Chapter 6
The First Move
Nico
I run a hand through my hair and stare at the house we moved into. Do I want to be here? Not really. But Mom sounded anxious about something. Dad’s car isn’t in the garage, which means he’s either working today or didn’t come home last night.
Fuck. I walk into the kitchen and see the remains of last night’s dinner on the stove.
The dining room table is set for two like she’s still expecting him to come home any minute.
I don’t want to be here. I want to turn around and walk out and pretend he’s not making this my responsibility. Like she isn’t my responsibility.
I put my gear bag in the mudroom and start a load of laundry. Back in the kitchen, I turn on the faucet to hot and clean up last night’s untouched dinner. I also make coffee. There were problems in New York, but it was easier to ignore them.
Dad did what he wanted and Mom had friends. I got left to my own devices. But the point of moving here was to reconnect. To build our family again. To be a family again.
But leave it to my dad to fuck that all up too.
“Nico?”
I turn and my mom is leaning against the doorframe, watching me. She’s in a robe. Her hair hangs around her shoulders. Her face is bare of makeup. She looks like she hasn’t slept.
“Morning, Mom. Do you want some coffee?” I set the pan in the drying rack. Drying off my hands, I grab a mug from the cabinet and fill it. After adding a little cream and sugar, I walk over and hand her the cup.
Her smile is sad as she takes it.
“Thank you,” she says softly and touches my cheek with her cold hand. “What would I do without you?”
Smiling, I return to the fridge. “Do you want something for breakfast? I was going to make some eggs and bacon.”
She sinks into the chair at the kitchen table and sighs as she sets her coffee mug down. “He didn’t come home.”
My fucking father. I grab the eggs and bacon and a pan and get to work.
“Business?” My voice is almost hopeful, but we both know the other woman’s name isn’t business.
Mom doesn’t answer and when I glance back, she’s sipping her coffee before staring into the cup. The other woman was the reason we moved in the first place. Mom probably hoped it had been long enough that whatever drew him to her was in the past.
“I’m glad you’re here.” Her smile is sad.
“It’s not a problem.” I hate to be left out of what’s happening with the guys and Harper, but this is important too. There’s a part of me that wishes my mom would just leave him, but she’s scared.
He’s always taken care of her. Who is she if she isn’t Mark Lee’s wife?
“How’s your relationship with Harper?”
I crack the eggs into the warmed skillet and listen to them sizzle for a second before answering. The short answer is good. But Mom doesn’t want a short answer. She wants something to distract her from my asshole father.
“We went out on a date this week.” My lips tip into a smile, remembering that night. “Dinner. Burgers and shakes. Then we went out stargazing.”
“She seems to have grown up into a nice girl.” Mom’s words are soft like she’s testing the waters, unsure if she’ll get backlash from me. We had some rough years in New York.
I blow out a breath. “Yeah, she’s sweet. Her mom’s been working nights.”
“That must be hard to leave your daughter at home alone.”
“Yeah.” I almost say that she’s not alone, but I don’t think many of our parents will be accepting of the relationship we have. Not like Harper’s mother seems to be.
“How’s school going?” Her voice is more steady like the coffee is helping.
I toss some bacon on a plate and stick it in the microwave. “Doing what I need to make good grades and get into a good college.”
“Did you get all your applications in?”
I turn and give her a smile. “Of course.”
My father had a list of colleges for me to apply to and with the guys, I added a few more. I’m going with them and with Harper. I don’t care that it’s early in the year. Mom would chastise me and say things might change.
But there’s one thing I’ve always been certain of. If I ever had a chance to grab onto Harper, I’d never let her go. This is my chance and I’m in one hundred percent.
I just need to rebuild my trust with the guys, so we’re going to hang out while Harper is at Jack’s house.
“I’m sure your dad would come home for dinner if you were going to be there.” She sounds so enthusiastic.
I finish the eggs and plate them with some bacon before turning to my mom. “He doesn’t care about me—”
“Of course he does.” She smiles broadly. “You could bring Harper and we could all have dinner like a family.”
