Naughty or Nice

by Jennifer Hanks

  I dropped my camouflage duffle bag from my shoulder to the ground with a heavy thud seconds before I was slammed into by my two youngest brothers. I stumbled back a few steps from the force of their combined weight and attempted to block their shots to my ribs, which was their way of saying hello.

  I shoved them both back and slapped my hand against the side of their heads, making them laugh. Running my hands over my ribs, I scowled. “Fuckers.”

  Ben, the youngest, laughed the hardest. “Brother, it’s good to see your ugly mug.”

  I shook my head but didn’t stop grinning. “You look just like me, dumbass.”

  And he did. Although we all resembled each other very strongly, Ben, Luke and I favored each other the most.

  “Yeah, but I’m not an old man, so I still look good.”

  I grinned. “I’m twenty-eight, fucker. That’s not old.”

  “Brother.” Luke shoved the boys apart and stepped between them. He moved in for a hug, his hand thumping against my back, a gesture I returned. Luke, Brody and I grew up close, not only in age but also in our relationship and because of that, I consider them my best friends. It was hard leaving them and even harder staying away. I’d seen Brody more often because we crossed paths relatively frequently, but this last time it had been over a year since I’d seen Luke. I missed my family, but I really missed my best friend.

  He pushed back, and I saw my dad had moved beside him, repeating Luke’s actions. “Welcome home, son.” His voice boomed in my ear, but I was used to that. Dad had always been loud and never afraid to show or tell any of his kids how much they mean to him.

  “Thanks, Dad.” He pulled back and rubbed his hands together. “Well, let’s get you home. Your mother’s making dinner.”

  I reached down for my bag, my face breaking into a wide smile. My mother had Sunday dinner every week for any of her kids who were home and could attend. I’ve always known it was her way of keeping us close. I’d missed a lot of those dinners over the past ten years, able to count how many I’d attended on one hand. It didn’t compare to how much I missed my brothers and my sister, Grace, though.

  “Thank you for your service,” a sultry voice said beside me, and I turned quickly, coming face to face with a pretty blonde. She smiled, her eyes running across the bag slung over my shoulder, down my legs, and back to my eyes. It was something I was accustomed to having been in the military for ten years and it never got old. Appreciation from beautiful women was something I always welcomed even though I’d learned over the years that some of the women were more attracted to the uniform than the man wearing it.

  “Thank you.” I nodded politely but turned back toward my family, ignoring her look of disappointment.

  Jake moved closer to me while she walked away. “Do those ugly fucking clothes actually get you girls?”

  I laughed and swung my free arm around his shoulders, falling in step beside him. I glanced down at my camo cargo pants and tan T-shirt and grinned. It never occurred to me to wear something else. This had been my wardrobe for ten years. It was going to be a challenge to break those habits and wear civilian clothes again. “Oh, brother, you have no idea.”

  I jumped in the back seat of Luke’s SUV with Jake and Ben and listened to them argue. They were nothing if not entertaining. Being close in age, they were always together, always arguing and competing, but then again, they also supported each other and celebrated together too.

  I saw Luke look in the rearview mirror, his eyes meeting mine, and I recognized the mischievous glimmer in them before he spoke. “So, baby brother, is Mom having a birthday party for you?”

  I shook my head, laughing. Ben hated being called baby brother, which of course, made all of us do it that much more. I watched Ben, who was sitting between Jake and me, reach out and slap the back of Luke’s head. Dad chuckled along with the rest of us, making me feel a little calmer than I had only a short time ago.

  “There’s no birthday party,” Ben mumbled.

  “You should have one,” Luke continued. “You’re going to be eighteen.”

  “Ben and I are having a party next month before he leaves for college. Kind of a birthday slash going away party,” Jake declared.

  “You chaperoning, Dad?” I directed my question at Dad who was already shaking his head.

  “Nope.” He glanced back at me and winked. “I’m taking your mom away that weekend, which means you and Luke are chaperoning.”

  I groaned, and Ben shouted, “Luke can’t chaperone! He’s a cop!”

