by Amanda Perry
“Yeah, thanks anyway. I don’t have a death wish.” I snort.
Lochlan’s eyes narrow in challenge. “Wimp.”
Damn him. Somehow Lochlan knows he only has to challenge me and I’ll cave. I’m no wimp and I feel a need to prove it to him. After popping the last bite of sandwich in my mouth I jump to my feet and stomp to the sliding glass door, thrusting it open. Talen follows closely behind me, followed by Declan, Duncan, Dominic, and Lochlan. An audience, just what I wanted when I get mauled by the attack dogs.
My pace slows considerably when I spot the two beasts playing with a rope in the yard. “Don’t chicken out, little girl.” Lochlan taunts.
I spin around and pin him with my meanest glare. “Keep it up, Lochlan. You’ll find out just how badly being kneed in the balls feels.”
Declan snickers and puts an arm around my shoulders. “Oh, Parker, Lochlan already knows how that feels. He gets to experience it just about every time he goes on a date.”
“Fuck off, Declan.” Lochlan scowls menacingly at his brother. “That was twice and those chicks were bat shit and you know it.”
“I don’t know, they seemed fine to me,” Declan goads back. “I think it was you and your lovely personality that got to them.” I snicker, completely in agreement with Declan. Lochlan's personality is enough to get his balls kicked often.
“The first girl tried to propose to me and got pissed when I said no! The second said I was great daddy material and she wasn’t talking about kids! How is that fine?!”
“Why would she say you were daddy material without kid… Oh, wow,” I stutter to a stop when the meaning clicks into place. “Well, that’s awkward.”
“You’re so innocent,” Talen observes with a wide smile. “I can change that if you’d like.”
“Quit flirting, you’re going to scare her,” Duncan scolds, pushing lightly on Talen’s shoulder.
Dominic shakes his head and eyes me thoughtfully. “Somehow I don’t think Parker is easily scared.”
“Well, if you ever do get scared, I’ll hold you close and protect you.” Talen smirks, taking a step toward me with his arms wide open as if ready to hug me.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Lochlan groans, smacking his hand into Talen’s chest to stop his pursuit. “Can we not have this God damned conversation right now? You’re supposed to be proving you’re not a little wimp. Dom might not think you scare easily, but I bet you do.”
“Call me little one more time, Lochlan.” I leave the rest of my threat silent as I turn on my heel and shuffle my way over to the dogs.
Getting about ten feet from the two terrors, Declan lets out a loud whistle and the both of them come rushing our way. I put my arms up in front of my face and squeal like a complete girl. Declan nearly falls to the ground laughing while Kit and Pup jump around us, ready to play. It takes me a few moments of them simply jumping and barking before I feel safe enough to lower my arms and turn toward Declan.
“I’m going to kick your ass, Declan!” I shout, rushing at him and pushing him with all my strength. He clearly doesn’t expect the assault as he stumbles backward and directly into the pool with a loud splash.
“Good thing he can swim,” Dominic mutters, standing back and watching the show as his brothers point and laugh at Declan.
Declan’s head pops up and he sputters, gasping and coughing. “I can’t believe you just did that! What if I couldn’t swim?”
“You were wet earlier,” I remind him.
Duncan frowns and turns to me. “He was what?”
“Earlier, when I came around after I fell in the pool,” I explain. “Declan was the only one who was wet. He was obviously the one that got me out of the water. He wouldn’t have done that if he couldn’t swim. Thanks for that, by the way.” I direct my last comment to the soaking wet man in the pool.
“Ah, good point.” Duncan nods, approval shining in his eyes.
“Just you wait, Parker Thomison!” Declan shouts at my back when I turn to head into the house. “I’ll get you back for this.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” I wave my hand in the air as if to wave him off. “I’m so scared of you.”
“You should be!” He calls back playfully. “You’ll rue the day!”
I do hope he tries to get back at me. I’d love to see what sort of payback he would come up with.
