The old wooden church hadn’t changed much. Same plank flooring and massive ceiling fans. They’d added a sound system and a TV monitor, but the table at the front might have been the same one from when Mama dragged Lucky and his siblings to church.
For the first time in years, Lucky sat with his family, Charlotte on one side, Bo on the other, Dallas and Daytona supporting Mama on the pew in front of him. Todd and Ty sat behind their mother. As many times as Lucky’d dreamed of being with them all again, the reason sucked.
Grandma and Grandpa Lucklighter sat on the same row as his mother, surrounded by various family members, many Lucky hadn’t seen in twenty years.
Daddy sat alone, off to the side. Lucky crossed the distance and led him back into the fold. He took a place next to Charlotte. No one complained. Lucklighters stuck together, no matter what. Bo nodded his approval.
Bristol’s girlfriend wasn’t there, nor friends, if he had any. Nothing left of Bristol either but a box full of ashes. Charlotte sniffled. Lucky tightened his arm around her back, and met his Dad’s arm embracing her from the other side.
The preacher said a few words, and one by one the family passed by the box holding Bristol’s remains.
Lucky hugged Charlotte, he hugged Mama, and he hugged his Daddy. He hugged his two remaining brothers, his nephews, and his grandparents. Now wasn’t the time for a lengthy conversation, but one day soon.
The truth might have set him free, but it brought none of the relief and peace the preacher used to promise. His brother. Dead.
Because of him. No, not because of him. Bristol made his own choices; a fact the ever-patient Dr. Drake might need to repeat a few dozen times before the fact sank through Lucky’s incredibly thick skull.
Lucky plodded out of the church into the adjoining cemetery, filled with Lucklighters past. He roamed the grounds, clearing his head and paying respects to his great-grandparents. A relatively new headstone caught his eyes: Richmond Eugene Lucklighter: Beloved Son.
And damned if the tears he’d been holding back didn’t fall like rain.
He never questioned the arms around him. Familiarity told him who comforted him. That and the scent of Bo’s cologne. Bo held him while he cried—for Bristol, for Daytona, Mama, Daddy, Charlotte, Dallas, and finally, for himself and a lot of wasted years.
***
Lucky lazed on the grassy hill where he’d spent so much time as a kid. And like most times before, his sister stretched out beside him. His lover lay on his other side. The partner he’d never expected way back when.
Bo joined his hand with Lucky’s. “You’ve got a great family. I really like ‘em.”
Poor guy. He’d gotten the shit end of the stick, family-wise. Yeah, Lucky’d been, well, lucky.
“They’re okay, I reckon, ‘cept for Dover and Talladega.” Years ago the family stopped talking about Lucky. Now no one spoke Bristol’s name. Let them have their silence for now, but sooner or later they needed to work everything out.
“Hey!” Charlotte shouted. “Just ‘cause we’re supposed to be adults don’t mean I can’t still kick your ass.”
“Can n—”
Bo placed a restraining hand on his arm. “Remember her heavy purse? She’s armed.”
Yes, she was. Lucky’d let her threat go for now, but when she least expected, she’d find a rubber snake in her bed. He owed her.
And he’d yet to pay Bo back for stealing his clothes.
A few feet away, two teenaged boys wrestled in the grass. How strange to answer to “Uncle Richie” again.
Lucky said, “If there’s anything we can do to help, let us know.” Helping Mama and Daddy might put Bo and Lucky back some, but they’d manage. More medical bills rolled in each day.
Charlotte sat up. “Which reminds me! I started one of those online contribution things to help raise money to cover Daddy’s expenses. With everything going on, I haven’t checked donations lately.”
She punched a few buttons on her cell phone, then punched a few more. Her face went white. “Rich, would you make sure I’m not hallucinating?”
Lucky scrolled through her iPhone. Mr. and Mrs. Smith from Atlanta contributed two thousand dollars. Dayum! “Mr. Tibbles, ten bucks, Twinkles, ten bucks, Patches, ten bucks. Oh. Mrs. Griggs, fifty.” Trust the woman to make donations in her cats’ names. More contributors filled the list, this or that cousin or other relative, folks from Mama’s church, with the occasional neighbor pitching in, a donation from Loretta Johnson, and…
“Bo?” Lucky handed the phone off like Charlotte had, mouth suddenly dry.
