Chapter 13 Liza
LIZA
My phone buzzed, and I glanced at the message when I stopped at a red light. The text was from my mom.
Dinner is in thirty minutes. Are you going to make it?
My brothers were in town, so I was heading over to my parents’ place for family dinner. It was always exciting when my brothers made time to come visit, since each of them lived a few hours away, and their busy jobs didn’t give them much time off.
I’m on my way! Be there in five.
I couldn’t wait to see Mason and Michael. From the moment I became a member of the Mims family, way back before I could remember not being a member of the family, the twins had taken on the role of my protectors.
Mom liked telling a story about them immediately being overprotective of me as soon as I walked through the door for the first time.
The twins had been about eight or nine at the time, and Mason had sniffed and circled me as if I was an enemy, but it didn’t take long before he realized I was an innocent little girl in need of protection.
Since then, they were the truest brothers a girl could ever have wished for.
Some nights, when I’d had my recurring nightmare, the twins would be at my side, consoling me before I could even fling the covers off to rush to my parents’ bedroom.
One of the twins would tell me they’d kill whoever tried to hurt me, and the other stood guard at the door.
Not because there was anything out there, but because it made me feel more secure knowing I had them to protect me.
They’d never considered me to be anything other than their sister, even though I was adopted.
Not that their protectiveness never went a little too far, like when they’d busted in on my movie night in the basement with Rex Wilson.
He’d just put his arm around me during a scary scene when they practically broke the door down.
They’d scared the poor guy so much that he never asked me out again.
I had a lot of stories like that from my childhood.
Times when their protection scared away a boy, took care of a bully, or made me mad until I calmed down enough to realize they were simply showing me their love like brothers did.
I pulled into the driveway and parked behind Mason’s giant 4x4 truck. As soon as I walked through the door, my brothers rushed toward me and engulfed me in a brother-hug sandwich. Mason wrapped me in a big bear hug, then Michael did the same from behind.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” I said, finally breaking an arm free enough to push against one, then the other. “It’s good to see you, too, but I can’t breathe.”
They both pulled away, laughing when I inhaled dramatically.
“Wow, let me get a look at the future queen of the south.” Michael stood back with his hands on his hips, a grin spreading on his face.
He was older by ten or eleven minutes, and he was the funny one…
according to him. He was charming, never lacked companionship, and he was, one hundred percent, as quick-witted as he thought he was.
I groaned and rolled my eyes. If they knew half the things being said about me out in town, there would be a brawl, and the last thing I needed was to share that with them, but I didn’t want them to get their hopes up, either. “Please. Spare me.”
They both laughed as we moved toward the dining room.
The mouthwatering smell of baked chicken and roasted vegetables filled the house, and my stomach grumbled in response.
I’d spent all day working and hadn’t stopped to take a lunch break, unless the random vegetables and pieces of bread I’d popped into my mouth counted. My belly told me that did not count.
“Ahh. My heart is full.” Mom walked out of the kitchen clutching her chest, a dish towel tucked into her apron. “All my babies under one roof again. It’s been too long.” Too long for my mother was a couple weeks. I was sure we’d had dinner less than a month ago, under her roof, all of us together.
I gave her a quick hug and peck on the cheek. “Thanks for making dinner. There’s nothing in the world that beats Mom’s home cooking.” She didn’t need the praise, but I adored the smile it gave her.
We all took the same seats we’d had our entire lives, as if we were still children. There was a certain comfort I’d never outgrown at seeing everyone in their usual spots.
Once we’d heaped our plates with food, the conversation flowed. Never a quiet moment in the Mims’ house when the kids were all home. We were so excited to be together whenever we saw each other that we often talked over one another, and tonight was no exception.
“How’s work going for you guys?” I took a bite of chicken and raised my eyebrows at Michael.
He quietly set his glass of water on the table and cleared his throat.
He was the more reserved and introverted twin who preferred not to be in the spotlight.
“Everything’s going well in class. I had a great group of students this year.
