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“You left this,” I said as I dropped the bag on the countertop and placed her coffee beside it. It was then, I noticed the song playing. It wasn’t the playlist I’d loaded when I came in first. “What’s this shit?”
Ireland glanced up at me and shrugged. “I used my music. Figured if you weren’t going to follow the rules, then neither am I.”
“What rules am I not following, Ireland?” I asked, exasperated by her attitude.
“The ones we established after Mom and Dad died, Hunter. No matter what is going on us around us, we’d always be truthful with each other. Those rules.” She glanced up from her phone. “I figured since you didn’t have to follow them, neither did I.”
I glared at her. “Are you even supposed to be here today?”
“Mack found a car for a client. He’s having it delivered today, and has requested I go over it, and give him a quote to repair it,” she said curtly. “Before you bitch at me for not notifying you, I put it on the calendar. All you have to do is look.”
I nodded. I’d seen something about it when I sat down at the computer earlier. “Landon is going to be late. If you could monitor Destiny, I can get a start on the painting of the 69 Camaro I prepared yesterday.”
She waved at me away in response. Not that I was complaining. If she wanted to give me the silent treatment, I was more than okay with such, especially now that I had a raging headache from all her moaning about the truth.
I went back to the office, pulled both babies out of the playpen, and brought them to the front of the shop. I deposited them on the floor momentarily before returning a few seconds later with the pack and play. Once both kids were settled, I went out to my car and snagged my earbuds. I couldn’t listen to Ireland's bullshit playlist while I painted. The chick music threw me out of the zone. When my playlist loaded on my phone, I headed to the area of the shop marked specifically for me.
The Camaro waited.
Primed are ready to go.
I loaded the specially mixed paint in the spray gun and got to work. I hoped, for a little while at least, I could get lost in my work and not have to deal with any of my siblings' shit for another couple of hours.
Who the fuck was I kidding?
Chapter 11
Hunter
“Do you want to tell me why Ireland is slamming shit around, or should I guess?” Landon grumbled, standing at the door of the paint bay. He hadn’t been there when our minor argument started, but the silent bastard had showed up before our tit-for-tat ended. “Or why you look like a sourpuss?”
Fuck. My. Life.
“Not particularly,” I said, pulling on a respirator. I’d rather work the day away than listen to both of my siblings ranking me over the coals.
“Too bad, asshole,” Landon said. “You can hide all you want to, but it won’t make the issues go away. This is the first time I’ve seen you in days after a baby mysteriously shows up at our house. You don’t show up here until well into the afternoon some days. Plus, Ireland said Cobi was here. What the fuck is going on with you?”
I bowed my head. I hated this shit. There was no getting around telling them the truth, because eventually, they’d figure it out. When they did, they’d be even more pissed off than they were now. I tried to justify all of it by saying Destiny was one person and I had three siblings to think of. Yet, saying it that way made me feel like a dickish asshole. I wouldn’t throw a baby under a bus.
“You’re not going to stop, are you?”
Landon shook his head. “Not until you give us a reason to believe all is well and Destiny is yours. Or why Cobi was here, and you were having a meeting with him.” I opened my mouth and Landon held up his hand. “Before you say club business, I know you’d be lying. Wes wasn’t with him. This was something else.
I ripped the respirator off and threw it against the back wall. The primed Camaro sat there waiting for me to cover its body in the perfect shade of cherry red with black flakes. All I wanted to do was get to work and forget about the argument with my sister. Instead, they forced me to confess my sins. “Son of a bitch. Fine! Close the fucking shop. Family meeting. But I swear to fuck, if you ask questions or say any damn thing while I am going over it, I will walk the fuck away and you can find somewhere else to live, asshole.” Later, I’d have to tell Jackson. He had too much shit on his plate as it was. He didn’t need my bullshit adding to it.
Landon gave me a cocky smile and his light-green eyes sparkled like the little bastard won something. We were the closest in age, but right now; he felt a million lifetimes away from me. He turned away from the door while I tried to gather myself for the coming confrontation.
When I signed on to help Cobi, I’d done so with the understanding everything should be over within a few weeks’ time. Not only that, but I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone what was going down.
Now, eighteen months later, we were still dealing with the ramifications of taking that straightforward job. Yes, I was glad Cobi, and the other federal agents could take down the rest of Edgar’s ring, but a beautiful baby girl lost her parents because of it. Not that it seemed like they were doing a bang-up job of it. Plus, I was the de facto daddy, because Hope saw something in me and recognized I’d take care of her daughter.
When I stepped out of the paint area, Ireland was closing the bay doors while Landon taped a sign to the shop door. Outside, the clouds were darkening for a coming storm, matching my surly disposition. Maybe it was for the best I wasn’t going to paint. Rain had a way of making the fresh coats bubble and pit and not dry properly.
Look at me, finding the upside of getting my ass chewed by my siblings.
I grabbed Destiny and Mack Jr. from the playpen and carried them back into the office. I didn’t need someone walking up to the shop and overhearing our conversation. If the wrong people found out what I’d done, I’d be on someone’s hit list. I had no doubt about it. No telling what they’d also do to my family because of me.
Once I had the babies situated, I waited for Ireland and Landon to join me. Ireland closed the door behind her and sat beside Landon. The silent indignity and condescension rolling off her made my hackles rise. I was going to enjoy wiping that smug superiority off her face, especially when I mentioned Edgar’s name.