CHAPTER NINE
Something fluffy smacks me in the face, waking me from a deep sleep. I dart up in my bed, searching the room for an attacker. Last thing I remember was crawling into my oversized sunshine and cloud bed last night. Austyn catches my eye, a wide grin splayed across his stupid face. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” I growl, throwing the blanket over my head and rolling over. “I’m sleeping, leave me alone.”
“It’s already ten,” Austyn whines. He sets his hands on my arm and shakes hard. “I’m bored, you need to wake up!”
“I’ll seriously hurt you if you don’t leave and let me sleep,” I threaten. “You may be my first real friend, but I like sleep a hell of a lot more than I like you right now.” I’ve only been in the house a week, but Austyn and I have already grown close, especially after he revealed his secret to me.
“Come on, lazy brat,” he coaxes. “Come hang out with me.”
I resign myself to not going back to sleep and grab the side of the pillow under my head. When Austyn opens his mouth again I sit up quickly and smack him in the face with my pillow. His hair flies in all directions, ruining his usually perfect style. He blinks rapidly, his jaw dropped open. After a long moment of silence his eyes narrow into slits and he focuses his glare on me.
“You’re so dead.”
He picks up the pillow he hit me with just a few minutes ago and takes a swing. I roll to my right, dodging his assault and throwing the covers off at the same time. Austyn continues to swing wildly and I join him with my own pillow. I laugh loudly when I’m able to hit him upside the head again, and then cry out in shock when he gets me in the face a second time.
My bedroom door flies open, scaring both of us into dropping our pillows. I press my hand to my heart when I realize it’s only Dominic at the door. “Holy crap, you scared me, Dom.”
He doesn’t say a word, simply darts his eyes between me and Austyn a few times before allowing his gaze to travel up and down my body. I glance down at my cami top and boy short undies I’d gone to sleep in. Until that moment I hadn’t realized my state of undress and I leap for the blanket, pulling it over my body.
His brow furrows as he frowns deeply. “I heard you yelling, I just wanted to be sure you’re okay. Clearly you are.”
“Yeah, I’m good.” I grin. “Want to join us?”
Dominic makes a choking sound, spinning on his heel and leaving my room without a word.
Austyn huffs and picks up his pillow, setting it back on the bed before fixing his hair. “I gotta go talk to him. I’ll catch you later, Starshine.”
“Oh, okay.” I nod, though I have no idea what just happened.
I didn’t see Dominic the rest of the day, but that wasn’t unusual. He had work and a home of his own. Still, the feeling persisted that he was upset with me for some reason.
The following day, though, Dominic showed up for lunch back to his normal smiley self. Austyn assured me his brother had just been in a strange mood. No mention was made of the day before and I didn’t bring it up.
A few days later I find myself sitting in the living room watching one of my crime shows. Dominic strolls in, a smile gracing his lips when he finds me on the couch. He glances from me to the television show and back again.
“You know this crap is beyond fake, right?” Dominic mumbles, flopping down next to me.
I gasp dramatically and press my hands to my chest. “It is not. How dare you!”
He snorts and rolls his eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure you’re really offended.”
Grabbing the remote from the couch cushion to my left I toss it at him, grinning when he barely catches it. “W
hat was that for?”
“If you’re so savvy when it comes to the best shows on television, you pick something.”
“Challenge accepted.” He proceeds to scroll through the menu, stopping every few seconds to read a description, then moving onto the next page. Finally he decides on a show in Spanish and I cut him a look. “What? I like this show.”
“If we’re going to watch this, you have to translate for me.”
“Or I could just teach you Spanish,” he offers.
I mull it over for a moment, and then nod. “Okay, teach me.”
“Wait, really?” He gapes and turns his body sideways to give me his full attention. “Are you messing with me?”
I shake my head and frown. “Why would I be messing with you about that?”
He shrugs. “Not many girls are interested in learning something so in depth.”
“Since when am I like any other girl?” I chuckle lightly. “I’ve never been normal.”
“No.” Dominic’s eyes darken and his expression turns serious. “You’re most definitely not like most girls.”
