Fostering Hope (Silver Lining Book 1)

by Amanda Perry

  Two more girls disappeared and both of them fit the profile of girls they believe Randolf and Lopez are targeting. We all know the assholes took them. No one has any idea where they took them, though. The girls and those two dickheads simply disappeared. It’s possible they have left the state or even the country.

  “Well, what the fuck do we do to fix it, huh?” Lochlan continues to shout, causing half of us to roll our eyes. My crazy brother has two volumes, deafeningly loud and deafeningly silent.

  Austyn raises his hand like we’re in grade school, and Pop’s really close to losing his cool. He’s doing his best to keep it in, and I’m trying not to laugh at his effort. “You’re not even supposed to be in this meeting, Austyn.”

  “Okay, so I know this really sucks and all, but rather than cursing ourselves blue let’s come up with a plan. I have an idea,” Austyn says, ignoring Pop’s comment. Somehow this case became a family affair. Declan, Talen, and I joined the meeting when we noticed how upset our dads and oldest brothers are.

  Leaning forward, Dominic rests his forearms on his knees and gives Austyn his full attention. “Whatcha thinkin’, little bro?” He may be young, but the son of a gun is smart as hell. I’d bet money he’ll be following our dads, Dominic and Lochlan into law enforcement.

  “Well, we now know that Lopez and Randolf are running this fucked up thing,” Austyn explains, glancing from Dominic to our other brothers and dads. “The fact that they both disappear at the same times as two other girls that fit the profile makes that pretty obvious. You can’t follow them around now, they slipped away from you. But they can still be found, right? If we put our skills together maybe we can find them. There has to be somewhere they messed up. We just have to find it.”

  “You four aren’t supposed to even know about this case.” Lochlan growls at Austyn.

  “All in favor of this plan?” Pop asks, waiting for us all to raise our hands. Of course, we all agree, even Lochlan. It’s the best we can do right now. Once everyone is in agreement, Dad divides our tasks. “Talen, see what you can find on the laptop we found at their last known residence then go to the office and start searching through the video footage on my computer. It’s footage of the area the girls were last seen.”

  “Got it.” Talen nods, hopping up and leaving. The bureau would be pissed if they knew how often me and my brothers help out on serious cases like these. I may be in law school, and Talen and Declan may be in construction, but the three of us and even Austyn have helped solve more cases than we’d ever admit out loud.

  “Austyn,” Dad calls, pointing at my younger brother. “You go help Talen. I want to make sure you don’t go snooping around on your own.”

  Austyn leaves muttering curse words. More than once he’s gone off on his own and found himself in a world of trouble. Keeping him busy at home isn’t a bad idea for now.

  Dad turns to Lochlan and Dominic. “The two of you, go look around the area the girls were taken and around Lopez’s and Randolf’s houses. See if they left behind any evidence that would be useful.”

  They head out of the room without a word. As they leave, Dad addresses Declan and me. “Okay, you two check on Parker. Be sure she doesn’t need anything, keep her company while the rest of us are busy. Who knows how long this is going to take, and you’ve been working a lot this week.” Declan grins wide and practically skips out of the office to complete his task.

  He pauses at the bottom of the stairs and pulls his buzzing phone from his pocket. He groans loudly before answering. “Yeah? Now? Fuck, yeah I get it. I’ll take care of it.”

  He turns to me with a scowl after hanging up. “Fucking work. I’ve never hated my job until right this second.”

  I pat his shoulder as he stomps past me to fix whatever happened at the recent job site. Thank goodness my skills aren’t in computers or snooping. I get tasked with spending time with Parker, so I couldn’t be happier. It feels like forever since we spent time together, and we still haven’t been able to go on our camping trip.

  Taking the stairs two at a time, I find Parker’s bedroom door open and her sitting on her bed writing in her journal. I sneak up behind her and whisper in her ear. “Boo!” She jumps and releases a strangled cry.

  She spins around to face me and gives me a playful glare, narrowing her eyes. “You scared me… again.” My brothers and I take pride in our abilities to scare the crap out of her constantly.

