A Perfect Ten

by Linda Kage

  Oren sent me an innocent, What? What’d-I-do? shrug. “Because it was funny,” he answered. “Sounds like something I’d say.” Then he grinned at Brandt and offered him a congratulatory fist bump, to which my brother grinned back and accepted.

  Oh my God. I totally did not understand guys.

  Rolling my eyes, I threw my hands into the air, feeling clueless.

  “Does Noel know you guys are...?” Colton waved a hand between Oren and me. Even he wasn’t sure what was going on between us.

  I folded my arms over my chest and lifted my chin. “Of course.”

  Brandt snickered, knowing better. “So if we mention it to him tonight...?”

  Damn it. “Don’t you even dare.”

  The fourteen-year-old chuckled, telling me just how doomed I was right before he said, “I don’t know, Caroline. I really don’t think he’d like you dating his best friend...the very friend he warns to stay away from you, like, every time Ten visits.”

  Oren groaned and looked up at the ceiling. “Damn...he’s even going to blackmail us for his silence just like I would.”

  I sighed out my acceptance and glared at Brandt. “Fine. Whatever. Twenty bucks.”

  “Gee, big sister.” Brandt scratched his cheek thoughtfully as he glanced from between me and Oren. “This is kind of a big deal. Noel would be really mad if he knew.”

  “Twenty-five?” I hedged, hopefully.

  He snorted. “Try fifty.”

  “Fifty dollars? Are you insane? I’d go tell Noel about it myself for fifty dollars.”

  “Hmm,” Brandt answered mildly, totally not buying my bluff. “It just went up to a hundred.”

  “Oh my God. Seriously, I don’t have that much money.”

  I did, but it was tied up in a banking account with Noel’s name on it too. He was alerted to every withdrawal I made.

  “Fine. Okay.” Oren waved his hands and stepped between me and my brothers. “I have fifty. You chip in fifty,” he told me before he turned to Brandt, “And you keep your damn mouth shut? Capiche?”

  Brandt nodded, the happy gleam in his eyes telling me he was satisfied with Oren’s offer. “Capiche,” he answered.

  Shoulders slumping as he blew out a relieved breath, Oren turned to me. “Your haggling skills seriously suck.”

  “What?” I said just as Colton cried, “Hey, I want a hundred dollars too.”

  “The hundred dollars covers both of you,” I said through gritted teeth

  Brandt snorted. “The hell it does. I’m not sharing with him.”

  “Watch your mouth, you little smart ass.”

  The fourteen-year-old batted his lashes at me. “I’d tell you to watch yours, but it seems Ten’s already got that job covered.”

  “Jesus,” Oren groaned, shaking his head. “He’s a freaking mini me.”

  Unfortunately, yes, he was.

  Just then, approaching footsteps outside alerted us to someone new approaching. All of us in the kitchen exchanged wide-eyed glances, knowing it had to be Noel.

  “A hundred each,” was Brandt’s hushed final offer.

  I began to sweat as I glanced at Oren for help. His eyebrows lifted as if letting me decide our fate. Scowling, I hissed at Brandt. “No way.”

  He shrugged. “Suit yourself.” Then he turned toward the doorway, and as if reading his mind, Colton followed.

  “Noel,” they called together.

  My eyes bugged open. “No!” I screeched just as Oren muttered, “Shit,” and grabbed both boys by the scruff of the neck and hauled them backward so he could growl into their ears. “One fifty each, and you both better be dead fucking silent.”

  Colton and Brandt nodded. Then they stared up at Noel with overly innocent smiles when he opened the back door and stepped inside with an armful of grocery bags.

  Noel paused when he saw them. He glanced from Brandt to Colton and then frowned a little before turning his attention to Oren.

  “Hey. You here to work on your resume with Aspen?”

  As Oren nodded and murmured, “Yep,” Brandt let out a small snort, which caused Noel to slice his attention back to the two boys, who were still standing frozen in front of him and watching him attentively.

  Crinkling his eyebrows in confusion, Noel lifted a finger to waggle between Brandt and Colton after he slowly set the bags on the kitchen table. “Okay, that’s creepy. What’s wrong with you two?”

