Buddy moved Sadie’s head, slid out from under her and carefully tucked a pillow under her, hoping he wouldn’t wake her. She moved, Buddy sucked in breath but she just curled her knees up higher, pinning YoYo, who didn’t mind and simply snuggled closer. She tucked her hands under her cheek in prayer position and stayed out.
Buddy let out a sigh.
At that point, Ralphie and Hector walked in the room.
Hector’s eyes immediately went to Sadie.
“She’s asleep,” Buddy whispered then, “kitchen.”
Hector’s gaze sliced to him and he didn’t even try to hide his look of tender concern.
At his look, Buddy knew.
Thank Christ, he thought.
They went into the kitchen and Ralphie closed the kitchen door as Buddy got three Fat Tire beers from the fridge.
He opened the beers while Hector asked, “How is she?”
“A f**king mess.” Ralphie answered and Buddy shot him a killing look. “What?” Ralphie responded to the killing look. “She’s been crying her eyes out and blathering on about learning to speak Greek. What’s that all about?”
“Learning to speak Greek?” Hector asked and Buddy slid him a beer.
They settled on stools at the island and Ralphie kept going, “Yep. Greek. She’s lost it. Says her father killed her mother and she’s got to learn to speak Greek. If that isn’t the hallmark of losing your mind, nothing is.”
Hector stared at Ralphie a beat and then put his elbow on the island, pressed his three middle fingers to the area between his brows and rubbed hard.
Buddy watched Hector, his heart clenching then asked, “Did her father kill her mother?”
Ralphie’s head snapped around to look at Buddy then he went pale and his gaze swung to Hector.
Hector took his fingers from his brow and took a long swig of beer.
Then he leveled his (fucking fantastic, Buddy had to admit, the color was so intense and those lashes, Jesus Christ, divine) black eyes on Buddy and said, “She got bad news today. Her mother’s likely dead, it’s an outside chance but her father could have done it, he had motive and opportunity.”
“No, please no,” Ralphie breathed then shut his eyes tight.
“I knew about it but didn’t want her to know,” Hector told him. “The boys agreed with me, Lee, his brother Hank, my brother Eddie,” Hector explained. “She forced my hand, asked Lee to find her Mom right in front of Tom. Tom knew her mother. He’s a friend of her family she didn’t know she had. He wants her back in the fold. He wants to protect her like he feels he should have been protecting her since her Mom disappeared. To do that, he wants her trust so he wanted nothing between them. I didn’t like it but I agreed. It was the wrong choice, at least now, it was too f**kin’ soon.”
“Not much more she can take,” Buddy decided.
“Nope,” Hector agreed.
Buddy and Hector stared at each other unhappily.
Ralphie’s eyes reopened.
“What are we going to do?” he asked.
“What you been doin’,” Hector answered simply.
“I’m not sure Auntie Mame and Veronica Mars are going to soothe the soul of a recently raped girl who just found out her father might have killed her mother. That’s beyond the powers of Tinseltown,” Ralphie informed Hector.
Hector stared at Ralphie, likely, Buddy thought, wondering how he, as macho and heterosexual as they come, found himself sharing a beer in the kitchen of a g*y man who just used the words “Auntie Mame”, “soothe the soul” and “Tinseltown” in one sentence.
Buddy decided it was time to get down to business.
“You need to know a few things about Sadie,” Buddy said and Ralphie’s head snapped to him again, this time with the addition of narrowed eyes.