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When I opened the door and pushed inside, I was immediately assaulted with the sound of yelling children.
Overall, I had sixteen nieces and nephews.
Hunter had four, Holden had five, Harrison had four, and Hancock had two.
But only Harrison and Hancock had ones that were young enough to be causing that kind of racket.
“Uncle Hanny!” a screeching little boy’s voice cried out in excitement.
I turned to look to see Harrison’s youngest, Paxton, running straight toward me with a concrete paver in his hands.
He dropped the block, luckily not on our feet, and threw himself at me.
I picked Paxton up and squeezed him tight. I was so much more accepting of the noises and actions of my family’s children.
“Hey, buddy,” I said as I heard him groan out a giggle. “How are you?”
“My daddy said you weren’t comin’!” he declared, ignoring my question completely.
“Your daddy isn’t the smartest person in the world,” I pointed out.
None of my brothers were. Though, technically, I needed to include myself in that statement.
“I heard that,” Holden muttered as he rounded the corner just to come to a sudden halt.
His eyes went to Hades, then back to me. “Oh, boy. Mom’s gonna love this.”
Hades’ brow rose as she said, “I would hope so. I’m fucking fantastic.”
Holden, surprised by Hades’ forwardness, didn’t have a ready comeback.
“Who are you?” Holden finally asked.
“Hades, this is my second oldest brother, Holden. Holden, Hades, your future sister-in-law,” I introduced them.
Hades let out a small snort.
“Oh, boy,” Holden said. “I don’t think she agrees with you, bro.”
I looked down at her to see that she was giving me that ‘pleased’ smile that she gave when she was surprised by me in some way.
As if she didn’t know that people could want her. Enjoy spending time with her.
“I’m in complete agreeance,” Hades corrected him. “I’m just glad he’s finally seeing my worth.”
“He’s likely always appreciated your worth, darlin’,” Holden pointed out. “Or he wouldn’t be with you.”
“You are not in here in your boots, Paxton Maxwell Peters,” a scary voice said from the other room.
“Let me down,” Paxton whispered. “She’s in a bad mood.”
I did, and he took off before he could get caught up in the firestorm that was headed our way.
But instead of coming in guns blazing, she came around the corner quietly. Which was why Hades said what she said next.
“Holden Peters,” Hades said carefully. “That’s…an awfully unfortunate paring of names.”
Holden’s face flushed, just like he always did, when he thought about his name.
Hancock and Holden were really the only ones affected.
Where Hancock ran with the name he was given—he was given the name ‘Parts’ his first year in major league baseball—Holden had done nothing but get hung up about it. It’d been a sore subject for years, and showed no signs of getting any better.
He’d likely have issues with it until the day he died.
Hell, I remember his high school career being awful, only because every immature teen thought it was great to tease him about it. Then his girlfriend had broken up with him because her name was Violet, and she couldn’t be associated as ‘Violet Peters.’
Needless to say, it was a sore subject, and for Hades to touch on that…well, let’s just say that it might not turn out so good.
Especially when my mother was listening to every word that was being said.
“My dad named me Hades because he hated me so much,” she continued. “I’m positive your mother didn’t do the same. But my dad was a complete dick. Hades Pearl Singh. Pearl because he, as he liked to point out, should’ve wrapped my mom’s pearl necklace around my neck when I was born and strangled me with it.”
Holden’s bad mood went from hiding under the surface to flat out enraged in a matter of moments.
I was right there with him.
Even having read the journal where she highlighted some of the worst parts of her life didn’t prepare me for some of the words that came out of her mouth in regard to her father.
The piece of shit.
I hoped he was suffering down in hell.
“You know,” Holden finally collected himself enough to say. “Hades is the ruler of the underworld.”
Hades didn’t say anything, but she was definitely listening.
“And seems to me, if he treated you as bad as you just made it sound with that one explanation about your name, maybe he’ll be rotting down there in hell, and you can go rule down there when you finally leave this Earth. Make his afterlife resemble your actual life,” Holden said.
Hades grinned. “That would be a pretty good setup, wouldn’t it?”
Holden and I both nodded.
“Ahh, Hannibal,” my mother said as she walked fully into the room. “And who might you have brought with you?”
I was cautious of the face my mom was now wearing.
With none of my other sisters-in-law did she look this welcoming.
