Fierce- Drake (Fierce Family Series Book 3)

by Natalie Ann

  “No clue and don’t care. Maybe he’s in jail.”

  She’d thought of that too, but wouldn’t he have said that with his message? And why use his only phone call knowing she might not answer? No, she didn’t buy that. “I guess it doesn’t matter. I want nothing to do with him.”

  “I don’t blame you. He’s nothing but a lowlife loser.”

  “And yet you had no problem leaving your fourteen-year-old daughter with him?” she asked, knowing there was outrage in her voice. That control she always had never lasted when she talked to her mother.

  “I told you why. I don’t know why you keep bringing it up.”

  “Never mind,” she said. “I’ve got work to do.”

  She hung the phone up and looked at her shaking hands. She was never going to get them out of her life. Not if she let them affect her this way.

  ***

  “Got a second?” Garrett asked Drake when he walked into his office. He’d been watching for him out of his office window and saw his car pull into the parking lot.

  “Sure. What’s up?”

  “I talked to Kara this morning.”

  “I figured you would.”

  “Not even concerned about what I might have said?” he asked his oldest son.

  “Should I be?”

  “No. I just wanted to tell her I was fine with it. I figured she’d appreciate that.”

  “I’m sure she did.”

  He turned to leave, but then stopped and added, “I also invited her to Sunday dinner. I told her we’ll let you know what time before then.”

  He laughed. “She agreed?”

  “Do you think I gave her much of a choice?”

  “Oh, I’m sure she could have said no, but would have felt it’d be rude. That isn’t her.”

  “No, it’s not. She’s a good girl. You did good, Drake.”

  He walked out before Drake could make a comment on that and wanted to pat himself on the back for that lie. Grant and he did good. Drake had nothing to do with it.

  A Family Dinner

  “I’m so sorry for this,” Drake said when he pulled into his driveway.

  Here he was all excited that Kara spent the night on Saturday. He’d stayed at her house Friday, as she didn’t want to be gone two nights from Tyson. They’d been out all day on Saturday, but stopped back over to feed and give Tyson fresh water before they left for the night. Then this morning went back over to check on him again before coming here.

  Little did he know he’d be pulling into his parents’ driveway and would see Noah’s, Jade’s, and Wyatt’s cars already here.

  “Why are you sorry?”

  “No one told me it was a family dinner.” He suspected they’d done that on purpose too. Everyone was sneaky in his family. Jade or Noah could have mentioned something before now, but neither of them did.

  “I expected it with the way your father put me on the spot with the invitation.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that. I could have made an excuse if you really didn’t want to do this.”

  “It’s not a big deal at all. I’m just not used to big family affairs. I’m warning you now if I’m quiet.”

  “You’re always quiet. They won’t think anything of it. And you’ve met everyone.”

  “I’m not always quiet,” she said back.

  “Are we going to have an argument before we even get out of the car?”

  “Sorry. No. I guess I’m a bit nervous.”

  He reached his hand over and patted her leg. “No reason to be nervous.”

  “Easy for you to say. You lived with these people.”

  “And you work with three of them. We are all harmless.”

  “Let’s get this over with. I wish I got another bottle of wine now.”

  She was adamant they stop for wine. She refused to show up empty-handed. He told her a few wines his mother liked and she grabbed one.

  “Don’t worry about it. Jade is the only one that will have a glass with my mother. The rest of us drink beer. Unless you have a glass. Will you? Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve seen you drink anything alcoholic.”

  “I don’t drink. Not really.”

  “Because of your father?” he asked quietly.

  “Yeah. Let’s go in,” she said, opening the door and getting out, putting an end to the conversation. Smooth move, Drake, he thought to himself.

  ***

  She took a deep breath before she walked into the front door that Drake was holding open for her. It felt like she was being thrown to the wolves, even knowing how ridiculous that was.

  She knew these people. They were all nice to her in the past. No one had treated her any differently when they found out she was dating Drake.

  But she’d yet to see Carolyn Fierce since she found out and that was the one person Kara was afraid of. Or afraid she might not like who her son was dating.

  “Kara,” Carolyn said, walking forward with her arms out like she was going to hug her. Oh man. She wasn’t the hugging type at all. “It’s so good to see you again.”

  There was nothing for Kara to do but go in for the embrace and return it. “It’s good to see you too. I brought you a bottle of wine. Drake told me this is one of your favorites.”

  “It is. That was very sweet of you. It will go great with dinner tonight too. I hope you like Italian. I’ve got a big pan of lasagna in the oven.”

  “Italian sounds wonderful. I’m not a fussy eater at all.”

  “You must not be too fussy since you’re dating Drake,” Wyatt said from the couch in the family room that she and Drake stopped in.

  “Ass,” Drake said back. “Ignore my brothers.”

  “It’s fine,” she said back, smiling.

  “The women are normally outnumbered in our family,” Jade said. “Anytime one of my brothers bring home a woman my mother and I like, we corral her onto our side. Trust me, it doesn’t happen often.”

