Every Promise You Made

by J. E. Parker

  He stopped when three feet separated him for us.

  Maddie smiled as she pointed at Mama. “Daddy, this is Charlotte Peterson, Hope’s mother.”

  Then she pointed at Keith. “Charlotte, this is my daddy, Keith. He’s usually a lot more talkative, but it appears he’s been bitten by the silent bug.”

  I barely bit back a bout of laughter.

  Mama wore a smile on her beautiful face as she extended her hand for Keith to take. “Nice to meet you, Keith.”

  The man still didn’t speak.

  “I’m sure you already know this, but you’ve raised a mighty fine daughter.” She looked at Maddie. “And I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve pretty much claimed her as my own.”

  “No, I don’t mind at all,” Keith whispered, his eyes never leaving Mama’s. “And she has grown into an amazing woman.” He looked at Maddie. “I’m so proud of her I can hardly stand it.”

  Maddie opened her mouth to say something but snapped it shut when Grandmama rounded the corner, a platter of uncooked meat in her hands. “I’ve got the wieners!” She hollered loud enough for the people in the next county to hear. “They’re even jumbo sized!” She paused, a sneaky smile spreading across her face. “Just like Anthony… or at least that’s what I hear.”

  I spit the tea I’d just taken a sip of everywhere as everyone erupted into a fit of laughter.

  Well, everyone except Anthony.

  Red-faced, the normally cool as a cucumber detective looked embarrassed as could be. Crossing his arms over his chest, he looked to Shelby. “You been talking about private stuff again, Sunshine?”

  Shelby smirked before shrugging a shoulder. “That’s confidential, Stud Muffin.” When Anthony continued to glare at her, she threw her hands up into the air. “What? It’s not like I showed them the pictures!”

  Beside me, Mama mumbled, “Dear Lord, she has pictures?”

  Grandmama turned her head and met Mama’s gaze. “I was thinking the same thing, Charlotte.”

  Grandmama shoved the plate of meat into my hands and looked at Shelby before resting her hands on her hips. “You have pictures, Blondie?”

  Shelby smiled, and I knew whatever was about to come out of her mouth would be pure gold. “Pictures? Yeah, but that’s not all.” She paused for dramatic effect. “I’ve got a video too.”

  Thank God the kids are too young to understand what they’re talking about.And double thanks that Ashley is in the house watching a movie.

  Grandmama’s mouth fell open so wide I was surprised her dentures didn’t fall out. “I don’t believe it.” Standing tall, she waved her hand in the air. “Therefore, I’m going to need to see the evidence—”

  Keith dropped the bags of ice he’d been holding and clamped his hands down on Grandmama’s shoulders, cutting her off mid-sentence. “Let’s go, Mama,” he said, turning her back toward the house. “Time to go back into your cave.”

  “Oh you stop it,” she bit back, smacking at his hands. “I was just getting started.”

  Keith looked more embarrassed than Anthony had. “And that’s why I’m taking you in the house. You’ve embarrassed yourself, not to mention me, enough for one day.”

  Grandmama arched a brow as Keith continued to guide her toward the back door. “And how did I embarrass you? Our entire family already knows I’m nuts. It’s not like it’s some big secret.” Her eyes widened as clarity struck. “Huh,” she said, her eyes flitting back to Mama. “Would you look at that? It only took twenty-five years, son.”

  Keith clenched his jaw before pushing Grandmama all the way through the back door. “Muzzle, Mama. You keep popping off at the mouth, and I’m buying you one.”

  She laughed, loud and boisterous. “I’d like to see you try to put a muzzle on me. It’ll be your funeral, ya big dummy!”

  Keith shut the door, cutting off whatever else Grandmama was about to say. After huffing out a breath, he turned around. Looking at Mama—how interesting—he hooked his thumb and pointed over his shoulder. “Sorry about her. The older she gets, the worse she gets.”

  Mama chuckled. “It’s quite alright. I find her to be a hilarious breath of fresh air. I only hope I still find life that amusing when I’m her age.”

  Isn’t that the truth?

  Keith smiled. “That—”

  His words were cut off when a small voice shouted my name. “Aunt Hope!”

