Chapter 9 #2
“It’s something my dad used to say to my mom,” I tell her, avoiding admitting what the words translate to.
My dad’s family was Italian, and he was bilingual.
He rarely spoke the language unless he was particularly worked up, then he’d blurt angry rants in a language only he understood.
But whenever he was being cute with my mom, he’d whisper Italian words of love into her ear.
“I know Cora mentioned coming down to see you today, but would you like to walk over to her place instead? It’s not far, just over the brow of the hill.
The Barnetts are a little chaotic, but they’re good people.
I think meeting them and knowing that they’re close will make you feel a little more comfortable here. ”
“Do you think she’ll mind us just showing up?” she asks.
“No.” I laugh. “She won’t mind. But you could always text her and let her know if that would make you feel better.”
“I…” Her cheeks turn pink. “I don’t have a cell.”
Not wanting to embarrass her, I take my cell from my pocket and pull up Cora’s number, putting it on speakerphone, I hit dial then offer it to Verity.
“Hey, Warrick,” I hear Cora answer.
“Oh. It’s actually Verity.”
“Oh yay. I was hoping you would text or something. Are you still okay with me coming to meet you?” Cora asks.
“That’s actually why I’m calling. Warrick suggested that we walk up to your place, but I don’t want to just show up uninvited,” Verity says, her discomfort evident.
Reaching out, I take her hand in mine and feel some of her tension fade away.
“You should definitely do that, because I know I said I wanted to get out of the house, but my feet are killing me, so I was going to have to let Huck drive us over in the golf cart, and I refuse to give him the satisfaction of being right about me being too pregnant to walk,” Cora says.
“Come on over whenever you’re ready. No one sleeps in this house, so we’re all up already. ”
Ending the call, Verity hands my cell back to me, and I silently question if I can order her a new cell under the guise of safety or if she’ll think I’m overstepping, considering she’s already questioning my motives.
Once she’s mine, I’ll just tell her she’s using it without giving her a choice, but we’re not there yet.
“Shall we head over?” I ask.
Verity nods, then glances down at her clothes. She’s wearing the same baggy shirt and shorts she’d been wearing yesterday while she was volunteering. Her hair is braided down her back, and she’s only missing the cap that hid her face from me the first time I saw her.
“I should get changed?” she says, as much of a question as it is a statement.
“You look fine to me, but I can wait if you want to,” I tell her.
“I’ll be right back,” she says, ripping her hand from mine as she pushes to her feet and darts up the stairs.
She comes back down less than two minutes later in a pale blue sundress, and my dick surges to life as I take her in.
The dress is modest but pretty. It has thick straps, covers her chest, and the hem ends just below her knee, but the fabric is just sheer enough that I can make out a hint of her underwear as the sunlight hits it.
If we were going anywhere but the Barnetts’, I’d tell her to change, but none of the men in that house will be looking at her, because they have their own women to ogle. They won’t be interested in mine.
“That’s a really pretty dress, amore mio.”
“Thank you,” she says shyly.
“Are you ready to go?”
At her nod, I stand up and hold out my hand to her. Without giving it much thought, she places her palm on top of mine, and I smile to myself as I lead her out of the house and up the hill toward the Barnetts’ place.
Her steps slow the moment she sees the house ahead of us.
“It’s okay, amore mio. They’re crazy, but you’ll like them, and they’ll love you. I promise.”
The front door opens before we have a chance to knock, revealing a very pregnant Cora standing in the entrance.
“You’re here,” she greets brightly, waddling toward us with one hand supporting her back.
“Hey, Cora,” I greet.
Cora’s smile widens when she looks from me to Verity, then to our entwined hands hanging between us.
“Hey, Warrick,” she says, then immediately dismisses me as all of her attention moves to my woman.
“Hi, Verity, it’s really nice to meet you in person,” she says, hooking her arm through Verity’s and pulling her away from me.
I reluctantly let her go, watching as Cora chats animatedly as she guides her into the house, leaving me to follow behind.
“Warrick,” Huck says the moment I step through the doorway.
“Huck.”
“She yours?” he asks, quietly enough that only he and I can hear.
“Yep.”
Nodding, his lips twist into a smirk. “Does she know?”
“Nope,” I confirm.
“Got it,” he says on a chuckle.
“She needs to know that she’s safe with me,” I confess.
“Cora and the others will reassure her,” he says, slapping me on the back.
“I hope so,” I confess, watching her walk away, my eyes fixed on the sexily innocent white panties I can just see through her dress as she sways from side to side with each step she takes.
Like every other time I’m in the Barnetts’ home, it’s loud and chaotic but oddly comfortable. A very pregnant Lulu joins Cora and Verity on the couch, while Cora tries to point out which of the kids running around are hers.
“I can’t believe you’re going to have a third kid soon,” I tell Huck, my attention still focused on Verity from the other side of the room.
“I love seeing my wife pregnant,” he boasts happily.
“Are you finished after this one?” I ask.
“Hell no. I want as many babies as she’ll give me. She says she needs a few years off after this one, but since she had Mav, birth control doesn’t seem to stick, so I’m hoping to be working on number four soon.”
“Is she going to be okay with that?” I ask.
“Probably not.” He laughs. “She’ll accuse me of deliberately getting her pregnant again, but she knows these last two pregnancies had nothing to do with me and everything to do with our kids being that one percent.”
“One percent?”
“Yeah, birth control is ninety-nine percent effective. We’re the one percent.”
Chuckling softly to myself, I wonder how Verity will look pregnant. I want kids, but not straight away. I want to enjoy her first. She’s only twenty, so we have plenty of time.
“I know that look,” Huck says, his expression knowing. “Hits you like a Mack truck when you realize your woman is yours, doesn’t it?”