There’s no way I’m letting my dad near Harper. Not after what he said the other day. “That’s not going to happen.”
I set the plate in front of her and sit down with mine.
“I’m sure your father would come home if he knew your girlfriend would be at dinner.” She picks at her eggs.
I’m sure he would if he knew who my girlfriend was. “I can’t, Mom. We’re studying for a test and there’s a party this weekend. Maybe next weekend I can plan to be home and we can try to have dinner, but Harper usually only gets to spend time with her mother on the weekends.”
Mom nods, but her smile dims. I want to bring her back to life, but I can’t risk Harper.
“I’m planning on taking Harper to Homecoming in a couple weeks.” Pushing my eggs around the plate, I glance up at her hopeful blue eyes. “I’ll need a suit and there will be pictures.”
Her eyes light up. “I’ll find you the perfect tie to go with her dress. You’ll need to find out what color she’s wearing.”
I nod and she talks about flowers and cufflinks. At least she’s not talking about my dad anymore.
We need to figure out what our fathers had to do with Harper’s. And we need to figure it out before they close in on her.
Jack
I drop the equipment bag in Darius’s car trunk. The kids have all wandered off and we’re just helping with cleanup.
“Thanks again for helping.” Darius loads another bag in his trunk and smiles widely. “It might not seem like it, but you helped some kids today.”
I smirk. “I don’t think they liked the way I kept them running.”
“They’ll appreciate it long term.” He claps me on the shoulder.
I tense beneath his touch and step away. He clears his throat as he pulls his hand back.
“You guys good for next weekend?” His dark eyes meet mine. The first time I met him I couldn’t get over how dark his brown eyes were. We talked about shit that didn’t matter until it was only the two of us.
“Yeah, we’ll be there.” Caden bumps into me and jolts me back to the present.
I look down at the ground. “See you at school, Coach.”
A guarded look flows over Darius’s face, but he nods. “See you at school.”
We head over to Caden’s car. I glance over my shoulder and lock eyes with Darius again. We have a connection, and if he wasn’t my coach, I would have loved to explore it more with him. However, that connection didn’t stop me from fucking Parker Ford with Caden.
But with Harper, if the same opportunity came up, I would decline. And while Darius and I could have been something, Harper and I are something. We have a definite future together that includes the people I care about most in the world.
“You good?” Caden asks as we get into his car.
“Yeah.” I lean my head back and smirk. “I get Harper to myself for a while, so I’m golden.”
“I’m always available for playdates.” His grin is huge.
I laugh. Yeah, we learned early on we liked to fuck the same girl. It didn’t hurt that I could get them ready to take his huge cock.
“Next time. Maybe.” I turn to him and smile. “You get to fuck her almost every night. I need some alone time with our girl.”
His smile softens at the our girl. He’s lost on Harper. I’m counting the days until he admits how he feels. If he even can.
“You going to tell her you love her?” I cock an eyebrow.
He shakes his head. “I don’t know what love is.”
That’s the biggest load of shit I’ve ever heard come out of his mouth. “You love your sister.”
“She’s my responsibility.” His fingers tighten on the wheel.
“You love me.”
He glances at me with a smirk. “You wish.”
“Fuck off, asshole.” I smile. “You love me and take care of me.”
“You’re different.” He shakes his head and his smile falls away. “Ava’s different.”
“Harper’s different,” I point out.
A grumble comes from his chest. “Loyalty doesn’t equal love.”
“She’ll need you to say it to her eventually, Caden, or you’ll lose her.” That’s one thing we’re learning about Harper. I’m positive she’ll love us hard, but she’ll need us to love her just as hard.
“She’s mine.” He turns into his driveway and pulls into his spot in the garage. When the car is in park, he turns to me. “I’m not going to lie to her and tell her I love her. I don’t know the meaning of that word. She’s mine and I’m hers. It’s enough.”
