“So, that’s what you call your operation? Granny Growhouse?” We were back in the car after another three stops, and Preppy just announced that Betty had been our last stop for the day.
“That’s what I call it. King hates the name, but he hasn’t been back long enough to meet all the ladies and get a feel for it. He’ll come around.”
“You did this while King was in prison?”
“Yeah, kept getting fucked over by our main supplier who only wanted to deal with King, so I phased them out and started Granny Growhouse. It was how we earned while the big man was away.”
“Have you thought of getting a job?”
“What would you call this?” he asked.
“No, like a real job.”
“Fuck no. Never had a real job a day in my life. Don’t plan on it either. Fuck the man.”
“I don’t know if you are completely odd or oddly brilliant.”
“I can’t decide if you are always this blunt or just have a bad case of can’t-shut-the-fuck-ups,” he countered.
“It’s an always kind of thing,” I said honestly.
“King sort of has a real job with the tattooing. It’s how he stays under the radar. But he loves it, too. You should see some of his art. It’s fucking amazing. He’s been doing it since we were kids, using me as his human test dummy.”
It wasn’t until we arrived back at the house, car parked in the garage that I began to dread the reality that awaited me.
All six foot three of him.
Preppy saw me staring up at the house. “I know he’s a little rough on the surface, but he’s the best guy I’ve ever met.”
“Oh yeah? You must not know a lot of people.”
“She’s got jokes!” Preppy said as he pulled down the garage door. “But seriously, he’s not all bad.”
We started to walk toward the house when a large shadow passed over the far window on the second floor, sending shivers down my spine. “You should probably tell him that.”
Chapter Fourteen
Doe
Preppy made dinner, a delicious pasta with sausage dish. I think the old ladies were starting to rub off on him because we ate our meals on the living room recliners off of foldable TV trays.
After dinner, Preppy disappeared into his room and since I was a glutton for punishment, I went upstairs to look for King. Or maybe, I just wanted to find him before he found me. It wasn’t exactly the upper hand, but it was something.
A buzzing sound caught my attention. It was coming from the same room where I’d walked in on King with a girl.
The door was partially open. Inside was a girl with long, straight red hair straddling a low-backed chair. King sat behind her, but it was nothing like the scene from last time. King was perched on a stool, wearing black gloves. He held a buzzing tattoo gun that every so often, he would dip into a small plastic container before continuing on with his work.
A man with sandy-blonde hair that fell to his chin and bright blue eyes sat in the corner, reading a GUNS AND AMMO magazine. The redhead’s eyes were closed, and King lightly tapped his foot to the Lynnyrd Skynnyrd song playing over the speakers.
Not knowing how King would feel about me watching him work, I turned to leave, but he stopped me. “Pup, I need more paper towels.”
I turned back around. The blonde’s eyes were on me immediately. The red head took out her ear buds, but King hadn’t looked up.
“Me?” I asked, unsure if King was talking to me or if he called everyone Pup.
“Yes, you. Unless I’m calling Jake pup now, and something tells me he wouldn’t like it all that much.”
The man in the corner stared at me straight-faced with no readable emotion. The girl offered me a knowing look before putting her ear buds back in and closing her eyes.
“On the counter,” King added impatiently.
I looked over to the corner of the room and spied the roll of paper towels. I grabbed them and walked over to King, setting them on the small table next to him. I was about to walk back out of the room when he spoke again.
“Stay,” he ordered. Unfolding a piece of towel, he sprayed the girl’s back with the liquid from a plastic water bottle and then wiped at the tattoo until he seemed satisfied. “I’m done here.” He wiped something from a jar onto her back then taped the edges of the plastic with gauze tape. King tapped on the girl’s shoulders and she again removed her ear buds. “You can take the plastic off tomorrow. Keep it clean.”
“Always do,” she said.
I hadn’t seen Jake stand up, but suddenly, he was next to the redhead, helping her up off the chair.
“My feet always fall asleep when I’m getting tattooed,” she explained to me. She leaned forward onto the blonde man for a few moments until she was able to stand up on her own.
I got a brief glimpse of the new ink on her back. It was a tree, a delicate yet bold orange tree at sunset. The leaves spelled out Georgia through the middle. The tattoo looked as if it were in motion, like oranges were falling from the branches.
It was heart-breakingly beautiful.
They both wore wedding bands, so I assumed Jake was her husband. When he saw me staring at her new art work, he reached behind her and released the clip that held up her shirt, rearranging it until she was covered.