“We were talking about our favorite foods,” Hoax admitted. “I expect her to return the favor if she ever gets me anything. She better not forget that I don’t like root beer or I’ll have to reconsider our relationship.”
I shoved another bite into my mouth as I rolled my eyes.
“Dear Lord,” I snickered. “I don’t think I could forget with how graphic of a description you gave me.” I turned to my dad, who was reaching for another donut. “He told me that root beer reminded him of the scum of the earth and that when he smelled it, it made him have nightmares.”
Dad’s brows went up, and Hoax shrugged. “That shit’s disgusting, what can I say?”
Hoax shoved his hand into the pocket of his leather jacket, and something crinkled.
My brows rose. “What’s that?”
He pulled out four fortune cookies and showed them to me. “Did you know the donut store on the corner up here does fortune cookies?”
I reached forward and snatched one up, as did my dad and Jack.
We all cracked them open at the same time, and I smiled when I read mine.
“The fortune you seek is in another cookie,” I read aloud.
Hoax snorted, but it was Dad who replied with, “If that ain’t the truth.”
“What does yours say?” I asked Hoax.
“Love is not for the weak of heart,” he read.
Our eyes connected, and something big passed between us.
It wasn’t until Jack read his that our gazes finally disconnected.
“Marriage lets you annoy one special person for the rest of your life,” Jack laughed his way through his fortune.
“Nice,” Dad snorted. “That one fits perfectly, too.”
“What’s yours, Dad?” I asked.
“Uhhh…” He paused. “It’s a boy.”
I frowned. “That’s your fortune?”
He handed it over, and sure enough, that’s exactly what it said. “Huh.”
“Boring,” Hoax muttered. “Everyone’s was good but yours.”
“Unless your wife decides to bring home another puppy…” Jack offered.
Dad cursed. “If she brings home another dog, I’m going to lose my shit.”
“I can bring home another dog if I want to,” my mother’s voice came from behind us.
Dad’s eyes widened slightly, and he tossed me the half-eaten donut that’d been in his hand.
I immediately tossed it to Hoax seeing as I had a half-eaten one of my own in my hand.
Hoax immediately took a bite and grimaced.
My eyes started to water as I held the laughter in at the look on his face.
Hoax had told us a funny story at dinner the other night about how much he hated blueberries and why. Seeing his face as he bit into that donut would be a memory I would go back on each time I needed a laugh. Or to remember how much this man was beginning to mean to me.
For him to eat something he hated so that my dad could save face, made me want to giggle my ass off.
“No, you can’t,” Dad said, trying to brush any residual crumbs off of his shirt and mouth. “I don’t want another damn dog.”
Mom made her way into the garage fully, and her eyes narrowed on the box of donuts.
Luckily there weren’t any more blueberry cake, or she might’ve really gotten suspicious.
She did see the half-eaten one in Hoax’s hand, though, along with the smile that was more of a grimace.
I swear he was holding that bite he’d taken in his mouth, ready to spit out the moment my mother turned her back.
“You weren’t eating that, were you?” She eyed the donut in Hoax’s hand and then turned to my father.
Dad blinked innocently at her.
“No, it’s mine, see?” Hoax held out his tongue, which was now purple.
My dad took a hasty drink of his coffee and I giggled. He’d have to brush his teeth to get rid of that purple tongue.
My mother just rolled her eyes. “I specifically remember you telling a story at dinner the other night that was all about you hating blueberries.”
Hoax’s shoulders drooped. “Shit.”
That’s when everyone laughed. “Give me the rest of that donut back, kid.”
Hoax held it out willingly. “Gross.”
He shivered then for good emphasis.
“Y’all are terrible,” my mother said, reaching for one of my glazed cakes—which were incidentally one of her favorites, too. “But Hoax, don’t keep enabling my husband’s bad habits. He likes you plenty fine now without you buttering him up with his favorite foods that he’s no longer allowed to eat.”
Hoax shrugged. “You may think he likes me fine, but he probably doesn’t.”
Dad grunted in confirmation.
“Jesus,” both my mother and I said at the same time.
Snickering, I popped the last of my donut into my mouth and brushed the glaze crumbs off of my hands before saying, “I’m going to run to the bathroom and then we can go, okay?”
Hoax winked at me. “Ready when you are.”
Chapter 9
How to say ‘fuck off’ in a nice way.
-Things you wish there was etiquette for
Hoax
My stomach was clenching with horror as I waited for the ambulance holding my club brother’s wife to enter the parking lot.
I’d been visiting a certain nurse when the call had come in informing me of what had happened.
