15. #3
Mayne had been considered a part of my family since my dad and his siblings were very young, but when he and Wrath’s sister-in-law got together, he became an official member. I’d known him all of my life, so I understood Dad’s hesitance when he found out that Stan’s father was a friend of his.
“He’s got friends from all walks of life, Loki. You know that,” Wrath chided.
“That’s true,” Dad admitted. “Okay, go on then.”
“She bought that massive place so that if . . . when one or both of the men recover enough to move out of long-term care, they can live with her.”
“So, if you and this woman build a future together, that’s going to include a team of guards and two men she used to love and pledged neverending loyalty to?” Styx asked. “Fuck, Rin. Go big or go home doesn’t have to apply to every situation!”
Papa burst out laughing before he said, “What the hell do you expect when he’s part of this family? None of you have ever done something normal on the first try!”
“Yes we have!” Styx argued.
Wrath was laughing, too, when he pointed at Creed and said, “You started your relationship by yelling at the woman’s kids.
” He pointed at Styx and chuckled before he said, “You started yours by shitting your brains out in her bathroom.” When he pointed at Thorn, the man narrowed his eyes, but Wrath wouldn’t be deterred.
“ You lied to your woman for months about who you really are.” When he pointed at Dad, he said, “And you almost lost the one you loved because you’re a pussy and ran away at the first sign of trouble. ”
“Says the man who started the relationship with his wife by trying to seduce her so he could blackmail her ass,” Styx retorted.
“And the only reason I blew up her goddamn bathroom was because she gave me some kind of weird potion, although it wasn’t nearly as bad as the poison the crazy one gave me in the first place. ”
“You just made my point for me,” Papa said, still laughing. “None of you know how to be normal, and after all these years, I realize there’s no hope of that ever happening. Why should I expect my children to be any different?”
“Do you love her?” Thorn asked, ignoring Papa.
“I barely know her!”
“But you care about her enough to bring all of us together for advice,” Styx pointed out.
Creed nodded, “That’s saying something.”
“I trust your opinions when I can’t figure out things enough to form my own.”
“So, you want to know our opinion on this situation,” Creed mused as he leaned back in his chair with a pensive expression.
“I’ll tell you mine. She sounds like the kind of woman a man would be lucky to have by his side.
She’ll be there, supporting him through thick and thin, even when there’s no hope for her life to ever go back to the way it once was. ”
“There’s no denying that her willingness to put caring for those she loves ahead of what she wants is a big factor. That’s a good woman, right there,” Wrath agreed.
“There are some vague similarities in falling for a woman with children,” Styx noted.
“I can see that,” Thorn agreed.
“The comparison has merit,” Creed said thoughtfully. “I say that coming from a situation where my wife’s ex is one of my closest friends. It’s possible to have a great relationship with the ex of your partner, but you’ve got to get past your own ego in order for that to happen.”
“Creed’s ego is wider than all outside,” Styx teased. “If he can do it, so can you.”
“The question is, do you want to?” Dad asked.
“It’s still early. We’ve only known each other a short time, but I like her a lot . . . much more than you’d think possible.”
“She sounds wonderful,” Thorn said cheerfully. “I like her already.”
“I do too,” Dad added. “I guess the big question is, since those men are going to be in your life as long as she is, will you be able to care for them too?”
“I would like to think I’ve got enough in me to help someone who needs it, no matter who they are.”
“You do,” Papa said firmly. “But if things work out with Stan, these men are going to be part of your family.”
“And part of our family,” Thorn added.
“And just so y’all know, I’m perfectly okay with that.”
Styx nodded before he said, “I’m with Wrath. The more the merrier.”
“Our family is good at accepting people who are different,” Thorn boasted.
“Says the one who’s weirder than anyone else,” Dad teased.
“Has this conversation helped you at all?” Papa asked.
“Absolutely.”
“You knew what you were going to do before you got here, you just wanted some validation.”
I nodded at Creed, and he smiled before he said, “You’re a good man, Rin Martin, even if you’re a little weird.”
“He gets it from me!” Thorn boasted with a grin.
“Technically, I think he got it from me,” Papa pointed out.
“Osmosis!” Styx blurted loudly.
“Did Katrine buy you another one of those damn word of the day calendars?” I asked. When Styx glared at me, I smiled before I teased, “She did, didn’t she?”
“You’re my least favorite nephew.”
I laughed before I replied, “I’m perfectly okay with that.”
“What’s the next step?” Dad asked.
“The next step is to wait patiently for her to return home from visiting her family in New York and then make her see that I’m the kind of guy who can accept her for who she is and what she brings to the table.”
“You’re a good man, son,” Dad said as he rested his hand on my shoulder.
“Another thing he gets from me!”
As the men in the family turned on each other with good-natured insults and teasing, I looked around and, not for the first time, thought of how lucky I was to have them behind me with support when I needed it and by my side when I needed something more.
My last name may be Martin, but I was a Tempest to the core.