Rattle His Cage: The Baxter Boys #4 (The Baxter Boys ~ Rattled)

by Charles, Jane

  “What?” he asks slowly.

  “The first thing the next day I was called to the principal’s office. When I get there, besides me, is my mom, the Major, the football coach, Chad, and his dad.”

  “Oh shit!”

  “Yep. I guess I hurt him more than I thought. He’d been taken to the emergency room that night, and he couldn’t practice. He told his dad and the coach that the two of us were just playing around when I squeezed his balls.”

  “Just playing around?” Dylan practically yells as he leans forward

  “Wait, it gets better.”

  He settles back in his seat.

  “The dad and Coach were angry because you know, the big game coming up and all, and they wanted to know my side before they decided what the punishment would be. Apparently I had assaulted him.” I snort.

  “You did tell them, right?”

  “At first, I was afraid to. What if they reacted like my uncle, but they were looking at me as being the one in the wrong? So, I took a chance and laid it out there.”

  “What happened?”

  “At first there was dead silence, which really put me on edge. But then, Chad spoke.” I shake my head. “Saying things like we were just playing around, and I didn’t think she really meant no. When he wasn’t getting the reaction he was expecting, he pointed out that I practically maimed him.”

  Dylan’s chin comes up and his back straightens.

  “You could almost cut the tension in that room with a knife, and I still wasn’t sure if I was in trouble or not. Then, Chad’s dad, whose face was beet red, looked at the coach. “’What are you going to do?’ ‘That’s up to Mary and her mother.’ Then he looks at the principal, who looks at my mom. She asked me what I wanted, and I told her I just wanted to forget it. After a moment she nodded. That’s when the coach got in Chad’s face and told him that as far as the school is concerned he has a groin injury from practice and it will keep him out of the games for the rest of the season.”

  Dylan smirks and shakes his head.

  “Chad was shocked. This was his junior year. Scouts were going to be at the games. It was ruining his chances.”

  “I’m not feeling bad for him,” Dylan says.

  “Nobody was, except maybe his dad, but he was just as pissed as the other adults.” I take a drink before continuing. “Coach said that if he heard anything other than a groin injury from practice that the truth would come out.” I shake my head. “Then Chad had the audacity to thank him because the whole thing is kind of embarrassing.”

  Dylan snorts.

  “I thought the coach was going to flip his lid and then he told Chad that it wasn’t to save him embarrassment but to protect me and that Chad was lucky I hadn’t filed attempted rape charges against him.”

  “He’s right,” Dylan says.

  “Until Coach said that, rape or even attempted rape, it hadn’t even entered my mind, but that is what happened.”

  “You were a kid.”

  “A sheltered one at that. I just hadn’t realized how much until then.” I take a bite of pizza and chew. “It all worked out though. When people found out we broke up, Chad blamed it on me not putting out, which didn’t win him any points.” I snort. “After I told Mom and the Major why I hadn’t said anything, she lit into my uncle. His ears are probably still ringing.”

  12

  Sheltered! An immediate reminder of why the two of us wouldn’t work. I haven’t been sheltered since I popped out of the womb. “Thanks for telling me.”

  “It never occurred to me that you’d jump to the conclusion you did. I’m sorry you had to come all this way when I was fine.”

  “Don’t be sorry. I’m glad I did.” And I am. Mary may not be for me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to keep spending time with her. There is something about her that draws me in. Not just the fact that she is fucking beautiful, but her energy, passion, caring heart, humor. She is the whole package.

  “Do you think Mia is going to be okay?” she asks as she picks at her pizza.

  “Yeah.” I do believe that. “Mia is tough. This won’t knock her down.”

  Mary frowns as if she doesn’t believe me. “Physically, but what about emotionally or mentally.”

  What I can’t tell her is that Mia has her therapist on speed dial. That’s not for me to say, so I choose my words carefully. “She has an excellent support system. She’ll be well taken care of.”

  Her blue eyes meet mine, and there’s a sadness there that I don’t quite understand. “You love her a lot, don’t you?”

