AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Doesn’t matter.” I pulled her in for a bear hug.
“A mother is supposed to take care of her boys,” she protested. “You could’ve bought your own house or whatever you wanted.”
“You do take care of me. And I did what I wanted.”
She looked up at me with watery eyes. “Promise you won’t do it anymore.”
“Can’t do that,” I said quietly.
She patted my back. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Keep feeding me. And keep me in line.”
She grinned. “I can do that. Let me get my wooden spoon.”
Beau and Aaron snickered.
Ma released me after one more squeeze and pinched Aaron’s cheek. “Young man, we are going to get you straightened out.”
Judging by the determination in her tone, she would. Because I knew Ma. While it wasn’t her fault Aaron had made poor choices, she blamed herself. And she wouldn’t stop until he never gambled again.
“Thanks, Ma. Cal.” Aaron’s gaze was troubled, and it might take a while for him to forgive me for calling in the whole family, but one day he’d be okay.
“See you tomorrow,” I said.
Beau gave them both a quick hug before we went to my truck.
As soon as we were both inside, she twisted in her seat to face me. How many times had she done that when we were kids? I’d loved it then, and I loved it now.
“Do you feel like you did the right thing?”
I tapped the wheel for a second. “I think so. I guess time will tell.”
“You called me family.”
“Don’t look so shocked.” I brushed her hair back from her forehead. That bruise was nasty. I hoped wherever that bastard was he was in a lot of pain.
“Are you sure you want me to get used to it?”
The question was loaded. A bomb a half a second away from detonating. What I wanted and what I could have weren’t necessarily the same thing.
I cranked the engine, threw it in drive, and touched her knee. I’d feared her seeing my family dynamic and thinking we were all just hoodlums. But she’d laughed and encouraged and offered silent support throughout the whole night, and I was in awe. And she wanted more of it. More of us.
More of me.
Was I sure I wanted her to get used to it? Absolutely.
“Not sure I have a choice, baby sister. Not sure I have a choice.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Beau
“I thoughtthe point of us staying in one building was better protection.”
Lincoln crossed his legs and wrapped his hands around his knee.
“It doesn’t work that way if you and Cal are somewhere else.”
