by Karen Deen
Far out.
My life was nothing like that. Actually, reality was, most people’s lives weren’t like that. Truth be told, I was unsure if I wanted the whole typical romance anyway. I was far too old for that shit now. I just wanted the hot sexy guy to come in and sweep me off my feet with his dirty talk, take me to bed and give me incredible sex all night long. Then, back up and repeat that for the rest of my life, while taking care of me and loving me at the same time. Was that too much to ask? Come on, Universe, you had half completed your job. The hot sexy guy was right in front of me, I could see him. I just couldn’t touch him. I already knew from experience that he could give me the best sex of my life all night long. Why were you so cruel to place him here but with so many obstacles? Seriously, that was not cool. I wasn’t even asleep and I was still dreaming about him. It would be a long night.
“Zach, you need to calm down. You’re talking way too fast and making no sense. I know you’re trying to get out of here early. It’s Friday and I can assure you, I too am keen to get home. So, slow down. Give me the list for Monday and then you can run off to play house all weekend.” I couldn’t help poking the bear. For someone who was just being a friend to Emily and the kids, he was a little too excited to be moving them to the farm tomorrow.
“Stop trying to be funny, Zoe, leave that to Luke. I’m just trying to be organized. It will be a big move for the family and I don’t want them to feel scared by all the changes happening. Especially Sophia and Samuel. They are so adorable, but I have a feeling they have had a tough life for kids so young. I don’t know the story, but the way Sophia is so scared of me, it worries me to think what their life has been like.”
I could feel a sense of closeness to this family without even meeting them. Maybe, I had been judging too harsh before I knew anything about them. I looked at Zach from a totally different angle. I had been so caught up with trying to keep my life under control with Luke, that I’d forgotten what sort of man Zach was. His kind gentle ways had always been something I loved about him. He was a wonderful friend to me. I wasn’t sure we ever had the relationship of boss and employee. Right from the first day, we shared a bond that had become a tight friendship. His description of Sophia made me drift a little in my own childhood memories.
“Many of us grew up with that fear. It sounds like she is lucky she has you now looking out for her.” Memories often made people smile, but for me, that wasn’t the case. The look on my face worried Zach.
“Zoe, is everything okay? Do you need to talk about anything? I know we never discuss the past, but I’m always here if you need.”
Shit. I needed to brush this off. I couldn’t even manage to share anything with Luke. He would be devastated if I spoke to his brother and not him.
“I’m just feeling sad for the kids if they have had a rough time. Oh well, at least they will love their new home. The farm cottage will be perfect by the sound of it. When do I get to meet them all?”
“Why don’t you come and help tomorrow? You can ride in the truck with Luke and Grant if you want. Or, the girls are heading out later in the day.”
No way would I spend a whole day with Luke. He would find plenty of opportunity for me to be trapped with him away from everyone else. That was just asking for trouble. He was like a big kid who loved a challenge.
“Sorry, I would love to, but I already have plans. I’m sure I will see them soon, though. I hope it all goes to plan. A word of advice, though, if little Sophia is scared of men, for God’s sake keep her away from Grant. Mr. Warm and Fuzzy. I can’t even imagine him near little kids.” We both laughed and tried getting back to what we needed to sort before the office closed. I would have loved to join in the fun tomorrow with everyone, it was just not the right time. I planned to spend the day with me, myself and I. Nothing unusual for a weekend, really.
Luke
The week had come to an end and Zoe had managed to dodge me in the office. She didn’t escape my nightly texts, however. I had to be a reminder. Her thoughts needed to be full of what we could be together. What she was missing out on by thinking she could keep me away. I wasn’t sure if she’d worked out how stubborn I could be.
“You’re late,” Grant huffed as I pulled up in the big truck from the yard.
“Because five minutes is going to make all the difference. How did I manage to draw the short straw and end up in the truck with you, Mr. Personality?”