  “It’s not my fault you look so darn cute when you’re all focused,” I insist, trying to sound logical. “How can I not sneak up on you?”

  “I don’t mind you sneaking up on me,” she admits, her cheeks turning pink at the confession. “I don’t mind any of you guys sneaking up on me. As long as it’s only you guys.”

  I blink a few times before smiling widely and scooping her up into my arms. A squeal escapes her as I rush from the room and down the stairs with her in my arms. “Where are we going?”

  “To teach you how to play video games.” I come to a stop in the kitchen and plop her on the counter. “What do you say? Want to play with me?”

  Giggling, she nods to me. “I always want to play with you, I love doing anything with you.”

  My expression turns serious, taking the smile from her face. Her eyes heat up, and my body tightens in response. “Anything?” I ask, leaning closer to her.

  Her mouth opens and closes a few times before she gives up on trying to speak and simply nods. I grab her hips and pull her to the edge of the counter, savoring her tiny gasp at the sudden movement. Before she can ask what I’m doing, my mouth is on hers. She pulls me closer, tugging on my hair slightly. The room drops away as her mouth moves with mine, her tongue touching mine tentatively at first, then with more confidence when I deepen the kiss.

  “Maybe,” she gasps between kisses. “We can play a game later?”

  “Good idea.” I nod, my lips fastening back onto hers.

  I prefer kissing her a hell of a lot more than a game. What seems like hours later the sound of Lochlan’s truck outside has us breaking our kiss. Parker’s cheeks flame bright red, and her eyes shine, glassy and happy. I smirk, the knowledge I put her in such a state gives me a caveman kind of feeling.

  “I should go check up on the guys,” I murmur, resting my lips against her forehead and breathing her in. “Are you okay?”

  “Mhm.” Parker hums happily. “I’m perfect. I need to go get some things done anyway. Go check on your brothers.”

  She hugs me tightly, then hops off the counter and wobbles on shaky legs up the stairs. I snicker to myself as I watch her saunter off in her dazed condition. She’s so damned cute.

  When Parker’s finally out of sight, I take a few deep breaths to calm my body down then head out through the garage to find out what my brother’s learned. Hearing Dominic’s voice, I stop in my tracks unable to resist eavesdropping.

  “Okay, brother.” Dominic glares at Lochlan. “Start talking.”

  The two of them shut their doors after hopping out of Lochlan’s truck just outside the garage. Neither of them notice me yet.

  “Talking about what, exactly?” Lochlan asks, obviously playing dumb. “You got something on your mind, Dom?”

  Dominic leans against the truck next to Lochlan and crosses his arms. If I didn’t know my brother, I would almost be intimidated by his size and the narrowing of his eyes. “You know what I mean, Lochlan. What’s going on with you and Parker? You haven’t been yourself since you talked to her outside that one night. Last I heard, you were too old for her and so am I, and we needed to back off. Now you’ve gone all soft and smiley on her. So what happened?”

  “Fuck, Dom.” Lochlan growls, dropping his head back and letting it hit the door of the truck. “I’m in love with her, you have to know that. You know me better than anyone. You’re not fucking stupid.”

  “I know,” Dominic admits, his stance relaxing a little bit. “I know I am, too. Or close to it.”

  Lochlan glances at him and gives a shor
t nod. My jaw nearly hits the floor. They’re in love with her? We don’t know her well enough yet to call this love, do we? Am I in love with her? I didn’t even consider the idea of love until right this second.

  Lochlan’s next confession brings a silent gasp from my lips. “I kissed her, Dom. Outside when we were talking, I kissed her. It wasn’t planned, but I’m not sorry.”

  Dominic remains quiet for a long time. It’s clear Lochlan’s nearly about to lose his damn mind from having to wait on Dominic to voice his thoughts. Dominic runs a hand through his hair. “I can’t be mad at you. I would have done the same thing.”

  “We need to talk about this with the rest of the guys,” Lochlan mutters, pushing away from the truck. “Do you think they’ve thought this through enough?”

