by Emilia Finn
“What?” I look around, like I think someone will save me. “What did I do?”
“I don’t like him.”
“Baker?” I move up the steps and stop beside the man I’ve assumed since I was fifteen would one day become my father-in-law. “Nobody likes him.”
He rubs a hand along his jaw so his stubble crackles against his skin. “Evie does. She likes him, and when you’re not around, she acts less… demon-possessed.”
“I don’t want to know this,” I groan. “Please don’t tell me how sweet she is on the guy.”
“I don’t know what to do, Ben. Because she swears she likes him, but he gives me hives.” He scratches the back of his neck to emphasize his point. “The dude watches her, and when he smiles, my stomach drops out of my asshole.” He looks up and meets my eyes. “You smile at her too, but it doesn’t creep me out.”
“I mean…” I cough to clear my throat. “I guess that was a compliment. In a backhanded sort of way.”
“It wasn’t,” he assures me in a cold tone. “A compliment, that is. I’ve worked through my weirds with you. I was able to process it for years, so by the time you started dating, I was mostly okay with it. But I swear, Conner. I had no clue she was bringing someone home this year. I wasn’t given time to prepare, so now I don’t know if I’m judging him because I’m her dad, or if I genuinely just don’t like the guy. Maybe he’s nice, and maybe, if he was here dating someone else, I might like him. But he holds her hand, and I want to snap that motherfucker off.”
“Did you… uh…” I swallow. “Did you ever wanna snap my hands?”
He nibbles on his bottom lip in thought, but shakes his head. “Nope. You were one of us, and breaking my contender’s hands would be a bad business move.”
I chuckle. “He could be your contender.” I look toward the house. “He’s big, he fights. Maybe that’s his angle. Date Smalls and get an in with the Rollers.”
He scoffs. “Nailed it. He spoke with us last night after you left. When shit finally calmed down and the twins stopped stuffing their faces like the famine is coming, Evie brought up how he’s a fan.”
I roll my eyes. “Of course he is.”
“He wants our backing to set up a circuit.” When he’s sick of standing, Aiden steps past me and drops down to sit on the top steps. He remains silent – he doesn’t invite me – but when I follow, he continues speaking. “He has fighters, he says. Big fighters, trained fighters. And he’s had my girl in his gym for however long he’s had her, so I know he’ll have capitalized on that and had her input training them.”
“Do you think he’s using her?” My pulse quickens. “Taking advantage?”
“Not like…” He pauses. “I don’t think he’s using her to get fight help, but I think he’s smart enough to use the tools that have landed in his gym, so to speak. She walks in, she knows how to fight and train, so he gets a twofer. Pretty girl and a champion trainer from a title-holding gym.”
“I hate him.” I set my gifts aside and drop my head lower. “But it’s irrational, because I don’t even know the guy. I hate him purely because he gets her smiles, when they should be all mine.” I turn my head and meet his eyes. “What does he want from you guys?”
He shrugs. “For whatever reasons he has, he wants to be a pro fighter, but not on the traditional circuit. He doesn’t want ESPN and our titles. He wants to create his own. He wants his own tournament, and he wants us to back it.”
“Back it? Like… sponsorship? Money?”
“Nah, I think he wants our name. Our brand. Any schmuck can say they’ve created a circuit and invite fighters along. But it’s not likely to gain traction once the real fights are on pay-per-view.”
“So…?”
“He figures having our gym and our name will create converts. And it probably would. Tell them that Bobby Kincaid is gonna officiate, and the fight world will go nuts. Tell them Jack will be there, and they’ll sell out every venue. Tell them Jimmy is gonna referee, and the fans will go nuts.”
“Feeling kinda arrogant on your last name right now, Kincaid?”
He chuckles. “It’s a little pretentious, yes. But it’s the truth. Offer the fans something new and dangerous, and they’re gonna leave scorch marks on the ground to get to the event. Evie calls three former world champions ‘Uncle’. Like, shit, Ben. Her ex-boyfriend is a champion, too.”
