That explained his unhappy face.
“That’s what I’m sayin’. Lame-ass bul shit,” May kept at it, luckily taking me off the hot seat for not cal ing in.
“May, I can take care of myself,” I put in.
“Yeah, maybe you can. Maybe you can’t. You’re dating one of the baddest badasses in Denver and he’s workin’
with the rest of the baddest badasses. Indy, Jet and Roxie got bodyguards. What are you? Chopped Liver?” After delivering this tirade, May turned back to Vance. “She look like chopped liver to you, boy?”
Oh no, there was the “boy” comment again.
“May, I think it best you don’t cal Vance ‘boy’ anymore,” I whispered to her.
“He is a boy to me!” May shouted back at me.
I stepped away a bit.
“Jules didn’t want a bodyguard,” Vance informed May.
“Yeah, wel , she didn’t want a boyfriend either and you took care of that,” May shot back.
Hmm.
She had a point.
“She’s got bodyguards,” Heavy joined the conversation from behind us.
“Yeah. Us,” Zip added.
May turned slowly and looked the Middle-Aged Man Posse up and down. You could tel she found them somewhat lacking and I understood why when she turned back to Vance.
“Roxie told me when she was being stalked, Luke Stark was her bodyguard.”
I had a feeling even though he was older Duke knew what he was doing. After my experience with Heavy, Zip and Tex, I knew for a fact they knew what they were doing.
Stil , I had to admit they didn’t compare to Luke.
I bugged my eyes out at Vance in a non-verbal “Do something!” but he just crossed his arms on his chest.
I guessed it was up to me. “May, simmer down. It’s going to be fine,” I said.
She made an angry and unimpressed noise that sounded like “humph”.
“No, real y. I have a lot of people looking out for me,” I went on.
“Something happens to you, what are those boys gonna do?” she pointed to Roam and Sniff.
“Nothing’s going to happen to me,” I assured her.
“Something happens to you, what’s your uncle gonna do?” she carried on, a dog with a bone as usual.
“May, nothing’s gonna happen to me,” I repeated.
She walked to me, got in my space and looked up at me.
Quietly, she said, “Something happens to you, what am I gonna do?”
It was then I saw the tears she was trying not to shed shimmering in her eyes.
She was scared. Scared for me. Scared that something would happen to me that decades of using her Mama’s Gonna Make It Better Voice would never heal.
I put my arms around her and held her close. She did the same to me.
I’d never hugged May and in the back of my head it registered that she gave good hugs.
I looked around and saw Indy, Jet, Roam, Sniff and Clarice at one end of the row, al staring at me. Even Roam, Sniff and Clarice, hardened street kids, couldn’t hide their worried expressions.
Duke, Tex, Zip and Heavy were in the middle of the row stil looking like my favorite uncles, al pissed off and wanting a role in my protection.
Daisy was standing with them. She was hard to read but I suspected she was patiently waiting for me to make the right decision and that was huge.
May and Vance were at my end of the row.
Home, Auntie Reba whispered in my ear.
My eyes locked on Vance’s.
Then I closed them slowly and when I opened them again, he was stil looking at me but he had that look in his eyes again and now that I knew what that look meant, a happy shiver slid up my spine.
Shit.
I’d just made a decision.
Even when this was al over, I wasn’t going back on the street. Too many people cared about what happened to me and they would get hurt if I got hurt.
With one look at me Daisy knew I’d come to my decision. She smiled and gave me an approving wink.
Then she came forward and pul ed May away from me.
“Let’s get you your roast beef sandwich,” she said, guiding May away.
Everyone fol owed.
“I’m first up,” Duke said, pointing at me before he left.
I rol ed my eyes (just for show) and when I was done with my eye rol , Vance was there.
His arm went around my neck and he pul ed me to him.
“Thinkin’ something big just happened there,” he said, looking down at me.
“Yeah,” I whispered.
“Wanna share?”
“Wanna share?”
I shook my head but I said it anyway. “I’m giving up the street.”
Vance’s body went tense. “For good?” he asked.
“For good,” I answered.
It was his turn to close his eyes but as with everything Vance, he did it better than me. In closer proximity, he dropped his forehead to mine, opened his eyes again to look into mine and breathed out on a quiet sigh, “Good.”
“You think Lee would let me go out with the boys every now and again, keep my skil s sharp?” I tried.
He lifted his forehead from mine and shook his head.
“I’m thinkin’ Lee might think you’re a distraction.” I was afraid of that.