The MC’s Little Brother (Bikers and Babies #3)

Chapter 41

41

Wraith

I wasn’t willing to let Mel go, so we ended up all going to Butch’s place together. He clapped me on the back and squeezed my shoulder when he let us in, grunting when Gracie nearly took out his knees latching onto him.

“Daddy is the safe zone! You can’t tag me!” she called to Malcolm, who wasn’t far behind her. He scowled, crossing his arms.

“Cheater.”

Gracie stuck her tongue out, practically climbing her daddy to stay out of Malcolm’s reach. Butch sighed, but he never could resist those kids, so he dipped down and scooped her up, moving her to his other arm so he could pull Malcolm in for a hug, too.

“You were smart to bring back up. They’re a handful tonight.”

That wasn’t surprising. Usually, Zoey mellowed them out a little, since she was the quiet one and they didn’t want to upset her. But since she was sick, they wouldn’t want to bring her here. Especially with the new baby around.

“Well, we can tire them out. That’s what Aunty Mel is best at. Right?” She gave a stern look at the kids before breaking into a grin and taking off upstairs. They both wriggled free of Butch and hurried after her, giggling the whole way. I shook my head with a smirk. Even on less sleep than normal, Mel was a bundle of energy.

Xander looked a little awkward, hovering by me, but Butch didn’t seem to mind. He hadn’t joined the outings to get to know Xander yet, he was busy helping Skylar and the new baby, but he was good with kids and matched whatever energy was thrown at him. He lifted his chin in greeting, his smile kind.

“Rooster calls you little Wraith. Did you earn that title, or is he just being an asshole?”

His language startled a grin out of Xander. “Uh, I think it started because I look like my brother.”

I shook my head. “It started at laser tag. He’s as quiet as I am and likes to sneak up on people.”

It was a dig at the last round we played, but it was a fair shot. I was too distracted by Mel to focus on my surroundings. Xander knew I was teasing at this point, and shrugged.

“He wasn’t paying attention. Too busy flirting.”

Butch’s eyebrows raised. “So that rumor is true, then? I thought Rooster was makin’ shit up.”

“It’s true. She’s mine.”

He huffed, shaking his head at me. “About damn time. You two were playin’ chicken for years. Pretty sure the only one who didn’t notice besides the two of you was Prez himself.”

That surprised me. They all said I was hard to read, no matter what the situation was. A few in the crew refused to play poker with me because they said it was a guaranteed loss for them. Apparently, my pining wasn’t so easily hidden.

The woman in question came marching down the stairs with Ellie on her hip and the older two in a line behind her. She kept marching past us, stopping only long enough to snag Xander before heading for the kitchen with her ducklings in tow.

Butch’s voice turned quiet, and when I looked over at him, his eyes were locked on Skylar as she came down the stairs, all dressed up for their date. “Thanks for comin’ through tonight. Skylar needs this. ”

I doubted he even knew what he was saying. He looked like he was about to start drooling. I chuckled and patted his shoulder.

“She deserves a break, and so do you. Go out and have fun. We’ll take care of the brood.”

He swept his old lady into a kiss that made her laugh and tucked her under his arm after she gave kisses to each of their kids. With a final wave, they headed out together, leaving me and Mel with four little kids to entertain, and an infant to watch. I had an idea about it before we left the house tonight. If I played this right, I could still make it a date.

With Xander’s help, I set up candles in the dining room. Butch had already made the kids dinner while Skylar was getting ready, so we moved the group to the dining room and Gracie volunteered to be a waitress, bringing each of our plates out herself. Xander helped her by bringing the drinks and garlic bread. Malcolm was not to be trusted with transporting anything that could stain the carpet, so he entertained Ellie in her high chair until the food came out. Thankfully, Ryder was asleep already, so we weren’t juggling all five kids at once.

Mel came out last, a smile on her face when she saw the setup we made. “Oh, this is fancy. Is this a special occasion?”

“My birthday is in five months,” Gracie offered.

Mel shook her head. “That has candles, sure, but we’d need cake. Who has another idea?”

“It’s almost Christmas!” Malcolm shouted. Gracie hushed him with a stern frown.

“It’s too fancy to be loud!”

They started to bicker and neither of them heard Xander’s quiet suggestion. “Wacky Wednesday.”

I snorted, pointing at him. “I like his idea.”

Both kids swung around to look at him curiously. “What’d he say?”

“Wacky Wednesday,” Xander explained again. “Where you do weird stuff like this to break up a boring week. ”

Malcolm studied him for a minute before straightening and nodding sharply. “I vote for that too.”

Mel snickered. “All in favor of Wacky Wednesdays?”

Hands shot into the air, including mine and Mel’s. Even Ellie joined in, though I doubted she understood what was happening. She was just happy to join in.

