Max grins. “Lake killed me when she came back from taking Hayden to the loo,” he says, then goes on to explain what Maverick meant. “I kept getting funny looks off people—and I was hungover.”
Teagan scoffs. “I still can’t believe you did that.”
He shrugs carelessly. “It wasn’t like I was gonna leave them. Plus, they all kept giving me snotty looks, and then the mum ordered one of the workers to get the manager because of the noise he was making. It didn’t help when he put his hand, covered in tomato sauce, all over her white blouse.”
Maverick laughs, nodding like he remembers. “That was it… The manager came out to have a word with the woman, but you quickly sat Liam next to them.”
Max chuckles, his eyes lit with amusement. “Yeah, then walked up to the manager and hissed that their kid was making too much noise.”
“What happened?” I ask, awed by the craziness.
He turns to me, smirking. “He went over to her, and it got heated when she denied Liam was hers. But Liam was at the age when he liked to call every fucker ‘Mum’—including me. The manager saw him destroying their property and asked her to leave. She didn’t like his attitude, so stormed out. The manager went to pick Liam up, panicking and thinking a woman had just abandoned her kid, when Lake came out and starting screaming, saying he was trying to kidnap her baby.”
“No way?” I breathe out, eyes wide.
Teagan giggles. “Yeah. She was pissed at him for weeks.”
Aiden walks in but pauses when he notices us all laughing. “What’s going on?”
I answer as I change Sunday. “They were just telling me some stories.”
He looks at his parents warily. “None about me I hope?”
“If you’re talking about the time you took a shit in the model bathroom at B&Q, then, nah, we weren’t,” Maverick says, grinning at his son.
Looking at Aiden, my eyes widen, before laughter spills free. “Please tell me you were two.”
His cheeks redden and his uncle answers for him. “Six or seven, wasn’t it, Aiden?”
Aiden glares at him before turning to me and explaining. “He,” he growls out, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at Max, “fed me some Mexican food he bought from a burger van outside the store. It didn’t even have a food licence or hygiene certificate, but we didn’t know that until after. And I was hungry. Anyway, ten minutes into looking for new tiles with my dad, Max, and Malik, I needed to go. I couldn’t see where the toilets were, then saw the models.”
“He even closed the door,” Max laughs.
I finish buttoning Sunday’s dress as I laugh. “You surprise me every day.”
Aiden groans. “I’ve lost my man card when it comes to you.” He sulks as he sits down on the other side of me.
I pick up Sunday and take the bottle from his hand, smirking at him. “Did you have one to begin with?”
“I like her!” Max booms, laughing as he heads into the kitchen.
“I love your family,” I tell him.
He gives me a dry look, but then his eyes light up. “Then next weekend you can come cheer me on at Family of The Year.”
“What’s that?” I ask.
A lazily smirk lifts at the corners of his mouth. “You’ll see, Bailey James. You’ll see.”
I shake my head, grinning wide at his behaviour.
God, I’ve never felt this happy.
And if he wants me at Family of The Year, then I’ll be there, cheering him on. Because whether he knows it or not, I’d walk through fire for him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
AIDEN
I bounce on the balls of my feet, giddy with excitement. I live all year for this day. The day we get to rub it in the Hayes brothers’ faces that we’re better than them. Last year’s win on their side was a one off. We made a mistake in underestimating them. This year is different. We’ve turned up early to make sure they can’t fuck up our list. We have until twenty minutes before the games begin to make sure they don’t change anything.
“Son, I’m going to head over to Teagan and Hope’s stall. They’re advertising Maddison’s new vegetable garden and selling some arrangements.”
“That’s fine, Mum,” I tell her, leaning down to kiss her cheek. I pull Bailey against my side as I say, “Just remember she needs feeding in an hour.”
Mum rolls her eyes but looks at Bailey when she answers. “He acts like I didn’t raise four kids.”
Bailey giggles, however remains quiet. I know she’s nervous about being out with us. It’s a town event and everyone turns up.
“See you later, Mum.”
