2
Tennyson
“Dada!” Ezra shouted, breaking Ten out of a dream where he was getting a little pirate booty of his own.
“DADA!” Ezra pushed open the door to the master bedroom. “You wake up, now or you walk the prank!”
“Walk the prank, huh?” Ten asked, scooping Ezra into his arms. He checked the clock and was surprised to see it was nearly half past eight. “You and Daddy let me sleep late.”
“Daddy, said seep. Cap’n Ezwa says no. Wake up!” Ezra giggled when Ten poked him in the stomach.
“Why are you so anxious for me to get up?” Ever since they’d come back from their trip to Hampton Beach, Ten had been slowly testing Ezra’s gift. He wasn’t nearly as powerful as Everly had been at this age and Ten didn’t want to push his son.
“We go Yarrrrrmouth!” Ezra said, sounding like a pirate.
“We are?” Ten asked. “Did Daddy tell you that?”
Ezra shook his head, sending his dark hair flying. “Me see sip-wreck and Sam.”
Ten wasn’t expecting Ezra’s answer. “You see a shipwreck?” At the party, when Jude mentioned a shipwreck off the coast of Cape Cod, Ezzie had been in the pool.
He wasn’t close enough to have heard the adult conversation at the table, not with Everly and Aurora singing while Wolf and Lizzie splashed each other.
Ezra nodded. “Me see Sam.”
“Who’s Sam?” Ten asked. The name didn’t ring any bells for him. He reached out and hugged his son until Ezra decided he’d had enough.
Shrugging, Ezra climbed off the bed. “We go Joooo’s house. Hurry!” The little boy scampered out of the room.
Fifteen minutes later, after a quick shower, Ten was ready to leave the house. When he walked into the living room, the kids were watching an episode of Jake and the Neverland Pirates. “Do we know anyone named Sam?”
Ronan shook his head. “I don’t think so. Why?”
“When Ezra came to wake me up, he mentioned seeing a sip-wreck and Sam. Is he a character on the cartoon the kids are watching?”
“There’s no one with that name on the show. Do you think Ezra had a vision?” Ronan wore a nervous look.
“I’m not sure. It’s too soon to tell.” Ten took a deep breath. “I can’t read his gift like I can with Everly.”
“What do you mean?”
“When Everly sees something she can’t explain or doesn’t have the vocabulary to describe, I’ll take her hand and piggyback on her vision. Usually, I’m able to figure out what she sees. I can’t do that with Ezra.”
“Do you think he’s too little for that or maybe he doesn’t have a grasp of what he can do yet?”
“Maybe,” Ten said, considering Ronan’s point. “We knew Ezra was going to have some gifts like mine, but they don’t come with a manual or a road map. All we can do is let him develop on his own and go from there.”
“Keep me updated?” Ronan pulled Ten closer and kissed him.
“Always,” Ten agreed. “You up for another quest, Long Dong Silver?” He felt himself blush. Red hot pirate roleplay had not been on his bingo card, until last night.
“Long Dong is always on the hunt for elusive booty, will Suckin Mecock be serving as me first and best mate?” Ronan asked, grinning wickedly.
“You know Suckin aims to please!” Ten grabbed his husband’s booty and kissed him.
“Oh brother,” Everly said. “Me and Ezzie are hungry and Uncle Jude’s making chocolate chip pancakes. If you and Daddy want to stay here and do,” Everly waved a hand at her fathers, “whatever this is. I’ll walk Ezra across the street.”
“We’re coming. I’m hungry too.” Ronan bit out at Ten with his teeth, clacking them together.
Grabbing his phone and a notepad, Ten headed for the front door. He really hoped they’d be able to find some kind of house to rent on the Cape. Ten knew he shouldn’t, but he really had his heart set on this trip.
“Okay, out the door with ye scurvy dogs,” Ronan said, ushering everyone outside.
“What’s scurvy?” Everly asked.
“It’s a condition where you don’t get enough Vitamin C,” Ronan said.
Everly looked to Tennyson, as if to confirm what Ronan was telling her. “What does that have to do with pirates?”
“Some ships stayed out at sea for months or even years at a time. They ate a lot of salted fish and biscuits. There wasn’t fresh fruit or vegetables on board. Not having enough Vitamin C made your teeth fall out and other terrible things.”
“Ew, I’m sorry I asked.” Everly took Ronan’s hand and crossed the street. She knocked on Jude’s front door.
“Finally! I’m starving!” Wolf said, when he opened the door.
“My dads were being weird,” Everly said with a long-suffering sigh.
“They’re always weird!” Wolf led Everly into the kitchen.
“Finally!” Jude said. “Where have you guys been?”
“Seeing things no daughter should ever see!” Everly grimaced at Jude.
Jude looked as if he didn’t know how to respond to that comment. “Pancakes?”
“Yes, please, and bacon. I could smell it across the street.” Everly licked her lips.
“I’ll make plates for everyone. You kids can eat in the living room.” Jude started dishing pancakes out, as the kids left the room and Fitzgibbon walked in.
“I have news,” Fitz said, taking a seat at the table. Jace was right behind him.
“Give me five minutes to get the kids settled and we’ll talk.”
“I’ll take those.” Cope grabbed the plates of food and the maple syrup and brought them into the living room. “Okay, I’m back.” He took a seat, just as Jude set a plate in front of him.
“I spent the morning getting in touch with rental agencies on the Cape. I wasn’t having any luck until I remembered that I’m married to a real estate mogul.” Fitz rolled his eyes.
“I know you mentioned pirates and I know how much the kids like sharks, so I called a friend who manages properties in Wellfleet.”
“Where exactly is Wellfleet?” Jude asked.