  “Nothing,” they chorused in tandem.

  I groaned and rolled my eyes. I was going to kill both of my younger brothers, silently, at night with pillows over their faces. Really, it would do the world a service.

  “Seriously,” Noel pressed, still staring at them before his curious gaze moved to me. “What’s wrong with them?”

  “We can’t say,” Colton chimed up. “We’re being paid to stay silent.”

  I slapped my hand to my forehead and groaned. Scratch the pillows. That was way too humane of a way to take them out.

  Noel’s gaze zipped back to me. “Really?” he said slowly. “So what is Caroline trying to hide? Hmm, Caroline?” Then he crinkled his eyebrows with concern. “Have you been crying?”

  When he instantly turned to Oren as if it was his fault, I stepped between the two guys and held up my hands, facing off with my brother. “You know, just because you’re the legal guardian to those two, doesn’t mean you’re one to me any longer. I don’t have to tell you anything that’s going on in my life.”

  Ripping his narrowed gaze away from Oren, Noel shot me a surprised blink. “I may not be your legal guardian, no, but you do still live under my roof. And I don’t appreciate my own sister keeping secrets from me, or paying off Brandt and Colton to keep them from me either.”

  “Well, then I guess it’s time for me to move out.” I straightened my spine and sent him a little ha, take that! smirk.

  He lifted his eyebrows. “Wow. So, this secret is so important that you’re willing to move out just to keep it from me. Thanks, sis. Really, I’m feeling the love here.”

  “Good Lord, Noel. I’m not saying I don’t love you. I’m just saying maybe it’s time I leave the nest and get a little independence. I’m sure Zoey and I could rent a place together.”

  “Whoa, hey. No.” Oren lifted his hands, stepping forward to interrupt. “Blondie’s fine where she is.”

  When I sent him an incredulous glance, he shrugged guiltily. “What? She cooks, and cleans, and keeps Hamilton perpetually happy and off my back. She ain’t going anywhere.”

  “Oh God,” Noel blurted out, horror dawning on his face as he spun to me. “Please don’t tell me you’re pregnant again.”

  “Hey!” Oren boomed and shoved him back hard enough that he stumbled in reverse, just as Aspen gasped, “Noel!” from the doorway.

  As Oren demanded to know what Noel’s problem was, and Noel wanted to know why Oren had shoved him, I reached for the counter to support myself as all feeling once again drained from my body, leaving me cold and exposed.

  Everything I’d learned at the doctor’s office came rushing back, all the words I’d heard, the feelings I’d experienced, the absolute, crushing regret. My chest heaved as I tried to pull in a steady breath, while Oren stepped into Noel’s face, looking livid.

  “I fucking shoved you because that was a douchebag thing to say to your own sister.”

  I wanted to call him off; he was going to get us exposed if he kept acting like an enraged boyfriend standing up for his girl who’d just been insulted. But everything else just hurt so bad.

  “Who the hell do you think you are, telling me how to treat my family?” Noel snarled. “And given her past, it was a completely legitimate question.”

  “Noel!” Aspen stormed forward to poke him in the chest

  But before she could berate him as well, I said, “You know what, it was a legitimate question. Who knows when Caroline will get herself knocked up again? But you’ll be happy to know, big brother, that I can never bother you with another pregnancy scare
ever again. The doctor just informed me today that my baby-making equipment is permanently out of commission.”

  His mouth dropped open. “What?”

  I couldn’t explain any more to him. Whirling away, I raced from the room.

  Watching tears fill Caroline’s eyes right before she rushed from the kitchen and not being able to chase after her had to be one the hardest things I’d ever fucking done—or not done, in this case. Or maybe restraining myself from knocking Noel’s teeth down his throat was the hardest. I couldn’t quite decide. But I’ll tell you one thing; standing there like a dumbass and doing nothing slaughtered me.

  I shook—literally vibrated—with the need to react, while Gamble lifted his hand and spun in a circle, looking to all of us for answers. “Will someone please clue me in on what the fuck just happened?”

  I turned away from him and grabbed the edge of the counter, squeezing as hard as I could to keep from choking him and telling him how much he’d just hurt Caroline.

