by Marie Harte
***
After they wrangled the dog into Brody’s truck, Brody drove Mutt to the toy store while Cam followed behind in his car. Brody scolded the dog to behave, and as usual, the great canine grinned at him as if to say, “Behave? Make me, pretty boy.” Or at least that’s what Brody thought the dog would say if he could talk. He really needed Abby to help him with Mutt.
A legitimate excuse to spend more time with her. Perfect. He beamed at the dog before going into the store with Cam to buy Colin some Nerf guns. The warlike little monster would love ’em. “So you going to stick to me all the way to Bitsy and Pop’s?”
“Those are my orders.” Cam sighed.
Brody had to laugh. “Mike?”
“Colin.”
Brody laughed again. “Well, come on. Let’s not leave Napoleon hanging.”
They made it to the house in half an hour, ten minutes before the festivities were due to start. Since the toy store had wrapped his gift, all Brody had to do was sign the card, which he did in the truck. He carried the present in one hand and Mutt’s leash in the other.
Baffled that the dog never pulled or strained when leashed but acted like an angel, Brody knew he had to figure out how to train the creature before Mutt leaped on some kid without wearing said leash. He couldn’t keep the dog on a tether all the time. Could he?
“Behave yourself,” he said with a warning to the canine.
Mutt panted, his tongue hanging out, and licked Brody’s hand.
“Talking to the dog or yourself?” Cam asked.
“I’m always on my best behavior.” Brody nudged Cam from the door and rang the bell.
Bitsy answered in seconds, apparently waiting for them. “Oh, good. You’re here.” With her expertly cut dark bob that framed a stunning face and soft green eyes, she was the epitome of a warm welcome. She’d kept her figure as well, and Brody thought she and Pop made a convincing argument for marriage. They looked like the perfect couple, like the ones on TV that advertised for a happy, healthy life. The motherly but pretty woman and the manly guy with a touch of silver in his hair.
Then she turned a mean eye on the dog. “He goes in the backyard. And tie him up this time, Brody.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He handed her Colin’s present and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “You look amazing. You losing weight again? You really shouldn’t. You’re too skinny as it is.”
She blushed and pulled him inside.
“Thanks, Mom. I’m good,” Cam shouted through the screen door that had closed in his face.
Brody chuckled and followed her inside. Someday he’d have a house that looked like this. A four-thousand-square-foot home with warm colors, lived-in furniture that actually looked as if someone had spent money on it, and knickknacks all over the place that spoke of a family’s history and travels. She had prints on the walls she’d painted, as well as their artwork from the time they’d started school. He saw several pictures of himself and the guys as kids on the mantel, and he swelled with pleasure at the feeling of belonging.
Most of his trophies and odds and ends remained in a box in a spare room at home. He couldn’t display them in his house as it was now. But someday he’d have a place this nice. He might have a steady girlfriend in ten or more years. Maybe even a wife. It could happen. Of course, she’d inevitably run out on him or tire of him before too long. But he’d have her for long enough to decorate his place.
“Brody?”
He blinked. Had he manifested Abby’s voice out of his desire for a woman by his side? He turned and saw Abby, Vanessa, and Maddie walking out of the kitchen with Flynn on their heels.
“Hey now.” He couldn’t help the broad grin threatening to split his head wide open.
When Abby had mentioned getting together Sunday instead of today, all his plans of togetherness had gone out the window. So much for a weekend of nonstop sex. But bowling with her tomorrow would satisfy him as much, and that had annoyed him as well. Since when did he just want to spend time with a woman who got him hard on command?
Not that he disliked women or didn’t want something steadier than one-night stands, but most of them bored him. He never let them get close, didn’t want to share the intimate parts of himself that they all claimed to need. He didn’t just fuck his dates, but he normally saved his favorite activities for his brothers. Cards, bowling, football. Guy stuff.
Movies, walks along the waterfront, romantic dinners—woman events.