“I could say the same. Lucky I’m good at ignoring your lame jokes. It comes from years of practice. Now let’s get moving so we can get today over with. I’m not sure what the stupid bastard is doing letting a woman and her kids who he doesn’t even know, move in with him. If I had my way, I would’ve put them in another apartment somewhere until she could find something herself.”
“Man, you are a heartless bastard, aren’t you? Lighten up, will you. I happen to think it’s more about how much Zach really likes this woman. Which I will bet, is more than the friend zone. So, for your brother’s sake, try not to be an ass, and if you are nasty or scare the kids, I will personally punch you for Zach. Got it?” I didn’t know what had gotten me so worked up with Grant so early. Maybe it was how he was speaking about the woman that Zach obviously cared about. Picturing myself in that position, I was defending more than just Emily and the kids. My subconscious was telling me to stand up to Grant if I wanted a chance with Zoe. He seemed to be one of the bigger stumbling blocks for her.
“Only because I know you have no chance in hell of taking me down, I will choose to ignore your little spiel. My job is to protect this family.”
“Yeah, when we were ten years old, you idiot. Not as adults. When are you going to realize that and step back?” I sighed hoping he would at least listen and take it on board for later.
“Never, so suck it up, you big girl.” Grant dismissed the conversation by looking out his window. We spent the rest of the trip from the yard to Branch Street in silence, both changing the radio to our own preferred station until Grant slammed his finger on the power button and turned it off. We couldn’t even agree on music.
My first glimpse of the twins saw their two little faces glued to the window in the apartment, watching me drive the truck up the road. I had never really paid attention to young children. I wanted plenty of kids when it was my time. Up until now, I didn’t really know anyone with kids. Today would be interesting. One thing was for sure, those two smiles and sets of eyes that fixed on us were pretty cute. Samuel was just as Zach described. Energy to burn. His mouth was moving, barely coming up for a breath. Sophia, on the other hand, looked fascinated by the big truck but as soon as she saw our faces, she retreated from the window. On a mission, Grant went straight to the front door. Jesus, I couldn’t let the first impression of our family be from Grant. Overtaking him, I arrived at the front door first.
I saw my brother, Zach, with the biggest smile I had ever seen on his face. Signed sealed and delivered. Zach had found his place in life. Right there with the lovely, albeit, nervous woman who stood by his side. Zach’s bonus was that Emily came as a joint package with Sophia and Samuel. If he wasn’t my brother, I would be convinced this was his family. I could see how happy he looked, slight jealousy building in my heart. I hoped to one day announce my family to the world.
Movement caught my attention as I leaned against the door. Little Sammy was a ball of energy ready to explode. He tried so hard to stand still and not talk but it all became too much and the volcano erupted. I had trouble keeping up with the constant questions. Man, I loved the kid already. He reminded me so much of myself at that age. Being the third boy, I was always trying to keep up, so I needed to make myself be heard most of the time. I got pretty good at it.
“Sammy, I am pretty sure you and I are going to be best buddies.” We stood in the lounge room chatting, and I answered as many of his questions as I could while Grant spoke with Sophia. That in itself was a shock to the system. Emily seemed easy going, laughing at my jokes and joining in the ba
nter. You couldn’t survive in this family without a sense of humor. Well, unless you were Grant. I wasn’t sure if he was born with any humor in his bones. Poor bugger.
We spent the rest of the day moving furniture into the truck, then moving it back out. Moving sucked in general. There was no easy way to do it. Looking at some of Emily’s furniture, it was obvious she’d been doing the best with what she had available for her and the kids. I had a feeling her life was about to be turned upside down if my brother had anything to do with it. I wondered how long he would keep her in the friend zone. I hoped he didn’t end up with blue balls for as long as I had.
“Sammy, let’s go little buddy, time for a ride up the driveway and back in the big truck.”