  What an odd question. “Yeah.”

  “I’m sorry.” With that she looks away and takes a drink of her beer.

  “Why sorry? We should be grateful to love people and have them love us back.”

  She lifts her slice and takes a bite. Something is bugging her, but I can’t figure it out. “What?” I finally ask.

  She puts the pizza on her plate. “Look, I saw how you were with her in the hospital. I can tell when a guy is in love with a girl. I just think it’s sad that she might not return the same depth of feelings.”

  I nearly choke on my beer. “In love?”

  “Yeah.” She shrugs.

  “Mary, I’m not in love with Mia.”

  She tilts her head and gives me a disbelieving look.

  “I love Mia no more or less than I love Joy, Alyssa, Kate, Zoe, or Scarlett.”

  Mary snorts. “I hear there are places in like Utah where you can live with sister wives.” Her blue eyes twinkle with merriment, which is much better than the sadness that lingered earlier. “But it also sounds like you get none of the benefits.”

  I just shake my head, ignoring her comment. “Twelve of us were in the same class in high school for three years. When we graduated, we all went to the same university. We stuck close. We’re family.”

  Mary narrows her eyes as if she doesn’t quite believe me yet.

  “Look, they are like sisters to me. In fact, the idea of dating one of them feels kind of incestuous.” I cringe at the very idea. “When I saw Mia in the bed, all I could think about is that I should have gone with her when she faced Stone. That I should have protected her somehow.”

  “How could you have known this would happen? It’s not your fault.”

  “I didn’t know that,” I admit. “I was hurting because she was hurting. Yes, I love her, but as family.”

  Her eyes soften and Mary gives me a soft smile. “Really?”

  “Yeah. Do you think that if I was in love with her I would have just let her go out with Stone?”

  “I thought maybe it was one-sided.” She shrugs.

  “It’s no sided,” I laugh and grab a slice. “Trust me, they can be as big a pain in the ass as any sister.” I just wish I actually had Nina and Jade around to be that pain in the ass, but with any luck, I’ll have Nina back tomorrow.

  “Who is Scarlett?”

  “Another friend. She moved west this past summer.” At least that’s the latest news, not that anyone knows exactly where she disappeared to.

  “Hey, I know you guys are having a great time back here, but we close in fifteen.”

  I glance up at the waitress and then I realize that nobody else is here. Then I glance at my phone and blink. That has to be wrong. “It’s 12:45.”

  “Yeah,” she says.

  “I had no idea it was so late.”

  After the pizza Dylan and I just sat there and talked about him being a writer for various newspapers and magazine. I assured him that any knowledge I have of leather and silk is strictly from novels, and at one point I thought my face was going to burst into flames when I admitted that romance novels, especially erotica, were my guilty pleasure. He wasn’t fazed and was actually interested.

  Then we talked about me being a nurse, our favorite subjects in school. A lot of everything, but nothing personal or too serious. But, that’s okay. It’s just been a great night of getting to know a really great guy.

  Dylan fis
hes out his wallet and hands the waitress a card.

  Damn he’s hot and sweet. And I’m also pretty sure I’ve been put in the same category as his sister wives.

  “How much is my half?”

  “I’ve got it.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I want to. I think this is the first time I’ve been to a restaurant in two years that I’ve not been catered to. As soon as someone in the kitchen recognizes me, I get treated special.”

  “You don’t like that?”

  “No. I want to know what it’s like to eat at the place, just like some anonymous person off the street. Nobody caters to their every whim, or holds up other orders to make sure theirs is perfect. It’s hard to really judge a place, when you aren’t treated like a regular Joe.”

  “Are you tough on them?”

  “Sometimes.”

  The waitress brings back his card and he signs the ticket. “Sorry we took up the booth all night.”

  “It’s no big deal. It’s not like we had people waiting.” She glances down and her eyes widen. “Thanks, and come again.”

  “That must have been some tip,” I whisper as we exit.

  He shrugs. “She took care of us but wasn’t pushy and didn’t hover.”

