Parker pulled up one of the pictures he had of her on his phone, turning the screen around so his dad could see it. Finn scribbled some more on the pad.
“She’s very pretty butmaybe you need to give her some credit. Let her see what’s inside you.”
Parker just snorted. He knew his dad meant well, but he didn’t understand how amazing Astrid was. She deserved all the bells and whistles in life.
“Oooh, did he break out the pictures from his spank bank for you?” Liam asked, grinning as he stepped back into the room. “She’s totally too hot for him, right, Pops?”
“Make him show you the ones of her in the snow in a bikini. It’s like a religious experience,” Ro added.
“When did you get into my phone?” Parker asked. Finn gave them his crooked smile as they started arguing again.
Their conversation turned toward other gossip as they dug into their lunch. Parker had fixed them fresh burgers from yesterday's leftovers. Every year the bar offered an all-American meal to celebrate. Joseph made all of the sides up early then stood by a grill all day filling orders for hamburgers and hot dogs. They always offered apple pie for dessert.
After spending the afternoon regaling Finn with stories, Parker ushered his brothers out. He could tell Finn was tired. They both hugged their dad and promised to come back soon before heading out of the room.
Parker stood for a moment in thought, watching them laugh as the door closed. Pulling out the magazines he had brought, he placed them on the table.
“I guess it could be worse. At least they're not sullen and angry all the time,” he said, looking at Finn. “I’ll see you later. I’m taking those two over to a friend's house for the night. I’m picking Astrid up at the bus station later.” He kissed his dad on the cheek before straightening back up.
“Only one more month until you get to rejoin the circus,” he said. He had visited with his father’s therapist earlier. She informed him there was nothing more they could do for Finn. It was time for his recovery to continue from home. “Love you, Pop.” Finn caught his hand on the way by giving it a quick squeeze.
Parker caught up with his brothers at the entrance. He threw an arm around them both. Pulling them in for one of those sideways man hugs first, he shoved them both in front of him. He started making a mental list of everything he needed to do to the apartment before their dad moved back home.
He would, of course, give up his room again. They might be able to fit another bed into his brothers’ room. It would be a tight fit, but it should work. Or he could move back to the couch. It would put an end to Astrid sleeping over. They would figure that out later.
What they needed was an elevator. He had priced them from several different companies. They all remained out of his price range.
His dad was becoming more proficient in moving around with a walker, but there was no way he could maneuver up and down the stairs without help. Parker knew he would hate having to rely on anyone to carry him.
Briefly, he had considered converting the office into a bedroom. He had quickly vetoed that idea. It would be too far away if his dad needed anything.
He knew the biggest problem was the fact that he couldn’t afford any of the necessary renovations to make the apartment handicap friendly. When his dad was still clinging to life in the ICU, Parker had made the disastrous decision to borrow money from one of the local loan sharks. Between mounting medical bills and trying to manage the bar, he had run out of money.
He had tried to borrow from one of the banks. None of them were especially keen to lend a sketchy looking twenty-one-year-old the money he needed to keep the electricity on until he could get things figured out. He had the bar’s bills to pay, an expensive rehab facility, and an exorbitant interest rate to some very nasty people.
Not to mention two teenagers that grew out of their clothes faster than he could buy them, ate everything they could get their hands on, and just wanted a couple of bucks to go out with their friends on occasion.
“Hey, man. You okay?” Parker shook himself out of his thoughts, turning to smile at Liam. “I was just giving you shit earlier, you know. Astrid’s pretty cool. Way too cool for your sorry ass anyway.”
“Yeah, I’m good. If I can’t handle your shit, then I need to turn in my oldest-brother card. All the interruptions will come back to bite you someday though. You get that, right?” Liam rolled his eyes.
“Please. Not at the rate he’s going. It’ll be years before he gets any,” Ronan said from the back seat.
“I thought you were seeing some track girl Astrid was helping you with. Did I miss something?” Liam blew out a snort.
“Greener pastures, my man, greener pastures,” he answered.
“She said no. He’s moved on to a cheerleader,” Ronan said.
“Shut up, dude,” Liam growled over the back seat.
“More like hell no,” Ronan smirked back.
Parker laughed at the indignant rant Liam followed up with. He hadn’t been lying earlier to his dad. He would much rather have brothers that ranted at each other and doled out shit than ones that sulked all the time.
He dropped them off in front of the pizza place for their weekly meetup with their friends. He confirmed they were both going home with one of the other boys before leaving and watched them walk into the restaurant. If he had it to do over, he would do it all again. He would give up his newfound freedom again for the chance to look after them.
He still had several hours before Astrid got back. He could go bury himself in work at the bar to keep his mind off of it. A new bartender was covering tonight for him, but he needed to check in to make sure everything was going well.