I’d left Pru, who’d been in the middle of a call from medical dispatch with the ambulance that was carrying Landry—Wade’s wife—waiting for answers.
She hadn’t spared me a glance, and I was happy about that.
I needed her to be focused when she began to work on Landry.
I’d begun to like the girl—Landry—and I wanted the best of the best working on her. Now that I had Pru in my life, the idea of anyone not having what I had was downright depressing to me. The thought of anything happening to Pru such as being shot sent a bolt of distress racing through my veins.
“Hoax?”
I turned to find Pru standing there, dressed and ready for battle. She had a yellow hospital gown covering her from neck to feet. There was a mask hanging from her right ear, and she had her gloves on with her hands held out in front of her.
Her eyes were a mixture of worry and excitement.
She loved her job. I could tell.
But right now, I didn’t love her job. I didn’t love the fact that she was excited to have someone—someone that belonged to one of my brothers—coming in.
But, I knew that was unfair. She wasn’t happy that there was a gunshot victim coming in. More likely she had adrenaline coursing through her veins and she liked the high it gave her.
“You’re excited,” I said, sounding annoyed.
Her eyes narrowed. “I’m an adrenaline junky.”
Her shrug of nonchalance had me breathing out a harsh breath. “This is my friend. This is my brother’s wife.”
Her eyes softened. “I’ll take care of her, Hoax.”
I heard motorcycles in the distance, followed seconds later by the wail of a siren.
That was them.
Moments after I heard the sound, the doctor came outside dressed much the same as Landry, though he had eye protection on.
“Pru,” the doc said. “You got eyes?”
Pru cursed. “Shit, yeah. It’s in my pocket.”
She started to fumble with the gown, and I walked up to her and found her pocket, extracting the glasses. Instead of holding them out to her, I placed them on her face, then dropped a soft kiss to her forehead. “Take care of her, baby.”
She winked at me when I pulled away. “I’d have done it anyway, but for you, I’d give anything, do anything.”
With that, she gestured for me to back up just as I saw the first flash of lights indicating the arrival of the ambulance.
The next five minutes went about as one would expect. Though, I had to admit, watching it in real life, and watching it on the television? There was nothing similar between the two.
Sure, there were aspects that were the same such as the trauma room’s appearance, as well as the way the nurses were dressed. However, there was no huge commotions, no screaming. Hell, when Wade arrived, there wasn’t even any denial of his entrance to the trauma room.
I shoved another bite into my mouth as I rolled my eyes.
“Dear Lord,” I snickered. “I don’t think I could forget with how graphic of a description you gave me.” I turned to my dad, who was reaching for another donut. “He told me that root beer reminded him of the scum of the earth and that when he smelled it, it made him have nightmares.”
Dad’s brows went up, and Hoax shrugged. “That shit’s disgusting, what can I say?”
Hoax shoved his hand into the pocket of his leather jacket, and something crinkled.
My brows rose. “What’s that?”
He pulled out four fortune cookies and showed them to me. “Did you know the donut store on the corner up here does fortune cookies?”
I reached forward and snatched one up, as did my dad and Jack.
We all cracked them open at the same time, and I smiled when I read mine.
“The fortune you seek is in another cookie,” I read aloud.
Hoax snorted, but it was Dad who replied with, “If that ain’t the truth.”
“What does yours say?” I asked Hoax.
“Love is not for the weak of heart,” he read.
Our eyes connected, and something big passed between us.
It wasn’t until Jack read his that our gazes finally disconnected.
“Marriage lets you annoy one special person for the rest of your life,” Jack laughed his way through his fortune.
“Nice,” Dad snorted. “That one fits perfectly, too.”
“What’s yours, Dad?” I asked.
“Uhhh…” He paused. “It’s a boy.”
I frowned. “That’s your fortune?”
He handed it over, and sure enough, that’s exactly what it said. “Huh.”
“Boring,” Hoax muttered. “Everyone’s was good but yours.”
“Unless your wife decides to bring home another puppy…” Jack offered.
Dad cursed. “If she brings home another dog, I’m going to lose my shit.”
“I can bring home another dog if I want to,” my mother’s voice came from behind us.
Dad’s eyes widened slightly, and he tossed me the half-eaten donut that’d been in his hand.
I immediately tossed it to Hoax seeing as I had a half-eaten one of my own in my hand.
Hoax immediately took a bite and grimaced.
My eyes started to water as I held the laughter in at the look on his face.
Hoax had told us a funny story at dinner the other night about how much he hated blueberries and why. Seeing his face as he bit into that donut would be a memory I would go back on each time I needed a laugh. Or to remember how much this man was beginning to mean to me.