  We reach the entrance to the subway and I stop. “Thanks for a great night.”

  “I’m not leaving yet.” He takes my arm and links it with his. “I want to make sure you get home okay, and that there aren’t issues with the party.”

  “I’ll be fine, really.”

  “Humor me.”

  I just chuckle. “Fine.”

  At least we don’t hear the loud music when we enter the building, so that is a good sign. However, there are people coming down the stairs. “Do I dare hope they are the last of the stragglers?”

  “At this time of night, or morning, you can never tell.”

  Voices are heard in the hall when we reach my floor along with music coming from both apartments. The guy’s apartment door is still open, people are talking quietly in the hall, and my apartment door is open. “Guess it isn’t over.”

  We step over a couple of people sitting in the hall with their legs out and go into the apartment. Five people are sitting in the living room, none of them my roommates, and they are complete strangers to me. “Great!” The place is trashed. I’m not exactly neat, but those are my messes. Not ones made by strangers.

  When we reach my door, I unlock it. Dylan follows me in and shuts the door. “Do you know anybody out there?”

  “Nope.”

  He just kind of stands there and looks around my room. “Don’t you own a garbage can?” He picks a banana peel up from my desk.

  Heat floods my face. “Sorry. Things have been really hectic since I got back last week. I feel like I’ve barely slept with the weird schedule, Kelsey, work, the roommates, Mia.” Then I blink at him. “I’m not complaining. I’d rather be busy.”

  “I think maybe you need to take time for yourself.”

  I sigh and sink down on my bed. “That was the plan tonight. I was so looking forward to having the place to myself. No noise. No people. A hot bath and quiet.”

  “Sorry. I don’t think you are going to get that anytime soon.”

  He leans over and looks at the books on the three-tiered bookcase. “Do nurses have to study a lot of psychology?”

  “Some, those are from when I was thinking of going into mental health.”

  He turns to me, surprise in those grey eyes. “Really?”

  “Yeah. I wanted to figure out what happened to my dad, then realized I’m better suited for the quick fixes, likes stitches and stuff, and that I don’t have it in me to work in a field where people may not get better.”

  “Not enough patience?” It isn’t just a question, but more cautiously waiting for my answer.

  “No. Too heartbreaking. I need to fix and make people better. Some people who have mental illness can’t be fixed. Even with the best doctors and medication, there will still be people who are struggling constantly, like my dad.”

  13

  I thought her dad was killed in Iraq. I didn’t think you could be a soldier if you had some kind of mental or emotional disorder. Not that I know that for sure. Do I ask what was wrong or what he struggled with?

  “Hey, I got back safe, you don’t have to stay.”

  And with that she changes the topic. I don’t pry. I don’t know her well enough yet.

  “Do you know those guys out there?” Four guys and one girl. Each of the guys watched Mary with interest as she walked by. Not that it means anything. I’d watch her too. She’s attractive as hell.

  “No.”

  “Did you know anyone in the hall? Anyone at all?”

  She shrugs and frowns. “Nope.”

  “Are you sure you feel safe here?” I’m not sure I’m comfortable. The door to her room isn’t exactly thick and the lock is flimsy. Not like the door at the entrance to their apartment. I’ll have to mention it to Sean. Maybe he can add a deadbolt or something.

  “I can protect myself.” She grins.

  “So, I’ve been told.” I grimace at the pain that kid must have gone through, not that he didn’t deserve it.

  “After the incident with Chad, the Major had some of this best soldiers train me in hand-to-hand combat. I trained with them for a year, until we moved up to Watervliet.”

  I’m kind of impressed.

  “I think he was still trying to make a soldier out of me.” She laughs. “I am so not soldier material even if I could be a nurse and see the world.” She tilts her head with a sly smile. “I did tell him that if I could be on a mobile medic unit, not that they really have MASH units anymore, or on a medic helicopter, that I’d consider it.”

  “What did he say?”