  My heart thundered in my chest at the sound of the familiar voice.

  Isabella.

  Hearing his niece’s angelic voice, Evan stood from where he’d been lying on the ground wrestling with the boys. Like mine, his eyes scanned the yard, searching through the small crowd of people for the little girl that held both of our hearts in her palm.

  Mama smacked my arm and pointed toward the back gate that Keith had entered moments earlier. “There they are.”

  My gaze fell on Isabella, followed by Brantley.

  Unable to wait a second longer, I took off toward her. “Isabella!”

  Isabella, who was wearing a pink dress, glitter-covered tiara, and pink sandals yanked her hand free of her daddy’s. “Aunt Hope!” She yelled, running as fast as she could toward me. “You’re here!”

  Meeting her halfway, I scooped her up into my arms and hugged her tight against me. Tears filled my eyes as her familiar smell—a mixture of strawberry scented shampoo and bubble gum scented bubble bath—filled my nose.

  It had been almost four months since I’d last seen her and she looked like she’d grown an inch or two since then. Not to mention she was talking clearer. It made my heart hurt because before long she was going to all grown up.

  Please stay little forever.

  “Hey, sweet baby,” I said, running my hand up and down her back. “I missed you so much.”

  “Missed you too,” she replied, hugging my neck so tight I could barely breathe. “And Uncle Evan. Where is he?”

  I pulled back and looked at her face. “He’s around here somewhere, baby.” She smiled from ear-to-ear and nodded. “And just so you know, he missed you too,” I said, trailing my fingers down her sides and tickling her. “Very, very much.”

  Isabella tossed her head back and laughed as my fingers skated over her most ticklish spot.

  “Stop, Aunt Hope. Stop!” She plead, wiggling around like a bated worm. “That tickles!”

  Evan was by my side a second later.

  The moment Isabella saw him, she stretched out her arms, reaching for him. He didn’t hesitate before pulling her into him. Wrapping both of his big arms around her small body, he buried his face in her hair and held on tight. “My sweet Bella boo,” he whispered. “I’ve missed you so damn much.”

  Isabella giggled. “Bad word, Uncle Evan. Bad, bad word.”

  Eyes closed, Evan pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. “Sorry, baby. I’ll do better next time.”

  Something inside of me snapped into place as I witnessed first-hand the love that my big guy had for his niece. Even as hard and cold as he could be at times, he still had so much love and light in him.

  It was amazing.

  “Don’t I get a hug?” Brantley asked, pulling my attention from Evan to him. “Gotta admit, I’m a bit jealous, Shortcake.”

  “B!” I jumped forward and threw my arms around his neck. “I can’t believe you’re here!”

  He chuckled before wrapping his arms around my lower back. “I missed the hell out of you. You know that?”

  “I missed you too, butthead.” He chuckled some more as he rocked me side to side. “Is my brother treating you right?” His voice was so low that only I could’ve heard him.

  I nodded against his shoulder. “Much better, B. Much better.”

  I felt, rather than saw, his smile. “Good. I was prepared to beat some sense into him if he wasn’t.”

  At that, I laughed.

  Brantley dropped his arms and pulled back. “What? You don’t think I could take him?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’ve seen you two f
ight enough to know it could go either way.”

  Brantley smirked before moving his gaze over my shoulder.

  At the time I didn’t know what he was looking at but suddenly his face went slack and his lips parted the tiniest bit. “Fuck me,” he mumbled under his breath. “Who is that?”

  Brows furrowed, I turned and looked behind me.

  When I saw what—or who—he was looking at, I froze.

  Uh oh.

  I huffed out a breath and turned back around. “Uh, B,” I said, laughing uncomfortably. “I don’t think your interest in her is such a good idea.”

  He merely blinked in reply as he continued to stare.

  Oh, Lord. This isn’t good.

  I smacked Evan’s arm. “Big guy,” I whisper-hissed. “Need a little help here.”

  Evan looked from Isabella to the person Brantley was gawking at. He chuckled. “You don’t have a snowball’s chance in Hades with her, bro, so quit looking.”

