Chapter 12
Curtis
“Why are you still with her?” Jesse asked Dylan, carrying a big bowl of fruit to the table. “All she does is bitch at you.”
“She doesn’t bitch that much,” Dylan argued, setting plates out.
“Bro,” Jesse sang with a knowing smile. “Finn, back me up.”
“She does seem mad at you a lot,” Finn said apologetically to Dylan.
“She’s not mad at me. She just misses me.”
“So that’s why you couldn’t watch a movie with us yesterday or take us to the store the day before that? Because she misses you?” Jesse asked dryly. “Like, damn. Give it a rest.”
“You knew I was on the phone,” Dylan countered.
“You’re always on the phone, and when you’re not, you’re texting. Like, seriously. You don’t have to be up her ass all the time.”
“I’m not up her ass all the time.”
“You’re awake like twelve hours a day, and you’re on the phone or texting her like eight of those hours,” Jesse replied. They weren’t wrong. “I’m not sure how she’s missing you when she’s talking to you every waking hour.”
“It’s you,” Dylan blurted out, throwing his hands up. “Okay? She’s all fuckin’ weird because we’re always hangin’ out.”
Teddy and I both turned to stare.
Finn’s mouth dropped open in surprise.
Jesse started to laugh, and it grew in volume and intensity until tears ran down their face.
“Nuh-uh,” they said, gasping.
“I shouldn’t have even told you. She’ll be pissed if she finds out,” Dylan grumbled.
“What kind of Beverly Hillbilly shit does she think we’ve got going on here?” Jesse wheezed. “All in the family, right?”
“We’re not technically related,” Dylan countered, his cheeks growing red.
“Yeah, that’s true,” Jesse replied. “But she does know that I’m gay, right? You don’t have the right parts. Isla, on the other hand…”
“I—uh…well, I wasn’t sure,” Dylan shot back defensively. “We haven’t talked about it, and I didn’t want to say it if it wasn’t true.”
“Dyl, you sweet, innocent baby boy,” Jesse said, leaning on the table like the conversation was making them weak. “I’m so gay. Super gay. Extra gay. I like boobs and vaginas.”
“Okay,” Teddy called in warning. “That’s enough of that.”
“Gross,” Finn gasped.
“And you’re not into nonbinary folks, right?” Jesse said, raising their eyebrows. “So it’s a non-issue on a variety of levels.”
“Thank God,” Teddy whispered to me with a look of horror.
“Well, I mean, you have all the right parts,” Dylan argued.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Teddy griped.
“Dyl,” Jesse said, shaking their head. “Come on, man. Be real. You like girly girls. Girls who know they’re girls.”
“Fair point.”
“So tell Isla. I don’t care. Shout it from the rooftops if you want. She’s got a better chance with me than you do.” Jesse smiled widely, and Dylan chuckled.
“I didn’t even think about that,” Teddy said to me as we turned back toward the counter. “No wonder Isla’s constantly checking in. Jesse’s never been attracted to boys, so it wasn’t even on my radar.”
“I saw Jesse fart on Dylan two days ago,” I replied dryly. “Maybe Dylan should’ve shared that tidbit with his girlfriend.”
The kids started talking about something else, and I tuned them out as I heated up the tortillas for dinner.
It had been three weeks since Teddy’s little interview at the club, and things had been relatively normal.
We’d started eating dinner at the table, which was new for me and Dylan, but it was nice.
He didn’t bring his phone with him, so I actually got to have a conversation with my son at least once a day.
We had a pool party, dinner, and a couple of movie nights with Draco and Kara, Charlie and Bishop, and Rebel and Wes.
Teddy took the kids on hikes, to the river, and got them library cards.
Even Dylan came home with stacks of books.
If someone had asked me, I would’ve called it an ideal summer. All of us had gotten tans from working in the yard and hanging outside. There was always lemonade in the fridge. Half the time, the kids stayed up later than we did, watching movies and playing video games, and then slept until noon.
Grease let me know that Grandpa Casper had spoken to Granger and told him flat out that Teddy and her kids were family and therefore off limits.
The conversation had gone about how they’d expected, but we hadn’t heard a word from the man since.
We got Teddy a new phone and kept the old one so we could check it each night for messages, but so far? Nothing.
I’d been keeping my head down, getting my shit done, and coming home.
Teddy had forgiven the stunt they’d pulled right after it happened, but I wasn’t there yet.
Even if she hadn’t been mine, she was a woman, all alone, with two kids who were dependent on her.
That should’ve been enough for them to treat her carefully, and if it wasn’t, I no longer recognized the club I’d grown up in.
“We cooked,” Teddy said after dinner, rising from the table. “You three clean up.”
“Got it,” Jesse replied.