  Nothing like getting the stamp of approval the minute she walked in the door. It was almost like Jade knew she needed that. Maybe even Carolyn thought it.

  Having never been in a family that cared one way or another, it was nice. Kind of...comforting.

  Drake put his arm around her shoulder, kissed her forehead and whispered in her ear, “I told you there was nothing to be worried about.”

  And an hour after dinner they were all sitting in the living room. The men were drinking a beer, the women a glass of wine, she was sticking with water. Carolyn had just brought out a tray of cookies that she’d made.

  Kara didn’t hesitate to reach for the peanut butter one, having Carolyn say, “Drake told me they were your favorite when I asked.”

  “They are. I’m pretty simple at the heart of it, but there is nothing like a good peanut butter cookie.”

  “Simple,” Drake said. “You are anything but.”

  She turned her head and shot him a look, then grinned at him. “Aren’t you the one that always complains about my lack of color? That’s simple.”

  “Okay, I’ll let you have that one. We don’t need to argue in front of my family.”

  “Why? You do it at work all the time,” Jade said.

  “We like seeing Drake lose his cool,” Noah said. “It doesn’t happen often.”

  “It seems to happen all the time with us.”

  She looked around the room and saw everyone smiling, Drake’s parents giving each other a look and she had no clue what that meant.

  “So I guess you aren’t going alone to Ella’s wedding,” Noah said to Drake.

  “I hadn’t planned on it, but haven’t asked Kara yet either. Guess now is as good a time as any.”

  What was it with this family asking questions and putting her on the spot? “When is it?” she asked.

  “A few weeks. I don’t know the exact date. The second weekend of September,” Drake said.

  “It’s in Charlotte?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Carolyn said. “Of course you need to go so we can introduce
you to the rest of the family. Dani and Payton will be going too. You won’t be the only girl.”

  “What about me?” Jade asked.

  “You don’t count,” Drake said. “You’re going to be at the head table.”

  Jade laughed. “Sorry. Didn’t think of that.”

  “I’m not bringing a date this time,” Noah said. “The last wedding didn’t go well with Marie and we were dating. I need a break.”

  “I suppose if you are going stag I can do the same,” Wyatt said. “I hadn’t decided, and honestly, I totally forgot about it and finding someone that is free will be more hassle than it’s worth. You can say thank you, Noah.”

  Drake laughed. “He thinks he’s doing you a favor so you aren’t the only one stag. Got to love it.”

  “I can get a date in five minutes if I wanted one,” Wyatt argued. “I’m not doing anyone a favor. We know Ryder will have someone on his arm, so maybe we should leave Noah all by himself.”

  “Now, boys,” Garrett said. “We’ve got company and there is no reason to get into one of your little tiffs or competitions.”

  “It’s fine,” Kara said. “Drake told me all about how no one wants to go stag. That’s why he had a date for Cade’s wedding.”

  “He told you about that?” Noah said. “Did he tell you we had to leave early because he needed to get back to you?”

  She felt her face flush when everyone laughed in the room. Wow, this family could be a little much. “Matter of fact, he did. I gave him grief for showing up when he should have been with his family.”

  “Good girl,” Carolyn said. “We told him he shouldn’t have left either, but he said Noah wanted to.”

  “Why did you throw me under the bus?” Noah said.

  “Because I mentioned it and you all but begged me to leave too. Are you going to deny it?” Drake said.

  She watched the twins bantering back and forth. Both of them with grins on their faces. Yeah, this was the kind of family she’d never been around before. One she never knew existed. And surprisingly, she was thrilled she was being accepted into the fold.

  Legacy And Name Alive

  They were on their way to Ella’s wedding. A night wedding, which gave them time to check into the hotel at three and get ready there.

  The last thing she wanted to do was be all rumpled from the drive to Charlotte in the dress she bought for the event.

  “Nervous?” Drake asked her.

  “No. I’ve been to a wedding before.”

  “That isn’t what I meant and you know it. You’re going to be meeting the rest of my family.”

  “I know most of them. I haven’t met Sam and Dani or Bryce and Payton yet, but have everyone else that is in Durham.”

  After the dinner with his family a few weeks ago, Drake had wanted her to meet the rest of the family, but it seemed everyone had plans and she didn’t push it. She wanted to spend the time they had together knowing they kept their distance at work.

  As far as she knew, no one was the wiser to her and Drake’s relationship.

  “You’re going to meet my Aunt Jolene and Uncle Gavin and the Five.”

  “Are they always called the Five?” she asked. She’d been hearing about them in bits and pieces since she started dating Drake so she almost felt like she knew them already.

  “Pretty much. I guess they can be called the ten now with Ella getting married. And then there are the kids, or those that are on the way.”

  “When are Brody’s and Aiden’s wives due?” she asked. “Do they know what they are having?”

  He laughed at her. “I’m not good at this stuff. Aimee is about eight months and I think Nic a month behind. Don’t know their exact dates. Too many people to keep track of. As for the sex of the babies, both of them are having boys.”

  “The girls are really outnumbered, aren’t they?” She’d never heard of a family so lopsided before.