But this woman he’d agreed to go bowling with. She wore a pair of jeans that flattered her sexy ass, and a goofy long-sleeved T-shirt with some grammatical saying on it. Something about there and their that completely bypassed him. She wore a smile on her face and had her hair down, that glorious mane that had only last night settled over his thighs while she wrapped her full lips around his cock. Man, he needed to stop thinking about crap like that with everyone watching them.
“Yeah, we were commanded by Herr Colin to be here. Or else,” Vanessa was saying, so he hastily ripped his gaze from Abby, hoping he hadn’t looked overly horny or desperate to be with her again. Because he wasn’t. At all. He just wanted to be neighborly. Friendly. To offer a hand—or a cock—as needed.
He glanced to Flynn and saw Cam whispering something to him, something that had both brothers grinning at him. Shit.
“Nice to see you again, Brody. You clean up nice,” Maddie teased. “I saw him last night at Flynn’s, and he looked pretty tired,” she said to Bitsy. She stopped speaking and took a healthy step back, and he realized Mutt was straining at his leash. He wanted to jump Maddie.
“Geez, Brody. Have you learned nothing?” Abby rolled her eyes, crossed the room, and took the leash from his hand. She smelled like lilacs or lavender, some floral scent that encouraged him to follow her wherever she went.
Instead, he stood in place and watched as she tugged Mutt to a sitting position and ordered him in a hard voice to stay.
“Pussy,” Mike muttered by his side. “That little woman gets that huge beast to obey, and he leads you around by the nose.”
Colin raced to Mutt and hugged him, both of them nearly at eye level. The dog’s tail wagged and he licked Colin’s face clean of whatever had been on his mouth. Knowing only half of what Mutt had eaten that morning, Brody cringed.
“Ech.” Bitsy took Colin by the arm and dragged him away. “Time to wash your face, mister.”
“But Grandma, he’s kissing me!”
“I know. That’s nice.” Bitsy wasn’t hearing it. “And Brody, the dog? Outside.”
From behind him, he heard Pop add, “The boy comes home and not a hello? Rude.” He slapped Brody upside the head before grabbing him in a bear hug from behind and lifting him.
“Easy, James!”
“Jesus, woman. I’m not an old geezer yet,” he snapped. The same size as Mike, James McCauley looked only a decade or so older than his firstborn and had the strength of a man in his prime.
“Sorry for caring,” Bitsy muttered and dragged Colin with her down the hall.
Brody looked at his brothers, concerned to see them frowning at the interplay. The last few times he’d visited, he’d sensed something amiss between the two, but he chalked it up to one of those dips in marital harmony he often heard about. The ups and downs. Bitsy and Pop had to be in a down. No biggie. They’d weathered plenty before and had come out on top. Not many could say that, especially in this day and age.
“Hey, Pop.” He turned around and smiled at the man he wished could have been his biological father, but had given him everything he’d needed and more anyway. He gave Pop a mock frown. “Hmm. You putting on weight? You seem bigger somehow.”
“Smartass.” Pop chuckled. “We missed you, boy. So Flynn tells me you did a bang-up job at the site. And Abby says you’re ready for me to build you something.”
“I thought I was going to do it?” M
ike frowned.
“Fellas, please. There’s plenty of me to go around.” Brody grinned then winked at Abby. “You sweet thing, you didn’t need to bring in the big guns to clean up my place. Just swing Vanessa around again when she’s in a mood. Eventually the cleanliness will make the house shine.”
“I’d suggest burning it for the insurance money,” Vanessa offered. “But I don’t want to have to go to court and testify to the fact. Why don’t you go burn some candles at home, Brody?” she suggested. “Then leave them alone…”
Cam snickered, as did the others. “And while you’re at it, call in an exorcist.”
Mike cracked up. “Hell, yeah. Isn’t pea green the same color as the tub in your bathroom?”
“You guys are hilarious.” Brody refused to smile.
Abby smirked.
“Not you too. I let you stay with my precious dog as a show of faith. Don’t go ruining my trust by making fun of my castle.”
“Castle? Try dungeon.”
James crossed to Abby and hugged her until she squeaked. “She’s a quick one. Even helped with our website, didn’t you?”
“You helped him before us?” Flynn protested.