“It’s on the forearm of the Cape,” Jace said, “just below the fist, which is Provincetown.”
“I never realized Cape Cod looked like an arm,” Jude said, sounding puzzled. “Did you find a house to rent?”
“As a matter of fact, I did!” Jace grinned triumphantly. “There’s a renovated sea captain’s house, complete with a widow’s walk, and a path down to the ocean. Three of the six bedrooms face the water, and the rest of the house has stunning views of the dunes.”
“How did we get that lucky?” Ten asked.
“Welllll,” Jace began, “there’s the rub. In order to get the house, I had to promise my friend that he could have our Boston penthouse for the entire month of August at no cost. I hate that place anyway. It was more my father’s home than mine. I told him he was welcome to it.”
“What are the dates we can have it?” Ronan asked, looking excited.
“July 5th through the 19th. Summer in Provincetown should be a blast.” Jace waggled his eyes at Fitz. “We’ll take the kids to a drag show, do drag brunch, spend time on the beach. Visit the pirate museum and take the kids on a shark watch.”
“What the hell is a shark watch?” Ten asked, having a very bad feeling about Jace’s answer.
“It’s like a whale watch, only for sharks. Great whites love to spend the summer on the Cape too.”
“Hold on a second,” Ten said, sounding alarmed. “We’re going on a beach vacation where sharks swim in the water?”
Ronan snorted. “Hate to break it to you, babe, but there are sharks in the water everywhere we swim. It’s their home, you know.”
“I know that, Ronan, but great whites? They eat people.” Ten shivered.
“Not on purpose, Ten,” Jude said.
“I’ll remember that when Jaws is snacking on me. I say, good sir, would you mind noshing upon those tasty looking seals, over yonder?” Ten felt a dash of panic rise up his spine.
“It will be fine, Ten. The kids don’t actually swim in the ocean, they just dip their feet. There are life guards on Marconi Beach, as well as shark spotters. If there are sharks in the area, they close the beaches.” Jace’s tone was reassuring, but Ten was still worried.
“We’re going on a shark tour?” Everly asked, walking into the kitchen with empty plates. Aurora and Wolf were behind her.
Fitz nodded. “Does the idea scare you?”
“Sea puppies!” Everly and Aurora said together.
“What the hell is a sea puppy?” Jude asked.
“Sharks, Uncle Jude,” Everly said, sounding as if Jude should have already known that. “Sharks are sweet and adorable with all those teeth. It wasn’t Jaws’ fault he ate all those people. He was hungry. I’d do the same if I was a shark.”
“Uh, Jaws?” Ten asked, feeling a headache coming on. “Ronan, please tell me you didn’t show our precious eight-year-old daughter a movie about a shark that eats innocent vacationers.”
“Not it!” Ronan exclaimed, sounding triumphant. “For once your little smear campaign is in vain.”
Ten turned to Jude. Before he could open his mouth, Jude beat him to the punch.
“Double not it!” Jude set his hand on his heart. “That movie scares me, there’s no way I’d show it to the kids.”
Ten frowned. “Well, if it wasn’t Ronan or Jude, who showed you the movie?”
Grimacing, Everly pointed to Fitzgibbon, who looked ready to run for his life.
“It wasn’t my fault. We were gonna watch Frozen for the dozenth time and I was making snacks. Jaws came on whatever channel the television was on and we were twenty minutes into it when the little boy was eaten and all hell broke loose.”
“And Pipit, Daddy! Don’t forget Pipit!” Aurora added. “I didn’t mind that the boy was Jaws’ lunch, but eating the dog went too far!”
“Way too far,” Everly agreed.
“I booked the house for us,” Jace said, “but if you want to cancel and look for something less shark infested, I will.”
All eyes were on Tennyson. He’d seen Jaws at his first and last sleepover party when he was thirteen years old.
He’d told his mother what they’d watched and was never again allowed to go to sleepovers, birthday parties, or play dates unless she was there, which in itself was enough reason to stay home.
Ten wasn’t going to take this adventure away from the kids, never mind the adults, who all looked like they could use two weeks on the beach with their only worry being sunburn. “I say we go.”
“We’re in too,” Jude said.
“What about us, Daddy?” Aurora asked, are we in too?”
“Well, I need to think about it,” Fitz said, scratching his chin. “Sharks, plus sand, carry the one…”
“Daddy, please!” Aurora batted her eyelashes. “I want to go to see sharks.”
“Okay, we’re in too, but if a shark bites you in the booty, don’t come crying to me. Got it?” Fitz asked with a giggle.
“Got it!” Aurora agreed, clapping her hands. “The only thing left to do is go shopping for pretty sun dresses!”
“And bathing suits!” Everly chimed in. “Hats, sunglasses, a beach bag, books, and shark tee-shirts.”
“Shark tee-shirts?” Ronan asked.
“Yeah, so the sharks will know we’re their friends.” Everly grabbed Ronan’s phone and tapped several times. “See!”
She revealed a pink shirt with a cute shark and a saying. “Just a girl who loves sharks,” Ten read over Ronan’s shoulder.
“I like the purple one,” Everly said.
“Me too!” Aurora gushed.
“Me wike pink!” Lizzie shouted from the kitchen door.
Ten sighed. He was outnumbered and he knew it. “See if they have ones for boys who like sharks too.”
“I don’t see one like that, but they do have one that says ‘Shark Bait.’” Ronan nibbled his bottom lip.
“Get me one in pink,” Ten said and the girls cheered.
Everyone agreed they wanted to spend a few weeks on the Cape. There was no way Ten would stand in the way of his family having a great vacation, but he also wasn’t going to stand where a hungry shark could bite his booty.