by Heather Long
I laughed at the face he made. There was so much genuine affection and pride in his voice and it left me hungry for that same kind reaction.
"This is Craig, he and Alec couldn't be more opposite if they tried." Hank frowned. "Actually, I really do think they try. They're three years apart, but Craig and Chloe are twins. So they are always thick as thieves. He's the most gregarious of them, he'll make friends with anyone. He's never met a stranger."
The older boy did look serious, but he had a nice smile and the younger had a much wider grin. His right eye had that same little crinkle mine did and it struck me. They were related to me. Hank was my father, these were my siblings. For the last decade, they'd been around, and I could have known them but...
Some days I really hated Maddy.
"This is Chloe, she's a darling, but Kelly says I'm biased. She's a daddy's girl though." He paused then looked at me. "But she's got a good sense of humor. I think she's going to like having an older sister. I'm afraid the cat is out of the bag on that one too."
"You told them about me?"
Hank made another face as he leaned back. "Well, not precisely, at least we didn't intend to, but Chloe's become a bit of an eavesdropper and she heard Kelly and I talking. She has no filter, she immediately told her brothers. Mostly because Alec wouldn't be the oldest anymore, so he couldn't be the boss of her."
The exasperation and fondness were equal in his voice.
"I'm sorry?" I offered but he chuckled and shook his head.
"Not at all. You aren't going to be a secret. I mean—if you want time to get to know me before you meet them and if you want to keep a distance, I'll respect that. But we're a loud bunch and...I'd really like to get to know you Frankie. I feel like I missed a lot and knowing my kids now, I know what I missed. I don't want to miss any more. But I also don't want to push anything on you that you're not ready for..."
He was perfect.
"Though maybe, I'm the one still reconciling the idea that my daughter has four boyfriends, would you be terribly opposed to not telling Chloe about that immediately?"
Jake snorted then Coop laughed and even Ian's shoulders were shaking. Archie's reaction was a great deal more guarded, but I wanted to like Hank.
More, I thought I did like him.
"Well, I don't really think it's the first thing I tell everyone but… these guys are my family. They've saved my life and they've been my best friends forever. If you're going to be my dad, then I need you to know they're important to me."
He smiled encouragingly. "I'd like that chance. I even..." he shifted a little in his seat and then stood to dig into his pockets and finally he pulled out a coin. "I brought you this." It was a penny and he placed it in my palm.
It was old. I frowned down at it. Old with a Native American head inscribed on it and... "1899?"
"Yeah, that was when my great-great grandfather came over from Poland. He came through Ellis Island, stayed with a family he knew in Brooklyn. This penny was the first one he made. He kept it. Never spent it. Gave it to his son when he finished school and then that son gave it to his oldest daughter and so on...my mom gave it to me when I graduated high school. Said that penny brings us luck because it shows a commitment to the hard work it takes to make a life for yourself."
Tears burned in my eyes and the penny wavered.
"I haven't gotten a chance to do much for you, but you come from a long line of hard workers. And you should know about them and me… when you're ready."
I blew out a breath and closed my hand over it. "What about Alec?"
"He'll be good, he doesn't know about the penny for one, and for another, it goes to the oldest child. That would be you. Don't worry, we can do other things for him when he's ready. That penny will be for your oldest child… You know when you have one. In ten or fifteen years."
There was a beat and one of the tears slipped out as I started to laugh and even Archie cracked a smile.
"We were going to finish watching the Fast and Furious movies, we've been having a marathon and we could order pizza," I offered. "If you'd like to stay."
"I'd love to stay," he said. "But only if you let me buy the pizzas."
"Um..." I started.
"How about you throw in for it," Jake suggested. "Frankie's a little too polite to tell you that the four of us tend to eat everything in sight."
Hank grinned. "Fair deal then."
"And I'd offer you a beer," Coop said. "But we're a little young to have it in our fridge."
"Or wine," I said drily.