“You really gonna let her boss me like that?” Dylan asked me, grinning.
“Kid, she buys the food. You wanna keep eatin’, I figure you should probably do what she asks.”
“All right, that’s fair,” he said, nodding as he reached out and pulled Finn’s plate away while the boy was still scraping the last bit of cobbler off it.
“Hey,” Finn whined.
“It was gone, Finn,” Dylan teased. “Accept it and move on.”
“I’m gonna steal your dessert tomorrow,” Finn replied, pointing his fork at Dylan. “You won’t even see me coming.”
“Good luck.”
“Did you see what we did today?” Teddy asked me, nodding toward the slider. “Come look.”
I followed her outside onto the clean patio and looked around the yard.
We’d started the process by gathering up all the garbage, which had filled the back of Dylan’s truck when we took it to the dump.
The grass was still high as fuck, and I hadn’t even started on the overgrown blackberry bushes, but I saw immediately what they’d done while I was at work.
All the cedar branches that were scattered around the yard had been cut up and piled neatly next to the house.
“Dylan used the chain saw,” Teddy informed me. “He wanted to teach Jess how to use it, but I stopped them before anyone lost a hand. I told them to wait until you were here.”
“I can teach them,” I agreed. “You guys didn’t have to do that while I was workin’.”
“I was bored,” Teddy confessed, wrinkling her nose. “I’m not used to being home all the time. It’s strange not having a job.”
“I got us until you find something good,” I reminded her. “Take your time.”
“It feels weird.”
“Ignore it,” I replied, pulling her into my arms. “Have you ever been able to spend summer break with the kids?”
“No,” she scoffed. “I’ve worked since I was sixteen.”
“Then you’re due a break,” I said, pushing her hair back from her face.
“I make good money. You’ve got time to hold out for a job you’re actually gonna like.
No use startin’ somewhere that you’re gonna hate in a month.
You’ll be right back where you are, searchin’ for somethin’ else, but you’ll be doin’ it while workin’ all day somewhere you don’t wanna be. ”
“It’s a little frustrating when you make sense,” she grumbled.
“I just don’t want you to feel like I’m taking advantage.
My savings are good for now, but only because you’re paying the rent and utilities.
Eventually, I need to have a job, or you’re going to have to take on more expenses, and I’m not cool with that. ”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
Jesse’s loud laughter and Finn’s shrieking made us turn our heads to look in the house.
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t see that,” Teddy announced as Dylan sprayed Finn with the kitchen faucet.
“Probably a good choice,” I replied.
She looked back at me. “They’ll clean it up, right?” She nodded. “Yeah.”
I snickered. “That in there? Dyl wouldn’t have that if you weren’t here.
His siblings are small, so he’s never had that.
You’re worried about contributin’, but baby, you’re givin’ a whole lot more than you’re gettin’.
You bein’ here during the day means Dylan comes out of his room and actually does fun shit. ”
“I think he’d disagree with you,” she said with a smile. “I made them all go grocery shopping with me today because they slept until noon.”
“Hell,” I scoffed. “He was probably stoked because you let him pick out his own snacks.”
“Speaking of that,” she mused. “I never realized how much teenage boys eat. Holy shit.”
“Good thing he’ll be moved out in a couple of years when Finn reaches thirteen.”
Teddy’s gaze softened.
“Though, if I remember right, I was still goin’ home to raid my parents’ fridge and do laundry until I moved to Montana.”
“See,” she said with a laugh. “I need a job so we can afford to feed them.”
“Mom, there’s someone at the door,” Jesse called, throwing open the slider. Their voice trembled even though they were trying to hide it.
I hurried through the house with Teddy on my heels, but when I reached the door, there was no one there.
“Someone knocked,” Dylan said, looking past me.
All the kids had followed us.
The holstered pistol in the back waistband of my jeans was welcome insurance as I walked outside and looked around. There wasn’t anyone in the driveway, but when I checked the street, I came to a stop.
Parked across the road, Gray was leaning against a very familiar navy blue car.
“What is this, Sixteen Candles?” Teddy asked in amusement. “Isn’t that your cousin?”
“Yep.”
“What’s he doing here?”
“My guess? Dropping off my car.”
“That’s yours?”
“Holy shit, that’s a ’64 Chevelle,” Jesse gasped, their hand wrapping around my forearm like a vice. Their voice rose. “You have a ’64 Chevelle?”
“I used to.”
Gray straightened as I walked toward him.
“What’s this?” I asked, instinctively catching the keys when he tossed them.
“Peace offerin’,” he replied, his lips quirking up at the side. “Nice to see you again, Teddy. Kids.”
With a nod, he turned and walked a little further up the street and climbed into an SUV.