  “Oh, this party is going to be fun,” Luke teased.

  “Maybe you shouldn’t have one then.” I put out there, hoping like hell I wasn’t chaperoning a party of eighteen- and nineteen-year-olds just to keep their asses out of jail.

  “We have to.” Jake’s voice dropped, almost sounding sinister, which for Jake was odd. He and Ben were always happy and joking, never moody. “Ben needs this.”

  My attention shot to Ben whose jaw had hardened and his eyes focused on the front window. The car grew quiet, no snickers, no grins, and when I glanced over at Jake, his face was solemn. “What the hell happened?”

  “Ben and Jackie broke up,” Luke said quietly.

  That was a surprise. Ben and Jackie had been tied together since their sophomore year. The whole family assumed they’d go to the same college and eventually get married. Myself included. I knew better than to ask, but my curiosity won out. “Why?”

  “Because she’s a whore,” Jake replied.

  “Jake,” Luke reprimanded sharply. Dad dropped his head and ran his hand over his forehead, telling me all I needed to know about the situation.

  “What?” Jake defended himself and looked at me. “She fucked the quarterback.”

  I saw Ben blink slowly, but I couldn’t find the words to make it better. He loved her. I’ve never been in love, but even I could see the love he felt for her every time they were together, or he talked about her. I couldn’t even pretend to understand his pain. Reaching out, I wrapped my hand around his neck and squeezed before leaning in close.

  “Her loss, brother.”

  He nodded, but the cheerful mood was effectively ruined, and we rode the rest of the way in silence, all lost in thought. We pulled into the driveway of my family’s old farmhouse, fixed up over the years by my dad and his brother, Joe, who own Dimarco Construction together. We all grew up working on jobsites, but only Jake decided to join the family business. Even Joe’s son, Cole, decided against construction work and is a mechanic.

  We jumped out, and I grabbed my duffle bag from behind the seat where I’d thrown it. Ben moved ahead of everyone else, and my heart clenched for him. Running my hand through my hair, I watched as Dad caught up to Ben and put his arm around his shoulders while Jake, Luke and I fell in to step beside each other.

  “How bad was it?” I asked aloud.

  “Really fucking bad,” Jake said. “He caught them in the back of Bobby’s truck after a game. Ben lost his mind, ripped Bobby out and beat the hell out of him.” Jake stopped in front of the door, turning to face Luke and me. “If I hadn’t been there, I think he would’ve killed him. And the way he looked at her.” Jake shook his head. “Man, I never saw anyone show that much pain.” He huffed. “He hasn’t been the same since, and it was over eight months ago. That’s why we need to have this party. It was my idea, and I had to talk Ben into it, but we’re having it.”

  “Dad was joking about the chaperones,” Luke said.

  “I know.” Jake nodded. “But I think it would be good for Ben if you two were there. Grace will be there, and I can’t watch out for her and Ben.”

  I smirked, knowing we all felt the same about Grace and had effectively ruined any chance she had at getting a date. Not one of us felt bad about it either.

  “I’ll be there,” Luke stated. “And not as a cop, but as a brother.”

  I nodded. “Me too, brother.”

  Jake shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his
heels. “You know Grace offered to kick Jackie’s ass. Even said Charlie agreed to help her.”

  My eyes widened, thinking about our ultra-girly sister and her best friend Charlie offering to fight another girl. I didn’t think she’d ever even been slapped. “You’re kidding?”

  “Nope.” Jake grinned. “Ben told her no, but there’s not a doubt in my mind that she had words with Jackie.”

  “Mine either.” I agreed, knowing how close Ben, Jake, and Grace were. I lifted my chin, focusing my eyes on Jake. “What about Charlie?”

  Jake cocked his head. “What about her?”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “Have she and Ben ever—”

  Jake snorted. “Shit, no way, man. Charlie’s like a sister to us. You don’t know her that well because you’ve been away, but she’s seriously not Ben’s type.”

  I glanced over at Luke, and we shared a look before he spoke. “I don’t know, brother. She sure does spend a lot of time here.”