Xander looked shocked and pleased to have his idea supported so readily, and he smiled when I squeezed his shoulder. Unfortunately for him, speaking up made him the center of attention and both kids started peppering him with questions ranging from how old he was to what his favorite Disney movie was. When he admitted he’d never seen one, they were quick to shout out suggestions and after the meal was done, we moved to the living room to watch one.

“Dinner and a movie. Are you trying to spoil me?” Mel murmured, bumping her shoulder against mine.

Tucking her under my arm, I kissed her temple. “Yeah. Problem?”

“Only if you think I won’t spoil you back,” she countered with a grin.

Gracie popped up in front of us, her head tipped curiously. “Are you datin’ Aunty Mel-Mel?”

Mel groaned at the use of that nickname, and I had to fight off a grin when I nodded at Gracie. She wasn’t easily shocked, so she just shoved her glasses up her nose and studied us for a second before nodding.

“Okay. Can we have ice cream while we watch the movie?”

“That’s not healthy,” Malcolm said mockingly.

Those two butted heads a lot, like any other sibling pair, but they were a team when playing games with the crew. Malcolm took his job as protector seriously, watching over Gracie and Zoey together whenever they played games with the crew.

Mel clapped her hands to draw everyone’s attention and stop the fighting. “Uncle Matty has some rules before we hand out ice cream.”

I scowled at her as a slow grin crossed over Xander’s face. “Matty?”

I rolled my eyes. “Zoey can’t say Wraith. It sounds like waif. Mattias wasn’t much better.”

Xander grinned at me. “I’m so using that.”

He didn’t see it coming when I lunged for him and rubbed my knuckles over his head. I wasn’t rough enough to hurt him, and he laughed and squirmed until Malcolm came to his rescue and jumped off the couch onto my back. Xander helped him drag me to the ground, and he was grinning like a regular kid when the three of us eventually separated.

“Boys,” Gracie grouched. She was sitting on the couch next to Mel, who gave her a commiserating nod.

“Right?”

If she didn’t have Ellie cradled in her arms getting settled in for the night, I would’ve snatched her ankle and dragged her down to join us. The way her eyes danced told me she knew and enjoyed that I couldn’t do anything about it.

“Movie time?” she asked innocently. Chuckling, I pushed off the ground and helped Xander and Malcolm up before sitting next to her on the sofa. Xander got comfortable on one of the armchairs, his legs thrown over one arm and his phone out. Malcolm tried the same move, but he was on the couch next to me and ended up squished against my arm to manage it. He didn’t have a phone yet, but he wiggled his fingers for the remote and I had no problem handing it over as long as he picked a movie everyone would like.

We weren’t far into it when Mel’s phone rang. She carefully handed me a sleeping Ellie and snuck out of the room so she wouldn’t disrupt the movie. That became moot when she loudly exclaimed, “Wait, what?”

All eyes swung her way, and we watched as she paced the hallway. “What’s her temp?” She tucked the phone between her shoulder and her ear as she pulled on her jacket. “No. I don’t have to hang up. It’s fine, Maggie. I–” She sighed heavily and looked at me for help.

Turning to Xander, I frowned at him. “Would you be willing to watch these three for like twenty minutes? That way, I can give Mel a ride and she can focus on whatever she’s talking about?”

He nodded slowly. “I think so? I’ve never watched little kids before.”

Malcolm was too distracted to get defensive like he normally would when someone called him little. He and Gracie both stared over the back of the couch at their aunt, worry clear on their faces.

“All you have to do is play the movie. We’ll bring Ryder with us. Ellie is already asleep and if she wakes up, Flash and Gracie know what to do.”

“Please, Xander,” Mel begged from the doorway. “She won’t let me talk to her and drive at the same time. It’ll be less than thirty minutes, I promise.”

He looked between us and I saw the change in his expression as he firmed up his resolve. He nodded sharply and tucked his phone into his pocket, giving his full attention to the situation and the scared kids who would probably ask him a dozen questions the minute we were out the door. I just hoped he could hold them off until we got back. Xander wasn’t a brash or uncaring kid, though. I trusted him to talk them down until I could get back.

I nodded at Mel, who quickly relayed the plan to the frantic parents. While she did that, I brought Ellie up to her bed and called Butch, relaying the change in plans. He offered to come back, but when I told him Xander would stay for the duration, he seemed alright with it. It was only thirty minutes. I snuck out and prayed like hell that she wouldn’t wake up. Two little kids were hard enough. A toddler was a bit much to ask for his first time babysitting.

Mel was giving the kids a quick pep talk as I came back down with Ryder in his car seat. Xander handed me my jacket, his eyes darting anxiously toward the door.

“Thirty minutes, right?”

I nodded. “Thirty minutes. You can do this. I trust you.”

His eyes jerked to mine in surprise, but I didn’t have time to talk to him about it. I pulled him into a hug, squeezed his shoulder supportively, and headed out with Mel on my tail. I really hoped I wasn’t screwing up all the steps he’d made to get better by leaving him all alone.