gotta earn anything from me. She gets everything, simply by bein’ who she is.” He cleared his throat. “You tell Vanna me and Myrt gonna need just the one room when we get there?”
“Nope. Peepers’ll need to hear such a proclamation from you. Remember, she’s gone all Vanna Mom with Myrt, so you’ll have to battle that.” Gunny’s tone was easy and teasing, making Bane hope it wouldn’t be a fight. “Let’s go ahead and get said convo out of the way now.” Before Bane could argue, Gunny had pulled the phone away from his face, shouting for Vanna. “Here she is now.”
“Bane.” That was all Vanna said, only a single word, but sweat prickled across the back of his neck at the coolness in her voice.
“Hey, Vanna, how’s it goin’? Boys settling in okay? Marian?” Perhaps he could distract with a little bit of inquiry.
“They’re good. Now, how’s Myrt holding up with everything?” Nope, no distracting the woman when she had her sights set on something.
“She’s good. She did great at the sheriff’s office yesterday, asking all the right questions about her daddy’s estate and shit. I think it’s sinking in that the two men who caused her so much torment are never gonna be able to do that again. Yesterday evening she called her other sister, the one who scooped up the younger kids, made sure she’d heard the news. They talked for half an hour, and when she got off the phone, she was smiling through the tears.” Bane clamped his lips shut, the realization he’d dumped a bunch of info on Vanna making the tips of his ears heat. “So yeah, she’s good.”
“I’m so glad.” Vanna’s voice vibrated with emotion. “So glad she’s got you, that fate saw fit to cast your paths together.”
“Sounds trite, but I am, too. She’s burrowed deep, Vanna Mom. Under my skin and into my heart, and I do not want to ever lose an inch of what she’s giving me.” Fiddling with the helmet straps, he considered his next words, finally deciding to go with what felt right. “She’s mine, you know what I mean?”
“I do know that feeling. That ‘I’d do anything for this person because they’re my other half’ sense that bends reality so you can see into the heart and soul of your mate. Best feeling in the world, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it really is.” He took a breath, wondering why this felt like facing down the parents back in his teenaged years. “We’ll be sharing a room.”
Vanna laughed. “Goes without saying, honey.” There was the briefest of pauses, then she asked, “She decided what she’s going to do with the baby yet?”
And her question was like a velvet-gloved haymaker punch to the belly, knocking all the air from his lungs, the reminder that what he’d hoped for might be mist in the wind. He straightened on the seat, boots thudding against the ground. “Not for sure. We’ve talked about only one outcome, though. Every conversation aims at nine months down the road, if you know what I mean?”
“Might be she’s made her decision but doesn’t know how to tell you, then, son.” A door closed in the background, and the noise of the family came back loud, making him realize Vanna had taken the phone outside for privacy during their call. Just another way this woman takes care of the people she likes. He wouldn’t count himself in Vanna’s inner circle yet, but Myrt was, so it made sense from that angle. “Might be you should tell her what you’re thinking without her prompting, so she knows it’s from you, and not a reflection of her emotions and hopes.”
“Might be you’re a wise woman, Vanna Mom.”
She laughed then, and he caught the sound of a deep bass rumble and knew Truck was nearby. “Might be I am, Will Crow. Might be I am. Travel safely, you hear me? We’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Oh, hold on, Truck wants to speak to you.”
He had to wait only a moment before the man came on the line. “Bane, road treatin’ you kindly?” The noise decreased again, and he knew whatever Truck wanted to say, it would likely dip into official business.
“Yeah, it’s nice havin’ my ole lady wrapped around me on a long run.” He chuckled. “What’s with the round-robin phone call?”
“Mason wanted me to have a word.”
Bane leaned back, missing the heat and solid feel of Myrt at his back, kicking one foot back up on the highway bars.