Page 78
As spring arrived, we learned we were expecting a boy. Goldie started calling the baby “Lars” after a guy that we had met in the Netherlands. He had said his name was short for Laurence.
“Lars is just a placeholder name,” Goldie told everyone.
By then, Boone and Nova had welcomed my niece, Willow. The little girl was the spitting image of her mom.
As summer rolled on, Goldie hadn’t brought up any other possible names. Finally, one day, she asked, “Do you think Lars Lacroix is a weird name?”
With Lars no longer a placeholder name, I only smiled and shook my head. When Jessica heard what Lars was short for, my mom actually cried. As the two most important women in my life shared a smile, I fell in love with the name.
During the last few months of her pregnancy, I became paranoid about leaving Goldie alone for too long at the house. Soon, we got in the habit of heading to Zodiac’s place in the morning. Goldie would hang out all day with Elle and her boys while Zodiac and I rode around Baton Rouge.
I frequently arrived to find Goldie watching Sutter do his schoolwork while Elle enjoyed alone time with Trent. Other days, I’d find them watching TV shows like “The A-Team” or “The Incredible Hulk.”
In the evenings, Zodiac and I grilled outside while Sutter swam. Goldie, Elle, and Trent remained in the shade and watched the three dogs running around the property’s large yard.
On one quiet afternoon, Elle noticed an SOS request from the Sabine Women’s Center back in Little Memphis. Goldie and Elle had once supervised various locations controlled by the Crimson Guard’s charity arm.
When Elle dialed the security line at the location, Xandy answered.
“Is everything okay?” Elle asked while we all listened.
“There was an altercation out in the alley,” Sabrina’s girlfriend explained. “Rock and Vanessa were nearby. The danger is over, but the juicy gossip is only beginning.”
Vanessa took over the phone and cried, “Rock has a kid! He failed at sex education! Tell everyone!”
“Who are you talking to?” Rock demanded and yanked the phone away from Vanessa. “Who is this?”
“It’s Goldie and Elle, Papa,” Goldie taunted while Elle snickered. “Is your baby cute?”
“It’s not a baby. It’s a small human. I don’t know how old she is. The kid doesn’t look like me. I think this entire thing is bullshit.”
As Elle and I laughed at his anger, I heard a woman start sobbing in the background.
Elle rolled her eyes and demanded, “Oh, God, did you make your baby mama cry?”
“No, I’ve never met either of these women before. It’s complicated. Leave me alone.”
Vanessa took back the phone. “Don’t listen to Rock. The girl has his eyes. She’s such a cutie. Aren’t you a cutie?” Vanessa cooed before muttering, “Wait, this kid might be crazy. I’ll call you back after she stops waving her fist at me.”
Though I assumed Vanessa was kidding, the phone went dead. Elle and Goldie stared at each other wide-eyed while Sutter frowned at me as if I were to blame for everyone having oops babies.
“My son was planned,” I told the little genius.
Sutter wiped his wet brown bangs from his eyes and replied, “You should teach classes to the others.”
As I shared a triumphant smile with Goldie, Elle dialed up Sabrina. “If anyone will get us gossip, it’s my bitchy cousin.”
“Who you calling bitchy?” Sabrina asked, sounding like she was at the clubhouse.
Rather than answer her, Elle filled Sabrina in on the conversation with Vanessa.
“He’s got a daughter,” Sabrina muttered as if in disbelief.
“Apparently.”
“Give me thirty minutes to shake out the info. Then, we’ll get on a group call with the foxes to come up with the best way to torment Rock with this news.”
Goldie and Elle laughed. Their gazes met, and I felt a shift happening. Zodiac must have felt it, too, because he frowned at Sutter.