The last entry read, “Anonymous, Nice, France. One hundred thousand dollars.”
Anonymous, hell.
The color came back to Charlotte’s grinning face. “You know that’ll pay off the rest of Dad’s bills and yours, and keep him and Mama going till he gets back on his feet, right?”
Just enough, and not too much more. Trust Lucky’s mentors to take care of things, like they always had.
But they better not expect any favors in return. And he’d probably never find a trace of who really sent the money, no matter how hard he looked. He’d always considered himself the best, but lately he’d found a few better.
Not by much, but better.
“Victor donated the money, didn’t he?” Charlotte blurted.
Time to have a talk with his sister about mentioning Victor’s name around Bo. The past was the past, but still… Bo didn’t need to hear about Lucky’s ex.
“Nice, France. He’s got a sister there.” And she’d never trouble herself with Lucky’s family. So had to be Victor. Or more likely, Victor and Nestor.
Charlotte kept going. “You know he made a college fund for the boys, right?”
“Yeah. He said he did.”
“Todd’s decided on Clemson. We’ll be down in a few weeks to move him into his dorm.” She fixed her gaze on Lucky. “Okay if we stay with you a few days? Now you’re back, I don’t intend to let you get away again.”
Charlotte and her boys? In Lucky and Bo’s house? The noise, the running around?
Oh, hell yeah. “Sure. We can put you up for a few days. I’ll start getting things ready as soon as we get home.” Though leaving the farm tomorrow might kill him. Only, with Mama in the next room, Bo still on assignment, and no time to sneak out to the barn, Lucky might die from lack of sex. “Um… Okay with you, Bo?”
“You even have to ask?”
No, reckon not. “You’ve been off work a few weeks already. Will your boss give you more time?” Sooner or later, Charlotte would have to return to Spokane. Damn it.
Charlotte reclined on her arms, turning her face to the sun. “Um… That’s something else I need to talk to you about. I’m quitting my job and enrolling in nursing school. I’ve been taking classes online already.”
“Why now?”
“Well, with Todd in college, and Ty planning on joining the Navy when he graduates, I reckon I need something else to focus on when my babies are gone.”
“How will you handle Todd being so far from you?”
“I’m not sure. But I’m a Lucklighter. I’ll manage somehow.” Charlotte winked.
Lucklighter-speak for I’ll find someone else’s life to meddle in.
Oh hell.
***
Lucky laid his head back on the passenger seat headrest and closed his eyes, unwilling to watch his old home growing smaller in the side mirror. Easier to ignore his mother standing on the front porch, in the exact spot where she’d watched him leave over twelve years ago.
“Hey, you okay?” Bo said, resting his hand on Lucky’s knee. Brown eyes, full of concern, wrinkles etched between his brows.
“Have I ever been?”
For one moment, The Dimple appeared in Bo’s cheek, gone in a heartbeat. “Okay enough for me.”
Lucky’s tired laugh came out more of a chuckle. “Dude, you need to raise your standards.”
“They’re high enough, thank you very much. Now, take a nap. I’ll wake you up when we get back to Richmond.”
“What about you?” Bo had to be running on fumes too.
“If I get too tired, I’ll pull over and take a nap.”
“We both need some rest.”
“Oh yeah?” Bo’s high-wattage smile belied the weariness in his eyes and dark circles underneath.
“Yeah. You’re here. I’m here. The most annoying agent on the face of the earth isn’t.”
“You mean Keith? Why would he be here?”
“As hard as this is to believe, Jimmy is worse. Keith’s an asshole, Jimmy’s more like an overly friendly puppy who won’t give us five minutes alone together.” The man took cock blocking to new heights, always calling or showing up whenever they wrangled some time alone.
“I’ll tell you what. Let’s go back to my apartment, have us a nap, then test the mattress for durability.” Bo leered and waggled his brows.
Oh, God, yes! Lucky’s cock began to stiffen despite his exhaustion. “Sounds fine to me.” He closed his eyes, a smile on his face. Finally! He’d get Bo naked. The things they’d do.
He woke to Jimmy peering through his window. “Sorry, Lucky. I’m afraid we need your partner. And Walter Smith has asked you to return to Atlanta.”
Fuck! He’d never wanted to kick the shit out of someone so badly.
Lucky glanced over at Bo. They both heaved a sigh. Someone forgot to mention sexual deprivation in their job descriptions.