30. Griffin
Griffin
“Loving you was never in my control, it was destiny, and perhaps the only thing forbidden that felt right.” – Kiera Cass
“ I need a cold beer after that shit show,” Luke grumbles, and I grunt in agreement.
But what they should’ve been preparing themselves for were the local crazies who think it’s okay to go picking flowers and herbs growing along the road buck naked !
Clearly, this wasn’t the case and the poor couple from Montana and their friends in the back of them got the shock knocked out of them, causing the first car to slam straight into the rails and the other following right behind.
Thankfully, all the passengers were mostly uninjured with only mild scrapes and one concussion and were extremely polite given the circumstances.
However, the same can’t be said for Mr. Loveter who spent the better half of an hour, refusing to put on some damn pants and screaming at the top of his lungs about freedom to use his body in whichever way he wants.
Somehow, his wails reached the ears of Love Hive and a minute later we had a riot on our hands.
“I feel bad for Tuck,” Luke says, hanging up his gear as I do the same.
“Same. Something tells me he won’t last long.”
Tuck is a good guy, but he isn’t a Loverly Cave native and got the shitty end of the stick when someone higher up appointed him to take over our Sheriff’s Department when Gary Lovecore finally had to retire. The guy is way in over his head.
“I thought he was going to faint when they all started stripping right there and then.”
Yep, I said it. As soon as the rest of the crazy gang heard Tuck was about to arrest Mr. Loveter for public indecency, they all started stripping alongside.
Luke groans, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Please do not remind me! I’ve lost the fucking count of how many times I told my parents that was not fucking okay!”
Luke’s and, unfortunately, my parents were amongst the crazy gang.
I might feel bad for Tucker but not bad enough to watch that. Thankfully, the passengers from the cars are already en route to town. The towing companies were there to load the cars, so Luke and I hightailed it out of there as soon as the shirts came off.
“Mate, they won’t change. Just accept that fact already and drown your sorrows with that cold beer in”—I glance at the clock—“four hours.”
“Wanna head to LPs after the shift?” he asks and as tempting as that is, I’d rather drown my sorrows in my girl.
“Maybe another day. Julie’s been sick the past few days.”
“Sick?” Luke draws his brows in concern. Sometimes, I forget that he sees her as his little sister as well.
Guess I’m not the only one who didn’t get the memo and went and fell in love with her instead.
But God, am I ever in love. I don’t know why I still haven’t come clean with her about it.
Why I’m holding those words hostage when it’s as clear as a day that she’s it for me.
Known it for the past six weeks since our blind date.
No, scratch that, I’ve known it for far longer.
“Yeah, she’s been feeling off for a few days and threw up yesterday morning. Looks like food poisoning.”
“Food poisoning?” Luke asks, his voice holding a note of skepticism I don’t like not one bit.
“Yeahhh,” I draw out. “What else could it be?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” he mocks. “These things called babies in the bellies. You know, they make their mama’s sick in the morning too.”
“Bab—” I stop with a burst of laugher. “Julie’s not pregnant, Luke. It was one sick morning, that hardly classifies as pregnancy.”
“Are you sure?” I don’t get to tell him fuck, yes , I’m sure because the blood leaves my body at the next sound.
“You motherfucking fucker! No, scratch that! Sister fucker!”
I have to blink a few times to understand what—who—I’m seeing right now.
“Callum?” My voice is a hoarse whisper. The guy glaring at me only sort of resembles my best friend. The hair is the same dirty blonde shade and curls on top. So are the eyes, but those hold a cold gleam in them now as well. But the rest? The rest belongs on a lethal weapon instead of human.
I’ve seen Navy Seals before, obviously, but this is a whole other fucking level.
“Oh look at that, you do remember me. And here I thought you suffered some sort of amnesia and forgot everything.”
“Fuck me ten ways to Sunday,” Luke murmurs.
Oh, hell, he knows! How does he know so fast? When did he come back? Why didn’t Julie say anything?
But the questions have to wait when he starts walking toward me and as much as I’d love to just fight it out, we are two grown adults. We can deal with this as such, right?
“What the fuck happened to not touching my little sister, you asshole?”
“I tried. Callum, I swear I tried.”
“How hard?” He keeps advancing.
“Very!”
“Doesn’t sound convincing based on what I just learned? I warned you to stay away from Julie, didn't I?” All maturity flies out the door. Who’s he to tell us what we can and can't do?
“I’m talking to you, asshole,” her brother interrupts me.
“Oh, get fucked, Cal,” I snap.
“Did he just say what I think he said?” Callum asks Luke. “Did he just tell me to get fucked?”