"You know, I won't tell if you won't," Hank said. "But right now, I'd kill for a beer. If you point me toward the store, I can go pick us up some."
I put a hand over my mouth as he stood to follow Jake into the kitchen. They were both laughing. The penny weighed a thousand pounds in my palm, but emotion clogged at my throat. I glanced at Archie and he gave me a long look.
"He seems okay."
That was high praise.
"Yep," Coop said as he followed after them. "You want wine, Frankie?"
"Oh God, yes," I admitted, and Ian slid over to take the spot Jake had left.
Voice low, he said, "You really okay?"
"I don't know. It feels like Christmas and a birthday and.... The best surprise ever, and I'm terrified to look at it too closely."
It was his turn to press a kiss to my head as Archie squeezed my hand. "I like him," Ian said quietly. "But take your time. You don't have to decide anything tonight."
No, I didn't. I swiped at the tears from the corners of my eyes then looked down at the penny before glancing in the kitchen as Hank and Jake both laughed. They looked… relaxed with each other. Even Coop seemed to have eased up some. Only Archie was still guarded and when he squeezed my hand, I understood it.
Until we were certain, he would be.
And I was okay with that too.
Hank caught me staring and he grinned. "Everything on your pizza? Back me up here."
"Pineapple," my guys announced in chorus and Hank gripped his chest.
I just grinned.
As first steps went, this was a doozy and I was all right with it.
Chapter Two
Mad World
Frankie
"You go," Jake's soft whisper penetrated my sleepy brain.
"No," Coop countered. "You."
"Shut up," Archie said from somewhere on the floor. "You're going to wake her up."
"Just go," Ian groaned with just a hint of impatience.
"No," Jake grunted. "I'll wait. Coop can go first."
Oh fuck me, they were not going to shut up. I slit my eyes open and it was still dark. I growled but it came out more like a whimper as I buried my face back under the covers. Jake and Coop had piled in on either side of me the night before, while Archie and Ian sacked out on the floor. Someone had dragged blankets and pillows in and they'd made their pallets. I'd totally meant to help, but I'd been dead on my feet.
Coop wrapped me up in a hug, and I pretty much passed out.
"See, now you did it," Archie scolded and I groaned again.
"Why are you arguing?" It came out muffled but mostly because I had my face pressed into the pillow. We didn't have to be at school until ten. Ten-thirty at the latest, because we would be bussed over together. Archie had grumbled about that, but it was our last "bus" ride for school, ever.
"Jake needs to pee," Coop said, and I frowned.
What?
Lifting my head, I peered at Coop then at Jake. "Then go pee." Why was this even an issue when I could be sleeping?
"I can wait," Jake said. "Go back to sleep, Baby Girl."
Collapsing back against the pillows, I blinked slowly. Most of my brain was still planted in dreamland. "Wait...why would you wait? Did one of you guys break the bathroom?"
It wouldn't be the first time and the more that thought settled in, the more I frowned.
"No," Archie assured me. "He just doesn't know if Hank's awake."
Ha
nk.
My eyes widened as awareness swept through me. Hank. My dad. He'd slept on the sofa the night before. The guys had offered him the other room, but he said the sofa was fine. Very comfortable. On the one hand, considering what the guys and I had done in the other bedroom, I was down with him not sleeping in there.
Not that the sofa was free of such memories, but I wasn't thinking about those right now. Nope. Just better for everyone if I didn't focus on it. I still couldn't believe he'd come all this way just because I left him a message.
More than that, he'd been so nice and funny and warm. "I thought you guys liked him."
"We do," Coop promised then nuzzled a kiss to my forehead.
"Yep," Jake agreed. "But this is a new dynamic and you pretty much told him we were all the boyfriends."
"And we all slept in here," Coop tacked on.
"So?" What was my sleep-fogged brain not getting? "And if you make me wake up to sort this out, I may have to hurt all of you."
"Go back to sleep, Angel," Ian murmured. "They can suffer and wait it out."