  Jake grabbed the doorknob behind him. “Yeah, well, trust me. Charlie doesn’t do it for Ben. If he wanted Jackie, there’s no way in hell he’d want Charlie.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “She coming to the party?”

  He nodded. “Where Grace goes, Charlie goes.”

  “Guess we’ll see what happens then,” Luke chimed in.

  Jake shook his head before reaching over and punching me in the shoulder. “It’s good to have you home, man.”

  I nodded, feeling lighter than I had. As I followed my brothers inside, my grin returned when my mom and Grace squealed and ran at me. I dropped my bag just as they reached me and wrapped their arms around me tightly, reminding me again how much I’d missed my family.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Kasey

  “Kase, what do you think?”

  “About what?” I dropped my lunch bag on the small table, sat down in an empty seat, and whimpered. “Oh my god, why did I wear heels today?”

  Kara giggled across from me. “Did you forget about the kickball playoffs?”

  “Yes.” I grumbled. We were nearing Christmas break, and every year, the classes had a kickball tournament of sorts, with the idea being the kids were not focused the week before break anyway so we might as well do something fun to keep them interested. This year, the fourth-grade classes, including mine, made it to the playoffs. It really was fun, and the kids obviously loved it more than having regular gym class, but I had forgotten today was my class’s day to play, meaning I was standing for hours at a time. In heels.

  “About the new committee the principal is forming?”

  “What committee?” I asked, grabbing the turkey and cheese sandwich out of my lunch bag.

  “To head the local hero program.” Dana added.

  I stopped messing with my lunch and looked at the table, frowning. “I have absolutely no idea what any of you are talking about.”

  “That’s not good.” Melissa’s eyes widened.

  A lot of murmuring followed, and I shook my head in confusion. I was still fairly new, having only been hired last spring to replace a teacher who had moved. “I don’t understand.”

  “If you didn’t know about it, that means you haven’t thought of an excuse to get out of volunteering for the committee,” Dana explained.

  I glanced back when the door pushed open and Mark, one of our fifth-grade teachers, walked through, heading for the coffeepot on the back wall of the small room. He glanced over his shoulder and smiled my way. “Hey Kase, I just saw the hero committee sheet in the office. Cool of you to head it.”

  My eyes widened, and I took a bite of my sandwich, swallowing hard. “What?”

  He walked to sit on the other side of Kara and took a sip from his mug. “Yeah, you’re listed as chairman or chairperson, I guess.” He held up his hand, and a look of disbelief crossed his face. “Wait, you didn’t volunteer?”

  I shook my head and took a deep breath. “No, I just heard about it before you walked in.”

  He whistled and grinned when I threw my sandwich back on the table. I didn’t mind volunteering, but the principal had a bad habit of signing teachers up for things and then telling them about it. “Who else is listed?”

  “Me, but I actually signed up.” He took another drink from his cup. “My brother’s a fireman. I figured I could talk him into it if I was suffering through it with him.”

  I glanced around the table. “So what’s the idea behind this?”

  Kara spoke up first. “To introduce the kids to real-life heroes. Police, fire, you know jobs like that. Find a few to talk about their jobs during the assembly on Monday.”

  I leaned forward. “You mean next Monday?”

  Mark frowned. “Afraid so. Walters had this idea and wants to throw something together quickly to entertain the kids right before break starts, and Monday is their last day, so Monday it is.”

  “How am I supposed to organize an assembly in a week?”

  Melissa looked down at her phone. “Oh shoot, I gotta get back.”

  A few teachers stood and left the room, basically leaving me with Mark and Kara. They glanced at each other and grinned before Kara spoke up. “Don’t worry, we’ll help you.” She stood and gathered her garbage to throw away. “Let’s meet after school, go for drinks and hash out the details.”

  That sounded like fun. I was still getting to know everyone, but Kara and Mark had always been the most welcoming, and I was relieved they offered to help me organize my first event. “That sounds great. Thanks, Kara.”

  She smiled as she walked by me to leave. “Sure. I’ll see you after school.”

