All Horns & Rattles: A Baxter Boys Novel

by Jane Charles

  He shakes his head. “Not at all.”

  For a guy who wouldn’t let me listen to Like a Virgin when I was a kid, this kind of surprises me, unless he sees me as an adult, more so than Miguel. “Why?” I ask out of curiosity.

  “Because you also called him your boyfriend and best friend. That’s what’s important.”

  He’s right. “I’ve known Tex for two and a half years. We both work at Miguel’s.” I start smiling. “It’s funny, he was just Tex until about five months ago and something changed. Same thing happened to him but neither one of us said anything until maybe a month ago.”

  “Was he waiting for you to be legal?”

  “No, it just kind of worked out that way, but we are keeping it a secret.”

  Dylan’s eyes narrow on me. “Why?”

  So I explain Miguel, his old-fashioned ways and that he’d probably kick me or Tex out because our bedrooms are too close to each other, and then I explained about the guys at the gym. Even though there are girls too, they aren’t the ones who would give us any shit.

  “You know, if you do need a place to stay, I have a room.”

  “You just told me that you live in a house with five other guys and Kelsey. That’s got to be crowded.”

  He laughs. “Not really. It’s five stories, with the attic, and that’s not including the finished basement. Kelsey and Alex are up in the attic apartment. The three floors between the living area and the attic each have two large bedrooms and a bath they share. Alex used to have the room on my floor, but it’s sitting empty.”

  I can only stare at him. I know where that place is. That area isn’t cheap. Are they rich?

  “We rent it pretty cheap because we’re doing all the repairs. It’s an old building and after we got the electrical and plumbing back up to code and added a new roof, we started renovating the inside.”

  “You know the park, about four blocks from you?”

  He seems surprised.

  “I Googled your address after Mrs. Kragen gave it to me,” I explain. Did he think I was stalking him or something? “I’ve been running in that park for the past three years.”

  “No shit?”

  “No shit.” I laugh at his surprise.

  Dylan leans in. “I’m serious about the room. It’s all fixed up and ready to be used. I assumed you wouldn’t have a place to go when you turned 18 and wanted to give you a home.”

  My heart squeezes a little at his words.

  “The guys all know it was intended for you and they are good with it. You are my family, which makes you their family, even if you don’t friend them on social media.”

  “You don’t even know me. Or didn’t.”

  “Like that matters? You’re my sister. You weren’t going to be left out in the cold if I had anything to say about it.”

  It’s nice to know that I did have a place to go, even if I didn’t know about it.

  A bunch of people start coming in the door and I know that it means I’ve got to go, being underage and all.

  “Talk tomorrow?”

  “Can’t. I’ve got to work.” I wish I didn’t, but Joel and Ian usually don’t work on Friday and Saturday nights because they are here.

  “Maybe this weekend.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Oh, I almost forgot.” He pulls something out of his pocket. “This is for you. I already put my number in it.”

  I look down at what he’s handing me. “A phone?” I can’t afford one of these. Maybe I can get a prepaid card or something so I’m not hit with a large bill.

  “My gift to you.” He says. “I put you on my plan. No bill for you and I won’t lose my sister again.”

  “I can’t it’s too—.”

  “—You can and you will,” he cuts me off. “Password to get in is your birthdate.” He winks. “But feel free to change it because it’s yours now.”

  Nina’s got a quirky smile on her lips when she walks back into the gym. She takes her hand out of her pocket and puts a phone on the counter. “Gift from my brother. He doesn’t want to lose me again.”

  She’s almost wistful and relaxed.

  “Do you know what he told me?”

  “No.”

  “He has a room for me.” Then she goes on to tell me all about their visit.

  She’s not all bottled up like last night and not holding a thing back. At least, I don’t think so. Horns and Dylan got to a good place.

  “Are you going to move in with him?” I practically hold my breath and wait for her to answer.

  “No,” she assures me. “I’m unpacked.” Then Nina laughs like she’s the happiest person in the world.

  I blow out my breath. “Good. I kind of like living with you.”

  Her eyes meet mine. “I just wish we could stay the same, after Saturday.”

  “Me too.” It’s going to suck not being able to touch her, kiss her, hold her, sleep with her and all the things I like doing with Nina when we are alone.

  “We have morning Mass.”

  “What, cramming in our relationship between 8 and 9:30? Who is going to watch the gym?”

  She has a point. “I guess that’s what hotels are for.”

  Nina leans in and grins. “The idea kind of makes me feel naughty.”

  The laughter bubbles up. I don’t know if it’s because we got closer, had sex, she showed me her scars, or because she finally connected with her brother, but Nina has changed. In a really good way. A couple of weeks ago she was ready to kick ass and today she’s joking about feeling naughty. Words I never thought would come out of her mouth.

  “Want to be naughty tonight?” I wink at her.

  “Why Tex, I think you just read my mind.” And winks back at me before waltzing away.

  Is she swinging her fine ass at me?

  Damn, I love that girl and I really like how she’s let go of some of the demons she’s been carrying around. I just hope they stay gone.

  “Hey,” I call after her. “Miguel called. Needs you to call him back and update him on Dylan.”