  “His idea of me seeing the world was being stationed at one of the Army hospitals in Germany and seeing Paris, Rome, and London when I had leave.” She snorts. “Besides, I much preferred being an Army brat over being a soldier.”

  “Your mom is military, right?” I don’t ask about her dad. She closed that topic and has only talked about the Major.

  Mary scrunches her brow. “Where did you get that idea?”

  “Kelsey mentioned that she was an engineer at Watervliet Arsenal Army Base.”

  She throws back her head and laughs. “Kelsey misunderstood. Mom does have an engineering degree. She got that to prove a point to her father. He didn’t think she needed college and she should settle down and marry. Be an Army wife like her mother.”

  “So your grandfather was military too.”

  “Goes back generations, on both sides of the family,” she dismisses. “So, to prove a point, Mom got a degree in what she thought was the hardest thing to pursue. She also hated it. When she graduated, she ended up getting a civilian job on the base and married a soldier. Mom and Grandpa both claim they won the battle. It’s Major who is stationed at Watervliet, and the rest of the family went along.”

  Mary still hasn’t mentioned her dad, so I don’t ask.

  She bites the corner of her lip and looks around the room. “I wasn’t always a slob. I used to be neat. I’m kind of embarrassed that you’ve seen how I live.”

  “What happened to make you a slob?”

  “The Major.” She plops down on the bed.

  I think it’s interesting that she refers to her step-dad by his rank. I’m just not sure if it’s affectionate or resentment. “Why is he the cause?”

  “When he and mom married, he wanted a shipshape house, which it had been. I rebelled. I stopped making my bed and putting my clothes away.” She frowns and looks around. “It kind of became a habit after that.”

  I just shake my head. It’s not a habit but a lifestyle that carried over into my kitchen. “What caused your rebellion?”

  “I was thirteen. Hormonal, teenage girls don’t really need a reason. But I didn’t like that he was now living with us and telling me what to do.” She scrun
ches her nose. “I was really a brat.”

  I wish I knew what living with a hormonal teenage girl was like. I would give anything to have a house where I bicker with my sisters, but that was denied me.

  “No experience with the emotional turmoil of a teenage girl?” she teases.

  “No.” I don’t want to talk about my sisters or my past, and turn to her. “So, do you think this is going to keep up for a while?” I motion to the door, indicating the problems with her roommates.

  “Probably until school starts. Then I’m sure things will settle down.”

  “Why haven’t you said or done anything?”

  “They’re just pushing my buttons. No different than what my two younger brothers used to do.”

  I didn’t know she had brothers until now.

  “If you don’t react, they give up,” she says with confidence.

  “What if they don’t give up and continue to be pains in the ass.”

  “Then I’ll plan my revenge.” She grins. “It’s all about strategy. Let them have a few battles, they’ll get confident or give up, and in the end I’ll win the war.

  “I think that scares me more than it should.”

  Mary leans in. Her nose almost touching mine. “It should. You should be scared. Very, very scared.”

  I snort on my laughter. Mary is the furthest thing from scary. Then again, she did have hand to hand combat training for a year, squeezed a guy’s balls, and cut her battle teeth on two younger siblings apparently. I probably shouldn’t underestimate her.

  She hops off the bed. “Do you mind sticking around just for a little bit.”

  “Not at all. Why?”

  “I’d like to get a shower and it’s just awkward with strangers on the other side of my door and who knows when they will leave, or how long this party will last.”

  “Totally understand.”

  “Thanks.” With that she heads into the bathroom. A minute later I hear the water and try not to think about the fact that she is very naked and not all that far away.

  I really didn’t think I was in the shower that long. Okay, I washed my hair, shaved, and trimmed what needed to be, blew dry my hair, then put lotion on and brushed my teeth. Hey, Dylan is in my bedroom, and even if he hasn’t put out any signals that he’s interested, a girl does want to be prepared, just in case. What I didn’t expect was to find my room cleaned. Well, not totally. More straightened up and I can see more of the floor. I would have had to stay in the shower for hours for him to clean the whole room, but there is a serious dent in my crap.