  Brantley’s jaw ticked. Ignoring his twin brother, he demanded, “Answer, me, Hope. Who is she?” His voice was so low and guttural sounding I hardly recognized it.

  I glanced behind me again. “Clara,” I replied. “Her name is Clara, and she’s the one I told you about the other day.” Pointing at Liam and Declan who were running full bore toward their Mama, I continued, “Those are her two boys, Liam and Declan. They’re five and six.”

  Brantley’s features hardened; he swung his gaze to Evan. “Her husband”—he paused and took a ragged breath—“he’s the one you handled last year? When he attacked Maddie?”

  By handled Brantley meant killed.

  Evan nodded. “That was him.”

  Again, Brantley’s jaw ticked. “He hurt her, right? Abused her for years?”

  My eyes slid closed. I didn’t want to think about this. Not now. “Brantley, maybe it’s better if we—”

  “Yeah,” Evan answered, interrupting me. “That last incident was the worst .”

  No, it wasn’t. Not even close. But I wasn’t going to argue with him. He, Brantley, nor Isabella needed to hear about what Clara had been through. But I’ll say this, the past she’d faced, it was almost worse than the one Shelby had barely survived.

  Brantley’s eyes darkened at Evan’s response. Licking his lower lip, he clenched his jaw tight causing a vein near his temple to bulge. “You let him off easy. Should’ve tortured the mother fu—” He snapped his mouth shut and looked at Isabella. “You know what I mean.”

  “Yeah,” Evan replied. “And I agree.”

  Isabella’s little face twisted. “Daddy, what are you talking about?”

  Brantley smiled before taking her from Evan’s arms. “Nothing important, baby.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Nothing important at all.”

  Right as I was about to ask her if she’d like to play with me, Liam and Declan, followed by Lucca, slipped in between Evan, Brantley and me.

  “Hey, hey, guys,” Declan, the most hyper five-year-old I’d ever met, said, pulling on the skirt of my dress. “What are you guys doing?” He pointed at Isabella. “And who is she?”

  Isabella peeked down at Declan’s dirt covered hands and ice cream stained face and scrunched up her little nose. “He’s dirty.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “He’s a little boy, silly girl,” I said, running my fingers through Declan’s messy hair. “They’re supposed to be dirty.”

  Isabella silently stared down at all three boys. Declan, however, wasn’t in the mood to be ignored. “Hey, hey, princess girl. Come play with me. We can play hide and seek. You hide, I’ll find you.”

  Before Isabella had a chance to answer him, I already knew it was a done deal. The moment that Declan called her princess girl it was over. Seriously, all it took was two little words for him to make a brand new friend.

  “Down, daddy. I want to play with the dirty boy.”

  Brantley chuckled as he stood on her on the ground. “Don’t go too far, princesa. Understand?”

  Isabella nodded. “Yes, daddy.”

  With those two words, she poked Declan in the chest. “You count.”

  He covered his eyes. “One, two, three…”

  Isabella took off with a squealing Lucca hot on her heels.

  Liam watched them go, a wonky smile on his face.

  “Aren’t you going to play?” I asked him as I ran my fingers through his hair.

  He shook his head. “Nah, I’m going to see if Maddie will let me hold Melody.”

  I froze. “You want to hold the baby?”

  His eyes met mine. Then, he nodded. “I like her. She smells good.”

  Turning around, he searched the yard until he found where Maddie was sitting. Eyes locked on her, he took off running in her direction.

  Brantley chuckled. “Kid reminds me of Evan when he was little.”

  “Me too,” I replied. “Melody is only five months old, but he’s already so protective of her. It’s insane.”

  “It’s because she’s worth protecting,” Evan said, wrapping an arm around my waist. With a quick tug, he pulled me back into his chest and buried his nose in my hair. “By the way, I like the way you smell too.”

  I opened my mouth to reply, but Brantley spoke up first. “Oh for fuck’s sake,” he hissed, trying his best to appear like he was irritated. Keyword: trying. One look at his smiling face and I could see how happy he was for both Evan and I. “Is this what I’m going to deal with all weekend?”

  Snorting, I swatted his chest with my hand. “Get over it, pretty boy. He’s mine now, and you’re never getting him back.”