I nod, in total understanding since the first time I met him and his brothers. “I had no idea,” I admit.
“How did you find her?”
“I was bored the other morning and decided to walk one of the trails. She was volunteering to help the hikers in the parking lot, directing traffic and handing out maps. I could barely see her face, but I still knew.” I don’t tell him that I found her sleeping in a tent or that she’s homeless.
He doesn’t need to know that. She’s mine now, and my home is her home.
She’ll never sleep in a fucking tent ever again if I have anything to do with it.
“I’m happy for you, man. This town has a way of making things work out. The girls are going to make her join their little club, though, so get ready for them to take her out drinking.”
“That’s not happening,” I growl.
Huck scoffs. “Our women don’t take no for an answer.”
“She’s only twenty, and even if she was old enough, I don’t want her drinking.”
“How old are you?” Huck questions.
“Too old for her, but I don’t give a fuck.”
Chuckling, Huck nods in understanding. “Let’s go and see what Cora and the others are saying to her,” he says, heading over to where the two pregnant women and Verity have been joined by Alice and a handful of kids.
“Drinks?” Huck asks as he approaches the group.
Cora, Lulu, and Alice reel off their drink orders, then all eyes land on Verity, who looks shell-shocked and overwhelmed. “Err,” she falters.
“Could I grab a water?” I say, diverting Huck’s attention. “Amore mio, water?”
“Yes, please,” she says, flashing me a grateful look that makes me feel six inches taller.
I’m not sure if it’s deliberate or simply a coincidence, but the space beside Verity is empty, and I lower myself onto the couch, then silently reach for her hand, squeezing it lightly to reassure her.
“Are you working in town?” Lulu asks, scooping a child off the floor and into her lap.
“I’ve been volunteering for the ranger service while I look for a job, but I haven’t had much luck so far,” Verity admits.
“It’s the time of year,” Cora says. “All of the seasonal jobs have been filled, and it’ll be a few months before people quit and businesses start looking again.”
Verity deflates at Cora’s words, and the part inside of me that wants to be her savior prickles with the need to do something to make it better.
“That should work out okay. By the time you’ve taken a few weeks to relax and reenergize, I’m sure there’ll be vacancies you could apply for,” I suggest optimistically.
I’m not completely lying. She does need to spend some time recuperating from months of no food, safety, or a home.
But by the time she’s back to her full strength, I plan for her to understand that she doesn’t need to work.
I’m willing and more than capable of providing for her.
No, more than that, I want and need to take care of her, and as far as I’m concerned, her working would be a waste of her time and energy when I can give her everything she needs.
“Reenergize?” Cora questions. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” Verity says, flashing me a glare.
“She’s had a tough few months, and I’m sure you all agree that self-care is important,” I say, ignoring her annoyed expression.
“So important,” Lulu says, backing my cause with ease. “As women, we have a tendency to think we’re superheroes, but sometimes it’s important to prioritize putting yourself first.”
“I’m sure Warrick will make sure you’re taking care of yourself,” Huck says, returning to the group and handing out drinks.
“So you all live here, in this house?” Verity asks, avoiding the topic of herself and me looking after her.
“Yep.” Cora laughs. “The guys all grew up here, and their dad built this place for their mom. After they met us, we all moved in, and we’ve just been making it bigger and bigger so we all have our own spaces, as well as this communal kitchen and living space so we can all be together.
It’s weird, but it works for us. I think I must have lived in a hippie commune in a past life, because being here with all of them has always just felt normal to me. ”
“I found it overwhelming to begin with,” Alice confesses, her voice quiet and meek.
“But now I love having so many people around who care about me. Jumper’s Row is the same because everyone is there for everyone else.
Verity, once you get to know all the guys and their partners, you’ll have gained a huge new family you had no idea you needed. ”
Verity’s expression softens, and she sighs wistfully, like the idea of having people who care and want to look after her is a pipe dream and not about to be her new reality.
Selfishly until now, a part of me had wanted to keep her all to myself, but now I want to give her more family than she’ll know what to do with.
She might not understand that she’s mine just yet, but I need to introduce her to my brothers, who are both my team and my family, so she can see that they’re hers now too.
“We should get going,” I say after an hour.
“Oh,” Verity says, the wide smile that had spread over her full lips not long after we arrived sliding off her face.
“Come and have dinner with us one night once Warrick is back on shift,” Lulu says. “The other girls all tend to hang out together when the guys are working, but we’ll make them share you with us for at least one night,” she says excitedly. “That way you can meet the rest of the family.”
“Oh, I—” Verity starts.
“That sounds great,” I interrupt. “Verity’s cell broke, but I’ll grab her a new one before I go back on shift. I’ll send you her number so you can add her to the dozens of group chats you ladies have.”
“Perfect,” Cora says, eyeing me, then Verity, before a knowing smirk twists across her lips.
“Verity, I know I said it before, but truly, you’re one hundred percent safe staying at Warrick’s place.
But if you get bored or lonely, we have a guest room here empty and waiting for you if you need it.
It’s important that you know that you have options, okay. ”
Anger bursts to life inside of me, and I feel my expression darken as I glare at Cora. Verity is not leaving me and moving in here. She’s mine, and neither Cora nor any of the Barnetts will be taking her from me.
“Oh.” Verity’s cheeks turn pink, but I pull her to her feet before she has a chance to take Cora up on her offer. The Barnetts are my friends, but if they try to take my woman from me, they could easily become my enemies.
“She’s fine,” I tell Cora, flashing Huck a look.
“Peaches,” he coos, wrapping his arms around his pregnant wife’s belly. “Behave,” he whispers against her ear.
“Speak soon, Verity,” Cora says, ignoring Huck completely.
“It was really lovely to meet you all,” Verity says shyly, before allowing me to guide her outside and back home.