  “I might have kissed her already, too,” Talen calls from the side of the house. The sneaky shit pokes his head out and strolls up to them. “I didn’t mean to, but... damn. It was the other day at the aquarium. She kept looking at me with those eyes, and I lost any control I thought I had.”

  Finally deciding to show myself, I silently step out of the garage. “Same,” I mutter, rubbing my neck. “I’d planned on occupying her with video games, but we never made it to the game system.”

  “Why does everyone get to kiss her except me?” Declan whines from behind me, stomping his way out of the garage. I didn’t even notice him in there with me. “I want a turn!”

  My brothers and I exchange glances before the five of us burst out laughing. Leave it to Declan to ease the slight tension.

  “We need to help Mom set up for dinner, but Austyn has Parker occupied in the kitchen. Should we go break them up?” Talen turns back around and heads toward the garage door.

  “We need to take him down before he gets to the stove.” Dominic hurries after Talen. Of all of us, Austyn in the kitchen always ends in disaster or food poisoning.

  “Talen, we’re not going to embarrass her,” Lochlan hollers, stopping him before he enters the house.

  He turns around and smiles mischievously in my direction. “Fine, but next time someone gets tasked with entertaining her, I call dibs.” He slows his pace to let us catch up to him.

  I roll my eyes and turn the subject to the findings on the case. “Did you guys find anything at their houses?”

  Dominic and Lochlan shake their heads. “We didn’t find crap in the area the girls were taken or at Randolf’s place. But we did find some nasty pictures at Lopez’s house which may help us find these girls before it’s too late. We dropped them at the lab before we came home.”

  “We came up empty on the footage, too.” Talen frowns, kicking the toe of his shoe into the ground. “Not one thing out of place. Austyn checked it for me a third time. Actually, I need to go update dad. I’ll catch up with you guys in a few.” Talen veers off from us to the direction of Dad’s office while the rest of us head to the kitchen.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  TALEN

  “Hey, Dad,” I call, turning the corner to enter his office, finding him behind his desk. “Nothing on the footage you had. Me and Austyn searched it together. Austyn even checked it a third time. Dominic and Lochlan may have something, but they need to get it analyzed before they know for sure. Got anything else you need us to work on?”

  Sitting back in his chair, Dad folds his hands in his lap and rests his elbows on the arms of the chair. “Actually, if you have time, I would like to speak with you about Parker.”

  I perk up a bit, but I’m also wary. “Okay, what would you like to talk about?”

  “You five are serious about her.” It’s not a question, but I nod anyway. He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Okay, I’m going to tell you this, and I need you to relay it to your brothers.”

  “Okay.” I scoot forward, waiting for him to continue.

  “She has feelings for you all,” he informs me. “Maggie’s been watching her, and it’s clear as day. She talked to me and Jack about it. We all agree the five of you need to tread lightly, but you also need to explain your feelings to her. Stop holding out and make a decision. If you’re not willing to form a relationship with her, then let her go. Don’t string the poor girl along with the affection you’ve all been showing her.”

  I drop myself into the chair across the desk from my dad and run my hands over my face. “I have to admit I didn’t think the guys would say yes at first. It seemed like an insane idea with five of us, but the more I talk to them, the more attractive the idea becomes to us all. None of us want to lose Parker. She has this hold over all five of us that she doesn’t even realize she has. No one wants to be so selfish as to say no to something that would make her and us happy. You, Mom, and Pop have been happy for a long time now. We know other families in similar relationships that are completely and blissfully in love. I can’t deny wanting that for myself. I know most of the guys feel the same. The more time I spend with her the less appealing letting her go sounds.”

  We sit in silence for a long time while I mull over my own words. Finally, Dad decides to ask the question consuming me and my brothers. “There will be jealousy, fights, and hurt feelings. Is it worth all of that? Is she worth all of that?”

  I shake my head. “There’s no way for me to answer that for my brothers. That’s the whole point of us giving our own answers and coming to our own decisions. To some of us, it may be worth it, to others, it may not be. I do know one thing, though. Our family can make it through anything we set our minds to, and if we are all in agreement over this, we will make it through the rough times. I’ve always said we’d end up in this type of relationship.”

