This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or the publisher.
Mannies Incorporated
Torquere Press Publishers
PO Box 2545
Round Rock, TX 78680
Copyright 2012 by Sean Michael
Cover illustration by BSClay
Published with permission
ISBN: 978-1-61040-410-5
www.torquerepress.com
All rights reserved, which includes the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever except as provided by the U.S. Copyright Law. For information address Torquere Press. Inc., PO Box 2545, Round Rock, TX 78680.
First Torquere Press Printing: December 2012
Printed in the USA
Mannies Incorporated
By Sean Michael
Prologue
Drake rolled in and tossed his keys at the bowl on the coffee table before grabbing himself a beer. The phone started ringing just before he got to his chair, so he grabbed it, grinning when he saw Mindy's name.
"Hey, baby sis."
"Hey, you. How's it going?"
He shrugged. Overtime was beating his ass. He needed to get laid but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. And gas prices were fucking through the roof. "It's going. What's up with you?"
Things had been hard for Mindy, ever since her husband Jerry had been killed in action in Afghanistan, leaving her with three little kids, and a full-time commission in First Cav herself.
"Busy, you know how it goes. I, well, I'm being deployed for twelve months."
What? He sat up, putting his beer on the table. "They're making you leave?"
"I leave April first, home April next year." The tears were right there at the surface of her voice, he could hear them.
"It's April in like three days, honey." Good one, Drake, like she needed to hear that. He got up and started pacing. "Where are they sending you?"
"Kabul. I'm retiring after this one, but… I got the chaplain involved, a Senator. It doesn't matter."
"Okay, Min. It's going to be okay." He had a few weeks of vacation time owed, he could take it. Maybe see if they'd give him a few months off. Something. He would be there for his little sister. "We'll figure it out."
"There's nothing to figure out. Slayde's got it. He's perfectly capable of dealing."
"What, the nanny?"
She could not leave his nieces and nephew with some stranger. No way.
"Yes, Drake. The nanny."
"So you're leaving them with a stranger." He'd quit if he had to.
"He's been with us since Christian was a newborn."
"He's still the nanny."
"Yes, and he loves these kids. Who else am I supposed to get, Drake? Jerry's folks? His dad just had a heart attack, his mom hasn't gotten out of bed since Jerry died. You want me to call dad, Mr. Vodka on my Cheerios for fucking breakfast?" Man, she could yell.
"Obviously not, Minds." He stopped pacing and ran his hands through his hair.
"Okay, then. Quit bitching at me. Jennifer's not even going to remember me."
The baby was going to be two in, what? July?
"Which means she won't remember that you were gone when she's older." Right? He could find her a silver fucking lining if he had to.
"I hope not." The tears really started then. "I'm going to miss Christian's first day of school, Drake."
"You'll get pictures. You'll Skype with them, honey and he'll tell you all about it." He hated it when she cried. He always had. Always.
"I swear, when I die, I'm going to kill Jerry again, for leaving me here."
"Are you kidding? You're going to be so old you won't have the strength." He begged her silently to stop crying.
"Oh, Drake. This sucks, so hard."
"I know, Minds. I'm sorry." He knew she was strong enough to deal with this, he just had to… change the subject or something. "Are you packed?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I am. I have everything dealt with."
"It's going to be okay, I promise." He made the promise, knowing he might be lying. It was what she needed to hear, though. "You wait, it'll be next year before you know it."
"I hope so. I miss you, honey, so much."
"I miss you too, sis." She was basically his only family. Her and the rugrats. And she was going to have to leave those babies with some… stranger. He was going to have to do something about that. They should be with family. "I'll throw you a big party when you get back, Mindy."
"You promise? A retirement party?"
"You know it."
"Okay. Okay, I'm sure I'll call about a dozen times before I leave."
"Are you kidding? You've got three days -- you're going to call me a hundred times."
"At least." She stopped, sighed. "Love you."
"Love you too, Minds. Be safe, huh?"
"I'll do my best. I promise." The line went dead.
Drake's beer didn't taste good anymore. He went to the sink and poured it out, tossed the bottle in the recycle bin.
He was gonna have to figure out what to do for Mindy and those babies.
Chapter One
"Uncle Slayde?"
"Yes, Christian?" God, he had a headache.
"The baby colored on the table."
"Well, good thing it washes, huh?" He ruffled Christian's -- not Chris, his name was not Chris, thank you very much -- hair and headed into the kitchen. Maggie sat her booster seat coloring away while Jenny busily ate her blue crayon. It was a good thing they were non-toxic, too. "Out of your mouth, Jenny girl. Maggie, on the paper, not the table. Christian, do you want to color, too?"
"Coloring's for girls."
"It is? Nonsense. Art is amazing. Your other options at the moment are reading at the table, clay, or practicing your writing. I need to clean up the kitchen and start lunch."
Then they were all taking a nap so Slayde could sit for five minutes and go through all the mail, the bills. Good thing he loved Mindy and her kids, or he'd run screaming into the night.
A racket sounded outside. Maybe a motorcycle. After it stopped, there was a knock at the door.
