Chapter 26 Blake #2
Rolling my eyes, I shoved him out the door and locked the house behind us.
Meanwhile, Parker checked the locks on the bolts that were keeping our house in place.
Every few days, our house had been moved to a new property since we got the damn thing, and this was the only thing we could think of to keep it in one spot, which just happened to be Maverick’s driveway.
“Heading out?” he shouted from his porch as we walked to the curb where the truck was parked.
“Dinner at the folks,” Parker answered.
“Hang up! I’m coming!”
I watched in fascination as Maverick leapt over the railing and bolted down the drive to catch up to us. It was still shocking that people in this town just invited themselves over to another person’s house and had no qualms about dropping in at any time of the day.
Me? I liked a heads-up about visits. Last week, someone stopped by to drop off a meal and I wasn’t wearing a bra. Parker might like seeing me like that, but I was pretty damn sure he didn’t want anyone else seeing my nipples on display.
“Hey, Wes. Anything new?” Mav asked as he climbed into the back of the truck.
“Yeah, they were talking about dicks and didn’t warn me,” he grumbled, pulling out his headphones again.
“Dicks, huh? Anything in particular?” Mav asked, eyeing me curiously.
“Yeah, did you know that half your penis is inside your body?”
He snorted in amusement. “Any man knows that. Don’t you know we’re obsessed with our dicks? That’s something you learn when you realize you can tug on it and give yourself happy thoughts.”
Men were so weird and fascinating at the same time.
“And on that note, do you know what your mom is making for dinner?”
“Soup and steak.”
My mouth was watering at the idea of steak. Her soup was delicious, too, but a hunk of meat was never wrong.
“Do you think she’ll have baked potatoes, too?”
Chuckling, Parker glanced over at me as he pulled out onto the road. “Baby, do you want me to call her?”
“No. You can’t make that kind of request. Besides, it’s not like you can just toss baked potatoes in the microwave. It takes time to make them. And what if she doesn’t have the oven preheated? It could delay the whole meal!”
“Done,” Mav said. “She’s on it.”
I spun in my seat and glared at him. “You messaged her?”
“Of course I did. Girl, we have a whole thread about feeding you.”
My glare quickly melted into shock. “You do?”
“The whole town is in on it. Parker lets the diner know about any cravings you’re having so you can always grab what you want.”
My gaze swiveled to my hubby. “You do?”
“Baby, what kind of man do you think I am? Of course I have you covered.”
That was surprisingly sweet and also so very horrible because I felt tears welling in my eyes, and I just couldn’t have that. In the last month, this pregnancy had made me more emotional than ever, and I absolutely hated myself for it.
“Well…” I cleared my throat, willing away the mounting pressure in my chest. “Good for you. Keep it up and you might just get to prove to me that half your dick stays inside your body tonight.”
“God, someone shoot me now,” Wes rumbled from the back.
“I thought you were listening to something.”
He grunted, ignoring me otherwise. This kid was never going to forgive me for the things I said to him, but they were necessary.
“You know, it’s been a long time since I had a home-cooked meal. I should really come along more often to these family gatherings,” Mav grinned.
“Or you could go to your parents’ house,” Parker suggested.
“Why do that when your mom cooks so much better?”
“Because they’re your parents and they might want to spend time with you,” I said.
“Right, but then I’d have to hear their opinions on my love life and my job and even my house. Trust me, this is much better.”
“I would take dinner at your parents’ any day over mine,” Parker grumbled.
“I would be happy just to have my family close by,” I cut in, tired of hearing them complain about their families. “You guys have no idea how lucky you are.”
“Here we go,” Parker sighed.
“What?”
“The whole, whoa was me. My family is so far away. I swear, I’m gonna hear about this until the day I die.”
“Is that so?” I asked, my voice holding a little more bite than necessary.
“Hey, I’m just saying, you could invite them up. You keep saying you want to see them.”
“Because I miss them!”
“Then tell them to come here. Or we can go to them.”
“We have to watch Wes. We can’t just abandon him at the house. Not when everyone keeps moving it.”
“Right,” Mav chuckled, “but it would be totally fine if the house was bolted down.”
“You know what I mean,” I snapped.
“Can we just make it through this dinner and argue about whose parents are better at a later time?” Parker asked.
“Fine.”
“Fine by me,” Mav grinned, always ready with a smile.
So, we stewed in silence for the better part of the drive, and it wasn’t until we were pulling in the driveway that I felt something was off.
“Why are there so many cars here?”
“It’s not that many. The family is here,” Parker said, shifting into drive.
“Right, but—”
“Are we gonna sit out here and count cars or go inside?” Parker asked.
“I’m ready to eat!” Mav said, jumping out. “Let’s go, kid. The food’s gettin’ cold.”
I was the last one out, still wondering why there were so many cars. Parker walked over and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me in tight.
“Did I tell you the house is almost done?”
“It is?” I asked, beaming up at him. “Thank God. We couldn’t last too much longer in that tiny house.”
“Yep, they’re just putting a few finishing touches on it. Don’t ask me what they are. I told him whatever he did, we needed an instruction manual.”
“Wait, are you talking about Knight? I thought you said he wasn’t going to be involved!”
“I did, but it’s Knight. Did you really think he was going to sit back and stay out of this?”
“He’s gonna blow up our house again,” I muttered.
“If we’re lucky, this one will last us at least a year. Oh, and I asked him to put in reinforced glass on the windows. I can’t be too careful around you.”
“Ha ha,” I said, sticking out my tongue.
The door opened before we could get there, but it wasn’t anyone from Parker’s family standing there. It was my dad and my brothers. All of them.
“What are you doing here?” I gasped, running at them. “You were just here!”
“We had to come for the unveiling of the new house,” my dad said as he wrapped his arms around me.
“Sam, what are you doing here?” I asked my older brother, diving into his arms. I hadn’t seen him in years. He was always busy with his boxing career, and rarely did he take the time to visit.
But when I hugged him tightly, I heard a heavy intake of breath and stepped back, my face paling as I saw the pain etched on his face.
“What is it? What happened?”
He shot me a sardonic smile, playing off how badly he was injured. “Just a little damaged from the last fight.”
“A little? You look like you can barely move!”
“Nah, just a little bruising.”
My dad and brothers exchanged a look that was filled with so many heated questions, but now wasn’t the time to grill him. I’d have time for that later.
“Well, it’s good to see you.” Stepping back, I pulled Wes closer, even though he rolled his eyes at me. “Guys, this is Wes. He’s staying with us. Wes, this is my dad and my brothers, Todd, Adam, Sam, Doug, and Matt.”
I was so excited that I had already forgotten about the food. And then I spun, slapping Parker across the chest when I realized what he had done. “You set this up!”
“Well, of course I did. I told you I would take care of you,” he grinned.
“Yeah, but…” My lip quivered as I stared at the man who so lovingly took care of my every need. “Stupid hormones,” I muttered.
He laughed, tugging me closer and pressing a kiss to the side of my head. “Good surprise?”
“Well, I won’t be shoving you through a window anytime soon.”