  She waves her phone at me. “Good thing I have a phone now, isn’t it?”

  41

  It’s been a great two days with Tex, but Miguel is going to be home tomorrow. This is our last night together. Like last night, Joel and Ian are covering the evening for us, until 8. Tex got takeout Chinese and we’ve been cuddled up on the couch, kissing and making out until we have to go downstairs. We’re just playing around right now, but I’m sure tonight, our last night to sleep together unless we get a hotel room, is going to be awesome. Every time Tex is with me in bed it’s wonderful. To think that before Tex, I thought sex was only good for guys. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

  “We don’t really have to be down there for an hour.”

  He’s pushing my shirt up until my boobs are out.

  “Pretty bra.”

  Since things got intimate with Tex, I’ve started wearing the prettier, lacy bras. There was no real reason to wear them before and I’m not even sure why I bought them.

  “I think it would be prettier on the floor.”

  His phone dings.

  “Aren’t you going to look at that?”

  “It can wait,” he says as he kisses the top of my breast.

  I arch so he can unhook my bra.

  Tex is laying between my legs, his hard cock against the juncture of my thighs and he’s pressing against me. Right now I’m more interested in getting our bottoms off than my bra.

  He gives me a deep kiss just as the hooks are undone.

  At that moment something heavy hits the floor. We both jerk and look over. Miguel is standing in the doorway, his suitcase on its side beside him.

  Oh shit!

  In a blink Tex is scrambling off me and I’m pulling down my shirt. I’ve never seen Miguel’s face so red and I’m pretty sure it’s not because he is embarrassed.

  “Is this what you’ve been doing while I’ve been gone?” He yells. “Turn my back and you sleep toget
her.” He storms into the room. “How long have you been doing this, behind my back?”

  I get up off the couch and edge away from him. I’ve never seen him this angry.

  “I trusted you to protect her,” he yells at Tex. “Not sleep with her.”

  Then he wheels around on me. “Is this what you want to be?”

  He says it like I’m whoring myself out and tears spring to my eyes.

  “It isn’t what you think,” Tex states.

  “I have eyes. I know exactly what it is.”

  “We’re together. We are a couple,” Tex defends.

  “Really? When did you take her to a movie, dinner, and walk with her?”

  He is advancing on Tex, who is stepping back.

  “You took her somewhere once and couldn’t get out of here until Wednesday or Thursday.” He looks around. “No wonder you closed down. You were too busy up here.”

  “We had to close,” I say. “It was a blizzard. Nobody could go anywhere.”

  He heaves a sigh. “How long have you been together?”

  Tex and I look at each other.

  “Don’t you know?” He yells.

  “Since I was hurt,” I blurt out.

  Miguel frowns. “I thought it was longer.”

  “What?” “Why?” Tex and I ask at the same time.

  “I am old, not stupid, you two have liked each other for months.” He picks up his suitcase from the floor and carries it to the hall toward his room and sets it down. “That’s what worried me about Nina moving in. I was afraid this is exactly what would happen.”

  “I’m sorry, Miguel.” I hate more than anything that I disappointed him.

  He just shakes his head. “You guys are kids. This is what happens these days. Not like when I was dating my Donata, and I’m glad I made the decision I did.”

  Tex and I share another look.

  “Pack your bags, Nina.”

  Tears spring to my eyes. I’ve lost a lot of places to sleep in the past, but I’ve never been kicked out of my home. It’s not the same as when the cops came. They took us away. They didn’t kick us out.

  “Miguel, you can’t do this. I’ll go,” Tex argues.

  He waves Tex away. “It’s not about me not wanting her here. It’s about Nina living with her brother, where she belongs.”

  Miguel can’t make Nina go. Can’t he see what this has done to her?

  For the past few days Nina has been on top of the world. Things are finally right for her when they haven’t been right in a really long time. Miguel crushed all of that in a matter of seconds. He has no fucking clue what he’s just done to her.

  Nina is looking at the ceiling and blinking her eyes so she doesn’t cry, and it breaks my heart in two.

  I pull her into my arms. I don’t care whether Miguel approves or not.

  “This is her home, Miguel” I argue.

  “She belongs with her brother.”

  “It’s fine.” She pushes away from me. “I’ll go.”

  And in the blink of an eye, every single wall that we tore down, and all the armadillo skin we managed to remove is layered back on.

  “Nina, I will go.”

  “That’s okay, Tex.” She gives me a sad smile. “I should have known better. This is why I don’t unpack.”

  With that she pulls away and goes to her room, shutting the door behind her.

  “I can’t believe you.” I’ve never yelled at Miguel before, but I am beyond pissed. Sure, what Nina and I were doing in his home wasn’t so much wrong as it was disrespectful to him and his values.

  “What?” Miguel defends. “Maybe if I wouldn’t have found you on top of her I might have changed my mind.”

  “So it is my fault. Make me leave.”

  “This isn’t punishment,” he argues. “It’s for her own good. She needs to be with family. With blood. You already have that. She doesn’t.”

  “She talks to her brother every day.”

  “That’s not being with family.

  “Do you know that she hasn’t unpacked her suitcase for twelve years until she finally came here?”

