Chapter 10 #2
The Franklins were my parents’ neighbors, an older couple who truly hated everybody near them.
Honestly, I didn’t know why they had stayed in this neighborhood for so long.
They disliked anybody who wasn’t like them, constantly tried to get the HOA to kick out my family because we were loud, inked, pierced, and had motorcycles coming to the house every once in a while depending on who visited.
Not to mention nearly all of my family was bi, pan, or gay.
I had multiple family members who were in poly relationships, and had kids within those triads.
My parents’ house was large enough with enough acreage that we even had Montgomery events on the property.
The Franklins hated it and had tried to block off the entrance to our back road, our private back road.
“What finally convinced them to sell?” Nate asked as he walked into the living room and sat on the couch. He practically shoved me out of the way when he did, and I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Hey. Don’t spill the wine.”
“We couldn’t have that.” Nate rolled his eyes and I leaned forward to scrub some paint off of his forehead.
“Did you even shower before you got here?”
“Of course I did. Paint just gets everywhere. I’m in the middle of a scene that’s bothering me. Though I think this paint has to do with the kids at camp.”
I opened my mouth to ask about Bella, then realized I probably shouldn’t. Asking about her would have my entire family on my heel. We really were a nosy bunch.
“Be nice to your brother, and your sister,” my mom said as she sank into her chair. My dad came into the room, handed her a glass of wine that he had just refilled, and took another seat.
Tonight was all about Montgomery family dinner, although I knew my other brother, his wife, and a couple of cousins would be visiting soon. Just because it was our particular family dinner didn’t mean it was just the ones I had grown up with underneath this roof.
“Your uncle bought them out,” my dad said as he grinned.
“Which uncle?” I asked, surprised. I set my glass down so I wouldn’t spill it, and put my feet on the ground.
“Wes, of course. My twin likes to one-up us.”
“How did Uncle Wes finally get the Franklins to sell?” I asked.
“I don’t understand exactly how your uncle can do these things,” my mom said dryly. “But if anyone could do it, it’s Wes and Jillian,” she said, speaking of my aunt.
My father, Storm Montgomery, was twins with Wes. My mom, Everly, had Nate and James before she had married my dad. I had come along later.
My brothers’ half-siblings lived in the area, and usually made it to family dinners, but they were all with their individual families for the evening. In fact, the eldest was on vacation with his husband—another reason that the Franklins have hated us.
“Seriously though, how did they sell?”
“You’re going to have to ask them,” my dad said as the doorbell rang.
My eyes widened. “How many people are coming to this dinner?” I asked with a laugh.
“Your uncle wanted to tell the story, meaning he’s bringing some of the kids.”
“You say kids as if we’re not all in our thirties.” Nate said dryly.
“Addy and Cody are still in their twenties, stop taking my youth away from me, child,” Mom said with a laugh. She stood up, roughed up my brother’s hair just a bit, and then moved to the entryway to greet the others. I gave my brother a look, he crossed his eyes, and we moved to follow.
Nate’s twin James moved in, signing quickly as his wife Sarah said her hellos as well.
James moved close to me and hugged me tightly. “Hello baby sister,” he signed as he moved back.
James had cochlear implants and could hear most sounds but not all tones.
He preferred to sign, and I signed back to him.
We all signed when we were near James, and the entire family—cousins and all—had learned over time.
It reminded me that Reece had learned to sign when he had become friends with Nate, and then therefore James. That man was always so surprising.
And I needed to get him off my mind, because I swore my mother could read my thoughts, and she kept giving me curious looks.
My family had liked Duke well enough and were ready to welcome him to the family.
They had been just as lost as I was when Duke had died.
I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say when it came to my relationship—or lack thereof—with Reece.
After the others came into the house, Uncle Wes and Aunt Jillian followed with both Addy and Riley.
I squealed, and held them close, loving my cousins.
While I was friendly and friends and practically sisters with the majority of the female cousins in my family, Riley and Addy and I were the closest.
As our fathers were twins, we always joked that we were closer in genetics than anyone else.
With the group of us, we were loud, most likely annoying, and yet another reason that the Franklins were selling.
“Where is Cody?” my mom asked.
Aunt Jillian hugged my mom tightly and just smiled.
