Badger to the Bone (Honey Badger Chronicles #3) - Shelly Laurenston Page 0,109
of fake zebras and antelope to choose from.”
“An array?”
“You know—adult or . . . baby.”
“Nope,” Zé said, turning back toward the exit. “Can’t handle this.”
“You should try it! It’ll be fun.”
She caught up to him just as he stepped out of the gym.
“Okay, okay. I see this was too much.”
“And weird. Don’t forget weird.”
Max took his hand again. “Let’s get something to eat.”
“I’m not eating whale blubber.”
“Of course not! You need meat. Polar bears need whale blubber.”
* * *
“I just feel like I failed them, you know?” Charlie admitted to the She-bears currently taking care of her. Someone made her lemonade, another got her cheese and crackers, and they were all sitting on her porch, listening to her whine. “I should have taken better care of them.”
“They’re still alive, aren’t they?” Ruth asked. “Because let’s face it, that was a long shot.”
“I didn’t even know Max still played basketball.”
“And she got MVP one year . . . or was it two?” Cathy Jakes said. When Ruth glared at her, she added, “I just know because I used to play a little college ball back in the day and I’m a big fan of the Butchers.”
“The who?”
“Her team, dear.”
“Oh, God.” Charlie rubbed her forehead. “I don’t even know the name of her team. What kind of sister am I?”
“I doubt she cares,” Ruth insisted. “Your sister is not like . . . anyone, actually.”
“She saw me the other day,” Mrs. Demming said, “and she didn’t scream and hide in the tree . . . like the last seventeen times she saw me. This time, she just softly begged for death as I walked by. That’s a huge improvement.”
Charlie sat up a little straighter. “You know what? I’m sorry, ladies. All this whining. Dear God, I’m annoying myself!”
Ruth patted her knee. “Charlie MacKilligan, you need to have faith in yourself. You’re an excellent sister who loves two females most people would find very hard to like, much less love. You protect them with your life and you care about others. That’s more than most these days.”
“Thank you.” Charlie smiled at the She-bears. “I really appreciate this and . . . Oh, my God!”
The She-bears looked around, ready for any danger.
“What is it?” Ruth demanded. “What’s wrong?”
“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to . . .” Charlie pointed and the She-bears turned to look at the street.
“Gurllll,” Mrs. Jakes growled. “Look at the fuckin’ Bugatti.” When her friends stared at her: “What? I like cars. In fact, I’d kill my husband for that car.”
“Don’t bother,” Ruth muttered. “You couldn’t get your big bear ass in there.”
“Who is that?” Mrs. Demmings asked, sniffing the air. “Badger. Another aunt?”
“Not quite.” Charlie blew out a breath. “It’s Max’s mom.”
“Oh. That’s nice.” Ruth blinked, looked off. “Wait . . . isn’t she in prison?”
“She was.”
“But she was paroled? Or pardoned? Anything?”
Charlie shook her head.
“Awww, kid, you are having a day,” Ruth sighed out.
“You’re telling me.”
An older version of Max walked through the open gate and stood at the bottom of the porch stairs.
“Hiya, Charlie.”
“Hi, Renny. It’s great to see you.”
“You, too, sweetie. It’s been so long. You have grown into a beautiful woman. Your mom would be so proud.”
“Thanks. That means a lot.”
Renny glanced at the She-bears and asked Charlie, “Uh, think we can go somewhere private and talk for a few minutes?”
“No!” all the She-bears barked before Charlie could say a word.
Those determined looks on all those bear faces told Charlie there was no point in arguing. “I guess, no.”
“Not a problem. We can talk here . . . with these bears.”
“Sure. What’s up?”
“Now that I’m back—”
“Illegally,” Ruth muttered.
“How’s that going, fugitive?” Mrs. Demmings tossed in.
But Renny, like Max, just ignored them. “—I’ve got some things going. Some plans I’m making. For my future.”
“Okay.” Charlie nodded. “That’s great.”
“And I would love to have my daughter by my side. You know, making up for lost time. Real mother-daughter bonding.”
Charlie fought her need to frown. She didn’t know why Renny was telling her this.
“Okay,” Charlie said again. “I’m sure Max would love spending some time with you. You should just ask her.”
“I did float the general idea by her. But I think if you let her know it would be okay for her to go, she’d be more ready to venture away from you and Stevie.”
“Max has always ventured anywhere she wants to.”
“Well . . . not exactly. I mean, she told me that she was expected to