  Brantley quirked a brow. “Well damn, bro,” he said, laughing. “Looks like you’ve been officially claimed.”

  Evan pulled me tighter. “You’re damned right.” Dipping his head, he pressed a soft kiss to my exposed shoulder. “And it’s about time too.”

  My eyes slid closed at his words.

  Brantley hummed. “You’re right. I only wish…” His voice trailed off, but I already knew what he would say. Mainly because my heart was saying the same thing.

  … I only wish Ryker were here to see it.

  I was a second away from telling him so when Grandmama came outside and hollered, “Food is done! Time to eat, people!”

  Evan took me by the elbow. “Let’s go, little bit. I need to feed you.”

  With that, all three of us headed toward the house.

  Thirty-Five

  Evan

  Hope was seconds away from punching me.

  It was clear from the hard set of her jaw and crossed arms that she’d about had it with me. I couldn’t blame her either. Since we’d sat down at the mile-long folding table centered in Grandmama’s backyard minutes earlier, I’d been trying to get her to take a bite of my burger. Brantley, being the good twin he is, was working along with me by pestering her to taste his too.

  Needless to say, she was about ready to kill us both.

  “Baby,” I said, laughing. “Just take a bite.”

  Thinning her lips into a straight line, she reached down and pinched my arm. Hard. I barely bit back a grimace.

  “I am not eating that,” she hissed. “It was alive once.”

  “Hey, Hope,” Hendrix said from across the table. “Why did the chicken cross the road?”

  Hope turned her glare from me to him. “I don’t know.”

  Hendrix raised a chicken wing into the air. “Because Colonel Sanders was chasing it.”

  Shelby and Maddie both erupted into a fit of laughter though they tried to hide it. Maddie turned around to face away from us, and Shelby laughed into the bend of her arm.

  Clara, however, got pissed. Fast.

  Throwing down her napkin, she stood up. Glaring at Hendrix, Brantley, and me, she said, “All three of you are dicks. Heaven forbid somebody cares about an animal’s life.”

  Brantley snorted. “Says the chick who just ate half a burger.”

  Clara’s fiery gaze swung to Brantley.

&n
bsp; Uh oh.

  “I’m sorry, were you talking to me? I’m not fluent in douchebag, so I didn’t quite understand what you said.”

  Brantley’s mouth fell open as everyone else burst into laughter. “Well, damn, Red, just go for my jugular next time, why don’t you?”

  Clara smiled as she stood from the table, dinner plate in her hand. “Oh honey, you’ve got it all wrong. The next time I come for you, it won’t be your jugular I go for.” Her smile grew. “It’ll be your balls.”

  I was laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe; much less speak.

  Shelby didn’t have that problem. “Clara,” she said around a bout of laughter, “I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder!”

  Clara winked and blew her a kiss. She shot Brantley one last icy glare before turning around and walking off. His eyes stayed glued to her retreating back until she disappeared into the house.

  Hope leaned back against me, her anger from moments before gone. “I told you to leave her alone, B.”

  Still staring at the door Clara had disappeared through, he replied, “Leave her alone? Hell, I think I just fell in love with her.”

  Christ! Here we go!

  A moment later, Grandmama walked up and dropped a platter of just cooked burgers onto the table. “I hear y’all laughing like hyenas over here. What did I miss?”

  Maddie took a sip of tea. Then she said, “Oh you know, the usual. Evan is trying to get Hope to eat meat, Clara threatened harm to Brantley’s balls, and in turn, he declared his undying love for her.”

  Grandmama froze. Looking from Brantley to the back door, she smiled.

  I could practically see the wheels in her head spinning.

  “Huh. That’s interesting. Very, very interesting,” she said.

  Wanting—needing—to change the subject, I picked my burger back up and held it to Hope’s mouth. “Baby, take a bite for me. Please.”

  It was a dick move to make, but I always worried about Hope’s dietary habits. She didn’t eat enough to sustain a bird and she damn sure didn’t get enough protein. It bothered the hell out of me.

  What if she got sick?

  “Evan, I swear, if you don’t get that dead cow out of my face you’ll be sorry.”