“For now.” I get out of the car. Grumbling, he gets out too. “Harper knows what love is. Her mom gives it to her. Kenz gives it to her. She won’t stay with us if we don’t give it to her too.”
“Are you ready to tell her you love her?” Caden’s words are harsh, but come from a place of hurt and worry.
“Nah, man. But do I feel something for her that can grow into love?” I walk with him to the back of his house. “Yes, I do. And I know she’ll be worth it.”
He opens the door and the noise of racing cars makes it impossible to be heard.
“You’re going down, Foster.” Harper sounds determined as we walk into the room.
“Not if I take you down first.” Luke almost sounds amused.
“You know I’m beating both your asses.” Eli shakes his head as he mashes the buttons on the controller.
Harper stands next to him, squinting at the screen and tipping her controller like that will help move her car. Luke looks determined as he leans forward and punches the buttons.
“I’d pay to see that.” I grab a Coke from the fridge and sit next to Eli on the sectional. “Luke would look good with a red ass.”
Luke’s brows furrow, but he doesn’t turn to look at me. Harper steps forward and tilts the controller the other way.
“No, no, no.” She pushes a button and her car doesn’t hit the wall. “Yes!”
Caden looks at the three of them and shakes his head. “You two had Harper to yourself and this is how you choose to spend your time.”
Her grin is beautiful as she makes the final turn. “What do you think we’re playing for?”
“Winner gets to choose heads or tails.” Eli’s focus is unwavering.
“I thought winner got to choose where.” She squints again as she floors it down the straightaway.
“Exactly, princess. Winner chooses where, heads or tails.” Luke grabs her belt loop and jerks her down onto his lap.
“Hey!” She falls across his lap while trying to maintain control of her car on the screen. “That’s not fair.”
Luke tosses his controller to the side as his car hits the wall. His blue eyes focus on Harper. “Eli always wins this game, princess. You might as well give it up.”
She shakes her head and laughs, settling on his lap, but still focused on the game. “Never.”
She squeaks when his hand goes under her shirt to grab her breast. “Luke! That’s cheating.”
Her car veers, but she manages to keep it on the road.
“Ahh!” she cries out as he pinches her nipple.
“Yes.” Eli stands as his car crosses the finish line. “I win.”
Harper finishes a few seconds later and pouts as she sets the controller to the side. “I would have finished first if I hadn’t been attacked.”
Luke smirks and kisses the back of her neck. “You like being attacked, princess.”
“How was flag football?” Eli glances at me before looking at Caden.
“Good.” Caden leans against the wall. His steady gaze never wavers from Harper. Is he thinking about what I said?
“We should all go next weekend.” I lean back and spread my arms on the couch. “They could use the help.”
Eli nods. Harper giggles and Luke grunts as she gets him with an elbow. If I could hold onto this forever, I would. I’m only missing one person.
“Hey.” Nico walks in and I’m content for the moment. “We need to figure out this thing with our dads and Harper’s. Mom wants Harper to come to dinner so Dad will stay home instead of messing around with his whore.”
Harper flinches at the word, but Nico doesn’t notice as he continues, “She thinks the company will get him to come to dinner. She doesn’t know talking to Harper is exactly what my dad wants.”
“Why now?” Harper straightens on Luke’s lap and he wraps his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder.
I’ve never seen Luke be that way with anyone before Harper.
“They’ve had years. We know whoever is after me at school decided I’m the weak link and that’s why now.
But my dad’s been missing for years. That motorcycle has been in the shed for years. Why now?”
“Good question.” I blow out a breath. “I’ve been trying to get into Luke’s and Nico’s father’s computers, but I might need actual physical access. The firewalls keep blocking me.”
“Fuck.” Luke runs a hand through his hair. “If Harper and I have dinner with my dad, he’ll have his computer at home for the night.”
“And I’ll be able to get into it.” I meet Harper’s brown eyes. That means subjecting her to Luke’s evil father. “I can find another way—”
“I can do this.” Harper leans back against Luke. Fuck, I hope I can do this too.