Chapter 12
twelve
Fletcher
Tate, sweetheart,” my mom wraps her arms around Tate as I drop our bags by the front door, “I’m so happy you're home.”
She steps back, grabbing Tate’s face between her hands, taking her in.
“Thanks, Mom, happy to see you too.” I roll my eyes, causing her to laugh, before hugging me.
“I see you all the time. I only see my sweet Tatum when she comes home for the holidays. Which isn’t nearly enough.”
“Tate also has FaceTime, so you could video chat with her every day, just like you do with me.”
“I might just do that.” My mom pats my cheek and then points toward the kitchen. “Your mama is in the kitchen. Could you go help her?”
“Of course.”
I give Tate a small smile and then head into the kitchen, which is barely visible through the crowd of people. I didn’t expect everyone to be here already. I assumed my older siblings would come out tomorrow morning, but I guess with the snow, they thought it was better to be safe than sorry.
“There he is!” I hear my mama’s voice before I see her, thanks to the kids running around. They don’t seem to care that I’m here. They’re probably all running to find Tate. They like her more than they like me. “I was worried the snow was going to be too bad and you guys weren’t going to make it.”
“It’s not that bad yet.” She pulls me in for a hug. “And we wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
“Since the basement is being redone, we had to change up the sleeping arrangements. I hope that’s okay.”
Over the Spring, we experienced heavy rainfall here in Illinois, which caused a significant flood in our basement, destroying most of it. They thought it would be the perfect opportunity to remodel it so that holidays were a little more comfortable.
“I don’t mind at all. Where are Tate and I staying?”
“Tate’s going to be staying with the girls in our room,” she begins. “I know you guys always stay in the same room when you’re here, but being out the whole basement—”
“No, I get it.”
Every time we all come home, the couples always get the bedrooms.
Somehow, Tate and I were always included in that if she wasn’t staying at her own house.
We got my old room, while my oldest sister, Lauren, and her husband, Sam, got my parents' room, as they had their two kids, and it was the biggest room in the house. My older sister, Miranda, and her husband, Julian, slept in the older girl’s room.
My oldest brother, Freddie, and his wife, Abigail, slept in the room of the younger girls.
My other brother, Chase, and his girlfriend, Stella, slept in the office in the basement.
Eight of my younger siblings slept in the common area of the basement, which they loved because it was like one giant sleepover. Bode, on the other hand, always slept with our moms in the living room.
It seems like it would be an overwhelming situation, but honestly, I don’t know who I’d be without it.
Although four of my siblings had left the house by the time I was six, nine children still lived in a four-bedroom home.
And that’s when there were only nine kids in the house; that’s not even counting the kids who my moms fostered before they went back to their biological families.
They adopted my youngest brother, Bode, when he was six months old, and he rounded out our family. That was four years ago. I think they would foster forever if they could, but it got to a point where fostering became too much for our home to handle.
They tried to move to a bigger house during my freshman year of college, but this house holds so many memories. So, they turned to remodeling instead.
“Now, where’s your better half?”
“Mom snatched her the second we arrived, so who knows?”
“Talking about me already?” Tate rests her head on my shoulder and smiles at my mama.
“Oh yeah, all bad things, of course.”
She smacks the back of my head before hugging my mama.
“I was just telling Fletcher about the sleeping arrangements this trip. It’s a bit of a mess because we've only completed the office space in the renovation so far. Which means the house will be more crowded than usual.”
“Oh, we could have some people stay at my place,” Tate recommends. “My parents aren’t home, so the whole place is empty.”
“I appreciate the offer, sweetheart.” My mama places a hand on her cheek. “But you know, we Reeds thrive in chaos. Plus, it wouldn’t be the same not having all of my kids under one roof.”
“I get it.”
“If it’s too overwhelming, you are more than welcome to stay at your house and then just come over—” I turn to Tate, but she shakes her head.
“Kassidy would kill me if I didn’t stay here. I was wondering why she was going on and on about us sharing a room. I just assumed she was gonna kick you out.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time.” I shake my head.
“All the girls are staying in our room.” My mom motions us toward the stairs.
“Well, not the married ones. They are all in their own rooms, but since Sam and Lauren are in a smaller bedroom, Sarah is staying with you guys,” she points to Tate, “in our master bedroom. And Jace is staying with the boys,” she points to me, “in the loft.”
“The loft?”
“Yes. But we added curtains, so hopefully, it won’t feel too… unplanned.” My mom smiles.
She knows I won’t care. It’s always nice to be home. I see them often, but not as frequently as I’d like to. Between all of their crazy schedules, they very rarely get to make it down to Rockford.
“Christian is excited to be sharing a room with his brother again.” My mama puts her hand on my shoulder as we reach the top of the stairs. “He’s been talking about it nonstop. He loves Mateo, but 17 and 14—”
“Seems like quite the age difference?” I laugh. “Now he understands where I was coming from when I was seventeen and he was thirteen.”
“I’ll bring Tate to her room. The girls ran past us in a blur, saying they had a lot to set up, so I want to make sure they aren’t destroying our room.” My mom wraps her arm around Tate and drags her down the hall.
“I made sure Christian and Mateo were on the bunk bed, so hopefully, you’re okay with the air mattress. It’s a good one, I promise. Has the pump in it and everything.”
“Thanks, Mama.”
