The devil himself." I was right about the Combs being the devil. My next-door neighbor called me a couple of hours after I'd gotten to my most recent job site with the news that there was a man looking for me so he could serve me. I groaned. "Thanks, Frannie." "You're welcome, dear." She sounded contrite. "I didn't tell him where he could find you, though." "Appreciate that," I thanked her, even though I knew he'd find me anyway. I wasn't trying to hide. "There was also some random man here with a button-up shirt and a pullover that looked really out of place," she continued. "I only know that he was here to see you because he left me his business card. His name is Dr. Stoker." I frowned. "What kind of doctor?" "The card says psychiatrist." She sounded distracted. "I have to go. The trash men are refusing to take my cans again. What the fuck?" The slam of her screen door sounded just before she hung up on me. I chuckled as I got back to work. Frannie and her trash. She liked to throw tree branches into the trash bins even though it clearly stated no yard waste, and then the trash men refused to take it because they had specific pick up days for yard waste. Then she'd go out there and fight them until they took the trash. I was unsure of why they couldn't just take it, because they damn well knew that she was going to do it, but they always had to go through the song and dance. "What are you doing there?" I grinned at my overeager helper. Webber's daughter was here today, once again telling me that she wanted to be my apprentice. I was okay with it. I liked passing the knowledge of plumbing on to the younger generation. Everyone thought it was a bullshit job, having to deal with piss and shit all day, but it wasn't just that. I got to do all kinds of things outside of the piss and shit. And now that I'd been established in the DFW metroplex for over a decade, I got the jobs that everyone coveted. Like the apartment building that I was currently working on. "Come on over, Eedie," I said. "You're late." "I'm actually perfectly early, especially when you told me I could come in whenever I wanted to," she pointed out. I grinned. "How's school going?" "Awful," she admitted. "I hated high school. One would think that the college experience would be a little less rigid but it's like some of the high school teachers went on to become college professors and decided that they were just going to continue their reign of terror. I have a English 1301 teacher that takes roll every day. Why would she do that?" "Because she's a twat." I chuckled. "Now, watch and learn." It was about an hour into Eedie's learning when two men showed up. One who was holding a thick pack of papers, and another who was wearing exactly what Frannie described as the doctor wearing earlier in the day. "Mr. Ingram?" I held my hand out for the papers and said, "Let me guess, I've been served." He did not look amused. "You've been served." He thrust them at me. I took them and tucked them under my arm as he took off through the job site. "Next time you come back, I'd suggest wearing a hard hat!" The man looked over his shoulder in disgust just as a saw cut off and a small board came sailing down right past his face. He turned around to look at the board that was now lying at his feet and I said, "See?" He took off, hustling fast. "That's why you wear a damn hard hat, Eedie." I chuckled. "That could've fucked him up." "You talk to young girls like that?" the man in the pullover asked. "I talk to whomever I want like that, but Eedie's an adult, in case you're curious." I studied him. "Who are you?" "I'm Dr. Russel Stoker," he said. "We met the other day when you came by to talk to Creole during our appointment." I frowned. "What are you doing here, how did you find me, and isn't there some sort of HIPAA law that keeps you from telling me anything about Creole?" "I followed the young man serving you those papers." He pointed to the papers tucked underneath my arm. "And I'm here because I'm worried about Ms. Williams. She's skipped several of our appointments now, and has canceled several others." Read the fuckin' room, man. You probably made her super uncomfortable. "Ahh," I shrugged. "Well, there's not much I can do about what she does and doesn't do. She's also an adult, and I don't control her." "Are you and her seeing each other?" he asked. It's like that, is it? "Yep," I lied. "Been together for a while now." His eyes narrowed. "I see. Well, if you feel like getting her better, tell her to come back to our appointments so I can help her." I gave the man a nod and said, "Sure thing." The man left, and I had to laugh as another board came screaming down right as the good ol' doctor walked past. He stepped over it and kept walking, but I knew that it'd startled him. "I didn't like him," Eedie said. "He gave me the creep vibe." "Same," I agreed as I pulled the papers out from underneath my arm. "It's also creepy that he's going to people's houses and places of work looking for someone when he should just get the picture." "Totally," Eedie said. "What are you getting sued for this time?" I had to laugh. I got sued once a week, it felt like. All of the instances coming from one source: the Combs. God, I couldn't fucking stand them. It was also a relief to know that I wasn't going to have to deal with them on a personal level much longer. It was awful that I was throwing Gunner under the bus, but at least his fight would be one he could fully immerse himself in seeing as he was actually Lottie's father. I ripped open the papers and stared at the top page, shaking my head the more I read. "They're filing for an emergency injunction because they feel that Lottie's living in an unsafe environment." I snorted. "They're stating that the house that I live in is too close to the high crime rate areas, and they're unsure of Lottie's safety there." "I can't wait to hear what they say when you tell them you're temporarily living in a McMansion in The Highlands." "Same," I said. "I'll have to get my lawyer on it." My lawyer didn't come cheap, and she was doing all of the work out of the goodness of her heart until I could get my money unfrozen from probate. I dialed Malone and placed the phone to my ear. "Let me guess," Malone said the moment she answered. "You're being sued again." "Yep." I popped the p. "Here's what it's about this time." "Awesome," she snorted. "Gunner's already been in contact with me as well. We're going to get everything going on his end. Plus, he did tell me that you were staying with him for the time being. He's got some interior designer on the house right now, making it sparkly and awesome. I'm sure Lottie's lawyer will love doing a home visit at this place. I heard that it's big and grand." "Understatement," I said. "The worst part about it is the yard, and that's because there's no fancy landscaping. The inside is goddamn overwhelming. I can't hear anything from the back of the house. And I'm fairly sure that there are four sets of stairs to the upper level." "One day, I'll have that." Malone sighed. "I'll get on this. I'll have Lottie's lawyer come out and check everything out tomorrow. Gunner said he'd have her room and everything finished by then." We hung up, and I sighed. "I like Malone," Eedie said. "She's so badass." Yes, she was. "I think she's bad ass, too," I admitted. "I just wish I didn't have to talk to her that much."