What the fuck?
This was Maddison, not just some girl.
“So, we’ll see ya there?” she asked, still watching me closely.
“Yeah.” Another nervous look was exchanged between us before she turned and started walking toward her awaiting Jeep.
I watched them until the Jeep started down the driveway and all that remained was the red taillights when she slowed at the end before pulling out onto the main road.
***
I ended up skipping the bar. Instead, I hung out with Garrett, which was something I’d done very little of since I’d gotten back home. It was the better choice, anyway. There was a weird shift between Maddison and me that needed to be avoided at all cost.
Garrett kicked my ass more times than I could count. I was way out of practice when it came to videos games. I guessed I’d spent too many years doing the real shit that playing them during that time seemed pointless.
When Mom joined us in the living room and gave the game a shot, I was thrown back into a time from my past. Shortly after I’d come to live with them, Maria had joined me in my room at a video game-off of sorts. I could still see her with that damned determined look on her face, eyes squinted, narrowed into small slits. Her mouth puckered up as she gripped the controller so tightly, I thought at one point, she might break the thing. But the funniest part of it all was the way her body moved along with the movements on the television, her torso jerking from side to side, her arms going left and then right.
You had to be careful sitting next to her so you didn’t end up being on the wrong end of a thrusting elbow and sporting a black eye for weeks after.
She was vicious.
And nothing had changed.
Garrett and I laughed for hours just watching her. When our father joined us, Mom didn’t seem to care. She played, and she played hard. In the end, she too beat my kill ratio and performed some victory dance in the center of the living room that had us all laughing.
This was home—exactly where I belonged. This was my life, and though I’d had to suffer loss to get there, I loved where I was; I loved the people I shared my life with. I loved times just like those. They were irreplaceable and what was important.
Chapter Three
Mike
I’d managed to avoid Maddison over the last couple of weeks. I’d gotten my schedule for the hospital, and I’d be starting in less than a month. I knew that once I started my internship, chances of seeing her would increase. I’d just felt strange about what had taken place, and maybe I didn’t need to. There was a little flirting there, something that had never happened with us before, or maybe I didn’t notice, which only confused me more. I knew I needed to talk to her. Truth was I missed her.
She was a huge part of my life and always had been.
I pulled up on the left side of AJ’s tiny-ass little blue car and placed my truck in park. Grabbing my phone, I shot Rhett a warning text. Whatever it was that he and AJ were up to, I was pretty sure I knew, but they needed to wrap it up. I knew my dad and Uncle Colt weren’t far behind me. It was just a matter of time before Reed came out of the house to join us all.
Just as I was climbing up the stairwell toward the door at the top, the sound of a horn started blaring. I chuckled when I heard a shriek on the opposite side of the wooden door, followed by Rhett’s laughter and then AJ chastising him.
Apparently, my warning text hadn’t helped them prepare for the arrival of all the men in the family.
Lifting my hand, I pounded on the door and held in my laughter. Loud thumping, the sound of something tumbling, and then more arguing took place. I could hear Rhett continuing to laugh, and even I knew he should probably hold that shit in. I was sure it was only firing AJ up even more.
“Get some clothes on and let me in, asshole.” I was met with complete silence. “Tell that cute girl of yours that if she doesn’t want all the men in your family to see the aftermath of your night together, the two of you better move. You got less than three minutes before the rest of them are standing here with me.”
“What the hell are you standing outside the door waiting on?” I looked back over my shoulder to see Colt walking up behind me, carrying a tool belt and what looked like a sander.
“Rhett’s got company.” I shrugged, leaning back against the wall and choosing to relax. If what I was hearing on the other side of that door was any indication, we’d be here a while.
I watched closely, waiting for the news to finally hit Colt, and when it did, a sly smile covered his lips, and he nodded his head in understanding.
Colt joined me on the large platform at the top, also leaning against the wall after placing the sander at his feet.
“What the hell are you dumbasses doing?” Reed held a cup of coffee in his hand, looking between us and the door. “The work won’t get done with us all just standing out here.”
I was just about to tell him that we were waiting for Rhett and AJ to get decent when the door opened, and there, beyond the threshold, was a disheveled-looking AJ. Instantly, her mouth gaped open and her face paled.
“Morning, AJ.” I looked back toward Reed and noticed the knowing smirk on his lips.
“Morning.” I had