  Miguel’s jaw drops. “Are you serious?”

  “She never thought she’d be anywhere long enough and no place was a home. She thought she finally found that here.”

  He sinks down into a chair. “I didn’t know. I’ll explain.”

  Miguel can try and explain all that he wants, but Nina is beyond hurt. I’m afraid she won’t ever trust anyone again since she has trusted Miguel for the longest time.

  “She will be fine with Dylan,” Miguel says calmly. “It will be good for her.”

  I sure hope to hell it is because if that doesn’t work out, I’ll be getting a place where the two of us can live together and she never needs to worry about even owning a suitcase again.

  “You, however, are going to date her.”

  I blink at him.

  “I knew you two would end up together,” he explains. “I think you belong together, and I think it could last, but not when you are putting the cart before the horse.”

  I get it. It’s the same thing my grandpa once said to me about why buy a cow when you can get the milk for free. But times have changed. It’s not like that anymore. We aren’t living in the Dark Ages where girls have to be chaste until marriage. It doesn’t diminish their worth. Certainly not as far as I’m concerned.

  “You love her?”

  “Yes. Of course.”

  “Then do this right. Dinner. Movies. Walks and talks.” He starts wagging a finger at me. “No hanky-panky.”

  “Do we still have jobs?” I finally ask.

  “Of course you have jobs.” He shakes his head and gets up. “I need you and Nina, both of you. Now call one of those cars you like to use so I can take her to her real home.”

  42

  The car pulls up before the brownstone, but I’m not sure I can get out.

  “Nina, this is for the best.”

  Miguel thinks it is, but I’m not so certain.

  His betrayal cuts deep. It was worse than anything I’ve experienced before. But he explained that he wasn’t kicking me out because of what Tex and I had done. He wanted me to be with my family and he was already planning on sending me there before he even got off the plane.

  He loves me, or so he said.

  He also came by Dylan’s before he came home. He wanted to meet him, see where he lived, and meet everyone else before he made his final decision. It was Miguel who called Dylan and said we were on our way.

  It’s like I’m a little kid again and other people are manipulating my life.

  I don’t care what he says or his reasons. It still hurts. Betrayal unlike I’ve ever experienced.

  “You take tomorrow and get settled in. I’ll see you at the club first thing Monday morning.”

  I blink at him. “I still have a job?”

  “Of course you have a job. I need you.”

  “But I thought…”

  “Nina. I don’t approve of what you and Tex have done. But you are like a granddaughter to me.”

  If I’m like a granddaughter, why is it that I’m the one who has to leave? Not that I want Tex kicked out though.

  “I only want what is best for you and that is being with your brother. As for Tex, he must date you. Until he gives you that respect, you can’t spend any time with him outside of work.”

  Is he for real? “Tex does respect me.”

  “I want it to work for you two. I really do, but it’s not going to with the way you are going about things.”

  How many times has he said it’s the 1950s as far as it relates to me?

  “If it is so horrible here, you can come back.”

  Those words are almost a balm to the pain of being sent away.

  “I am only doing this because you need to be with family. You won’t go on your own, especially now that you and Tex are closer.” He takes my hand. “But, if you hate it, you do have a home with me.”

  Tears
spring to my eyes and I hug him.

  Miguel isn’t cruel or mean. He’s got a big heart. A very old-fashioned heart and he’s hurting too. He just buried his brother and that’s the reason he’s pushing me to Dylan.

  “Now go inside and I’ll see you Monday.”

  I get out of the car and stare up at the brownstone, not sure if I can actually make my feet move.

  The front door opens and Dylan steps out.

  “Are you coming in or not?”

  I look back at Miguel one more time, feeling much like the little kid who wanted to run back to the car and be with my caseworker because she was the only person who wasn’t a stranger. He motions me forward with his hand.

  With a deep breath, clutching my suitcase, I start up the walk.

  At least it’s not like the other strange homes I’ve gone into. They were all strangers and I never knew what I was getting. At least I know Dylan, now. That’s something, I guess.

  When I step inside, all of the guys he lives with, and Kelsey are there, like they are waiting for me or something.

  “Welcome, Nina,” Kelsey steps forward.

  I’m so glad I studied the pictures on Dylan’s profile and memorized everybody’s name.

  This is really weird though, the way they are lined up and smiling. It reminds me of a movie I saw as a kid. “You guys aren’t going to go all Annie on me are you and break into song?” I nod to Sean, who has the bald head. “Are you playing Daddy Warbucks?”

  “I wish I had his cash.” He laughs.

  “We think you’re gonna like it here,” Zach sings.

  “Zach,” Dylan warns.

  “What?” He defends. “We’ve never had a little girl,” He sings.

  “I’ve not been one of those in a long time.”

  “Just messing with you, Nina.” He says. “Glad you are here.” Then he looks around. “But, now that we’ve done the whole welcoming thing, I need to get ready for tonight.” He breaks away from the line and heads upstairs.

  “I’m Christian.” He’s also a saxophone player. “We’ll talk tomorrow, but I need to get ready to play tonight.”

  “Need to make sure my batteries are charged.” Ryan takes a quick picture of me and heads up.