“Anytime, my sweet boy.” She pinches my cheek. “I've got to get back to making dinner. I know your mom probably told you to help me, but rest, please. Send the boys down when you see them, and they can help. You’ve had a long travel day.”
“Got it.”
She gives me one last look over and then heads downstairs. I walk through the curtain and drop down onto the air mattress. A mixture of screaming, loud conversations, and the clinking of pots and pans echoes around the house.
It feels good to be home.
Is that my favorite hockey player?” I turn around to see Stella and Chase leaning against the doorframe of the living room. Stella has the biggest smile on her face.
“Hey, Stels.” I walk toward her and pull her into a hug. “It’s good to see you guys.”
“Well, you promised us you’d be home more often, but I don’t think we saw you once all summer.” Chase shakes his hand in my hair like I’m a child and then pulls me into a hug.
Out of all my older siblings, Chase is the one I’m closest to.
Unlike the other three, he’s the only one who stayed in Illinois for college and remains the only one who still lives here.
He and his girlfriend, Stella, live in the city, so it’s only about a thirty-minute drive here compared to my hour-long drive.
“I’m pretty sure you could also drive down to my place if you want to see me so bad.” I joke. “I don’t think your car only knows how to drive here.”
“Haha.” Chase gives me a shove. “Stella and I agreed that if you make it to the championships this year, we’ll go see you play.”
“So, you only want to see me play if I’m in a major competition?”
“Duh. I want to know the game I’m coming to will be a good one.” He grins and then hugs me again. “Really, Fletch, it’s good to see you. Your better half here, too?”
“Why does everyone call Tate my better half?” I tilt my head.
“Because we like her more than we like you.” Chase shrugs, and Stella smacks him in the stomach.
“Chase!”
“It’s okay, Stel, I like you better than this bozo anyway.”
Stella is also the only one of my siblings' significant others who is more like family than anything else. Don’t get me wrong, I love all of them, but Stella has been around since before I was born. Stella and Chase met in Kindergarten, and the rest is history.
They didn’t start dating until their senior year of high school, though, even though both of them were interested in the other.
I think there were too many unknowns. But when he got a full ride for football, and she got a full ride for being the fucking smartest person in the world, to the same school, it was as if the universe gave them the answer they needed.
I think they’re the reason I thought something was going to happen between Tate and me in high school, but that was their story, not ours.
We’re all still waiting for him to put a ring on it, but they say they're happy with how things are. They like to say they’re Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russelling it.
“I don’t blame you, she’s pretty awesome.”
“Yeah, she is. And she actually texts me once in a while, you know?”
“Shut up, asshole.” Chase walks into the living room and drops down on the couch. “Baby, come sit.”
“I’m okay, Chase. Seriously.”
“Babe.”
“Chase.”
“Are you guys in the middle of a lovers' quarrel or something? I can leave you be if—”
“It’s nothing, Fletch. Just your brother thinking he knows everything, as per usual.”
Her hand drops to her stomach and then quickly falls to her side. I freeze. She coughs and then stands up straighter, crossing her arms.
“So, other than hockey, how’s school going?”
“Nope. We aren’t going to ignore what just happened.” I point to Chase and then to Stella. “Are you guys—”
“Fletch,” Chase jumps up off the couch, “you can’t tell anyone.”
“Oh my god, you are.”
My heart feels like it could burst out of my chest at any moment. I don’t know how we will continue to hold holidays here because in ten years, there will probably be more grandchildren than children, and a four-bedroom house won’t cut it, but this is the most ecstatic I’ve been in ages.
I haven’t had a new niece or nephew since Jace was born five years ago, and it will be nice to have another baby in the family.
Not all of us want big families like the one we came from, but I know I do.
There’s something about the chaos that excites me.
Most people assumed that growing up in a family this large would suck and that we wouldn’t feel loved, but my moms always made sure that we were all loved equally.
It wasn’t easy, but they made sure that we all felt important and knew that no one mattered more because they were carried by one of them or shared DNA.
The only people who understood my family and actually enjoyed being a part of it were my best friends. I knew they’d be my friends for life because of that.
“When are you due?” I take a step toward Stella and pull her into another hug. “I call dibs on Godfather.”
“Obviously.” Chase wraps his arms around me. “Uncle Fletch was the first choice for Godfather.”
“I’m due in April,” Stella whispers. “We’re having a boy.”
It’s crazy that out of everyone in this house, the first person I want to run and tell is Tate.
“Now, you can’t tell anyone, okay? We want to wait until after the holiday. And I have to find a time Stella and I can go down and see my dad, and then her parents, and we want to have that all figured out before we tell everyone; you know how quickly things spread in our family.”
“Don’t worry, though, that doesn’t include Tate, okay?” Stella squeezes my hand. “Just make sure you tell her not to say anything.”
“I can’t believe you’re having a baby.” I try to stay calm before everyone runs in to find out what all the commotion is.
“Neither can we.”
“Hey.” Chase looks over my shoulder, and I turn around and see Tate.
“Everything okay?” Her eyes narrow, and the rest of the family slowly shows up in the doorway.
“Fine,” I respond. “Just telling Stella about how the team is absolutely crushing it this year. She and Chase said they’d come to the game if we make it to the championship.”
That seems to do the trick for everyone else since they follow our moms into the kitchen, Chase and Stella included, but Tate stops me before I can pass her.
“You’ll tell me later?”
I lean forward, my lips pressed against her ear.
“Obviously.”