Chapter 14
Maverick
“ Do you feel better about it now?” my wife asks a few minutes after we leave Ky and Faye’s house in Wellesley en route to Rydeville for Olivia Manning’s birthday celebration.
“Somewhat.”
Shandra sighs.
“I won’t lie to you. It’s hard for me to sit by knowing what that piece of shit did to you, but I made you a promise, and I don’t break my promises.” Trust and honesty are the cornerstone of my second marriage partly because it was lacking so much in my first but mostly because no relationship will ever survive without it, and Shandra is my forever, so I’m taking no risks when it comes to us. That is the only reason I’m not going behind my wife’s back to kidnap, torture, and kill that sick fuck.
“Faye said her lawyer contact is at the top of his game, and he specializes in employment law. He owes her a favor, and she’s calling it in. She’s confident she’ll get an appointment for me immediately. I’ll phone in sick to work on Tuesday and hopefully meet this guy. Faye’s HR advice was spot-on, and I won’t be attending any meetings with HR without my lawyer.”
“I had a thought,” I say, taking the next left turn. “I think we should tell our friends and let Zayn, Sawyer, and Xavier help. Hell, Keven will probably want to help too.” I cast a quick glance at my wife.
She is pretty as a picture today in a summery blue and white dress. Her brown curls cascade over her shoulders, and two diamante clips hold it back at the front. The necklace I bought her as a wedding gift adorns her slender neck, and she’s sporting matching earrings and bracelet. My wife is effortlessly elegant and beautiful and one of the strongest women I know. Her intellect, compassion, and sense of fun round out the full package. I’ve been in love with her longer than I even realized, and I love her more with every passing day. She completes me, and I’ve never felt so content.
“I don’t want to bring it up today. This is Olivia’s special day, and I won’t do anything to ruin the celebration, but I agree we should tell our friends and ask for their help. Nessa and Jackson already know, and it wouldn’t be right to ask them to keep it from the others.”
Shandra and Nessa are best friends, and they spend a lot of their downtime together. My shifts can be brutal and long, and I like that my wife has someone trustworthy to hang out with. Lauder and I don’t see as much of one another as we’re both working a lot, but the four of us try to have dinner at least once a month. He’s a good friend. Kyler too though I don’t see as much of him because he’s in Massachusetts and we’re in New York.
“I doubt I’m the first woman Renford has done this to,” Shandra continues, mirroring my sentiments. I’ve known guys like Renford my entire life. I don’t need evidence to know that prick has forced himself on other women before. “If we can find other women who are willing to talk, we can use it to build a stronger case, and I’m all for that. I’ll gladly welcome help from the guys.”
“Good. I want to bury the bastard and ruin him. If I can’t kill him, I’ll settle for that.”
“Thank you.” Shandra squeezes my knee as I drive out onto the highway. “Thank you for backing down and letting me do things my way, and thank you for loving me as well as you do.”
“You never have to thank me for that. I was always meant to love you, sweetheart.”
The party is in full swing when we arrive. It’s a fabulous day and everyone is outside. Drew and Athena have extended the decking area, and five large circular tables, dressed with white linens and glistening silverware, are set up for the guests. Glass vases filled with pink, purple, and white roses join balloon centerpieces on top of each table. A large table to the side holds a myriad of brightly packaged gifts. Catering staff is busy at work in the covered marquee, and the scents wafting from the kitchen and several outdoor grills are mouthwatering.
The younger kids are messing around in a bounce house while the older kids are either talking with the adults or clustered on beanbags off to one side of the garden.
“Hey guys.” Athena greets us with a broad smile. “I’m so happy you could join us.”
“We wouldn’t have missed this for the world,” my wife says as Drew approaches.
“Anderson.”
“Manning.”
We clap one another on the back. “Good to see you.”
“Same, man. How is big city life treating you?”
“Mostly good.”
He arches a brow in silent question.
“This isn’t the time or place.”
“Got it. What can I get you two to drink?”
“White wine for Shandra, and I’ll take a beer.” We’re staying at Kai and Abby’s place tonight, so I plan to leave my car here and retrieve it in the morning before we travel back to the city.
“Coming right up.” He walks off just as someone from the catering staff walks toward Athena.
“Excuse me for a sec,” Athena says, shooting us an apologetic look.