“Cool bananas. Coming, Mr. Luke.” He scrambled up the steps on the side of the truck and I gave him a little shove to hoist him up. “This’s pretty high, higher than in Mr. Zach’s car. Higher than the bus we used to catch. We don’t have a car. I like Mr. Zach’s car. It’s pretty fancy. Not as cool as this truck but better than having to catch the bus to school with my mom.” Chuckling, I could imagine as he got older how uncool that would be catching the bus with your mom every day.
“First things first. Seatbelt on please, young Samuel. Safety first, always. Remember that. Secondly, just call me Luke. Mr. Luke makes me sound old. I am not old. Not as old as Grant anyway. He is really old.” Sammy looked at me for more. “He is like one-hundred years old. You ask him when we get back. Not like me. I’m only twenty-one years old.” I knew I was being cruel, but it was going to be fun to watch later on. “Do you think you will like living here, Sammy?”
Watching his eyes light up was just gold. It just started him with more questions and stories about him and Sophia and the games they played. From the short trip up the driveway and back I thought I got most of his life story and as much of Emily’s as he understood. The kid was awesome. After our truck ride, we spent time wrestling and playing in the back yard. A few times, I caught Emily watching us with a look of complete bliss. She was enjoying seeing her children so happy and relaxed. I hoped she realized what sort of family she had found herself in the middle of. We spent plenty of time ribbing each other. We all loved to give Grant heaps. But no matter what, we loved each other and would protect our family with everything we had. Dad’s values had always been a bit old-fashioned. Growing up, we didn’t get anything without working hard for it and learned to appreciate things. The most important thing he taught us was how much our family depended on working as a unit. We looked after each other and the rest would come with little hassle. Life was easier when you had a family to lean on. Unconditional love. From what Zach had said about Emily and from the whole big story Sammy just revealed, they could use our love and protection. They had no idea what that would entail. They’d already got us now. There was no way Mom would give up those kids and another adopted daughter to smother.
I had seen how Mom took on Zoe like another daughter. I didn’t really think about it too much in the beginning as to why Mom would take her under her wing. Looking at her more closely with Emily and the kids, I realized my mom saw people who needed a little help. What Mom had seen in Zoe, that I’d missed in the beginning, it was clear now. She’d admitted her life hadn’t been the best before she moved here. It was eating away at me knowing she wouldn’t tell me. It was bad. I could tell by the way she winced. Her face completely changed when she thought about it. Watching her have the panic attack was awful to see. Not knowing what triggered it, I felt helpless. I wished she was here today. She would love the kids. I had a feeling she and Emily would get on just fine, too.
With the word out, it was time for lunch so Sammy and I took off towards the house. I was starving. Moving furniture and boxes all morning had worked up quite an appetite. After the noise in the kitchen started to settle down because we all had food in our mouths, it was easier to have a conversation. At least you can hear the person speaking. We were never a quiet bunch when all together.
“Mom, how did you manage to get all this food sorted in such a short time?” Alesha asked, looking across the table at the vast array of different plates. I thought it was a pretty dumb question. Mom always made sure there was plenty of good food no matter where we were getting together. She still remembered what it was like feeding us as growing boys all living at home. Mind you, Lilly could eat us all under the table at times.
“This is nothing. I just want to make sure Emily, Sophia and Samuel are welcomed into the family properly, and of course I can’t have anyone being hungry.” The was a roar of laughter. She was the typical mother hen in our family. I hoped one day to have my own family and a wife who loved her children and smothered them just as much as my mom.
“Oh, stop it, all you funny people. You know I love to have all my family together. I am just missing one of my children. Where is Zoe? Did you not invite her, Zach? You better have invited her, otherwise there will trouble for you.” Her hands rested on her hips, ready to do the Mom rant.
The look she gave Zach would peel paint off the walls. “Of course, I did, Mom. She is busy, she has plans so couldn’t come. She was disappointed. She will meet Emily and the kids soon enough.” Zach was busy loading more food on his plate while keeping a close eye on his new little family.
