Chapter Eleven—CJ #2
Considering Uncle Cash’s monied background, his home was rather ordinary.
Even Aunt Bunny and Uncle Digger’s English cottage house had charm.
But this bungalow had brown and green siding that blended in with the forest. The main house was a one story structure where a porch led to the front door.
Attached to the home by a covered breezeway was a two-story building constructed of brick and glass that housed the kitchen and breakfast room on the first floor and the dining room on the second floor.
Not CJ’s favorite style because it made no sense to him.
“CJ,” Uncle Cash greeted when he opened the door. He smiled at Axel. “Ax.”
“Hey, Uncle Cash,” CJ said, guiding Axel in when their uncle stepped aside so they could enter the house.
Loud sobs echoed down the hall. Annoyance crossed Uncle Cash’s face.
“I told Ophelia to call you back and tell you not to come. We can handle Winona.”
“Evidence says something different.” Glaring at Uncle Cash, Axel plugged his ears with his two fingers. “Girls get headaches really quick cuz they can cry for fucking hours.”
“I don’t allow Tarmac to curse, Axel,” Uncle Cash said in a tone reeking of motherfuckery. “If he hears you, he will.”
Axel dropped his arms, and glanced between CJ and their uncle, his brow furrowed.
Unease slid into CJ. He foresaw disaster. Axel wouldn’t be silenced for anyone, and Uncle Cash wouldn’t appreciate that.
“But–”
“Not another word from you, Axel,” Uncle Cash growled.
Confusion knitted Axel’s brow. “Dad lets me curse,” he finally said in a reasonable tone.
“Is he here?” Uncle Cash snapped.
Balling his little fists, Axel stiffened. “He don’t got to be here. He’s my dad, not you. His rules apply whether I’m with him or not.”
“Ax, we have to respect Uncle Cash’s house,” CJ said, hoping diplomacy diffused the situation.
“You got to respect it. All I got to do is call Dad.”
CJ sighed, the burden of being a big brother weighing him down when he felt so vulnerable. He smiled at Uncle Cash. “We want to see Gunner.”
“He’s asleep.”
“With all this noise?” Axel hissed. “Liar, liar, pants on fire.”
CJ clapped a hand over Axel’s mouth, ignoring his little brother’s attempt to bite him.
Uncle Cash yanked his hair in frustration. “This way,” he growled, storming down the hallway, toward the sobs.
The moment CJ released Axel, the little motherfucker punched CJ’s arm.
“Behave, Axel,” he warned, low.
“I’m not respecting no man that don’t respect me, CJ,” Axel replied, committed to thinking of himself as a man.
Since CJ wouldn’t win that argument either against Axel, he didn’t say anything more. For now. On the walk back home, he’d talk to him.
When they walked into the den, the high volume of Winnie’s cries rubbed CJ’s nerves raw.
Uncle Cash’s son, the youngest in the house at almost five, Tarmac, sat in a recliner, arms folded and glaring at his sister.
His brothers, Jasper and Kade, sat side-by-side on the sofa, elbows on knees, chins in hand, staring at Winona who laid on the floor, sobbing at the top of her very strong fucking lungs.
Uncle Cash had been telling the truth. Gunner laid on a pallet in the corner, sound asleep.
“Rebel!” Winnie yelled, drawing CJ’s curiosity away from why the fuck the kid slept on the fucking floor. Mom had all types of travel beds for him. “I WANT REBEL!”
“She’s okay, love.” Aunt Ophelia sat next to her daughter, rubbing her back. “Believe me.”
“No!”
Dropping to the floor, Axel scooted to their cousin and tapped Winnie’s back. She lifted her head, her shoulders shaking.
“The Blonde Viper’s fine, so please shut the fuck up, Winnie. She would look at you like you’ve lost your fucking mind, making all this noise.”
CJ covered his face and drew in a breath, waiting for the explosion.
“Axel—” Uncle Cash gritted right on fucking cue.
“Rebel wouldn’t cry like this?” Winnie asked around sniffles, ignoring her father just like Axel was.
“Sure wouldn’t,” Axel grumbled.
Squinting, CJ looked at his little brother again, unable to believe he seemed to be calming Winnie.
“If you stop hurting my fucking ears, I promise I won’t tell her.”
“I want to talk to her, and Mom and Dad won’t let me,” Winnie said, on the verge of tears again.
“She’s my sister, and I haven’t seen her,” Axel declared. “And Mom’s with her now, so if you cry like that, my dad won’t let you see Reb.”
Sniffling hard and fast, Winnie sat up and wiped her cheeks, although it barely helped. Her face was red, snot leaked every goddamn where, and her brown hair was all over her head.
Axel lifted the hem of her shirt.
“No!” Aunt Ophelia cried. Too late.
Axel had already used it to wipe Winnie’s nose. She giggled.
For a little kid, Axel had amazing confidence and CJ stood a little straighter, proud of his brother.
Sometimes, he wished he could be as unreserved.
Mom and Dad insisted CJ respect adults as he grew up, but it seemed he was the only one with that hard and fast rule.
At least, he was the only one who respected that directive.
Winnie rubbed her hand over her nose again. “Swear you won’t tell Reb?”