“No worries, Thena. We need to talk to the birthday girl anyway,” my wife says.
Shandra leads me over to the patio area where most of the women are sitting on couches while the men stand around behind them drinking beer and talking. Olivia is in her element with Jane and Talia on either side of her, Sylvia and their two best friends on another couch, and Abby, Demi, and the rest of the girls spread out among the others.
“Happy birthday, Olivia.” Shandra leans down to kiss her. “This is for you.” She hands her the wrapped frame, glancing nervously over her shoulder at me.
Shandra adores Olivia, and she wanted to give her something special. It was really hard trying to find something appropriate, but we found an old photograph of the original Manning property dating back to 1860 during a search of the property archives, and we had it restored by a leading expert. Shandra checked with Abby first to see what she thought of the idea because Olivia has a checkered history with the old house. Abby thought it was a great idea and didn’t think her mother would have any reservations because it’s a part of her history and one she is keen not to forget even if all her memories of living there aren’t pleasant.
“You didn’t have to get me anything, sweetie.” Olivia rises to her feet. “Having you both here is gift enough.” She leans in and hugs me. “How’s my boy doing?”
Only Olivia Manning could call my forty-five-year-old ass a boy .
“I’m good, Mom. Happy birthday. You look beautiful.”
“Always the charmer, Maverick.” She pinches my cheeks. “When are you going to give me some grandbabies, hmm?”
“Mom!” Abby shrieks, jumping to her feet. “Please don’t start. You need to respect Rick and Shandra’s wishes.”
“You can’t help a mother for trying.” She shrugs and smiles.
“It’s your prerogative,” I tease, not in any way mad or upset. We’re well used to nosy questions about why we don’t have kids. We just say it was a choice we both agreed on and leave it at that. I don’t discuss my private business with strangers, and our friends know and respect our decision. It’s not like we don’t love kids or adore our nieces and nephews because we do. If we were around more, we’d happily sign up for babysitting duty as long as we can hand them back at the end of the night.
“Sorry about her,” Abby says, pulling Shandra aside. “I’m beginning to worry she has Alzheimer’s or dementia.”
“Not a chance.” Kai appears with a wide smile and a tray of drinks. “She’s just being a busybody.”
“It couldn’t possibly be because she doesn’t have enough grandchildren,” Abby quips, waving her hands in the direction of all the kids around the place.
“Enough isn’t part of Olivia’s vocabulary,” Zayn says, coming up and thumping me in the arm. “Good to see you, big brother.”
“Likewise.” I pull him into a hug. “You talked to Roman lately?”
Zayn nods. “Spoke to him a couple days ago. He’s in South Africa doing some shoot. He tried to get out of it so he could fly in for the party, but he wasn’t able to.”
“Last time we talked, he said he was hoping to come back for Christmas.”
“As far as I know, that’s still the plan.”
“Good. We don’t see enough of him or Harley.” A splash of vibrant color catches my attention through the corner of my eye, and I glance over Zayn’s shoulders. My jaw trails the ground, and I rub at my eyes, sure I must be hallucinating. “Did Joaquin bring a date ?”
“Yep. Shocker, right?” Zayn smirks before looking over his shoulder.
All of us are convinced Joaquin will be an eternal bachelor. All the girls have tried setting him up with different women over the years much to his consternation. It’s not like he’s incapable of finding his own dates even if our wives think he goes for the wrong women. He’s constantly got some woman on the go though he never brings them to meet the fam, so this is definitely an interesting development.
“Wow. It’s a miracle I’m still standing. Who is she?” I ask, noting how comfortable Joaquin appears with his arm slung over the shoulders of the tall girl with pink and silver hair wearing a colorful patterned dress that drops to her ankles.
“Nepal.”
“ Nepal? What the what?”
“Knock it off.” Emery elbows her husband and rolls her eyes. “Her name is India, and she’s really sweet. They met at some music event a few weeks ago, and they both seem smitten.” Emery crosses her fingers. “I have a good feeling about this one.”
“You said that about the last ten,” Zayn drawls.
“You give your brother such a hard time.” She sighs.
“He’s still pissy you two got down and dirty,” Kai says.
“Kaiden Anderson!” Abby yanks her husband back. “Quit shit stirring. Oh my god.”
“Well, if we’re going there, let’s talk about that time you let Lauder into your bedroom to watch,” Zayn retorts.