“Be safe. No getting into fights with the Hayes brothers.”
“Like I would,” I scoff.
She pauses to look at me over her shoulder. “You said that last year and then they won. Three of you ended up in hospital. No getting into trouble, Aiden. I mean it.”
Shit, she used the ‘mum voice’. I gulp, nodding. “Yes, Mum!”
Bailey leans into me, whispering, “Did you just piss yourself?”
I clear my throat. “Yep, just a little.”
“Who’s the family of the year?” Maddox shouts, jumping between us, which pulls us apart. He wraps his arm around our shoulders, grinning like a mad man. “We’re gonna fucking destroy them. Sorry, little one, but you need to be a Carter to join in. We tried to get Beau in on the fun. He rocked the assault course we did while camping not long ago.”
“It didn’t work?” I ask surprised, and a little disappointed.
“Nah. Even Landon tried intimidating them, but then they only went and made it worse by saying once Faith marries Beau, we won’t be able to use her, either,” Maddox replies.
“Who the fuck is gonna bake? She’s the best.”
We both glance at Bailey and I lick my lips at the thought of her baked goods.
“We’re not married, remember,” she reminds me, her face flushed.
“Yeah, but by the time Beau and Faith get married, you two will tie the knot.”
I pause when not one bit of dread or fear passes through me. Not one single thing. I mean, it makes sense. I love her and don’t see that ever changing.
“I—I—” she looks to me for help “Aiden?”
I shake out of it and glance at her. I shrug and say, “Man has a point. Do you want to be with someone else?”
“No!”
Hearing that, a wide smile spreads across my face. “Well, then. We’ll wait a while though—until Sunday is walking. She can throw shit at people.”
“Not actual shit, right?” Maddox asks, scrunching his nose up.
I do wonder about him sometimes.
“No. You know what I mean. When they walk down with the bride.”
“Flower girl is the word you’re looking for,” Bailey comments sounding choked up, her eyes round. In fact, she looks kind of pale and tense.
Probably picturing what her wedding will be like now. I heard all women go bridezilla for their wedding.
“That’s the one.”
“Guys, you coming to sign in?” Mark yells from across the park.
I shield my eyes from the sun and wave back at him. I take Bailey’s hand as we walk over to the rest of them.
My eyes are immediately drawn to Lily. She looks pale and is clutching her stomach. “Lily, are you okay?”
Her eyes meet mine, and I see the anxiety and fear in them. I step forward, but Maddox beats me to it, pulling her into his arms.
“What’s happened?”
He looks to Mark, who curses. “They put up a fucking beer tent this year. We walked by it and there’s already a group of lads drunk and messing around.”
Lily whimpers and Maddox pulls her closer. “Come on, we can go home.”
“B—but, it’s Family of The Year,” she says, her body trembling. “But I don’t think I can do anything today. Do you mind if I don’t participate?”
He glances down her lovingly. “We don’t mind if you want to leave.”
She grips his hand, shaking her head. “No. I don’t want you guys to do that. Please don’t, I’m begging,” she says, and the heat in her voice even has me choking up. She looks close to tears, and I know it’s because she thinks she’ll ruin something for us.
She wouldn’t. We’d all die for her with a smile on our faces. That’s how much we love her.
“You can stay with Bailey so she’s not on her own,” I quickly butt in, watching her relax.
She smiles at Bailey, who smiles back. “I’d love the company. I hate been around big crowds.”
“Me too,” Lily whispers, looking at Bailey in a new light.
“Come on; let’s go sign in. The quicker we beat these fuckers, the quicker we can all go home and celebrate,” Maddox tells Lily.
We head over to the sign in tent. Maddox walks up to us with Lily still in his arms, taking the assigned sheet and our numbers from the bloke there. We stand behind him, waiting.
“New rules this year, boys. We assigned you to each post. You can’t change it,” the bloke in charge says.
I frown when Maddox turns pale. “Um, they put Charlotte in the bake off.”