Why the hell did they have to wait? "Jake if you have to pee, go pee."
"Yeah, we kind of took your dad on as a group last night, Baby Girl. Be better to not start anything this morning if he's up, and we don't want to wake him up on accident. We can wait until you're up."
Were they for fucking real right now?
"What are you going to start if he's up?" I dragged myself upright and shoved the hair out of my face. It was dark and Tiddles let out a disgruntled meow before leaping off the bed, which set Tory off. It didn't matter what time it was, they wanted to eat.
Kill me.
"Just the one on one, Baby Girl, don't worry about it." Jake tried to soothe me, but it wasn't really working. Fuck. Tiddles let out another plaintive note and I tilted my head back before I climbed over Coop.
"I hate you all."
Coop balanced me with his hands on my hips and there was no missing his morning wood. "You don't have to go out there," he said almost suggestively.
I snorted. There was a strangled laugh from the floor that had to be Archie, and Ian let out a sigh, but Jake punched Coop in the arm. Right, they didn't want to go out there and accidentally trip over Hank. No way were we having sex with him out there.
Just, no.
"I don't get it," I muttered as I climbed off Coop. "You have no problems dealing with psychotic Maddy, but Hank, who is nice, worries you."
"Maddy we know and hate. We also don't give a fuck what she thinks," Archie explained.
"Hank's different." Coop squeezed my hand. "You like him and you're just getting to know him."
"We're not rocking the boat," Jake finished, and I sighed.
Okay.
That was sweet. Really sweet. But I could still be asleep if they just went to the bathroom and came straight back to bed.
"It's a good thing I love all of you."
I let myself out of the bedroom along with the cats who threaded around my legs. It was pretty dark in the whole apartment. A single light from the kitchen burned, not that I couldn't make the whole walk in the dark. The bathroom door closed behind me and then the second bathroom door shut as I padded into the kitchen.
Boys.
The cats were still meowing as they raced ahead, and I faltered two steps into the kitchen as both the smell of coffee and the sight of Hank standing there hit me simultaneously and chased the remnants of sleep from my brain.
Well, look at that. I saved the boys after all.
"Crap," Hank said as he finished filling a mug with coffee. "Did I wake you up?"
"No," I said slowly. "The guys needed to pee."
Hank frowned before holding out the mug of coffee toward me. Okay, I really liked him. "And that meant you had to get up?" The side-eye he gave me was almost laughable.
"It was a whole thing," I told him. "No biggie."
"They didn't want to run into me on their own yet?" The flash of a real grin warmed his whole face, and I wanted to laugh. Still, I just gave a little shrug. Not waiting for my answer, he asked, "Where's the cat food?" My little heathens were all bouncing back and forth, rubbing against his legs as well as mine.
"Second cupboard," I said with a nod. "I can do it."
"I got it. You drink the coffee." He shot me a grin.
"If you were looking for a way to make nice with me," I told him as I took a sip of the coffee and he fed the cats. It was weirdly domestic. "You nailed it."
His laughter made me grin. "So coffee lover, check." Some of his humor sobered. "What about breakfast? Do you like bacon? Eggs? Or are you more cereal?" He had a mug of his own coffee and glanced around the kitchen.
"Um, I like all of it," I admitted. "I pretty much love food."
The corners of his mouth curved a little higher, but he hid the smile by taking another sip of coffee. "So, not a picky eater?" Curiosity inhabited the question. "I mean outside of the whole pineapple on your pizza thing."
"There's nothing wrong with pineapple on pizza," I countered, and he snorted. It was an inelegant sound, half-dismissive and half-scoffing, but it was also familiar.
"There's everything wrong with pineapple on pizza, but you're young and haven't been educated in proper pizza consumption, so I'm willing to cut you some slack."
It was my turn to roll my eyes. "Let me guess, people in Boston do it differently?"
He gave a little shrug. "Pineapple is a fruit. It shouldn't be on pizza."
