Chapter 12
JONAH
By the time I get down to the kitchen, the guys have traded the root beer for Budweiser and the Go Fish deck for real cards. “Texas Hold ‘Em?” I ask
“You know it,” Nick says, shuffling the deck.
“Deal me in.” I take my seat at the table and reach for one of the beers. My brothers are still giving me those weird looks. “What?”
“Things are, uh, going good with Ellie?” Mac asks, rubbing the back of his neck. A sure tell he’s about to have a conversation he finds uncomfortable.
“They are.” I put plenty of warning into my voice, even though I doubt they’ll heed it. My brothers are hard to put off when they have their thick heads set on something.
“Looks like you’re getting pretty comfortable with the kid,” Lawson puts in, and I clench my fist against the table.
“If you assholes have something to say, you should just say it.”
“It just seems like this is going really fast,” Mac says, his expression worried. Nothing new there—I swear to God my oldest brother was born with that exact same furrowed brow. The dude never relaxes, not about anything. “Them living here—”
“They’re living here to keep them safe,” I snap.
“Which we fully support,” Sawyer cuts in, giving Mac a warning look. “The situation with her ex is fucked up. We get that. I’m happy to have them here until that asshole is back in jail.”
My stomach clenches at that thought. Obviously the end goal is for Kevin to be behind bars—for a damn long time, if there’s justice in the world. But that doesn’t mean I’m looking forward to the trial. The idea of Ellie in the same room as that fucker makes my blood boil.
Of course, I’ll be there with her. She’s never going to be alone with him again.
But what I really don’t like is my brother’s implication that Lucas and Ellie staying here is just temporary. Am I going to be ready for them to leave once I know they’re safe?
Fuck no. The very idea makes me feel sick.
“Shit,” Sawyer mutters, watching my face, and I know that my twin just came to the exact same conclusion I did. “You love her.”
For a brief second, I think about denying it. A lifetime of living with these assholes has taught me that the last thing I ever want to do is hand them ammunition for giving me shit. But fuck it—this is too important to lie about.
“Yeah,” I say, glaring at him, just daring him to give me a hard time. “I do.”
“That’s great, man,” Nick says. I notice none of my brothers join him in sharing the sentiment. “Ellie seems like a really cool girl. Jules is crazy about her.”
That has me smiling despite my growing anger at the looks I’m getting from my brothers. “Ellie likes her, too. She didn’t have many girlfriends back in Georgia.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mac and Lawson exchange a glance and my temper spikes. “What?” I snap.
“Look, man,” Mac says. “It’s not that I’m not happy for you—”
“Then what the hell is your problem?”
“She has a kid,” Lawson says pointedly. “That’s a big damn deal.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
“This can’t just be a fling,” Mac says. “You can’t just play Dad with some little kid and then flake out when you get bored.”
The urge to flip the table is strong. Nick’s hand comes down on my shoulder, as if to keep me in place, and I wonder just how pissed off I look.
“I’m not going to flake out, fucker, but thanks a lot for the vote of confidence.”
Mac holds up his hands. “I’m just saying, you don’t exactly have the best track record with women.”
“When’s the last time you were with the same chick more than two nights?” Lawson asks.
“And you’re any better?” My second oldest brother is the biggest manwhore in the county.
“I’m not the one playing house.”
“I’m not fucking playing house!” I snarl.
It’s only the thought of Lucas sleeping down the hall that keeps me from shouting at him.
“Maybe I don’t have a good track record with women, but you’re not getting it.
None of those women were Ellie.” I look to each of my brothers, letting them see the fire in my eyes. “That woman is a game changer.”
Their expressions run the gamut from confused to disbelieving. Nick, though, gives me a knowing look and nods.
“I’m not saying you don’t care about them,” Lawson tries again. “I’m just saying, this is a shit ton of responsibility you’ve taken on your shoulders.”
“In a really short amount of time,” Mac adds.
“And you think I’m not up for it.” I don’t bother to hide the bitterness in my voice.
“No one thinks that,” Nick cuts in, shooting a warning glare to the others.
But they do. I can see it in every one of their faces. “You don’t think I can step up when I have to?” I snap. “I’m sorry, was I not there with the three of you when we were setting up the bar? Did I not work my ass off, the same as you? Did I not save every damn penny to put back into that place?”
“Of course you did all those things.” Mac’s voice is placating. “But this is a kid. A family, bro.”