  “I don’t know about the baby-making equipment thing,” Brandt insisted, lifting his hands in innocence.

  “Ten?” Gamble said, his voice hard.

  Still facing the cabinets, I clenched my teeth. “I just know what I overheard her telling your wife.”

  Gamble sighed. “Aspen?”

  Her voice sounded irritated when she answered. “Like she told you, she just got back from the doctor.”

  I glanced toward Gam in time to see his face pale. Even his freaking lips bleached of color. “And?”

  “And...there was...damage.” Her gaze strayed toward the two younger Gamble boys. But Noel didn’t seem to care about them. He rolled out his hand, asking to hear everything. “That procedure she had last year,” she started tactfully. “I guess she didn’t heal right from it.”

  Gam sucked in a breath and then lowered his face. “Fuck,” he whispered. Covering his face with both hands, he groaned. “Now I feel like total shit.”

  “Well, you should,” I snapped before I could stop myself. “Because you are.”

  Dropping his hands, he turned a glare my way. “Excuse me?”

  “You knew how all that shit affected her. You mentioned how worried about her you were every fucking day. You’d have to be a complete idiot not to realize how sensitive she’d be about the entire topic. And yet you bandied it around tonight like it was some...joke.”

  “Great.” Gam shook his head and glanced up at the ceiling. “I’m getting a lecture about my behavior from Mr. King of Insensitive himself.”

  I sniffed. “Guess that should tell you how fucking wrong you were.”

  He nodded. “You’re right. You’re absolutely right.” With a glance at his wife and two brothers, he announced, “I’m going to go find her. I need to apologize.”

  As he left the room, I rubbed my hands over my face and slumped against the counter.

  “Well, I’m glad you said that to him so I didn’t have to,” Aspen murmured.

  Dropping my arms to my sides, I forced a smile. “Happy to be of service.”

  She sent me a gracious nod. “And in return, I’m happy to glance over your resume.”

  An hour later, my mind was straying. Oh, who the fuck was I kidding? It’d been impossible to concentrate from the moment I’d sat down with Gamble’s woman in the dining room. Overall, she seemed impressed with my format, but she’d definitely used her green pen.

  “I think if you employ the suggestions I made, you’ll get some amazing results.”

  When she glanced at me, I nodded. “Yeah. Thanks.”

  She nodded too and drew in a breath. “So...do you have any places in mind that you’d like to apply to?”

  “Actually, yes. I have a list.” I checked the front door, for like the millionth time in the last sixty minutes, but no one opened it. No Gamble. No Caroline. No boogie man. Where the hell were they? Was she okay?

  “Really?” Aspen sounded surprised by my answer. “That’s...wow, that’s great. I knew Noel was worried you wouldn’t—”

  I cocked her a look, and her eyes flared before she slapped her mouth shut. I sniffed. “He was worried I wouldn’t grow up and look for a real job after I graduated?”

  “I...” She shook her head, completely flustered. “He just...”

  “Takes on the responsibility of the world,” I said for her, “and worries about everyone and everything they do.”

  She smiled softly. “Just everyone important to him.”

  Realizing I was included in that group, I glanced down at my hands, the very hands I’d used to lay claim to his sister.

  I was such a bastard.

  “Well...” Aspen sounded suddenly uncomfortable.

  I looked up. “I’m sorry,” I blurted.

  Her eyes widened and she pulled back in shock. “You’re...I’m...sorry, I’m confused.”

  “I wasn’t very...respectful,” I told her, “when you and Gam were, you know, first hooking up.”

  She swallowed noisily. “Well, it was pretty scandalous and...illicit.” She shrugged and let out a nervous laugh. “Really? What were you to think?”

  “I should’ve thought I had my friend’s back, no matter what.”

  “But, you did,” she started in my defense. “I explicitly remember you coming to my house to cuss me out after I broke up with him. And then you—”

  “I got rip-roaring drunk and hollered at him from across a room full of people asking how you guys did it,” I confessed in a rush.

  Aspen sat up straighter and worked her jaw before exhaling. “Oh,” she finally said. “I...did not know about that.”