“Round two to little Anderson,” Xavier says before popping an olive into his mouth.
“Let’s not.” Nessa grimaces while Jackson tries to hide a grin.
“I second that.” Charlie clinks his bottle against Nessa’s glass, which I’m guessing contains a nonalcoholic cocktail as the girl hasn’t drunk alcohol in over twenty years. “That is one image I’d rather scrub from my brain.”
“How the fuck do you know about that?” Kai growls, glaring at Zayn before throwing daggers in Jackson’s direction.
“Don’t look at me. I didn’t say a word.” Jackson holds up his palms, professing innocence.
“Please change the subject before I puke.” Abby does look a little green, and I don’t blame her when I spot the wide-eyed look both Jane and Talia are sporting. That’s probably something they’d rather not know.
“I’m so surprised, Kaiden,” Olivia says. “You don’t strike me as the type to share.”
“You’re dead right, Mom. Never have. Never will. That was a one-off, and there was no physical sharing,” my brother explains.
“Just a whole lot of voyeurism and comparing uglies.”
“Zayn!” a chorus of female shrieks rings out.
“I can’t take you anywhere.” Emery sighs again, but there’s no heat behind the words.
“I’ve really missed this,” Shandra says, slipping under my arm. “Sometimes I really hate living so far away.”
“Maybe it’s time to consider relocating.” The words flow without hesitation.
“You’d leave the hospital?”
“They have hospitals in Boston too.”
“Always with the smart mouth.” Her eyes glow in a way they haven’t for days. “Let’s discuss it when we get home, but I’m really open to the idea.”
“Same.”
“Foods up!” Drew shouts to be heard over the noise of the crowd, and kids and adults alike make their way toward the tables.
The rest of the afternoon is spent enjoying good food, plentiful drinks, and sharing laughter with our family and friends.
It’s magical.
Olivia cuts the cake, we sing happy birthday and toast the birthday girl with champagne, and then the grandkids help their grandma distribute slices of the luscious chocolate-cherry cake.
The kids splash around in the pool and play in the bounce house while the adults remain around the tables drinking and talking, and I can’t remember the last time I was this relaxed.
I head inside for a piss, and just as I walk past Drew’s study, the door opens revealing Lillian Barron. Charlie’s little sister is flushed in the face with her hair all messy, and her lips are swollen with her lip gloss smeared. Blood drains from her face when my gaze lifts to the man standing behind her. “I didn’t see anything,” I calmly say.
“Rick.” Arlo drills me with a deathly expression, looking so much like his dad it’s scary.
“No need for the threatening looks, little Manning. I meant what I said. You’re both consenting adults, and if you want to keep this a secret, that’s your right. It’s none of my business, and I won’t tell anyone.” Except my wife, but Shandra will respect their privacy. “You can breathe now, Lillian.”
“Thank you.” Her eyes shine with gratitude.
“For what?” I arch a brow as I walk off, wondering how that news will go down when it comes out. And it will at some point. Nothing is ever a secret for long in our circle.
“Thank you all so much,” Olivia says much later, going around to everyone personally to say goodbye. Her friends left earlier, and Vera and Jake made their exit ten minutes ago. “I’ve had the best day, and my heart is so full.”
“It’s been a great day,” I agree. “Do you need a hand with the gifts?”
“No thank you, love.” She kisses me on both cheeks. “I’m leaving them here. I’ll come get them tomorrow. My car is already full with the little ones.” Amelia, Dani, Charlie, and Aubree are sleeping over at Olivia’s so their parents can let their hair down. It’s been a long time since we’ve all been together like this, and none of us are ready to call it a night yet. I’m glad Shandra and I took a vacation day tomorrow and we won’t have to get up early to return home.
After Olivia leaves, some of the older kids head out to meet up with friends while the rest of them go to Drew’s cinema and game room to hang out. We stay outside until it’s dark, catching up on life.
Kai and Abby tell us Oli has fessed up, and while they’re not ready to talk about it yet, they are now handling the situation. Abby gets all teary even telling us that much while Kai looks ready to raze the world to the ground. We congratulate Nessa and Jackson on their surprise pregnancy, something Shandra and I already knew, and discover Drew and Thena are trying for a baby and they’re a little worried they haven’t conceived yet.
