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“So unless you’ve got any other relevant questions—?” I asked.

“Daddy! Uncle Dave! Grandpa!” Two very wet little girls came dripping over, looking at each one of us in turn, their heads tilting to one side when they saw me. “Who’re you?”

“I’m your Aunt Jamie’s boyfriend, Hayden,” I replied in a much gentler voice.

“Hayden?” The two girls looked at each other as if verifying that information. “I’m Cindy. She’s Hannah.” She pointed to a girl I was willing to bet was her sister. “Can you fix the hose? The sprinklers not working.”

“Yeah.” Anything to get me the fuck away from those dickheads. “I can take a look. Lead the way, ladies.”

The girls giggled, grabbing my hands with surprising strength and then hauling me over to the side of the house.

“The tap is turned on but the water isn’t coming out.”

“OK.” I turned off the tap, then disconnected the hose before testing the flow, and water rushed out. “Water is definitely coming out.” I switched the tap off before reconnecting the hose. “If the water’s not coming out, there must be a kink in the hose.” The water was turned back on and then we followed the hose out onto the garden. A couple of other kids stood by the sprinkler eyeing me as I approached. “So the sprinkler was working before?”

“Yep,” said one young lad, he and all the other kids bursting out into laughter as he pulled his foot off the hose.

I spluttered as water burst out of the sprinkler, drenching me in seconds as the kids all cackled. They were clutching their stomachs, the little buggers, thinking this was hysterical.

“Oh, so it’s like that, is it?” I growled, stomping forward, the kids scattering with excited screams. I grabbed the hose, kinking it, then pulled off the sprinkler and tossed it onto the grass. They quickly worked out what was going to happen. Giggles and screams filled the backyard as I released the water flow, spraying one kid after the other. They all flung themselves sideways, trying to avoid the spray, but that stopped fairly quickly.

“Get him!” the young lad said, organising his tiny troops and launching them at me. I jerked the hose up and out of their reach but could only quarantine the nozzle. They all jumped on the hose itself, trying to wrestle it out of my grip.

“Oi!” I turned around to see a familiar face standing there. Frankie Kingston was Jamie’s youngest brother and we were in the same year at school. “Jesus, who’s that, Hunter or Hayden?”

“Hay—!”

My reply was cut off as the hose was wrestled out of my grip, and then I was squirted right in the face. The kids roared at my splutters, right before Frankie marched over and stepped on the hose.

“You little ratbags. What the hell are you doing, drenching a visitor?”

“Dad was too busy cooking to play,” the eldest boy said, looking somewhat abased now.

“And so you decided to attack Jamie’s guest?” Frankie said. “You kids have been running wild.”

“And so they need to be punished!”

Frankie jerked the hose from the kids’ grips and then came to my defence, spraying the lot of them. They all squealed in excitement, launching themselves at their uncle with far greater enthusiasm than they did a complete stranger. He put on a good show, grunting and pretending to fight them off until Cindy, one of the smallest girls, wrenched the hose free. With an evil cackle, the little girl eyed the lot of us as we rapidly backed off.

“You better run, Hayden!” Frankie shouted, right as the little girl directed the hose at the patio.

I watched the water arc through the air as if in slow motion, because up until now, we’d been playing on the grass. Water splattered the slate tiles of the deck, getting closer and closer to the table. A white tablecloth had been set up, along with wine glasses and plates, cutlery and paper serviettes, and all of it was in the pathway of the hose. Frankie and I seemed to realise that at the same time.

Of course, that was the moment Majorie walked out of the house to see what all the fuss was.

Cindy tried to jerk the hose away, but instead of missing her grandmother, it went splattering in a massive arc across the woman and the table before Frankie stepped in and kinked the hose.

Majorie blinked, her mouth open as she sucked in breaths, but her shock quickly faded. Her brows drew down sharply, right as Frankie stepped forward.

“Now, Mum?—”

“Who did this?” she snapped, her tone perfectly imperious. The kids all took an instinctive step backwards in the face of her rage. Frankie and I looked back at the children and our eyes met for a second before we both nodded and stepped forward.

“I did,” we said at almost the same time.

Chapter 39

Jamie