They were all extremely bright and full of conversation, which makes my job easier. ”
Michael was a history professor at a liberal arts college a few hours north of Presley Acres. His chosen profession never surprised us, given that he had been a very studious child and valedictorian of his high school graduating class.
“Are you still on the tenure track?” Dad piped up, though he was typically the family member who sat back and listened to the conversation, absorbing every word and taking the time to consider his response. A mid-dinner question was out of character.
Michael nodded, smiling like he’d won the lottery. “Yes. As a matter of fact, it was made official last week.”
“What?” Mom jumped up and rushed around the table to Michael. She pulled him into a long, proud-Mom hug. “That’s fantastic news! Why didn’t you tell us before?”
Michael’s cheeks went pink, and his forehead turned a deep shade of red. He was the kind of guy who didn’t expect accolades and was surprised when he got them. “I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.”
“It’s a huge deal.” Mason, who sat beside Michael, slapped him on the back. “You’ve proven yourself, and now they want to ensure no other universities steal you away.”
Tenure was a career accomplishment. I was so proud of him.
Once the celebration died down, I turned my attention to Mason. “What about you? How’s coaching coming along?”
Mason was the jock and had fallen into coaching football as his profession.
He was damn good at it, too. The boys he coached at the high school had won the state championship title the past four years in a row.
Mason had received tons of media attention, which he never fully appreciated but accepted with grace, anyway.
“It’s been an amazing season.” We’d all gone to the championship game and watched his team, after being down by seven, march down the field to tie the game to send it into overtime.
Eventually, they won and brought home a championship cup.
We were the kind of family who came out for support.
“Next year’s group of boys is looking good, too. ”
He’d always been like this—modest, yet one of the loudest and extroverted people I’d ever met.
“What about you, Liza?” Michael flipped the script on me.
“Anything new in the wide world of catering? You still trying to give Gordon Ramsay a run for his money?” I’d kicked him out of the kitchen once when I was in college because he kept sticking his fingers in the sauce. I’d never managed to live it down.
I wiped my mouth with the fancy linen napkins Mom brought out for the very special occasions we called family dinner.
“Really well, actually. Word of mouth is the only type of advertising I depend on, and most of the well-to-do families now depend on me for their events. Some of them even hire me to prepare dinner for their families during the week.”
“That’s wonderful.” Michael clapped his hands together.
I smiled, feeling proud of my accomplishments. “It is.”
We enjoyed the rest of the meal, the conversation, and each other’s company. It was nice to be together, and I felt a sense of peace knowing that no matter how much time passed, our bond was unbreakable.
I sat back and observed the smiling faces as I listened to the warm conversation. It made me happy that we were all doing well in our lives and our professions, and judging by the glimmer of light in my parent’s eyes, they were beyond proud of their children.
“All right, I have to mention the elephant in the room. Or the alpha, rather.” Mason leaned on the table and squinted at me. “Are you going to fill us in or what?”
Before I could answer, Michael spoke up. “I remember playing football with your future husband.” I was about to interrupt but he kept talking. “I wonder why we didn’t know sooner that you two were fated mates.”
“Maybe because she never came to any of our games.” Michael shot me a smug smile.
I shook my head. “I doubt it, considering that I was still a minor and you’re not supposed to have the ability to sense a bond until you’re of legal age.”
“Yeah, so even if they’d been around each other back then, they wouldn’t have sensed anything.” Mom folded her hands neatly on the table.
I could tell she was a little uncomfortable with the shift in topic. Mom was still trying to come to terms with the fact that I had been matched with the future alpha. All she wanted was for me to be happy, and she had her reservations about me mixing with pack royalty.
“How are things progressing?” Mason cocked his head to the side. “When’s the big day?”
I rolled my eyes. Ty and I hadn’t talked about our future yet. “We’ve only been on one official date, jackass.”
He held his hands in the air. “Whoa. There’s no need for name calling.”
We all laughed until Dad spoke up. “Maybe it would be a good idea for us to formally meet Ty. We are his future in-laws, after all.”
Oh no. I shook my head as my stomach dropped. I wasn’t ready for that. “It’s too soon.”