Axel held out his hand. “I’m a man of my words. Let’s shake on it.”
Winnie’s eyes rounded, but she accepted Axel’s hand. “You’re a grown man, Ax?”
“Uh huh.”
“I think you mean a man of your word, big head,” CJ said, hiding a smile at Uncle Cash’s appalled expression.
Axel tipped his head back to look at CJ. “But I don’t got just one word.”
“Another expression,” CJ said.
“Okay.” Axel jumped to his feet, leaned down, and jerked Winnie to hers. “I’m going to tell the Blonde Viper to call you soon, okay, Winnie?”
“Can I be called the Blonde Viper?”
“No, stupid,” Axel said, rolling his eyes. “You need blonde hair.”
“Okay, that’s enough,” Uncle Cash barked. “Calling my daughter stupid is past the fucking limit. I’m sure even your father would agree with that.”
Axel stiffened his shoulders, a small kid unafraid of anything and unbothered by his size for now.
“How about I call him, mister?” Uncle Cash continued. “I’ll tell him what a little bully you are.”
Could a motherfucker get a headache on top of a headache? In addition to the throbbing, CJ’s head was beginning to pound.
“Call Dad,” Axel announced. “That way you can explain why that bitch-ass baby is on the fucking floor instead of a bed,” he said, as if he’d read CJ’s mind.
Reddening, Uncle Cash made unintelligible sounds that CJ very much doubted he wanted to understand.
“Cash, it’s okay,” Aunt Ophelia started, seeing the explosion on the horizon.
“The hell it is, Fee!”
“Does Winnie got blonde hair, Uncle Cash?” Axel demanded.
“What kind of a fucking question is that? You see she isn’t a blonde.”
“It’s a stupid question, that’s what kind,” Axel retorted. “The same way Winona was for wanting that name when she don’t got the right hair.”
Aunt Ophelia burst into laughter. “You’re right, bud.”
“No, he isn’t! Don’t encourage his bad behavior.” Uncle Cash looked at Jasper and Kade, who’d been silent the entire time, and pointed toward the hallway. “Go to your rooms.”
“But Papa said he’s ordering pizza when he gets back home,” Jasper protested.
“Pizza, Dad,” Tarmac said, clapping his hands.
“Can I have some?” Axel asked.
“No,” Uncle Cash said irritably.
“Cash,” Aunt Ophelia said with disapproval in her voice.
“What, Ophelia?” He pointed at Axel. “He has no fucking manners.”
“He don’t need manners, Dad,” Kade said. “He got Winnie to shut up when none of us could.”
“Did I ask you?” Uncle Cash looked from Aunt Ophelia to Winnie. “Go to the kitchen and cook something so they can go to bed.”
“Fine,” Aunt Ophelia said quietly. “C’mon, baby girl.” She turned and left.
Before Winnie followed her mother, she ran to Axel and hugged him. “Don’t forget, okay, Ax.”
Frowning, Axel held himself away from Winona. “I won’t. You’re a girl, so stop hugging me.”
It was Winnie’s turn to frown. “You like boys to hug you like Papa and Dad?”
“Out, Winona,” Uncle Cash snarled.
She turned and ran.
A thoughtful expression on his face, Axel narrowed his eyes.
“C’mon, Ax,” CJ said before Uncle Cash lost his shit. He looked like a rabid dog. “Dad’s probably ready to go.”
Pursing his lips, Axel turned to their uncle. “Why’d you make Aunt Fee and Winnie go to the kitchen to cook?”
“You’re a child. You don’t come in my house and question the way I run things.”
“Don’t you mean the way you and Aunt Fee run things?” Axel asked, truly confused.
“I do not.”
“You’re lucky you don’t live with Mom, cuz motherfucker, you would get us thrown out the fucking house with the way you talk to Aunt Fee.”
“Sorry, Uncle Cash,” CJ said quickly. “Ax is on this kick about Mom making us pay if she’s angry at Dad.”
Uncle Cash visibly gritted his teeth, then got down on one knee, eye level with Axel. “I’m the man of the house. That means I make the rules. Since Stretch and me have jobs, it is up to Ophelia to cook and clean. I want Winnie to learn the ways of a woman.”
Axel nodded. “Dad doesn’t know how to cook. That’s why me, Ran and Ry refuse to learn.”
“Exactly. I wear the pants in the family.”
“Doesn’t Uncle Stretch live here, too?” Axel asked.
Annoyance rose in Uncle Cash’s face. “You know he does.”
“Does he wear dresses?”
“What? No! Of course not.”
“Then how do you wear the pants in the family if he does, too?”
“It’s a goddamn expression. One that I don’t intend to explain.”
“Good, Uncle Cash, cuz I didn’t ask for no explanation. At least Dad smiles at Mom, but you’re the grumpiest motherfucker I ever met. Aunt Ophelia and Winona should make you starve like Mom would.”
“Ophelia doesn’t complain. She likes me just the way I am. No, she loves me.”
“Then, she must not know a lot of people. Me and C. came here to get your daughter to shut up and you can’t even feed a man. And all you can do is holler.”
“It’s the way I handle stress.”