Lawson eyes me warily, doubt swimming in his eyes. “You need to be honest with yourself, here. Do you really think that any of us have the ability to be someone’s parent?”
It hits me, then, what has them all worked up. Not one of the Barlowe boys sitting at this table thinks they have the ability to be that for someone. A parent. A reliable figure. Someone who loves and provides and sets an example.
I can’t blame them. It’s not like we had the greatest role-models. I never would have thought it of myself, either.
But it’s like I already said—Ellie is a game changer.
“I need you to listen.” I lock eyes with my twin. Sawyer is the only one who hasn’t been an active participant in this conversation but he doesn’t need to speak for me to know what he’s thinking. The doubt, the concern for me, is written all over his face.
“All of you,” I add, looking at the others. “Listen real good. I’m in love with Ellie. I love her kid, too. Was I expecting any of this? Did I plan for it? Shit no.” I smack my hands against the table in emphasis. “But it happened. And you know what? That makes me feel damn lucky.”
I jerk a thumb over my shoulder to point at the hall.
“Getting to be in that kid’s life makes me lucky as hell.
Am I going to screw shit up? Definitely.
But I already know I’ll be a fucking lot more reliable than his piece of shit father.
I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to stick, whether you think I can do it or not. ”
Before any of them can respond, Nick’s phone dings with a message. He lifts the screen to his face, and lets out a low curse.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, immediately on alert. Thoughts of Ellie’s ex showing up at the club start spinning in my mind. If something happens—
Nick grimaces and hands me the phone in.
There’s a picture on the screen, the four girls locked arm-in-arm on the dance floor.
My eyes go straight to Ellie. Her cheeks are pink, her hair a little disheveled She’s grinning huge, her eyes bright and happy.
The expression on her face has a warm rush going through me.
Then I take in the rest of the picture and the warmth turns to ice. The girls are fucking surrounded. Yes, they’re on a dance floor, so a crowd is to be expected. There are couples and plenty of women caught in the shot.
But there are also a lot of men. Men whose attention seems totally focused on our girls.
I look up at Nick, seeing the same dark anger reflected in his eyes. “We could just go hang out in the back,” he offers. “They won’t even know we’re there.”
God, it’s fucking tempting. But this is Ellie’s first girl’s night out. I can’t go storming in there like some controlling, jealous asshole. God knows she’s had enough of that in her life.
“Let me check in with her first,” I mutter, pulling out my own phone. I tap out a quick message to my girl, asking how it’s going.
Ellie: OMG, so fun!
Ellie: I having so, so micch fun, Jonah.
Ellie: Did you no long ihland ice tea tastes just like reguullar ice tea?
I groan. The idea of her throwing back Long Islands is not a comforting one. Nor are her blatant misspellings.
Me: You’re not overdoing it, right? Those things are way stronger than they taste.
Ellie: I no.
That message is followed by a string of emojis. Most of them are easy to identify—hearts, the fire icon, dancing women, cocktail glasses. There’s also a dinosaur and, inexplicably, a surfing man.
“Fuck. She’s wasted.”
“I’m telling you, man,” Nick says. “We can hide in the back. I can be very sneaky when I want to be.”
“You’re both being ridiculous,” Lawson says, pulling Nick’s phone from his hand to see the photo that has us so worked up. “This pic is tame as hell. They’re just hanging out.”
“With men,” Nick growls. “Look at all the fucking men.”
“You sound like a psychopath,” Lawson says.
Nick glares. “You’re telling me you’re okay with your sister being ogled by a bunch of drunken frat douchebags.”
“No. But I wasn’t okay with her being corrupted by my best friend, either, asshole.”
Nick smirks. “Good point.”
Since the last thing I’m in the mood for is another argument about our old friend Nick stealing our little sister away, I go back to my phone.
Me: Please be careful, Ellie. I want you to have fun but I don’t want you to get too drunk, okay? It’s not safe.
Ellie: Imm nota that drunk.
Then she sends me a string of laughing emojis.
Ellie: Not as dirnk as Arden.
There’s a pause and then a video pops up.
I have a bad feeling in my stomach as I open it but I don’t see Ellie on the screen.
Instead I see Arden, my little sister’s best friend, dancing on top of the bar.
She has her arms over her head, singing at the top of her lungs, and a good two dozen guys are looking up at her.
I groan. “We should never have let them go out with Arden. I always knew that girl was a menace.”
Across the table, Mac’s gaze snaps to me. “What about Arden?”
“She’s corrupting our women,” Nick says, watching the video replay over my shoulder.