  Mark stood when I did, also realizing he needed to get back to his class. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and squeezed gently. “Don’t worry. We got this.” He moved by me toward the door when I stopped to throw away my trash and looked back. “Maybe we can grab dinner this weekend?”

  I tilted my head to the side. “You don’t think we’ll have it all done by the end of the week?”

  He smirked and looked at his feet before returning his gaze to mine. “I meant just dinner. No planning, just getting to know each other.”

  I opened my mouth, but nothing came out before he left the room, leaving me alone in complete surprise. Mark wanted to go out on a date with me? He’d never seemed interested before. Actually, I assumed he had a thing for Kara this whole time. Shaking my head, I threw away my trash and cursed myself again for the heels before heading back to my classroom.

  ~*~

  “Alright, so I called my brother, and he said yes. He also said he could bring a few other guys and the captain.”

  “Oh, that’s good.” Kara nodded.

  I looked at my co-workers, now becoming friends over drinks, and smiled. I couldn’t do this without their help, and I couldn’t have asked for a better team. I’d had a text from Mark to meet them at a bar called Mac’s. I’d never been here but now wondered why. It’s a great little bar, cool atmosphere, and not all that far from my apartment.

  I took a sip from my beer. “I called the police department while I was waiting for you guys to get here, and the dispatcher said he was sure he could line up a few officers.”

  Mark took a drink from his beer. “Who else could we ask?”

  “What about less obvious heroes?” Kara asked. “I thought maybe we could ask doctors and nurses from the emergency department if any would have the time to talk with the kids.”

  “I love that idea.” My smile grew with new enthusiasm. “We could call it Everyday Heroes.”

  “That’s perfect,” Kara agreed, excitement in her voice. I heard my phone ringing from my coat pocket hanging on the back of the chair and reached down to grab it, noticing Mark’s eyes glued to Kara. Shaking off the confusion I felt because of my earlier conversation with Mark, I looked at my phone’s screen and held it up. “The police station.”

  Mark gestured toward the phone. “Answer it.”

  I tapped accept and put it to my ear. “Hello?”

 
; “Is this Kasey?” A deep voice came across the line.

  “Yes.”

  “Hi Kasey, this is Officer Luke Dimarco calling you back.”

  “Oh, hello. Thanks for getting back to me.”

  “Sure.” He paused, making me nervous he was going to turn me down. “The department is happy to have officers come and talk to the kids, myself included.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief and gave Kara and Mark a thumbs-up. “Thank you so much, Officer Dimarco.”

  “Just call me Luke.”

  “Okay.” I paused for a moment when his last name stuck in my mind. “Your last name is Dimarco?”

  He chuckled. “Oh no, which one of my brothers have you had trouble with?”

  I laughed softly. “No, nothing like that. I knew a Chris and Cam Dimarco in high school.”

  “Those are my brothers,” he verified.

  “Wow, what a small world.”

  “Definitely a small town. I’m guessing you didn’t grow up here?”

  “No. Actually, I moved here when I was a senior in high school. I think your brothers were sophomores or juniors then, I can’t remember, but everyone knew them.”

  “I’ll bet they did.” He chuckled again.

  “Sorry, I guess we got off track. Thank you again for agreeing to come to the assembly on Monday.”

  There was a brief pause before he began speaking again. “I have another idea if you’re open to it.”

  I sat up and met Mark and Kara’s curious eyes staring back at me. “I’d love to hear your idea.”

  Mark tilted his head in confusion, and I shrugged, listening for Luke’s voice to continue. “I was hoping you might consider including local men and women from the military.”

  I closed my eyes and felt terrible. Of course, military. Why hadn’t we thought of that? I met Mark and Kara’s eyes before answering Luke. “I’m ashamed we didn’t think to include our military heroes.” I saw realization pass over my friends’ faces. “We would love to include anyone you might know who has served or is serving and on leave, Luke. That’s a fantastic idea.”

  “I have a few in mind,” Luke said. “I’ll have a count for you in a couple of days if that’s okay, but I can assure you the military and police will be represented at your assembly.”