“Not an ex,” I grumble. “A future. I’m heading out to get that body bag soon. I know where they keep them at the police station.”
His lips pull up into a grin. “If he got our gym on board, he has a viable tournament that’ll draw the fans in. Charge half as much for door sales, throw the footage onto an exclusive streaming service, they’ll make bank. With that money, they could offer their main fighters a big purse, which will bring more of the bigger fighters, plus those who have been booted from the mainstream circuit. This introduces the guys who don’t stop when the clock runs out. That adds a dangerous flair, and danger is sexy, ain’t it? I don’t think Reid has even come this far in his thought process yet, but that’s who I am. I process these business plans in my head, I decide what’s viable and what’s not.” He pauses and meets my eyes. “He’s got a solid idea, and if we give him the green light, it’ll be big.”
“You told him no, right? No way will you let Evie be a part of this dangerous circuit. Not to mention, if you back something like this, you risk being blackballed by the commission.”
He lets his head dangle the way mine does, then he drops the bomb. “I told him I was listening.”
“You’re what?” I shoot up straight. “What the fuck? You risk having your belts stripped. You risk my career, Evie’s career, Bean’s career. You risk everyone in that gym, and set us up to be booted, all because your daughter’s new boyfriend asks? Did she put on the puppy dog eyes and sucker you into this bullshit because her man asked her to? Get the fuck outta here!”
He shakes his head. “I said I’m listening. Because I can’t know shit if I don’t open my ears.” He peeks over his shoulder to the still-closed door. “I need to know what’s in his head, because whatever he does with this, my daughter is involved, and frankly, I’m sick to death of my daughter finding herself in dangerous situations. I said I was open to his business plan. Listening isn’t backing, and for as long as we’re here on this estate, no one knows I’m entertaining his idea.”
“But… are you? Are you gonna back it?”
He shakes his head. “Fuck no. There is zero chance of us backing his shit – but remember, Evie carries our name too. If she backs it, he’s already halfway there. And the fact she brought him here and let him ask means she’s in.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I turn back to face the yard. “What makes you think I wanna hear about that prick and his big plans?”
He shrugs. “Figured, as someone who loves my daughter, you’d be interested in what’s going on around her. I have an ally in you. It might seem unconventional, what with her being my daughter, and you wanting to keep her and all that, but she’s safe with you. Even if she never gives you a chance, she’s still safe with you.” He slaps my thigh and stands with a grunt. “Come on. And don’t snap at her when you get inside. You’ll get your ass evicted again, then she’ll go for a walk to comfort him and apologize for her horrible family.” He rolls his eyes. “We don’t give him reason to feel attacked, because every time we do, she’s the one who’s gonna have to make him feel better.”
My top lip curls back. “No more attacking fuckface.”
“That’s a good sport.” He stops by the front door and waits for me to collect my gifts, and when I reach him, he opens up and precedes me in.
It’s like a zoo. Noise, stomping feet, screaming chimpanzees – in the form of twin boys – and trumpeting elephants. Wrapping paper lays scattered on the floor, and ribbon hangs from the ceiling lights. Kit and Tink sit on the couch side by side, resting their heads together and whispering amongst themselves like teenagers w
ho have things to gossip about. The boys race through the room, and over by the tree, Bean sits with her legs crossed and opens a small box. She sits alone, which should be lonely, but for her, it’s not. She likes the quiet. She likes her own company, so short of tapping the crown of her head, I say nothing as I pass and follow Aiden toward the kitchen.
I know that Tink and Kit stop gossiping the second we pass. I know that Evie and I are their gossip right now, so they silence themselves and watch in hopes the next episode is about to begin.
But I will never push her into that fuckwit’s arms.
“Where’d he sleep last night?” I murmur.
Aiden turns to me just three feet before the doorway, pauses, then grins. “He slept in Jack’s guest bed. The dog kept guard, and I assure you, my home remained boyfriend-free for the entirety of the night.”