Nessa and Thena disappear to discuss things privately. Jackson and Nessa have had their own share of issues conceiving, and I bet Nessa has lots of good advice to share. Thena looks happier when she returns even if her eyes are red rimmed and her cheeks tearstained.
We tell everyone what went down with Shandra’s boss, and I’m not the only man in the room nurturing murderous thoughts judging by all the dark faces. Zayn, Sawyer, and Xavier offer help before we even get to ask. Arlo fills us in on his new career plans, and by the time it’s dark and we head inside, we’re all more than a little tipsy and ready to let loose.
Arlo organizes the music, and we push the couches and chairs in Drew and Thena’s living room flush to the wall to facilitate a makeshift dance floor. The girls kick off their shoes and dance in their bare feet while the men talk and watch.
Some of the older kids reappear, and they’re instantly dragged into dancing whether they like it or not.
Arlo is clutching his belly with tears leaking from his eyes as Xavier drops his pants, revealing the tiniest pair of Batman briefs, then wiggles his ass, and thrusts out his hips. He loses the pants fully and struts around the dance floor like a peacock wearing only his shirt, those ridiculous briefs, and slides. Of course, the girls are all loving it, playing up to him, and he’s lapping it up like the attention whore he is. Sawyer just laughs at his husband and leaves him to it.
Nessa grabs a hairbrush and jumps up onto the sideboard, singing into the brush like it’s a microphone, belting out the lyrics to an Ariana Grande song. She’s got a decent voice, and she looks thoroughly in her element prancing around like a wannabe popstar.
Abby tries to teach the others some trending TikTok dance, and I watch in amusement as the girls all try to follow her moves while Talia and Oli record it on their cells.
Zayn swoops in, bundling his giggling wife up before she falls flat on her ass after swaying precariously. “Water for this one,” he says, carrying Emery out to the kitchen.
Joaquin’s date is floating around the room with a permanent smile on her face, looking like she’s in her own little world. Thena and Demi are taking a break, both sitting on their husband’s laps, watching the antics with matching grins, though Jane and Lillian are currently trying to coax both women back to the dance floor.
Shandra blows me a kiss as she shimmies her hips and gives me blatant fuck-me eyes. I wonder if it’d be rude to ask Kai for his house keys and call a car because I need her naked underneath me as much as I need air to breathe.
“You look like you need to cool down.” Kai flops onto the couch beside me and hands me an ice-cold beer.
“Actually, I was?—”
“Nope.” He cuts across me with a grin. “No one is leaving until we’re all ready to drop.” The grin transforms into a smirk. “Don’t know about you, old man, but there’s plenty more partying left in this hot, virile body.” Kai points at himself and preens.
“You’re ridiculous.”
“Probably, but I’m still right.”
I clink my bottle against his. “I’ll give it to you but only ’cause I’m feeling generous.”
Kai slides his arm around my shoulders. “Pity Harley and Roman couldn’t be here. I’ve missed all of this.”
“Yeah. It’s been fun.”
“We need to do this more often.”
“Shandra and I are gonna talk about possibly moving back,” I admit.
“To Rydeville?”
“Yep.”
“I would love to have you closer. We all would.”
“Same. City life isn’t what it used to be.”
Kai snorts. “Getting old must suck.”
“Shut the fuck up.” I grab him into a messy headlock. “You’re only a few years younger than me.”
“Those are the years that count though,” he says, punching me in the gut.
“Like I said, ridiculous.” I’m rolling my eyes but grinning as we break apart. For all our shit talk, I’ve missed my little brothers. It would be great to be able to go for a beer with Kai, Zayn, and Joaquin on a whim instead of always having to plan visits and get-togethers. The more I think about it, the more the idea is growing on me, and I hope Shandra feels the same because it feels right.
“We’re so lucky, bro,” Kai says, dragging me out of my head. He wraps his arm around my shoulders again. “This right here,” he says, letting his gaze skate over the room. “This is what it’s all about. It doesn’t matter what problems we have or what shit life throws at us because that’s just…life. As long as we have family and friends, we’ve already won the lottery.”
“You’re pretty profound when you’re drunk.”
“I’m pretty awesome.”
“Let’s not get too carried away.”
We exchange matching grins, and I get what my brother is saying, and I wholeheartedly agree.
Just don’t tell him that.
I hope you enjoyed this little reunion.