  “You seem more confident in this than I expected,” he muses, his lips twitching. “Although I guess I should have expected that answer from you. Maggie told me she agreed with you on your prediction of you and the guys. Jack and I thought you were sort of reaching. When Parker showed up and I started to watch you all with her, I realized you might be right. Now I’d bet money you are.”

  I chuckle and shrug. “I’m firm on my decision. I gave this a lot of thought, and I weighed pros and cons. I spend a lot of my spare time hanging out with Parker, and I know I’m willing to give it a shot. I’m not going to say that the six of us are going to ride into the sunset and live happily ever after. We’re all still young, especially her. But I’m willing to see where this thing goes.”

  “You’re a smart guy, Talen.” Dad grins, giving me a wink. “I’m proud of you for taking this seriously and thinking from all angles. I want all my boys to be happy, and the more I watch you all with Parker the more I think she could make you all happy.”

  “Thanks, Dad. Now we just have to figure out if an unconventional relationship with all five of us is something Parker would even be interested in. She didn’t grow up in our world. Who knows what she really thinks of us.”

  With nothing more to be said, I get up and leave the office. Heading to my room, I drop into bed and lose myself in a mental list of all the things that could go wrong with our family should we all agree to pursue a relationship with Parker. I also can’t stop myself from listing all of the things that could go very right for us if we end up together.

  “Declan?” Parker’s soft voice in the hallway pulls me from my fantasy of the future, and I hop up and peek around the door to find her standing with Declan in the hallway.

  My heart jumps a bit at the sight of her even though I just saw her an hour ago.

  “What’s up, sweetheart?” Declan asks, a wide grin directed at her.

  She frowns and peers down at her feet, shuffling them as she mumbles out her answer. “I was wondering if you were busy. I just wanted to spend some time with you. You know, if you want to or if you aren’t busy. I’m sorry, it’s so dumb for me to come asking for time with you. I just… I haven’t seen you much this week. I’ve missed you.” The last part is a whisper, but I hear it loud and clear.

  She misses him. Something in the way she says it, and the look she gives him
strikes a nerve. I will not lose this girl. This amazing, beautiful, kind, thoughtful girl is ours, and I will do whatever it takes to keep her with me, with us. She just spent ages making out with Duncan in the kitchen, yet she’s still in tune with my brothers and wanting to spend time with them. She belongs with us.

  “I should just go, I didn’t mean to inter-” Parker starts, her words abruptly stopping when Declan rushes over to her.

  She stares up at him as he gently places his hands on either side of her soft face and presses his lips softly to hers. She doesn’t move for a few seconds, and I worry he scared her by suddenly rushing at her and kissing her. Then she’s kissing him back. They lose themselves in each other, not caring they’re in the middle of the hallway. No jealously arises as I witness my brother kissing Parker. Instead, I calm further and my resolve hardens. I’m never letting this girl go, and I will be telling my brothers tonight.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  I messed up, again. I can’t regret kissing Declan or Duncan. Declan’s kiss was hard, fast, and passionate. Duncan was thorough, perfect, and gentle and everything I imagined a kiss from him would be. But kissing them makes two more guys I’ve kissed. I don’t believe anyone witnessed anything, because no one said a word. They’re going to find out eventually, I’ve kissed four of them now. First Lochlan outside when we talked, then Talen at the aquarium, then Duncan in the kitchen, and Declan in the hallway.

  I hate knowing I did this to them. It’s like I can’t control myself around the guys. I’m not sure what I’m going to do, but I’ve decided for the rest of the night I’m putting my concerns and worries on hold. I don’t have any tears left after I allowed myself a mini-breakdown earlier, and I don’t want the guys to worry or fight at dinner.

  Declan and I spent a while talking after our kiss, but we were told dinner would be ready soon. I offer to help finish up, but get turned down. I decide to go upstairs and straighten up my room before it’s time to eat. I’m deep in my own mind, and I run into a wall. Shaking my head, I gaze up and realize it’s Dominic’s back, not a wall.