Annie, the old, three-legged Labrador, bullies her way through the room and whacks me with her tail as she passes. She’s a senior citizen now, with a silver-gray muzzle and slow movements, but she might be the smartest dog I’ve ever met, so I know, if she was told to watch Baker all night, she watched, and today, she’ll reap the rewards with copious treats and hugs.
“I’m not sorry to hear that,” I reply in a soft voice. “I was ready to tear him outta her bed and tie him to a tree outside my place. Let the deer eat his pecker off.”
Nodding, Aiden’s silver eyes sparkle as he brings a hand up to rub his stubbled chin. “That’s a solid option for tonight.”
We step the rest of the way into the room, and though Aiden continues through, I come to a sharp stop when I find Evie sitting at the counter beside her boyfriend. They each have a plate of pancakes in front of them, but Evie holds her fork out for him to eat from.
Her smile is magnificent, and it kills me that it’s genuine.
And it’s for him.
“Smalls.” Aiden growls when Reid takes the food from her fork and presses a quick kiss to her lips. He stops on the opposite side of the counter and takes Tina in his arms. “No. We don’t do that while eating.”
“Kiss?” She’s yet to notice me here, so she leans against Reid and smiles for Aiden. “You’re kidding me, right? You kissed Mom not ten minutes ago.”
“Hey, lemme ask you something?” Coach’s tone changes, from grumpy, to something a little more playful. It reminds me of how he speaks to the toddlers at the gym. Especially the female toddlers that turn him into mush. “Do you remember when you were little? Not so long after your mom and I got married, and you wouldn’t stop cussing?”
She lifts her coffee and grins for her daddy. She’s mush around him too. “Uh-huh. I had the best uncles ever. They taught me the best shit.”
“Uh-huh. So remember how we said that the grownups can swear, because they’re grownups and aren’t governed by their parents? And I said that, though it might not seem fair, you were governed by us, which meant you had to quit with the fucking cussing?”
Evie laughs. “I remember that conversation.”
“Yeah, so the kissing thing is the same. I don’t care if you’re fifty and married with seven children, when you’re in my house, you don’t get to kiss boys. Knock it the fuck off, or I’ll send you to sit with your nose against the wall.”
Aiden’s mother walks past me at a fast clip, around the counter, and smacks him on the back of the head with a sharp slap. “I don’t care if you’re married with children, I still govern you, so knock off the cussing! Jesus, Aiden. Where are your manners?”
Evie’s shoulders bounce with muted laughter while Aiden rubs the back of his head. “Sorry, Momma. I was just trying to–” He stops when she gives him the mom eyes. “Sorry, Mom.”
She turns to face her granddaughter with eyes sparkling with happiness. Nelly Kincaid is in her happy place when the whole family is together. She’s not as strict about her grandbabies as she is with her sons. She has never given me a hard time in all these years, and she’s far more observant than anyone gives her credit for. She grabbed my ear when I was fifteen-years-old and tackled me into a spare room for the talk. I’d yet to even acknowledge in my mind that I wanted Evie Kincaid to be mine, but she saw it. She took me aside and did it so swiftly that no one noticed my absence. Once she’d said her bit, she only smiled, patted my aching ear, and welcomed me to the family.
Just like that.
Welcome to the family.
Now she smiles for her girl, and when her eyes slide to Reid as he eats and ignores the joking going on around him, her smile turns flat. “Turdsky.” Rolling her eyes, she turns to me and flashes her biggest smile that screams trouble. “Benny. Sweetheart.” She ignores Reid’s existence, rounds the counter as Evie spins in her chair with a gasp, and when she’s managed to announce my arrival in the most obnoxious way, she wraps her arms around my neck and snuggles in for a hug that I could swear is made of steel. Her arms are strong, her heart beats against my chest, and when she pulls back and stares into my eyes, she reaches up and cups my cheeks. “I’m so happy you’re here, handsome.”
“Merry Christmas, Mrs. Kincaid.” I juggle my gifts and find hers.
She puts on this big show of mock surprise and ‘oh my gosh, you shouldn’t have!’ but she snatches it the second I offer, spins back to the island counter – the perfect view for Evie and Reid to see – and tearing the small box open, she rips the tissue paper out and tosses it in Evie’s face.