Charlotte starts jumping up and down, clapping her hands. She snatches her number off Maddox gleefully. “I’d better get going over to the tent, then,” she excitedly yells. She walks off but stops and turns to us with a bright smile. “Go kick some butt!”
We all quickly move to the bloke at the tent. He looks up, startled when we overshadow him. He swallows deeply, and I swear I hear him whimper.
“You can’t do this,” Maddox growls.
“She’s going to kill people,” Mark hisses.
“I’m not eating it—I wouldn’t even make the Hayes brothers eat her cakes,” I snap.
He holds his hands up. “Guys, I’m sorry, but this is out of my hands.”
“Do something,” Jacob, Charlotte’s only sibling, squeaks out. “She makes me eat them. All of them. And I can’t say no.”
The bloke behind the table winces. “Look, I’m sorry. If it makes you feel any better, the others assigned to that contest probably won’t do much better either. She’s up against Isaac Hayes, if that helps.”
“That does not help,” Landon snaps.
“I’m sorry,” he yells, throwing his hands up. He turns away from us, looking over at another family coming to sign up.
“I can’t believe I put the last of my pocket money in to contribute to this. Instead of gloating over our win, I’ll be throwing up in the toilets.”
“It will be okay,” Lily tells him, patting his head.
We all turn to head over to the first round. I take the piece of paper, grinning when I see my name. “Holy shit, they’ve got an inflatable adult course for the first round.”
“Who’s doing that?” Maddox asks, his eyes lit up.
I smirk. “Me, Hayden, and Liam.”
“Bullshit!” he explodes. “Please tell me I got something like the heavy lifting, or even the bike race?”
“You got the egg and spoon race,” Bailey tells him happily, looking at the sheet of paper.
“Aw, little bitty Maddox has to hold up a spoon and run,” Isaac Hayes taunts, stepping up to us with his brothers.
“How’d you get that?” Jaxon asks, grinning.
“Fuck you,” Maddox spits out, going to step forward. Liam quickly jumps in front of him, blocking his path to Isaac.
“I don’t know why you’re grinning, Isaac; you’re cooking, like a good little wife,” I tell him, grinning. His eyes widen, fists clenching as he takes a step forward. I take one too, daring him to throw the first punch.
Bailey pulls me back and I stare Isaac down, not looking away when Jaxon steps in, pushing him back.
“Come on, your mum said no fights,” Bailey whispers, but it’s enough for Reid to hear. He starts laughing.
“Aw, Mummy going to spank you if you get your arse whipped?”
I grit my teeth, letting Bailey pull me back.
Luke, the last triplet, smirks. “I wouldn’t mind spanking his mum. She’s hot.”
I surge forward, my fist already raised. I can hear the groans around me as my fist comes down. Suddenly, I’m pushed backwards, my body tucked against another as they carry me away.
“Wait until after,” Landon hisses. “You cause a fight in front of kids, we’ll never be able to compete against them again.”
I point at Luke, glaring. “I won’t forget.”
“Well, I am unforgettable,” Luke taunts back, still grinning.
“Um, Maddox… he has Luke in the first round,” Lily says softly.
Maddox bounces on his feet. “Today is going to be fucking awesome.”
I roll my eyes, following behind the rest as they head over to the inflatable obstacle course. A pudgy older man walks up to us, a relieved look on his face.
“You’re here. That’s great. We need to open this to the public soon, so we need to get the race started,” he explains, before frowning down at his clipboard. ‘Wait, there should be another group.” He looks over our shoulder, nodding once again. “Great, you’re all here. Right, I need an Aiden Carter and Luke Hayes to head over to the starting line over there,” he says, pointing to where the inflatable course is.
I grin and rub my hands together, before pulling Bailey into my arms. “You going to cheer me on?”
Her face lights up. “Of course. Enjoy yourself.”
“Ready to get bested?” Luke says, jumping up and down.
I narrow my gaze on him. “Keep bragging, it will help with the gloating later when we kick your arse.”
“Pretty sure Hayden is up against Reid, so you’ve got no fucking chance.”
