leaned her against the edge of the table, and his hand found the special place between her legs. There was no rule against him touching Mama there.
Mama giggled. âAre we leaving for Myrtle Beach this morning?â
âYouâre coming? What about the kids, Val?â
âThey can go to Brendaâs. It looks like youâve got plenty of people sitting around doing nothing.â Mama looked at Ricki and Dee in the doorway.
âYeah, yeah. Dee, why donât you take the Charger, drive them down to her sisterâs?â He didnât even look at her. With Mama there, Dee was invisible like me.
Â
10
DEE
As Dee backed out of the drive, she realized she didnât know where she was going. She looked in the rearview mirror at Liamâs daughter, who was cute as could be, but creepy. Even if she knew where they were going, she wouldnât say a word to Dee. She never had.
Leaving the kids in the car, Dee walked back to the house. Liam had Val on his lap, his hand up her short skirt.
âWhere am I going?â Dee said.
âTo her sisterâs in Tulsa.â Liam didnât even bother to move his hand. He was so gorgeous, all that blond hair, and tan from being out on the bike.
âI know, but whatâs the address?â
Her arm around Liamâs neck, Val winked at Dee. âOne-Four-Three-Two-Two Fawn Hill Circle. Do you think you can find that?â
They had been friends once, and Dee felt sorry for Val. She was seriously messed up, and whatever was wrong with her, it had created a chance for Dee. If Val were okay, why would Liam waste his time on Dee?
She drove Kellenâs Charger, faster than she should have, and risked getting pulled over. An hour outside the city, the little boy started whining and crying. It made Dee glad she hadnât done something stupid like get knocked up. Of course, that was how Val got Liam, popping out babies for him. Popping out a son ⦠who wouldnât stop crying.
âCanât you make him be quiet?â Dee said.
The crying didnât seem to bother Wavy, but it rattled Deeâs nerves so much that she got the address turned around in her head. At 13422 Fawn Hill Circle, the man who answered the door looked confused.
âVal asked me to drop the kids off,â Dee said.
âI think youâve got the wrong address.â
She tried the neighbors and got the same thing. Cruising down the block, Dee felt helpless and panicked. If she didnât get back by dark, the rest of the guys would have left already and sheâd be stuck at the ranch while Liam partied at Myrtle Beach. With Val.
From the backseat, Wavy said, âThere.â
Dee slammed on the brakes and, as she looked at the houses, Liamâs daughter opened the door and stepped out of the car. She left the door open as she crossed the street and started up the walk in front of a neat yellow house. It almost made Dee sick how neat it was. Grass trimmed, white shutters, station wagon out front. The kind of thing Dee would have ended up with if sheâd listened to her motherâs advice.
Throwing the car into park, Dee hurried around to the open door to get Donal. If she could make the hand-off and get on the road, it would be okay.
âWho are you?â Valâs sister came down the sidewalk.
âVal asked me to drop the kids off.â
âWhat do you mean? Drop them off? For how long?â
âProbably just a week or so.â
Dee shoved the baby at Valâs sister, who finally held out her arms and took him. She looked stunned, but that was her problem. Let her be stunned.
Then Dee was flying down the interstate, feeling giddy and excited. Until she remembered that Val was riding behind Liam with her arms around him.
And what would Dee do? The same thing Ricki would do. Look around for whatever fun she could get that Liam wouldnât find out about. That probably meant being with one of the guys. Somebody who