I thought it was a good opportunity to see what the rest of my family knew about her. It wasn’t really fair to her, but I felt it important. The more I knew about Zoe, the more I could get close enough to convince her we were a good idea.
“Has anyone ever met Zoe’s friends she hangs out with on the weekends? She never really talks much about them.” I tried to look casual, taking another forkful of food.
“Whenever we go out clubbing and invite her, we always say bring your friends, but she never does. I don’t think I can even tell you their names. I’m not sure she has ever really mentioned them too much.” Lilly looked to Alesha for confirmation. “She loves to party when we are out but doesn’t always come when we ask her. How about you, Zach, does she ever mention anything to you?” I could always count on Lilly to start digging for gossip.
“Not really specifics, but when I ask she says she went out on the weekend and had fun, or it was a busy weekend. Not sure I ever get more than that. I’m a guy, I don’t ask for all the details like what she wore, how was her hair, what hot guys were there. All useless information to me.” That copped him a slap on the arm from both Lilly and Alesha, like he had offended the female population.
“What was that for?” Zach glared at them ensuring they understood today was not the day for embarrassing him.
“Because you’re being a boy.” That was a standard remark from my sisters. It explained everything as far as they were concerned.
Looking across, I saw Sammy had polished off every bit of food we had put on his plate, the food coma starting to settle in. “Don’t tell me we wore you out this morning, my little mate.” I ruffled his hair. Sophia, by this stage, was sitting on Mom’s lap, drifting in and out of sleep.
“I think it has been a huge morning for the kids. There wasn’t much sleep last night, and they were up pretty early this morning full of excitement. I think an afternoon nap might be a good idea today. I’ll just clean up from lunch and then take them over to the cottage.” Emily was shy, not used to that many people around a table. Zach put his arm on her shoulder to stop her from moving as my mom jumped up out of her seat, passing Sophia over to Alesha while she started fussing.
“Don’t you dare touch anything, Emily. There is enough of us here. You don’t need to clean up. Take these two adorable little cherubs back to their new home and tuck them in for a lovely afternoon nap.”
Samuel was already grumbling. “But I want to play with Luke, Gruffy and Mr. Grant out on the farm. We can ride horses and see all the animals.”
I picked him up and threw him on my back. “The only ride you’re getting today, little man, is on my back. Let’s get you out of this kitchen.” I bounced Sammy up and do
wn on my back.
“Why am I Mr. Grant?” Grant’s voice stopped me at the kitchen door.
Sammy looked a little embarrassed. “Because Luke said you were old and he isn’t.” This was the highlight of my day, watching Grant choke and everyone else crack up laughing. I nearly dropped Sammy off my back from bending over with laughter. Sammy started laughing because everyone else was. Then the shock of the day hit all of us.
In her quiet little voice that we nearly missed, Sophia walked to Grant. Placing her hand in his, she said, “Don’t worry, Mr. Grant. I don’t think you’re that old. Not as old as Luke.”
Boom! She floored us all. Not only with her little joke but the fact she took Grant’s hand. There was a weird connection between the two. I had no idea what it was, but something was there. Emily looked in absolute shock. Zach had a small grin on his face, happy the kids felt so comfortable with our family. I thought we were being auditioned for the roles of future aunties and uncles. If we mentioned it to Zach, he would deny it of course, but we weren’t stupid. You could see the way he looked and touched Emily. There was no way this could stay a friendship for very long.
“Thank you, Sophia. You’re the only sensible one here, obviously. Shall we walk back to the cottage?” Grant bent down to talk to her on her level. I saw him do this at the house too. At first, I wondered why. Now I understood, it was to make him less intimidating with his size. It had obviously worked.
Emily put an arm around each of her children. “Thank you all for your help today. It was amazing. I don’t know what to say. Thank you doesn’t seem enough. I think I will just take the kids back myself, so they can start to settle down from all the excitement.” With tears in her eyes, they hugged everyone in the room, saying their goodbyes and thanking us for our help. Zach walked out with them mumbling he’d be back.