Their three, knowing what they had was right.
Getting why.
And having it all.
Freedom, Love and Family of the Heart
Maddox
B&J JUMPED AT me as DM. Start at the Bolt weekend after Rebel leaves. Get the money. Get the ring. We’ll give it to her this weekend while Reb’s here. Reb’ll get off on that.
D’s bossy-as-fuck text came while Maddox was leaving the gym to head home the day after the shit hit with D’s mom.
He beeped the locks on his truck, opened it up, tossed his workout bag across to the passenger seat, and before he hauled himself up, he leaned a shoulder against the side of the cab and texted back, Not asking Mol while Reb’s here.
He pulled himself into the cab and had the truck on, AC cranking, when he got back, Why not?
Celebration, D, as in no holds barred. Not hours. DAYS, Mad replied.
He’d put the truck into gear and was about to pull out of his parking spot when he got, Gotcha.
He grinned, drove out of the spot and was waiting for the road to clear in order to turn into it when his cab rang.
He looked to the dash.
The number was not programmed into his phone.
But it had a 317 area code.
“Shit, fuck,” he bit off, taking the turn.
Which one was it and how did they get his number?
He should blow it off. Not answer. Block the caller.
But maybe this could lead to something.
Something for Diesel.
He took the call.
“Maddox,” he said as answer.
There was nothing.
Good, maybe they’d lose courage, hang up.
“Maddox?”
Shit.
They didn’t hang up.
And it was D’s dad.
“Yeah?” he faked not knowing who it was in hopes the man would chicken out.
“This is Gene Stapleton. Diesel’s father.”
“Yeah, Gene. I know who you are,” Maddox said on a sigh.
“Are you . . . away from my son?” Gene asked.
“For the next ten minutes. I’m heading home.”
“We need to talk.”
The man said no more.
Maddox pulled his shit together to be cool and prompted, “I’m right here, Gene. What do you have to say?”
“You need to leave our son alone.”
Fuck.
“Gene—”
“You’ve got some kinda hold on him I don’t get. But for him, you need to let go. You need to move out. Let him and his girl be. Let him be who he—”
“First, Gene, the house is mine. I own it.”
It took a second for him to recover from that before he said, “Then you need to let them move out.”
“Right, I own it but we all live there, it’s a home we share and will continue to share until we have children. Then we’ll probably need a bigger place.”
“You . . . you’re gonna . . . have kids?”
He sounded like he was choking.
Shit, this was actually kinda fun.
“At least two, maybe four,” Mad shared cheerfully.
“Jesus, that’s . . . Jesus, it’s—”
“Second,” Maddox interrupted, “I don’t have to tell you that your son is thirty-two years old. He’s mature, intelligent, quick as a whip. He’s also strong-willed and knows his own mind. There is no way anyone could make him do something he doesn’t want to do.”
“It is not my boy who spoke to his mother the way Diesel did yesterday, saying the things he said,” Gene retorted.
That’s funny, I watched your boy do just that, Maddox thought.
But he said, “I’m not sure we’re gonna get anywhere with this conversation, Gene, so maybe we should just leave this here, you and Verna think on things a little further, and when you come to terms with how it is, you give Diesel a call.”
“Diesel’s confused,” he decreed.
“Diesel isn’t confused.”
“My son is not one of those . . .” Gene trailed off.
“What?” Maddox asked.
Gene didn’t answer.
“One of those what, Gene?” Maddox pushed.
“He’s not one of your kind,” Gene spat.
Right.
He was wrong.
This was not fun.
“And I thank God every day you’re wrong,” Maddox returned. “Now I got a feeling this is just going to deteriorate so we should end it here.”
“This is tearing his mother apart,” Gene announced.
“This is gonna make me sound all kinds of asshole to a man like you, Gene, but I have to tell you I have little compassion for that. There is no reason why this should mean anything to you or Verna outside making you both thrilled your son is happy and he’s found two people who love him very much. But I have a feeling that’s not gonna get through to you. Maybe someday it will. Until that happens, let’s all live our own lives, yeah?”
“It took a lot for me to stop Diesel’s brother from drivin’ right out there and showin’ you exactly what we think about this . . . fuckin’ . . . shit.”
“Glad you stopped him, Gene, ’cause once Gunner got here, that wouldn’t have gone too good for him.”
“Diesel’s close to his older brother. Looks up to him. Always wanted to be like him. Gunner’d be able to talk some sense into my boy, so I think you’re wrong. I think if Gunner made it there, it wouldn’t go too good for you.”
“Trust me on this, you don’t want to find out the way that’d go.”
“Feel like lettin’ him head on out there now,” Gene sniped.
“Again, I’d advise you not do that.”
“And what you gonna do, a fuckin’ pansy faggot? My Gunner’d wipe the—”
Maddox had never . . .
Not once . . .
Not in his life . . .
Been called that word.
“We’re done,” Maddox growled. “I’m hanging up and I’m blocking you so don’t waste the time calling back. And I swear to fuck, Gene, you call D and feed him any of this shit, it’s another Stapleton who’s gonna have to pull back a man in his life from going fucking apeshit. I don’t give a fuck you’re an old, tired, bigoted asshole. You’ve met me. So you’ve seen me. You think about that. I’d break you in two. And I’d have decency on my side and I’d be fighting for my family. Never met Gunner, but with both those at my back, he thinks to fuck with Diesel, he wouldn’t stand a fucking chance.”
He landed that, ended the call on his steering wheel, snatched up his phone, and did something Molly would have fits over. He drove while he engaged his phone to find that number and block it.
Only then did he toss the phone on his workout bag in the passenger seat and fully concentrate on driving.
He had five minutes to get his head together so he didn’t bring that shit home to Diesel and Molly.
Because he had absolutely no intention of saying dick to either of them about that call. If by some slim chance Gene, Verna or Gunner shared about it, it wouldn’t take much to explain why he didn’t.
But right now, they were in the best place they’d ever been. With Barclay and Josh taking him on at the Bolt, D was feeling in the zone he could do his part to get Molly’s ring and texting Mad to get the money and pick it up.
That bullshit didn’t factor in their lives until it shoved its way in in a way that Maddox couldn’t keep it out.
He made it home, parked, let himself inside and saw D and Molly camped out on the couch, eating chips and salsa, watching TV.