FLAME #2
The door swings open, and we hear a loud, deep voice say, “Overreacting?” from the man suddenly standing in the door. He’s as tall as me, and has dark skin and black hair. His beard has grey peppered all through it. I have no idea who he is, but he is looking down at Willow in frustration.
“A package was delivered to your front door after all of your surveillance was shut down and got in without opening the front gate, while whoever the fuck delivered it was walking around doing who knows what on your property. Don’t even get me or your dad started on what was in the box.
If you’re going to tell Jackson the story, do it right.
” He finished his lecture, and Willow is standing in the same spot, looking down at her feet.
“I was getting to that part. I just didn’t want another man in that house freaking out about something that I could take care of on my own.
” She’s defensive as she looks up at the guy at the door, who exhales and looks to the sky, like he is looking for patience up there.
Smoke and I turn back to Willow with the same questioning looks, waiting for her to elaborate.
“When I saw the box, I stopped because I usually have all of my packages delivered to my dad’s house, or I have a lockbox by the front of the gate, so no one comes onto the property.
I checked the gate log and saw that my gate never opened.
The motion sensor that activated the camera was never triggered.
Then, I looked at the camera footage for the front door and all the cameras from the front of the house were all knocked out when the package was delivered, and came back on after the box was left.
I called Gig for them to come over so I had back up, in case it was a bomb threat or a trap to get me out of my car by myself,” she says, and takes a quick breath, like she was trying to get all of that out on one.
“What was in the box?” Smoke asks with anger in his voice.
“Nothing dangerous,” she replied, and the guy at the door clears his throat. She looks back at him and sighs loudly.
“Fine. It was a few pictures of me around town and a poorly written poem. Of course, when I get a stalker, it has to be one that is bad at poetry.” She narrows her eyes at the man at the door in a challenge and he lifts his brow and barks a “Willow!”
“Okay! So, it was a few hundred pictures, and full disclosure, there were some of me and you from our meeting at the coffee shop. That’s it! Happy?” she says in an irritated tone to the guy at the door and crosses her arms over her chest.
“I’m not happy about any of this, but yes, I am glad that you told Jackson everything and didn’t downplay it like you have been trying to do with the rest of us for the past two hours.
If he is a part of this family, he deserves to know what is going on,” the guy says to Willow and then turns to Smoke.
“She thinks she is a burden and can handle this herself. Don’t let her fool you—you don’t know all of her tricks yet, so I’ll help you out until you do.
” He sticks out his hand and smiles for the first time since he opened the door.
“Nice to finally meet you, son. I’m John, Willow and the boys’ grandpa.
” Smoke takes his hand and shakes it, looking confused.
“Don’t mess with him yet, he doesn’t know you’re kidding,” Willow says, looking more and more flustered as she looks between John, Smoke, and me.
“What? You are my grandkids. I’ve known your dad since he was six, and I’ll be damned if people don’t acknowledge my title.
I’ve put up with too much of this family’s shit over the decades,” he says while smiling at Willow.
She sees it and smiles back, letting Smoke and I see how much they care about each other.
“Nice to meet you, John. I’m working on figuring out Willow, but to be honest, just texting her is exhausting. It may take a while before I can do it in person,” Smoke says to John.
“Seriously? Here I thought that I had a brother that I wasn’t going to have to maim on a regular basis, but I guess we are all disappointed here,” she says as she walks over to Smoke and gives him a hug that I’m jealous of, wondering how long it will take her to feel comfortable enough around me to just walk into my arms.
Smoke hesitates for a second, not used to physical affection from a family member, but finally wraps his arms around her waist. Just when he gives her a light squeeze, we hear her hiss in pain, and Smoke immediately lets go, looking worried.
“I’m sorry—” he starts, but Willow cuts him off.
“It’s okay, I just got a little banged up on the way out of the job.”
“Willow!” John barks at her again in frustration.
“Okay, okay! I just got a little grazed when some guys were shooting at me on the way out. It didn’t need stitches, it just bled like a bitch for a while.
I’m glad I never expect to get deposits back for rental cars.
” She chuckles at the end like she made a joke, and neither Smoke nor I see the humor in what she just said.
“You got shot today?!” Smoke shouts after we process what just came out of her mouth. I’m starting to realize that I am going to have to dig to get the full story from my little Fox in the future; it’s going to be a full-time job.
“You were texting me, and you never mentioned it! Did that little detail really slip your mind?” Smoke starts to rant.
“Technically, it was yesterday that it happened…” Willow trails off. Smoke stops and looks up to the sky for answers like John did. Maybe it’s a Willow thing? Making the men that care about her question their sanity?
“Look, Will already broke our new brother,” comes from the door that was left open when John stepped out.
I look up and see the three huge figures standing in the doorway, all looking out at the scene playing out on the front porch.
They are pretty intimidating when they are standing together, and I have no idea how anyone can tell them apart.
“No one asked you, Ben. And he isn’t broken! Well, okay, I don’t think he’s broken, maybe just processing?” Willow says while looking at Smoke with concern, like she actually did break him.