Since the place was on the larger side, Viper thought it would be a good idea to have someone to look after the place. I wasn’t sure how he’d feel about it, but I took a chance and told him about Ada May. I guess I could say she was my babysitter when I was growing up, but to me, she was much more than that. I always thought of her as part of our family. I could tell her anything. Hell, my day wasn’t complete until I told her all about it—which only made it that much harder when my folks died. I didn’t just lose them, but I lost her too. After I’d found out she was struggling and about to lose her house, I wanted to do something to help her but had no idea how until Viper mentioned needing someone to watch over the storage lot. I explained the situation, and not only did Viper agree to help her, he brought in a double-wide house trailer and paid off all her bills.
The brothers were a bit worried that a little, elderly, country-as-mud woman like Ada May wouldn’t be able to handle such an important role, but as soon as they met her, they realized she was one tough lady who didn’t put up with any bullshit. We’d barely pulled up to the gate when she came out the front door to greet us. I would’ve thought she was about to hit the garden the second I saw her standing there in those old worn-out overalls and bright floral top. When Hawk and I got out of the SUV, she put her hand on her hip, and a cheerful smile spread across her rosy cheeks. “Morning, boys. Good to see you.”
“Good to see you too, Ms. Ada,” Hawk replied. “How you been making it?”
“You’d know how I was doin’ if you came ’round here more often,” she fussed. “But I understand. You boys is busy doing what you gotta do.”
“Yes, ma’am, we are. Another day, another dollar.”
“That’s right.” She nodded with a smile, then turned her attention to me. “Got a bone to pick wit’ you.”
“I know. Been meaning to get by here.”
“Meaning to and doing it are two different things,” she scolded.
“I’ll do better.” I motioned my hand behind me as I added, “I got someone here who needs to hang out with you for a bit.”
“All right, den. Bring him on in, and I’ll make us a bite to eat.”
I nodded, then went over to the passenger side of the truck and opened the door. Confusion marked Remington’s face as I reached over and carefully lifted her from the seat. “What are we doing here, and who is she?”
“We’re gonna need to hole up here for a while.”
As I started up the front steps, Ada realized that it wasn’t a guy I was carrying. Curious, she stepped over to the ledge of the porch and leaned forward to get a better look. “My heavens. Who ya got dare?”
“This is Remington,” I replied as I continued up the steps.
“Remington? Hmm...Don’t reckon we’ve met before.” When we’d made it up to the door, her smile quickly faded, and her eyes widened with disapproval. “Oh, good Lord almighty! What happened to her?”
“She had a bit of an altercation with a couple of assholes, but she’s on the mend.”
“Did you have something to do wit’ dis?”
I gave her a scathing look as I snapped, “Come on, Ada. Damn, you know better than that.”
“I know. I know. I shouldn’t have asked such a thing.” Ada May stepped over to Remington and placed her hand on her arm. “Don’t you worry, child. I’m gonna fix you right up.”
“Thank you, Ms. Ada.”
“Come on. Let’s get you inside.” Ada motioned us forward as she opened the door. While her trailer didn’t look like much on the outside, the interior couldn’t have been nicer. The living room had an oversized sofa, a couple of comfortable chairs—including Ada’s favorite recliner—and a flatscreen TV mounted in the corner of the room. Flower arrangements and pictures were scattered around the room, and a large sunflower painting hung over the sofa. The kitchen was small but clean like the rest of the house. It was clear that Ada had taken great pride in her home, which was Viper’s intent. He wanted her to have everything she needed and more, and that’s exactly what she got. With a worried look on her face, Ada motioned her hand towards the living room. “You can put ’er dare on the sofa or carry her on to one of da bedrooms in da back.”
I looked down at Remington and asked, “What do you think?”
“The sofa’s fine.”
“You got it.”
I carefully lowered her down on the couch and she’d barely gotten settled when Ada came rushing over with a pillow and a blanket. She patted Remington on the leg and said, “I got just da thing for those awful bruises. You just wait right dare.”