Fifteen months was all that separated us - with me being the younger brother - but sometimes it felt like I was ten years older than him.
It had always been that way, though, especially after I’d met my best friend Luna when we were just kids. I’d seen a vulnerable little girl, and even though I didn’t know her story then, I’d known that she’d needed to be protected. I’d been way too young to take on the role by myself, but I’d done it anyway, and had also brought her into my family so they could help out. It was an unspoken agreement from day one – we knew she was going through shit at home, and we all looked out for her from that day forward.
When I’d found out the full extent of it all, it hadn’t been because she’d begged me not to do anything that I hadn’t ended up in prison. It had actually been the twat in front of me who’d made it all sink in when he’d asked me who would protect her like I did if I was locked up in a cell. If we’d known that her dad was going to kidnap her and put her through hell for years, though, we maybe would have said fuck it to that question and buried him in a field – and that’s something I was going to have to live with for the rest of my life. She was safe now, though, happily married to my brother, and now a mom to the light in heart, my niece Jamie.
Sighing, I stood up and turned to rest my ass on the table, losing interest in the paperwork I’d been looking at. “I don’t think I need to explain or justify my actions after all these years.”
Shooting a glare at me, he rubbed his shin dramatically. Well, maybe not so dramatically seeing as how those steel toe caps were kind of brutal. “I’m going to show her what you’ve done so she can see how mean you are.”
“You swap maturity levels with Rebel?”
Rebel was his newborn daughter and had been named by her mom who had the most fucked up names for her pets, and now her child. My niece’s full name was Rebel Rowser Townsend – can you believe that shit? Then again, Lily also had a chicken called King Ferdinand the Chicken – aka KFC – and another one called Bojangles, who was the size of a Pterodactyl. Who names their chickens after restaurants that specialize in freaking chicken? And her dogs, those poor furry bastards, their names were just as bad.
And I knew just how to wind my brother up. “Hey, what do you think she’s gonna call your next kid? Creedence Clearwater? Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat?”
“I’m willing to bet big bucks it’ll be Chick Fil-A or Big Mac,” a voice said, making both of us jump. I don’t know how he did it, but our eldest brother Archer was a sneaky bastard who had mastered the ability to appear out of thin air at a young age.
“Funny fuckers, the two of you,” Tate muttered, picking his apple up and biting into it. “At least I have a woman.” Unable to leave it at that, he asked smugly, “How are Charlotte and Bonnie by the way? Haven’t seen them around here for…” he paused, “ever.”
Leaning a shoulder against the wall, Archer looked coolly at him. “That’s a lie, Bonnie was here last night visiting Dahlia. As you know, seeing as how you were there, too.”
Doing my best to hide how tense I was over the question, I straightened my legs out in front of me, and crossed my arms over my chest. “And I know for a fact you also bumped into Charlotte yesterday, when you went to help Parker move his office around.” Something which I’d been told by Parker, obviously.
Sighing, he took another large bite, and chewed slowly on it, thinking over a comeback for both of us. When he finally knew what it was, he swallowed - what was probably nothing given how long he’d taken - and then shrugged. “Yeah, but the difference is that she wasn’t here to see you,” he glanced at Archer, “and Charlotte didn’t mention you,” he directed at me. “If y’all want tips on how to get your women, all you have to do is say.”
Looking over the top of his head, Archer and I just blinked at each other, not needing to ask if he was serious out loud.
“You mean by knocking her up?” A voice asked sweetly from the doorway, this time making Archer jump, too.
A smile I’d only ever seen aimed at Lily took over Tate’s face as he jumped up and walked over to where she was holding their daughter, the infamous Rebel Rowser – at least, with a name like that she would be.