"Christian, can you please keep an eye on your sisters? I need to answer the door."
"Yes, Uncle Slayde."
He went to the door, opening it to a stud in leather. "Can I help you?" Lick you all over? Direct you to Austin?
"It's Slayde, right?"
"Yes, sir." He held firm to the door. No way was he letting this guy in, no matter how hot the man was.
The guy put his hands on his hips. Shit, he was amazing. "Drake Baltimore. Mindy's big brother. Are you going to let me in?"
"Nope. Do you have any ID?" He'd never met Drake, somehow. The man tended to visit when he was on vacation.
"Excuse me?"
"ID. Identification. Driver's license. Military ID. Something with your picture and your name and some way to prove you are you." Slayde wouldn't risk these babies.
The guy stared at him for a long moment before pulling out a wallet from his back pocket, opening it, and holding it up to his face. "Happy now?"
"Well, no, but you're Drake. How can I help you?"
"You can let me in." Drake was starting to growl now.
"What's wrong?" He backed up, frowning. "Mindy didn't mention you were coming."
"I told her it would be okay, that I'd take care of everything. So I'm here to take care of the kids." Drake stepped over the threshold, and Slayde noticed for the first time Drake had a bag over his shoulder. "So where're the rugrats?"
"I'm not going to…" Drake snorted and headed for the kitchen. "Hey, Christian! Come say hi to your Uncle Drake."
The kids stared, all of them, then Jenny started to cry.
"Great." The kids all looked at Slayde, eyes wide. "You have company, how neat is that? Momma must have forgotten to email and remind us!" He was going to kill someone.
"Christian? I know Jenny's too little to remember me, but you and Maggie must."
"Do you remember your uncle? Momma's brother? He came last summer and you went to San Antonio to see the dolphins?"
"We had cotton candy and alligator on a stick?" For the first time since Slayde had answered the door, Drake looked disconcerted.
Christian came to him, took his hand, and Slayde knelt down. "He's the one with the motorcycle."
"Oh…" Christian's eyes lit up.
"Your Mom called me to let me know she was going away and I came as soon as I could."
But why? And why didn't she let Slayde know?
Drake stepped from foot to foot. "So uh. It's lunch time, huh?"
"It is." Slayde sighed, went to Maggie, who looked stunned. "Peanut butter sandwich, Mags? Or spaghetti?"
"We could go to McDonald's. My treat."
"No. No, we can't." He shook his head, eyes wide. "Maggie is gluten-free, Uncle Drake, and Jenny is terrified of Ronald. Like hysterical."
"But I like McDonald's!" Christian whined.
"Gluten-free? What the hell is that?" Drake grinned at Christian. "I like McDonald's too."
"Gluten-free. No wheat. No barley. No buns. No wheat-soaked French fries. No McDonald's." Oh, God. What was the son of a bitch doing here?
"Seriously?" Drake gave him a wide-eyed look. "What does that leave?"
"Food." He bit the word out. "Peanut butter and jelly, guys?"
Maggie nodded, Jenny threw a crayon, and Christian burst into tears.
Drake turned to him. "You call this taking care of the kids?"
"Get out." He pointed to the front door. "Now." Right now this was his responsibility. This was his home and he was in charge of taking care of things until Mindy came back.
"I don't think so." Drake crossed his arms over his chest and glared.
"I will not do this in front of the children and they need their lunches. If you'd like to come back in the morning, after I get a chance to speak with their mother, that can be arranged." He was going to lose his shit.
"I biked all the way from California, man. I'm not 'coming back in the morning'. These are my flesh and blood. You're the interloper here." Drake went to the cupboards and began to look through them. "How does she eat peanut butter and jam without bread?"
"I make the family gluten-free bread." Interloper? Him? He'd spent exactly five weeks away from these children since Christian was born. He'd been in the delivery room when Jenny was born, for Christ's sake.
He picked Jenny up and looked at Christian. "Dry it up, kiddo. Sandwiches, then a nap. We're making pizza for supper, if you're good, remember? And there's cartoons this afternoon."
"Okay, then." Drake opened the cupboard with the peanut butter. "Aha! Success. See? I can feed them."
"That's Uncle Slayde's peanut butter, not ours." Christian frowned. "Uncle Slayde's has pieces in it."
Drake poked around, finding the creamy peanut butter. "This one, kid?"
"I'll get it." Slayde got milk for the baby, apple juice for the other two. Carrot sticks and bananas, three pieces of gluten-free bread cut, Christian's crust removed. Strawberry for the boy, grape jelly for the girls.
Drake leaned against the cupboard and watched. "That's quite the production."
"It is." He cut the baby's sandwich into little pieces; the other two got halves. His head was going to explode.
"I'll have mine with grape jelly. A whole one as I'm a much bigger boy than Christian."
He made sure the kids were eating, then he handed Drake two pieces of bread on a plate. "Here." Coffee. He needed coffee.
"Gee, thanks." Drake grabbed the peanut butter and slathered some on his bread, added grape jelly, and closed the sandwich. Then he poured himself a big glass of milk and sat at the table, grinning at the kids.