She’s going full obnoxious today, and part of me wonders if, during the divorce Evie and I are certain to get, I might actually get to keep Nelly.
“Oh, Ben!” She pulls the Christmas tree decoration from the box and fawns over the delicate glass bauble. Inside rests a midnight black, soft-top Mustang, and little balls of foam for the snow. “Holy, wow.” She looks up with genuine moisture in her eyes. “I was going to be over the top about it no matter what is was, but a Mustang? Really?” She cradles the ornament in her hand and makes her way toward me, but not before pegging the small box into her granddaughter’s face as a final fuck you for bringing strange home. “How’d you know Grandpa Bry had one of these?”
“I told him.” Evie turns in her seat and watches us. In place of the surprise when she first saw me, and then the anger because of Nelly’s behavior, now sits the expression that says she’s not as angry as she makes out. She’s still hurt, and the way her bow lips curve down, make my heart hurt. “I told him that Grandpa Bry used to race cars for fun. Back when you first got married.”
I nod. “She told me. Forever ago. I happened across this ornament in the sales from last January and knew it was just right.”
“You held onto it all year for me?”
I smile and bring her in for a much gentler hug. “Of course. It’s perfect, but last Christmas had already passed. I didn’t want to give it to you in January just for you to have to pack it away and not see it all year.”
“Even though my granddaughter wasn’t taking your calls, you still shopped for me?”
“Mm.” I press a kiss to the top of her head. “Two wrongs don’t make a right, and whether she’d take my calls or not had nothing to do with you.”
“Stop talking about me like I’m not here,” Evie growls. “Ben.” She waits for my eyes. “Why are you here? It’s Christmas morning, and this is my family. You have your own.”
“Evelyn!” Nelly turns back and pins her with a glare. “What on earth are they teaching you at that stupid school? Ben is family. Pull your head out of your ass.”
Evie’s eyes widen with shock. And a little hurt.
“He’s here because we’re heading to the gym for the cook-out in a minute,” Bobby walks in. “It’s time to get started, and Ben is on kitchen duty this year.”
“The gym is across town,” she says. Her tone is not as cutting this time. Not as mean. “He didn’t have to come here first.”
“He did, because you don’t have a car, and all ours are full.”
“Full?” She turns to Aiden. “What?”
“We o
nly have five seats,” Aiden continues. “We’re full up and can’t fit you.”
“We have two booster seats and a dog,” Jack says. “Can’t fit you.”
“And I have delinquents,” Tink adds. “I mean, you could squeeze between them in the back, but I’d advise against it.”
“Uncle Jimmy?” Evie turns to the youngest Kincaid uncle. “I’ll ride with you and Bean.”
“Sorry, pumpkin. We’re swinging by and getting Mac. That’s all our seats taken up.”
“And I just don’t like you very much right now,” Nelly jabs. “I have four empty seats, but zero inclination to offer you one.”
“Biggie?” Evie pleads with her dad. She does the puppy dog eyes that she’s so good at. “You’re being unreasonable. You can’t expect Ben to drive me and Reid–”
“Not Reid,” Nelly adds. “I have room for him.”
“Gramma!” Evie swings back around. “What is your fucking problem?”
“Evelyn!” Aiden’s patience comes to a sharp end. She’s his baby girl, but nobody claps back to Nelly without paying for it. “Go to the wall.”
“You’re insane if you think I’m standing against a fucking wall. I’m not a child anymore.”
It takes just ten seconds for Evie to be standing on her hands with her feet against the wall, and her nose as close to the plaster as she can get it without falling. Her sweater drops down to reveal her back and pink bra straps, but she holds the stance while Reid contemplates stepping in.
“Don’t go to her, Baker.” Evie’s Uncle Jon claps the guy on the shoulder to keep him in his seat. Reid was halfway up, so Jon sends him slamming back down until the stool groans and my tailbone hurts in sympathy. “You do not cuss at Mom. Smalls did the crime, so now she does the damn time.”