For him to eat something he hated so that my dad could save face, made me want to giggle my ass off.
“No, you can’t,” Dad said, trying to brush any residual crumbs off of his shirt and mouth. “I don’t want another damn dog.”
Mom made her way into the garage fully, and her eyes narrowed on the box of donuts.
Luckily there weren’t any more blueberry cake, or she might’ve really gotten suspicious.
She did see the half-eaten one in Hoax’s hand, though, along with the smile that was more of a grimace.
I swear he was holding that bite he’d taken in his mouth, ready to spit out the moment my mother turned her back.
“You weren’t eating that, were you?” She eyed the donut in Hoax’s hand and then turned to my father.
Dad blinked innocently at her.
“No, it’s mine, see?” Hoax held out his tongue, which was now purple.
My dad took a hasty drink of his coffee and I giggled. He’d have to brush his teeth to get rid of that purple tongue.
My mother just rolled her eyes. “I specifically remember you telling a story at dinner the other night that was all about you hating blueberries.”
Hoax’s shoulders drooped. “Shit.”
That’s when everyone laughed. “Give me the rest of that donut back, kid.”
Hoax held it out willingly. “Gross.”
He shivered then for good emphasis.
“Y’all are terrible,” my mother said, reaching for one of my glazed cakes—which were incidentally one of her favorites, too. “But Hoax, don’t keep enabling my husband’s bad habits. He likes you plenty fine now without you buttering him up with his favorite foods that he’s no longer allowed to eat.”
Hoax shrugged. “You may think he likes me fine, but he probably doesn’t.”
Dad grunted in confirmation.
“Jesus,” both my mother and I said at the same time.
Snickering, I popped the last of my donut into my mouth and brushed the glaze crumbs off of my hands before saying, “I’m going to run to the bathroom and then we can go, okay?”
Hoax winked at me. “Ready when you are.”
Chapter 9
How to say ‘fuck off’ in a nice way.
-Things you wish there was etiquette for
Hoax
My stomach was clenching with horror as I waited for the ambulance holding my club brother’s wife to enter the parking lot.
I’d been visiting a certain nurse when the call had come in informing me of what had happened.
I’d left Pru, who’d been in the middle of a call from medical dispatch with the ambulance that was carrying Landry—Wade’s wife—waiting for answers.
She hadn’t spared me a glance, and I was happy about that.
I needed her to be focused when she began to work on Landry.
I’d begun to like the girl—Landry—and I wanted the best of the best working on her. Now that I had Pru in my life, the idea of anyone not having what I had was downright depressing to me. The thought of anything happening to Pru such as being shot sent a bolt of distress racing through my veins.
“Hoax?”
I turned to find Pru standing there, dressed and ready for battle. She had a yellow hospital gown covering her from neck to feet. There was a mask hanging from her right ear, and she had her gloves on with her hands held out in front of her.
Her eyes were a mixture of worry and excitement.
She loved her job. I could tell.
But right now, I didn’t love her job. I didn’t love the fact that she was excited to have someone—someone that belonged to one of my brothers—coming in.
But, I knew that was unfair. She wasn’t happy that there was a gunshot victim coming in. More likely she had adrenaline coursing through her veins and she liked the high it gave her.
“You’re excited,” I said, sounding annoyed.
Her eyes narrowed. “I’m an adrenaline junky.”
Her shrug of nonchalance had me breathing out a harsh breath. “This is my friend. This is my brother’s wife.”
Her eyes softened. “I’ll take care of her, Hoax.”
I heard motorcycles in the distance, followed seconds later by the wail of a siren.
That was them.
Moments after I heard the sound, the doctor came outside dressed much the same as Landry, though he had eye protection on.
“Pru,” the doc said. “You got eyes?”
Pru cursed. “Shit, yeah. It’s in my pocket.”
She started to fumble with the gown, and I walked up to her and found her pocket, extracting the glasses. Instead of holding them out to her, I placed them on her face, then dropped a soft kiss to her forehead. “Take care of her, baby.”
She winked at me when I pulled away. “I’d have done it anyway, but for you, I’d give anything, do anything.”
With that, she gestured for me to back up just as I saw the first flash of lights indicating the arrival of the ambulance.
The next five minutes went about as one would expect. Though, I had to admit, watching it in real life, and watching it on the television? There was nothing similar between the two.
Sure, there were aspects that were the same such as the trauma room’s appearance, as well as the way the nurses were dressed. However, there was no huge commotions, no screaming. Hell, when Wade arrived, there wasn’t even any denial of his entrance to the trauma room.