“Cody’s out on a date but he sends his love. We sort of surprised you with this family dinner and we’re crashing yours. Sorry about that.”
“We’re here to annoy all of you, so that’s all that matters,” Riley said with a wink.
Riley had to be the most bubbly of all of my cousins.
She ran the art gallery—and therefore saw Reece every time that he dropped off Bella.
And it had been Riley that I had spoken to in order to get Bella back into the camp.
She had numerous questions, and had been very careful about them so far, but from the way she was looking at me, I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold her off for long.
Addy was slightly quieter, and traveled often, and I was so grateful that she was here.
I loved the girls, and having grown up with two older brothers, it was nice to have them in my life. It’s like I had sisters, rather than just the annoying stinky brothers I knew.
“Okay, everyone into the living room and open dining room, I have cheese,” my mom said.
“There’s a reason why he married you.” Uncle Wes kissed my mom smartly on the mouth and then ducked my dad’s fist.
They all joked and moved into the living room, and I rolled my eyes.
“And to think, Uncle Storm dated our mom first,” Riley teased.
I shuddered. “Why do you always bring that up? I don’t need to know what my dad and Aunt Jillian did.”
“I’m just saying, it’s all in the family,” Riley teased.
I shoved at her shoulder playfully, and they rolled their eyes before we moved into the living room.
“By the way, I invited Reece and his daughter to dinner,” my mom began, and I froze.
“I know that things are a little tumultuous, and he has an amazing family, but I met Bella when I went to help at art camp, and she was the sweetest. But they couldn’t come today.
He did say he would come next time though.
” My mother gave me a pointed look, and I tried to stare anywhere but at her.
Reece had been invited? He hadn’t told me.
My stomach ached, and I tried to look like I wasn’t going to throw up.
“Okay, we’re going to talk about this soon,” Riley whispered against my ear.
I ignored her and listened in as Uncle Wes told the story of how he finally got the Franklins to sell.
Apparently all it took was back taxes and forgetting to pay mortgage payments.
“Seriously? They kept calling us low lives, and they weren’t paying their bills?” my dad asked.
“Are they okay?” The worry in my mom’s tone just reminded me how amazing that woman was.
“Oh, they’re fine. They had plenty of money in the bank, they just didn’t want to pay the man.” Uncle Wes rolled his eyes.
“Typical,” Nate muttered as he looked down at his phone.
“Well, what are you going to do with the property then?” Mom asked.
“Well, I figured I can get one of the construction crews to clean it up, and we can make sure a Montgomery family in need takes it.”
“I want it,” I said, raising my hand.
As Uncle Wes worked and owned Montgomery Inc, he just stared at me.
“What? I think it takes youth and new knowledge in order to make the place special.” I pressed my lips together so I wouldn’t laugh, but Riley and Addy burst into giggles anyway.
“Ouch. Are you calling me old?” Wes asked.
“That means you’re calling me old too,” my dad said.
“Totally.” I shook my head as everybody either groaned or laughed.
“Actually, I’ve always loved that house, and the property itself. Even though we weren’t supposed to actually be on it, it was fun when we would dare each other.” I gave my brothers grins, and they each flipped me off.
“Hey, be kind. And we all knew that you were trying to get on their property,” Mom said dryly.
“Well, the good news is I was thinking of you, Lex, and Dash. I know you’ve always loved the house,” Uncle Wes said, and I smiled.
“Really?”
“Of course. And frankly, a few of the outbuildings have a lot of fire damage, and I don’t know if they can be saved. Your man Reece would be the perfect person to help out with that.”
“Oh, he’s not my man.” I blurted the words and everybody stared at me before Riley put her hands over her mouth, and Addy giggled.
“Hey, let’s get more cheese,” my mom said, trying to save the conversation, but there was no saving it.
“Oh? Is there something we should know?” my dad asked.
“We’re pregnant,” Sarah blurted, and James just grinned like a kid in a candy store, and suddenly all attention was off my snafu, and on the fact that I was about to be an aunt.
Tears pricked my eyes and I ran past Nate, practically shoving him out of the way and held Sarah close
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you. And you’re welcome.”
I rolled my eyes and hugged my sister-in-law tightly.
All conversation turned towards the new baby, and the fact that my parents were about to be grandparents. However, right as we moved into the dining room for dinner, both of my cousins pulled me into the hallway.