His words strike me dumb and I snap my mouth shut, having no intelligent response. He smirks at my silence. “Okay, I’ll teach you.”
We spend the next two hours going over the basics of Spanish and a few easy words and phrases. Dominic hides his grin every time I attempt to roll my R’s and fail. “I promise you’ll get better. You just need to practice the movement with your tongue.”
Sputtering comes from behind us and we turn at the same time to find Declan standing in the entryway of the living room, his eyes wide and his mouth gaping like a fish. Dominic frowns for a second, but he must realize what’s wrong because he suddenly bursts into laughter, holding his stomach and shaking his head. “No, no, Dec. Not that.”
“Not what?” I ask, my gaze jumping between the both of them. “What’d I miss?”
“I’m teaching her Spanish,” Dominic wheezes out, ignoring my questions. “She needs work rolling her R’s.”
“Mother fucking son of a…” Declan murmurs, pushing his hands through his hair. He turns around and walks away, still mumbling profanities under his breath.
My eyes shoot back to Dominic. “What’s his deal?”
Dominic laughs heartily again and pulls me by my shoulders into a hug. “Don’t worry about it. We just have a lot to learn, that’s all.”
“You guys are so weird,” I grumble while allowing myself to melt into Dominic’s arms.
Dominic rests his cheek against the top of my head and chuckles. “If you only knew, Parker. Do you want to continue our lesson now or would you rather do something else?”
“I’m starving actually,” I admit quietly. “I didn’t have breakfast this morning and dinner last night was early.”
Dominic pulls back and frowns down at me. “I thought Austyn said you just wanted to sleep in. Why didn’t you have breakfast later on?”
“You and everyone else came over and I wanted to give you some family time.”
“Parker,” Dominic grumbles, pulling me back into his embrace. “We want you with us for family time.”
“I’m not part of your family, Dom,” I remind him, hiding my face in his chest. “I don’t want to be a third wheel… Or an eleventh wheel I guess.”
Dominic huffs, dropping back on the couch so his shoulders rest on the arm and his body is reclined in front of me. My eyes take a moment to travel down his clearly defined chest. The tight grey shirt he wore to work accentuates his muscle. Dominic stretches his arms above his head, his shirt riding up to show a defined V shape just above his jeans. My stomach flutters at the sight of his small sliver of tanned skin showing.
“You’re not the odd girl out. If we didn’t want you to be part of our family time, we wouldn’t be so adamant about it.”
“Huh?” I look up at Dominic, trying to process his words through my hormonal fog. “Oh, okay.”
Dominic shoots me a quizzical look. “Are you tuning me out?”
“Not even close.” I snort. My hand slaps over my mouth and I stare at him wide eyed. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud.” My voice comes out muffled behind my hand, though Dominic doesn’t seem to notice as he laughs loudly.
“Come on, Muñeca, let’s get some lunch. I’ll take you out for burgers.”
I happily follow Dominic out to his car and the two of us head off to get lunch together.
CHAPTER TEN
The next few weeks in the Harper-Smith household pass quickly. My natural curiosity got the better of me, and I spent a lot of time asking endless questions. The first time Collin, Jack, Maggie, Greyson, and I were alone for dinner we spent hours talking. For the first time in my life, I actually care about the family I’m staying with. They interest me, and they’re nice to me. Their relationship specifically peaks my interest, but I’m not ready to think deeper into why.
During my relentless inquisitions I learned Talen, Austyn, Greyson, and Duncan live at home with their parents. At first it made no sense for Declan and Duncan to want to be apart, but Maggie explained it to me over dinner that night.
“Duncan is in law school. His school is closer to us than the boys’ apartment. Declan finished business and trade school and now owns his own construction company. His office is closer to the apartment than to our home so they decided to part ways temporarily. They still see each other nearly daily, so it isn’t a big deal to them. Duncan won’t be in school much longer anyway, and he’ll move in with them I’m sure.”