“Hey, he asked first. And he paid me.”
“We’re going to pay you.”
“I’m not talking about Monopoly money, Flynn.” Abby frowned at him.
“Oh please. If it’s good enough for the monocle man, I don’t know why it’s not good enough for you.”
“Yeah, Abby. Just think. You buy Park Place or the Boardwalk and you’re set for life,” Vanessa snarked.
Cam grinned and said something that probably made sense to a person who knew finance, because Vanessa laughed out loud. The woman’s eyes were sparkling, and the way she and Cam leaned in to each other told Brody he wasn’t the only one wanting one of Mike’s neighbors.
“Well, well.” Brody stared at Cam until he looked up at him.
Cam made some excuse to help his mother—the coward—and darted down the hall toward Colin.
Abby took Mutt outside while the others fetched drinks and snacks from the expansive feast laid out on the dining room table. A bit formal for Brody’s taste, but the room suited Bitsy to a T.
“Dig in folks,” Pop boomed. “It’s not every day my grandson turns six.”
“Not to be a stickler, but isn’t this his second party?” Vanessa chimed in. Pop glared at her, and she held up her hands. “What did I say but the truth?”
“He missed Ubie,” Mike said as he loaded his plate with wings, fritters, poppers, and other food any health-conscious person would avoid like the plague. Vanessa and Maddie steered clear of the fried stuff, while Flynn, Mike, and Brody hogged the goodies.
Abby returned from the kitchen, where she’d gone with Mutt to access the back porch. “Well, he’s not happy, but he’s not destructive either. I tied him off where he can’t get to anything. Brody, you want to put a bowl of water out there for him?”
“Yeah. Here.” He handed her a plate filled with food her roommates wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. When Abby frowned at the plate, he growled, “Eat it. You know you want some. Don’t be a sissy like your roommates. Your ass is just fine the way it is.”
“And mine isn’t?” Maddie said in a near shout.
Flynn swore at Brody and tried to calm his girlfriend.
Brody left before he could pat Abby’s sexy rear and give himself away, and tended to his dog. The poor thing looked miserable, despite the sunny though chilly weather. With that thick coat, Mutt wouldn’t freeze. But with the fun inside, he was clearly missing out.
“Don’t worry, buddy. I’ll bring you something before we leave. Maybe a nice meatball or some paper napkins to chew on.”
Mutt slapped his tail and licked Brody’s fingers. Then he rolled onto his back and demanded a belly scratch. “Starved for affection, eh?” Might as well be talking to myself. He felt stupid for wanting to spend every available waking moment with Abby, more so now after having had sex with her. The notion to bed and forget her didn’t appear, and he didn’t like this obsession for the woman. She’d even affected his appetite. She made him nervous, and he had to force himself to eat when around her.
He left Mutt and returned to see Colin laughing at Abby, his enjoyment clear. For a moment, with her head turned, Brody had the uneasy sensation of seeing Lea sitting with her son. But the moment Abby turned, he saw her, any hint of Mike’s wife and Colin’s mom nonexistent. He knew, then and there, that this thing he had for Abby had nothing to do with Lea, and everything to do with falling for Abigail Dunn.
Not good.
At least if he’d transferred his affection from Lea to Abby, his deepening feelings for the stubborn woman would make sense. But that he might actually be falling for her all on her own unnerved him. He’d pretty much dared her not to love him at their last meeting. And she’d all but told him she’d have him at her feet begging for more before she was through.
Damn if she hadn’t nailed it, because he wanted to roll over on his back and have her scratch his belly. He wanted her to laugh at his jokes, to hold his hand and invite him back to her place for multi-orgasmic sex.
Instead, he watched her shyly respond to something Pop said. That dichotomy of this Abby—the quiet one with the big smile to the mouthy vixen who liked to give him shit on a daily basis—captivated him.
“You might want to blink, Brody.” Mike punched him in the arm.
“Ow. I was just making sure she didn’t toss the plate I gave her. It totally goes against the grain to give up Bitsy’s wings.”