  “Need to keep the legacy and name alive,” he said back, taking his hand off the steering wheel and patting her leg. “Do you want kids?”

  “How did this get turned to us?”

  “It’s just a simple question,” he said.

  “And you asked me it months ago or don’t you remember?”

  “I do. I guess I’m still just checking to see if your answer changed.”

  “There is no reason for it to change,” she said. “Or are you afraid I’m going to see your entire family together and freak?”

  It’d been less than two months they’d been together. Though she felt her heart starting to soften and slide into a zone she’d never experienced before, she wasn’t ready to start planning weddings and baby names with Drake either.

  “I think you are tougher than that.”

  She always thought she was a pretty tough person. Strong enough to live in the household she did, then get the hell out the first opportunity.

  “That’s good to know you feel that way.”

  The rest of the drive was taken with them just chatting back and forth. Some of it about work, some about his family, the rest about things they wanted to do in their spare time.

  They checked into the hotel, got ready for the ceremony, and were just waiting for Noah and Wyatt to come to their room so they could all go to the church together for the ceremony. The wedding reception would be held in the ballroom of this hotel. A place she could only imagine the cost of per night. Way out of her league.

  “Do your brothers normally share a room?” she asked.

  “No. They usually have dates, but as you know they went stag. No use trying to get separate rooms for the night. They got here a little after us. Wyatt was running late, Noah said.”

  “Bet Noah hated that.” She’d been told enough that Noah liked to be in charge and Wyatt liked to push his buttons.

  “There is a good reason the four of us didn’t ride together. Jade came down on Thursday morning, as she and Ella had a bunch of things to get ready for. My parents got here yesterday morning. They are staying the full weekend along with my Uncle Grant and Aunt Diane.”

  “Your family is really close, not just the kids, aren’t they?”

  “It all started with our parents. My grandfather, my father’s father, died when my father and Uncle Grant were young. Uncle Gavin was older, but not even a teen, I don’t think. Don’t remember. He stepped up and helped raise the two of them. Even helped put them through college.”

  “Wow. I didn’t know that,” she said.

  She couldn’t even get her mother to let her live with her, asking for any money for college would have been out of the question. Heck, her mother had barely bought her clothes when she needed them. As soon as Kara could get a job, she did. She even started to babysit at fourteen so she had something of her own.

  “Yeah. Once they both graduated, my Uncle Gavin bought the bar and gutted it and redid it. He’d been working construction for years. His brothers drew up all the plans for him, made sure he got all his licenses and permits. Anytime they’ve added to the business, my father or uncle did most of the work for it. The plans and so on. They say they could never give back enough.”

  “If your Uncle Gavin is anything like your father or Grant, then I’m sure he doesn’t want anything.”

  “No. He doesn’t. The firm is big and successful. You know that. You see the numbers. It’s nothing compared to Fierce, the bar, the restaurant, and the brewery. And all those additions to the business happened when the Five were out of college.”

  “They did it for their parents, didn’t they?” she asked, having a good understanding of this family.

  “They did. My aunt and uncle are retired for the most part. The Five run the business with their spouses and now my aunt gets to enjoy the grandkids.”

  “It’s like a story out of a book, your family.”

  He laughed. “Not quite. It’s not all picture perfect. It just seems it to the outside world, but we’ve all had our issues. Nothing major. None of us would ever do anything to jeopardize the fam
ily name. Ever.”

  She looked over to see the determination on his face. A tone she’d never heard before from him.

  “My last name isn’t of importance and it’s a good thing. Not a lot of good attached to it.”

  He stood up and walked toward her, pulled her into his arms, the sight of him in his black suit making her blood pump faster than pistons in a race car.

  So tall, so handsome. His dark hair never out of place, his brown eyes looking into hers, deep with understanding that was almost too scary to even consider.

  “You’re good. That’s enough,” he said.

  She laid her head against his chest and just savored being held in his arms.

  ***

  Drake hated how Kara always felt like she didn’t measure up to his family. Or any family.

  She never came right out and said those words, but he knew enough about her to know what she felt.

  It was the little comments like his family being a storybook.

  If the story was about hard work and determination, then sure. But if it was about having easy street paved for them to stroll hand-in-hand on daily, then no way.

  Not that it was anything like the life she had growing up and that was why he didn’t say much when she talked about her past.

  He tried to listen and just be there for her.

  No one would know anything about her past that she’d told him by looking at her.

  And that boring wardrobe of hers was out the window tonight.

  “You look just beautiful today. I’m shocked you bought a green dress.”

  “It’s not too much, is it? Jade picked it out and all but pried the credit card from my fingers to buy it.”

  “It’s perfect.”

  It fit her body that way too. Her slim body that he couldn’t wait to get out of the dress that was clinging in all the right places. It had a high neck and was sleeveless with a black belt drawing his eyes to how tiny her waist was. The hem fell to the floor, with a slit on one side that came to mid thigh that would be teasing him all night long. Even the black heeled sandals she had on with a French manicure screamed class, not a girl from a broken family in Detroit.