“Is Talen in school, also?” I ask between bites of meatloaf and mashed potatoes.
“Sort of.” Jack nods. “He works as a site manager for Declan’s company, while going to trade school on the side. He wants to buy into Declan’s company when he finishes school. He still lives at home because his school is close by us.”
“They all seem so close,” I muse.
Maggie brightens. “They’re best friends. The five of them always talk about having Declan and Talen build a big house for them all to share when Duncan and Talen move out. It won’t be long before they start working on the blue prints, I’m sure. Austyn might even move in with them when he’s older.”
“They’ve been searching for some good land near us for a while now,” Collin tells me.
“And you’re retired?” I ask Jack, unable to stop myself.
“In a way, I am. I retired from the military, but both Collin and I work with the FBI. He retired from the military a year before me. That’s actually where we met. We went to basic training together.
“Also, there’s something you should know. Just so you’re aware, we do have our guns in the house but they’re secure. Especially with Greyson running around, we never leave them out.”
“Just don’t hold me at gun point like Lochlan and we’ll be good.” I grin.
Maggie sputters, her sip of water going all over the table. “Lochlan did what?”
“Erm.” I shrink into my seat. I don’t want to get him into trouble. He’s been decent to me since the pool incident. “It was a misunderstanding. Really no big deal.”
“Please, explain,” Jack orders kindly. “We need to know what happened.”
I sigh heavily and straighten up in my chair. “It was my first night here. I’d been on my way to the kitchen for a snack in the middle of the night and Lochlan was on his way up the stairs. He didn’t know me and I didn’t know him. I ran from him and I guess he thought I was an intruder or something. I thought he was an axe murderer, though, so of course I ran like hell- uh, I mean heck.”
Maggie snorts at my language correction then gestures for me to continue. “Anyway, he was keeping me from going anywhere and I think he was planning to call Collin for help, but Duncan found us first and cleared up the confusion. Good thing, too, I was about to jump out my window.”
“Well thank goodness for that,” Maggie huffs. “Lochlan has always acted before thinking, especially when it comes to the family’s safety.”
; “I get it. I wouldn’t want some stranger roaming my house- or my parents’ house- in the middle of the night either.”
“He and Dominic keep their weapons secured as well, just so you’re aware. Greyson spends a lot of time over at their apartment and we will never risk safety with our weapons.”
“Why do they have guns?” I ask, stuffing another bite into my mouth. Maggie and Collin do the cooking most of the time and they’re amazing at it. Jack taught Austyn everything he knows about cooking from boxes and cans. He and I do the cleanup usually to avoid poisoning the household.
“They work with the FBI as well.” Maggie shines with pride. “Collin, Jack, Dominic, and Lochlan all work out of the local office. Talen and Declan are my builders. Duncan is my bookworm in law school, and Austyn… Well we aren’t sure what Austyn wants to do yet. He hasn’t decided but he has plenty of time.”
“My bet is he follows after us and goes into law enforcement.” Collin beams. “He’s always trying to get in on our cases and help if we let him.”
A few days later, while helping Maggie put away groceries I asked about the apartment Declan, Lochlan, and Dominic share. It resides about thirty minutes away from their parents, but they spend a lot of time here. Maggie wasn’t kidding when she said there are always people coming and going for meals. Sometimes, it’s only Greyson, me, and the parents. Other times everyone shows up and grabs a plate. Maggie has been trying to teach me to cook, heaven help her. Jack and Austyn make a run for it anytime she pulls me in for a lesson, the traitors.
The woman has the patience of a saint and the heart of one, too. It takes a strong person to be the mother of seven boys and the wife of two more. She does both flawlessly. Never in my life have I met a woman like her. She’s selfless and kind. She doesn’t get angry or yell at her boys. She laughs when they track mud through her newly mopped floors. She rolls her eyes and smiles when they tackle each other and knock things over in her living room. She happily makes extra meals when they swarm the kitchen like locusts. She’s everything I wish I could have in a mother but never will. Being in her presence is bittersweet.