  I looked down at my hands. “At the time, I didn’t think anyone would believe me. I mean, I was drunk, and I always spouted off crazy shit. But I bet you anything Marci Bennett was there, in that room, and heard everything.”

  Aspen shivered and hugged herself.

  “All it took was for one person to believe me and do a little investigating, and knowing that has bothered me for a full fucking year.” When she glanced at me, I almost felt the urge to tear up. “It’s my fault you got fired.”

  Her shoulders fell. “No. No, it’s not. It’s my fault I was fired. I’m the one who started a relationship with a student. I knew the rules. I knew the consequences, and I did it anyway.”

  “But—”

  “No. If anything, your actions merely accelerated the inevitable. What happened was going to happen, Ten. And you know what? I’m glad. I ended up with the man of my dreams. I wouldn’t have been able to do that if I’d stayed there. But here I am now, and I’m happier than I’ve ever been, happier than I ever thought I could be. I feel fulfilled in every way, because I’m going to get that goddamn teaching job at that high school, and Noel is going to stop stressing that he somehow ruined my life, and then everything is going to be perfect. So, honestly, I would like to thank you for whatever part you played in all that.”

  I shook my head. Instead of getting mad at me, the woman had ended up thanking me. “That’s messed up,” I said.

  She smiled. “Well, take it or leave it. I’m still grateful for everything you’ve done for us.” This time it was her turn to eye the front door. “It’s been over an hour since they left.”

  “An hour and eighteen minutes.”

  Aspen shot me a knowing glance. I pulled back, hoping I hadn’t given anything away.

  “Caroline’s been so much happier lately,” she said.

  My pulse thundered through my ears. I had no idea how to respond. Was this her way of telling me she knew about us? Or was she just rattling out stray conversation topics?

  “I’m sorry, what?” I asked, my mouth incredibly dry.

  Her eyes flashed wide. “Nothing.”

  I nodded. “Well.” I pushed to my feet. “I’m probably going to shove off. This conversation’s filled my quota of touchy-feely for the next few months, so I’m getting the itching need to go do something really manly like go home, watch some sports in my underwear, and scratch m
y balls for an entire hour.”

  “Oh, good.” Her shoulders released all the tension in them. “Because I was running out of things to say.”

  I chuckled and gathered my things. “You’re all right, Dr. Kavanagh. I mean...shit.” I flashed her an apologetic cringe. She hadn’t been Dr. Kavanagh for months. She was Mrs. Gamble now. Or was it Dr. Gamble?

  “It’s just Aspen,” she told me.

  I slipped the strap of my messenger bag over my shoulder. “See you around.”

  As soon as I escaped the house, I pulled out my phone and started for my truck.

  Where are you? I wrote to Caroline. Meet me. Now.

  I didn’t even have to wait thirty seconds for her reply. I’m not really in the mood for sex tonight.

  “Jesus, woman,” I muttered, and punched in my reply. Wow, you honestly think that lowly of me, don’t you? This isn’t a booty call. I just need you.

  I waited another minute. When she didn’t respond, I growled under my breath and started my truck. Once I made it home, I restrained myself from sending another message until I was in my room with the door shut. Zwinn had been cuddled on the couch, watching one of their shows together, but I’d just grumbled something at them as I passed.

  As soon as I flopped myself onto my bed, I pounded out a new text. Do you even realize how fucking hard it was for me not to race after you when you left the kitchen crying? I just got out of my session with your sister-in-law, and I’m not holding back any longer. If I don’t get you into my arms before the end of the night, I might lose my fucking mind. COME OVER NOW.

  Wow. You have the sweetest way with words, she wrote back.

  I snorted. If you wanted sweet, you would’ve gone after Hamilton. But you wanted me, so this is what you get. If your ass isn’t in my bedroom in twenty, I’m coming for you. I don’t care if I have to break into Gam’s house, push him out of my way, and storm the halls to find you.

  Fine. I’ll be there in five.

  Tell me where you are. I’ll come get you.

  I SAID I WOULD BE THERE IN FIVE.

  Okay. Fine. Damn. I let her win that one and come to me.