"Tomatoes are a fruit," I pointed out. "But I bet you still want red sauce on your pizza."
"Touché." Saluting me with his coffee cup, he smiled a little wider before that expression faded. "I'm not making it weird, am I?"
"No," I said. "You're curious about me and I have a dozen questions about you, but I don't want to be rude."
"Please, God, be rude," he said almost begging as he set the coffee cup down. "Ask me whatever you want and I will..." He trailed off after he opened the fridge. "When was the last time you kids shopped?"
There was just the barest hesitance on that question and while I wasn't going to admit that Jeremy had been doing the shopping lately, I could admit, "We were going to go later today or tomorrow. It's just been a lot of events and family things—"
He closed the fridge and glanced at me. "It's okay to have family things with people that aren't me. We're still working on that part. Not that I plan on it being okay for long because… I want to be your dad, but I can settle for friend right now." Shifting gears, he took another swallow of coffee before he reached for his phone on the counter. "Tell you what, I'll go get breakfast for you kids. What time do we have to be ready by?"
"I still can't believe you came all this way for my graduation just because I called."
"That's why I came," he told me as he met my stare. "Because you should know parents will do anything for their kids." He hadn't asked me about Maddy and I hadn't said much, then again... "And I'm not going to ask about her. If you ever want to talk to me, I'll listen. Right now, I'm focusing on you. So, what would you like for breakfast or should I just go hit a grocery store and get the works?"
Standing, I chuckled. "Why don't I go with you or at least drive, since I know where stuff is, and we can go grab donuts."
"Donuts?" He frowned. "That's not really healthy."
"But they are tasty," I pointed out. "The little place around the corner makes the best apple fritters."
He continued to look at me skeptically, and I bit my lip. Okay, maybe it wasn't about the food.
"I'll grab some pants and we can go to the grocery store if you really want to cook. The guys..."
"They eat a lot, I figured," he told me and slid his phone into his pocket. "I'd like to make you breakfast. But we don't have to."
It pretty much killed all my reservations. "Five minutes."
I downed the coffee and headed back to the bedroom. All four of the guys had gone back to bed, mostly. Ian glanced up from his phone and raised his brows. "Y
ou good?"
"Hank wants to make breakfast." I didn't know what to do with that entirely, but at the same time I really wanted to know what it would be like. "And we need to go to the grocery store."
Sitting up and forward, he said, "Breathe. Do you want me to come with?"
"Yes," I admitted, but... "But he's really nice and I don't think it's totally fair to put a buffer between us. I mean he just fed the cats and he made coffee and he's really sweet. He said he came for graduation because I called. He came because I didn’t believe he'd come just for me."
I had a dad.
I had a dad I kind of wanted too.
It was so weird.
Rising, Ian cupped my face and then kissed me. He tasted like toothpaste, something I needed to do but at least the coffee would help kill the morning breath. Hopefully. "If you want support because you're still finding your footing and he's still a bit of a stranger, then that's perfectly fine. I'll get dressed and we can go together."
Licking my lips, I leaned into him. "You'll protect me and I'll protect you?" I couldn't help tweaking him, just a little. All of them really, it was kind of cute.
"Something like that." Ian gave my ass a gentle squeeze. "Your call, Angel. What do you want?"
Head tilted back, I thought about it even as I listened to the soft snores from the bed. Jake and Coop really liked Hank or they'd never have gone right back to sleep. Still... "Archie? Do you want to come with us?"
"Thought you'd never ask," he answered and rolled out of his bundle of blankets. "Five minutes."
It took us ten, which was fifteen minutes after I asked Hank for five, but he wasn't complaining. I put a Post-it note on Coop's forehead in case they woke up while we were gone. We took my car, and the guys insisted Hank ride up front with me. We also swung by and got lattes and mochas before hitting the grocery store.
Somewhere between the eggs and the Pop-Tarts it hit me that I was out shopping for breakfast food with my dad and my boyfriends on the same day we were scheduled to graduate from high school. Holy crap.