“Okay, spill,” Riley ordered.
I shook my head. “No, we should be focused on the fact that we’re having a new baby in the family.”
“There’s always going to be another Montgomery in this family, but, are we about to have a Fox-Montgomery?” Addy asked.
“Ooh, that’s a good one,” Riley said as she held up her hand. The two high-fived, and I glared at them.
“Stop it. This isn’t the place.”
“What happened? Just tell us. Was it good?” Riley asked, her voice soft.
I pressed my lips together, before I closed my eyes, and nodded dramatically.
The girls squealed and did a little dance in the hallway, and I sighed.
“I have no idea what I’m doing. The foundation gala was terrible, and then we were kissing, and there was a bathtub and well.” Since everybody was still focused on Sarah and James, I quickly explained what happened with Duke’s family, Reece, and what had happened when he had taken me home.
My cousins stared at me, slack jawed, and I winced.
“What, say something.”
“I want to punch Duke’s family, but I feel like that would be wrong,” Riley said.
“They were always rude to us, and now I can hate them. I can hate what happened to them, but I can also hate them.” Addy nodded tightly. “And as for Reece? Oh my God. He’s so hot.”
“Shush,” I snapped quietly. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know what we’re doing. And this is the worst place to talk about this.”
“Yes, it is. And so we’ll have girls’ night tomorrow. And we’ll spill about everything.”
“Like how about the fact that I’m surprised you’re even here because you’re usually attached by your mouth to Patrick?” Addy said dryly.
Riley blushed. “I can’t help it. My boyfriend’s adorable. And I love him.”
I sighed happily.
“I love you for loving Patrick too. However, we should probably get back before they start questioning things.”
“Oh, little sister, we’re questioning things,” Nate said as he leaned against the doorway.
“Stop. Don’t say anything,” I said to him, pointing at my brother.
“Oh, I won’t. Although, I like Reece. And I like his little girl. She has spunk, and is fantastic at drawing. She’s been working with Oliver.”
My heart squeezed and I moved forward.
“Really? I didn’t want to ask and be weird about it.”
“Bella has so much talent. Once camp’s over, you should talk to Reece and make sure she takes lessons with us. It’s not something we normally offer, but since she’s Reece’s, and yours in a way, we’re there.”
“Nate—” I shook my head, my throat tightening. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. He might have to fight for custody, and I’d just be in the way.”
My brother moved forward and pinched my chin, forcing me to look up.
“You’re never in the way. You were never in the way with Duke and his dumb-ass family. And you’re not in the way with Reece. I know he has a lot going on, and I’m going to give him some grace for that. But if he fucking hurts you, I’ll break him.”
“Nate.”
“No. I get to be the big brother here. Just like I’m the big brother for you two,” he said to Addy and Riley.
My cousins snorted in unison.
“We have a younger brother that tries to act like the big brother.”
“Hey, our fathers are twins, the genetics are twisted enough that I’m going to be the growly big brother for all of you. Don’t disappoint me.”
“And how is it our fault?” Addy asked, brow raised.
“It’s not. It’s always going to be the man in your life’s fault.
Or the significant other in your life, depending on who you’re dating.
However, just be careful. I love you, little sister.
And I like Reece. And I like the fact that he’s stepping up and proving to be a really fucking good dad. This is messy, little sister.”
I sucked in a deep breath, as Riley moved forward, and wiped a tear from my cheek.
“It’s okay to be messy. Okay to make mistakes.”
“Okay, frazzled Ms. Frizzle,” I said with a laugh.
“It’s true you know. Now, let’s go eat some cheese and celebrate a new Montgomery. And don’t worry. I really like Reece.”
“So do I. I think that’s the problem.”
My brother’s eyes darkened, and then he wrapped his arm around my shoulder, and led me into the dining room with the others.
My relationships had always been slightly complicated, and it seemed like it wasn’t going to get any better.
But even this dinner, the one that I had needed to get away from thinking about Reece and what would happen, had already been wrapped around him so tightly, there had been no escaping.
And if we broke something, if we hurt each other, it would twist so many other avenues.
Yet I knew I loved him. I had been falling for him in increments for far longer than I care to admit.
And now I needed to deal with it.
Even if that meant walking away.