His smirk slips when Hayden walks up behind him and slaps the back of his head. “At the end of this, I’m going to make you eat dirt, dipshit. When will you fuckers learn? I kicked Eli’s arse last year on the bike trail.”
“You kicked his back tyre,” Reid growls.
Hayden looks over at Reid, blinking seductively at him as she points a finger to her chest. “Who, me?”
“Yeah, you,” Eli growls, joining the group.
Hayden swings her gaze over to him, smirking. “And you punctured my tyre before the race, and I still won.”
“I don’t know what is going on, young men,” the pudgy bloke starts, gulping when Hayden turns her fierce gaze to him, making me chuckle. “—and ladies, but we need to get this race started.”
I glance away from the bickering between Hayden and the Hayes brothers and squeeze Bailey to get her attention. She looks up at me in wonder. “I love your family.”
“I love you. I’ll see you at the end?”
She nods, melting against me. “I’ll be here.”
I grin, liking the sound of her words. “See you at the finish line,” I tell her, and head off. I spin around, walking backwards with my arms in the air. “I’ll be the one people are congratulating.”
“Fuck you, Carter, and hurry up and get over here,” Luke yells from the starting line.
I wink at Bailey before turning to Luke. “Stop being a demanding little—”
“Children present!” the pudgy bloke yells.
I grimace. “Sorry.”
He sighs, rubbing his beard. “Just get into position.”
Luke is to the right of me as I step up to the inflatable obstacle course. Following him are three more contenders, and behind us the rest wait for the signal to go.
The first one is pretty easy; we just have to climb up the wall and go down a slide.
My eyes lock with Luke as the pudgy guy shouts to get ready. Everyone begins to yell encouraging things to their families.
“Ready, steady, go!”
I jump up, reaching half way up the wall before grabbing onto the rope. Luke has done the same, so I pull myself up faster.
I am not going to let that fucker win.
Reaching the top, I don’t bother sliding down, not wanting to waste time, so inste
ad, I jump into the blow-up forest, smacking the plastic trees out of the way as I move through them. The course will get smaller soon, only allowing two to go through at a time.
I want my opponent to be Luke—to give him a first-class view of my winning moment. He’s just behind me now, so towards the end, I pull the tree branches back, letting it swing free once I’ve pulled it hard enough.
I hear him curse behind me and laugh, moving ahead, diving through the small rolling pins.
Crawling out, I head up another ramp, grinning like a mad man when I see three large inflatable balls for us to run over.
“I heard your mum is good in bed and loves giving head,” Luke taunts as I hit the first ball, feet planted firmly. I wobble, snapping my head to him.
“Fuck you.”
“Might go see her later,” he says, grinning at me.
“Yeah? I heard Paisley’s tight. Like, really fucking tight,” I taunt back, hating to use Paisley in our pissing match.
He trips, yelling, “Wanker.”
I’m grinning like a fool by the time I reach the next obstacle. My thighs are burning already, but that’s what I get for not being in better shape. But having a baby really tires you out. I can’t even have a piss in peace, let alone work out.
My feet wobble on the first of the rotating rollers. A smug smirk twitches at the corners of my mouth when I land on the second one.
Then everything happens. Two hands push me sideways and horror washes through me. I can see the grass and brace my body, ready for the fall. It hurts like a bitch. I groan, hearing Bailey cry out my name.
“Don’t talk shit about my fucking sister, dickhead,” Luke yells, before continuing on.
My head snaps up and I see his smug salute, before he rushes off. I jump to my feet, more determined than ever to win this. It’s fucking personal now. Fucker hit me whilst my back was turned.
Pussy.
He’s ahead of me, his brothers racing alongside of him on the grass, cheering him on. I run over the rings, push through the tubes, jump across more balls and go down another slide. I’m closing in on him, and he can hear me, his entire body tensing. I chuckle under my breath as we push through the spikes in the cave and run out the other side.
Aiden (A Next Generation Carter Brother Novel Book 2) Page 23