“Mm-hmm, and what are you gonna do about it? I vote for skinning!” Luke raises his phone to his ear. “Grace, you better get here right this second. And get popcorn. Wait, never mind, do not get the popcorn, this show is too good to save our house from burning down right now.”
“Dude…you need help. So much fucking help.” I stare at the asshole I call my best friend who looks to be having the time of his life. “Callum, can we talk like grown-ups?”
“You always liked to play with all of my toys. Now, you moved on to my sister.”
Apparently, not… “What did you just say?” I step closer to him. “I think you need a time-out, buddy.”
“It's like kindergarten all over again,” Luke squeals excitedly. So. Much. Fucking. Help.
“Luke, go connect the hose,” Cal calls out.
“The hose?” I furrow my eyebrows. “What do you need the hose for?”
“To wash your brains out!”
By the time I catch up, Callum already has it pointed my way, and a blast of water hits me. “Christ!” I yelp from the cold, hard jet of water hitting me square in the face.
Thankfully, Luke at least has the brains to pass the psycho our garden hose not the fire one. Still a fucking asshole move, though!
Before he can turn the hose on again, I snatch it out of his hands and turn it back on him.
“The fuck?” Callum cries in outrage. “As if you don’t have enough to die for today!”
“You’re such a stupid prick, Callum Clover Lovinski!” Screw being an adult right now! I open fire again, but all too soon, he’s on me, wrestling the hose out my death grip.
I try to turn around, but the idiot tackles me, taking us both down as he clutches my hand.
“Let. Go,” he grinds out.
“As soon as you grow some brains.” I match his tone, ripping at his fingers that he uses to try to rip mine off the hose.
“Some friend you are! When you asked me for my favorite sniper rifle, what did I do? I did as you asked. Couldn’t extend the same fucking courtesy, could you?” He gets a slightly better grip at the hose, but I take it back instantly.
“Are you seriously comparing me dating your sister to a freaking gun you gave me in third-fucking-grade?”
“All I asked for was for you fuckers to leave my Julie alone!”
“In your fucking dreams.”
“My current dreams consist of murdering the asshole who made my sister throw up her guts the whole morning!”
“Trust me, I feel horrible that she’s sick! But there’s not much we can do with food poisoning!”
“Oh, she’s poisoned all right, by your DNA!”
“What the fuck are you—”
“Pregnant! You got my little sister pregnant!”
“Ha!” Luke yelps and then slaps a hand over his mouth, trying to suppress that stupid, gleeful grin on his face while all I can do is just stare.
“What…what did you just say?”
The world stops.
I mean that literally.
Every sound. Every moment. Every second on the clock, it all stops as soon as his words echo through the station, rattling off the walls and climbing into my slowly catching on, brain
My grip slackens, and Callum rips the hose off my fingers.
Julie is pregnant?
That wasn’t supposed to happen. It wasn’t…
“Griffin.” Callum bares his teeth.
FUCK! Julie, my Julie , my Birdy is pregnant. With my baby. I’m going to be a dad. A father! We’re going to have a baby!
My baby…with the love of my life.
The sudden rush of emotions and feelings is almost too much. It’s overwhelming.
Oh my God, she doesn’t know! She doesn’t know how much I love her and she’s having my baby. And I’ve been wasting my time here fighting in the sandbox with Callum.
Callum doesn’t matter. No one else matters right now. Only her.
My feet start moving, but Callum’s hand catches my shoulder, stopping me.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“I am going to see my girlfriend.”
“Girlfriend.” His lip curls. “Forget it!”
“Hilarious, this one is.” I throw my thumb at Cal as I speak to Luke. The latter throws a handful of popcorn into his mouth and hands the bag to his wife who appeared out of nowhere.
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
I turn my attention back to the newly returned porcupine—aka the uncle of my baby.
“You are not touching my baby sister.”
“Oh yeah? And who’s gonna stop me? You?” I take a step into his space, knocking his hand off my shoulder. “I’d like to see you fucking try. I won’t waste the big words on you right now because your sister deserves to hear them first, but she’s mine. Always was and always will be.”
“Callum! Grifffin!” Julie’s shaky, breathless voice fills the room, and my eyes find her immediately.
She’s panting so hard—she has to hold onto the wall to keep herself standing. “Oh, thank God you didn’t kill each other yet—” She cuts herself off when she sees us. “Why are you both dripping wet?” Julie shrieks and then turns her cute glare at her older brother. “What did you do?”
Fucking sexy when it’s not directed at me.
Hell, who am I kidding, she’s always fucking sexy, especially now…