“No.  One of them was pregnant but miscarried; thank God.  The other bitch was lying but Scott didn’t work that out for a couple of months, so she put him through it for awhile.”

We sat in silence for a moment, drinking our coffee.  I was thinking about Scott; he’d been screwed over like I had.  Sure, it was in a different way but still, he’d been screwed because when someone takes your trust like that and stomps all over it, it marks your soul.

“So, what’s the deal with you, Scott and Blade?”

“Oh, God!  Where to start?  Okay, long story short, my Dad screwed around on my Mum and had a child with another woman.  That’s Blade.  But we only found out a couple of months ago.  Dad’s been hiding his other family all this time.  I’ve gotten to know Blade and like him.  I mean, it’s not his fault how he came into this world.  But Scott’s got it in for him and won’t give him the time of day.  I just stay out of it and have my own relationship with Blade.  You’ve met him; he’s okay, right?”

“Holy crap, your family could have its own soap show.  Bloody hell.  How did your Mum cope when she found out about your Dad?  And yes, Blade seems okay from what I’ve seen.”

“I used to think my mother was a strong woman but I’m not so sure anymore.  She’s still with Dad.  I couldn’t tell you why though because we’ve grown apart since all this went down.  She’s kind of pulled away from me and Scott.  I think it’s because we’ve made it clear we want nothing to do with Dad and that we think she should leave him.”

“Women do strange things for their men, don’t they?  My ex cheated on me with my best friend.  I left him straight away; would’ve cut his balls off if I thought the jail time was worth it.  But I know lots of women who have stayed under similar circumstances.  I don’t get it.”

“Exactly.  If J ever cheated on me, I wouldn’t hesitate to cut his balls off; the jail time would so be worth it.”

I loved Madison’s passion that was so clear in everything she said and did.  So different to me; I was more of a laid back, think about it before I do it kind of woman.

She checked her watch.  “Shit!  I’ve got to get to work,” she exclaimed and jumped up.  “Thanks for the coffee and chat; I love hanging out with you.”

I stood up too and followed her to the door.  “Thanks for waking me up.  Have a good day at work; I’m going to be here struggling to get through it.”

She grabbed me for a hug.  “Drink lots of coffee.  It’ll get you through, and I’ve got it under good authority that the chick who works here makes shit hot coffee.”

I hugged her back.  “Thanks, and I’ll let you know about next Friday night as soon as I know my roster.”

“If Scott won’t give you the night off, I’ll sort him out for you,” she said with another wink.

I had that warm, squishy happy feeling in my stomach as I watched her go and sensed the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Chapter 14

Scott

J walked into the office and dumped a cat cage with Monty on the desk.  I looked up at him with a quizzical look.

“I’ve had enough of the fucking cat.  It’s yours now.”

I threw my pen down and leaned back in my chair, stretching my back and neck as I did it.  Chuckling, I said, “Was wondering how long you’d put up with it for.”

He placed his hands on the table and leant forward.  “You’re a lucky motherfucker in so much as I have a hard on for your sister.  If I didn’t, that cat would’ve never made its way into my house.  Never again, and I don’t even care if Madison closes up shop, I’m not fucking budging on this.”

“I hate to tell you this, J, but you are so fucking whipped where Madison is concerned that even a cat couldn’t unwhip you, brother.  The day I see you say no to her is a day I don’t believe will ever come.”

He shook his head and gave me a hard glare.  Pointing at me, he said, “Mark my fucking words, if a cat shows up at my house, I’ll get unwhipped faster than you can say tight pussy.”

I highly doubted this but didn’t say anything more.  Instead, I stood up and said, “Griff’s given us the okay to hire that new manager.  Can I leave that with you while I take the cat home?”  I checked the time; it was just after six pm so I could make sure Lisa had eaten some dinner too.

“Yeah.  How’s that kid going?  Has her mother cleaned herself up yet?”

“Michelle still hasn’t gotten her shit together so I check on Lisa every day.  If I was sure foster care would be better than what she’s got, I’d report it but I refuse to throw Lisa to the wolves when I can watch over her.”

I picked up the cat cage and left; Lisa had been waiting long enough for her cat to come home.

***

I knocked on the door and waited.  It only took her a minute to answer, and when she saw me, her face lit up.

“Monty!”

I handed him to her and said, “Can I come in?”

Lisa was so excited and didn’t seem fazed by the ugly wound on his face.  That was good because she was going to have to look after him now.  She let me in and I headed towards the kitchen, in search of her mother.  She wasn’t in there, nor was she in the living room.