Mike snorted and in a lower voice said, “Yeah, that’s why you keep looking at her breasts.”
“I’m just trying to read the caption on her T-shirt. What does it say?” He forced a squint, and Mike shook his head and stepped away.
Brody made himself a plate and sat in the living room next to Flynn. They shared obnoxious commentary as Colin opened his second round of presents.
“Wow. This is just like déjà vu,” Flynn said, sounding shocked. “I could have sworn I already got this little snot something.”
“No, Uncle Flynn,” Colin said in his best little-boy voice. “That must have been some other boy.”
“Nice one, kid. You know you got a stuffed dog and video game last week.” Maddie snorted.
“Ohhh, yeah. That.” He grinned at them, the little mini-Mike with his big dimples. “Thanks.”
The others laughed.
When Colin got to Cam’s present, he frowned. “An envelope?”
“It’s a savings bond, dork. So when you’re bigger, you’ll be rich.”
Colin didn’t seem convinced, until his father cleared his throat. Then Colin smiled widely and said, “Uh, yeah. Thanks so much, Uncle Cam.”
The fake cheer made Brody cringe.
Colin opened Abby’s gift. “What’s this?”
“A story about a boy who’s a dark elf. He helps his friends defeat the return of the gods. It’s like Lord of the Rings but for kids and not so bloody.”
Colin’s eyes grew wide. He’d just started to read and had an amazing capacity for retention—according to Momma Mike. “Wait, not bloody? That’s no good.”
Abby laughed. “Your dad can read it to you before bed.”
“Or you could, Abby.” Colin layered his smile with what Brody liked to call the kid’s super charm. “You know, if you and Maddie help babysit me.”
“For God’s sake,” Mike muttered. “Colin, we’re not inviting the entire neighborhood to watch you at night. Just sometimes your uncles and grandparents help out. I’ll read to you.”
“Or I can,” Maddie chimed in.
“Me too, honey.” Bitsy scowled at Mike. “Honestly, son, he wants to read. Encourage him.”
“I’m not…” Mike trailed off as everyone watched hi
m. “Oh fine, you little con man. Everyone can read to you.”
“Not me,” Brody said proudly.
“You have something against books?” Abby asked.
She was so cute when annoyed. “Nope. But when I come over, we’ll play with my present.”
Colin scrambled to open Brody’s gift next, and his eyes grew huge when he saw the guns Mike had forbidden him to have after the last Nerf incident.
“Brody,” Mike growled.
Pop and Flynn grinned, because Mike had expressly forbidden the three of them from purchasing them. But since when did Mike tell him what to do?
“You’re not the boss of me,” Brody said in a singsong voice.
Abby chuckled, and he winked at her. Even better, she winked back.
The others laughed at his antics, and then Colin was loading his gun and shooting everyone and everything in sight with those sucker darts that shouldn’t hurt but did when hit between the eyes.
“Ow.” Brody rubbed his forehead.
Mike glared. “And this is why I said no.”
“Spoilsport.” Vanessa shocked all of them by grabbing the second gun and charging after Colin.
Colin cried for help from the hallway. “Uncle Cam! Save me from—”
“Darth Vanessa,” Vanessa yelled with an evil laugh.
“No, seriously. She makes us call her that at home,” Abby said.
Maddie nodded, and laughter filled the house.
Brody’s heart felt so full he feared it would burst. It felt odd that Abby should fit so seamlessly within his family. So demure until she looked at him with challenge in her eyes. She turned to Bitsy and smiled, talking about some show on television about landscaping that had Maddie chiming in. Flynn sat with his arm around Maddie’s shoulders and argued with Cam, Mike, and Pop about the Seahawks’ chances of taking this year’s NFC West championship.
“Yeah. That’ll happen.” He had to give his two cents. “Just as soon as they name me Pope Brody the XVI.”
Mike grinned. “Sad to say, but yeah. What he said.”
They continued to argue, and Brody was glad he’d come home a day early so he could be with his family. When his cell phone vibrated and rang from his back pocket, he pulled it out and checked the number. Not about to let anything ruin his day, he turned off the phone and tucked it away.