Jenny was almost asleep in her sandwich and Maggie was singing to her banana. Christian chattered while Slayde poured himself a huge cup of coffee.
"Okay, you three. Finish up. Maggie, do you need to potty before nap?"
"They're all out of diapers? That's cool." God, Drake was clueless.
He didn't bother to answer. He picked Jenny up, took Maggie's plate. "Christian, you have five more minutes, okay?"
"Uh-huh. Five minutes."
"Everything's run military style, I see," Drake noted.
"Everything runs." He really was going to lose his shit. All over this guy.
Drake shot him a look over the top of his glass of milk, finishing it up. "You got a problem, man?"
"We'll discuss that during naptime."
"Whatever you want." Drake stole a bite of Christian's sandwich, making him laugh.
"Four minutes, Christian."
Christian nodded. "I'll be up, Uncle Slayde."
"Good boy. Come on, girls." Jenny was already asleep, Maggie whining softly.
"You want me to come up with you?" Drake asked.
He shook his head and made a beeline upstairs. He didn't need help. He'd been doing nap time for years. He plopped Maggie on the toilet, changed Jenny into Pull-Ups without waking her. By the time Maggie was in bed, Christian was at the top of the stairs.
"I can look at my book if I'm quiet?"
"Of course."
He and Christian had an agreement -- he pretended he didn't know that Christian actually slept; Christian pretended that he didn't need naps.
He was hoping that Drake would be gone when he went back downstairs, but the man was there, sitting in the living room, clicking through channels on the TV.
"What, exactly, are you doing here?" And how long did the man intend to stay?
"I came to help take care of the kids while Minds is away. They should have family around."
Slayde couldn't fucking believe it. "Does she know you're here?"
"I told her I'd help, that I'd make sure everything was okay."
"That's nice. Everything is okay. We're just having our summer."
"Sounds cool. I'm good at summer activities. I assume I can take Mindy's room?"
"You cannot." He blinked. "We're going to Skype her, right now."
It was one o'clock, so eleven p.m. for Mindy. He checked in every evening before her bed and then the kids talked to her every morning.
"Good. Because I'm not sleeping on the couch, and I don't see why I can't take her bed."
"Because it's her bed." And this was her house.
"Well, yeah, but she's not here and unless you're offering to share, I know there's nowhere else for me to sleep." Drake shifted, turning to look right at him. Man, those eyes were green. "I'm her brother."
"Good for you. This is her house and, until she's home, I call the shots. Let's go get her."
"You call the shots? You're just the nanny! Call her the fuck up."
"I'm the person she and Jerry chose to have custody while they weren't available. Right now, I am these children's legal guardian." He wasn't "just" anything. He was family.
"And I'm their family. I'm not saying I don't think you should be here helping out, but that doesn't mean I'm leaving." Drake was back to frowning and growling.
Slayde went to the computer, logged in, praying that Mindy wasn't busy, wasn't going to miss… Thank God.
"Hey, honey. How are the kids? Napping? Is Jenny still sniffly?"
"They're fine. Napping, and no. She's right as rain."
He felt Drake come up behind him, face coming up right next to his. "Hey, Sis!"
"I told you I'd make sure the rugrats were good. I came to be with them while you're away."
"What? You have a job, Drake, a life. You can't just drop everything."
"Of course I can. I gave my two weeks' notice and came to be here for you. You cried, Minds."
Slayde couldn't help but be hurt. He had been taking care of the kids forever. Mindy's trust was important to him.
"Of course I cried -- I was having to leave my babies for a year. I never asked you to give your job up!"
"I thought that's what you wanted."
"Drake, I would never ask you to do that! Ever! You're a good man. Really."
"Okay, well, you didn't ask, but I did it for you and the kids. I'm here now. It's a good thing, right?"
"I…" She looked at Slayde, who looked back. "Put him in my room, honey, at least until I figure out what to do. You look tired, you okay?"
"Working hard." He winked.
"Well, there you go -- I can help." Drake sounded like that settled it.
"Help how, exactly? What the hell do you know about children?" Slayde asked.
"Slayde…"
"Sorry, Mindy. He just showed up like he belonged here."
"I do belong here! I'm their fucking uncle, Mindy's brother. And I'm right fucking here, nanny-boy."
"Drake!" Mindy's voice snapped out. "I will not have you disrespecting Slayde. This man has been taking care of the kids since Christian was born."
Drake growled, the sound quiet, deep. "Sorry." The word was bit out. "I haven't exactly been welcomed."
"You didn't even call to let me know you were coming!" Slayde was trying very hard not to shout.
"For some fucking reason I thought you, or you know, the kids, would be happy to see me. Obviously, I was wrong. Sorry, Sis, I guess I screwed up. Don't worry, I won't put anyone out." Drake turned on his heel and headed for the front door.
He looked at Mindy, wide-eyed. "Do you want me to get him for you?" No wonder no one had ever let them meet. Drake was an asshole.
"Please, honey."
"Dude, Drake. She wants to talk to you. I need to get some work done. You'll have privacy."
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