Page 50

Chapter 50

Cate

I t was chaos in the Sheppard house when we arrived for dinner Friday night. Jay said we didn’t have to bring anything, but neither my father nor I felt comfortable showing up empty-handed, so, I brought wine, and dad brought a bottle of Scotch for John.

At the door, John shook my father’s hand while Mary welcomed me with a gentle, heart-felt hug. It shouldn’t have felt awkward or made me nervous, but it did. Before I finished thanking her for inviting us, Jay was by my side. His presence alone was enough to calm my nerves. Forgetting I didn’t want to openly display our new relationship, I leaned into him.

“You’ll be fine,” He whispered in my ear.

“Am I that obvious?”

“Yeah.” He kissed my temple. “At least to me. ”

When John introduced my father to everyone as General Maxwell, everyone being Mary, his two other sons, Meg, and Emily, he insisted they call him Sean.

John and Mary were the only ones who did.

It didn’t take long for John, Mary, and my dad to make their way to the kitchen, giving us ‘kids’ a chance to hang out before dinner.

Jay stood by my side, making sure no one hugged me too tightly when the Sheppard family welcomed me with open arms, literally. They were huggers and there was no escaping it, no matter now awkward I felt. Not that I really wanted to escape. I wasn’t a hugger, but I enjoyed the acceptance.

“How are feeling?” Meg asked as she stepped back.

“Better. Doc Greenfield said I’m healing nicely,” I said. “I hope to return to work sooner rather than later.” There was only so much sitting around I could do without going crazy.

“Good, we’ve missed you around the office,” Jamie said.

“Yeah, it’s been too quiet without you two biting each other’s heads off,” Jack added.

“We weren’t that bad,” Jay defended us.

I forced a smile. “Yes we were, or have you forgotten I punched you?”

“That’s all on you.” Jay rubbed his jaw. “And how could I forget? You pack a hell of a punch.” He grinned before adding, “For a girl.”

“For a girl?” I asked, with half-hearted indignation.

“Dude, have you learned nothing?” Jack asked.

Jay crossed his arms and held his ground. The sparkle in his eye told me he was having fun messing with everyone .

“I bet he deserved it,” Meg took my side.

“Did I?” He asked, winking to let me know it was okay to joke about it.

I didn’t answer, but Jack and Jamie said, “Probably,” before breaking out in laughter.

Maybe someday I’d laugh at the memory too, but not today. The embarrassment was still too strong.

“Which of those lingering bruises is from Maxwell?” Jack asked, pointing at Jay’s face. The swelling was gone, but he still had lingering blue and green patches courtesy of Roman’s goons. So did I.

“Hard to tell.” He laughed.

After the laughter died down, Jack asked, “What was it you called them, Meg?”

“Enemies to lovers,” she answered. “Speaking of, you owe me twenty bucks.” She held out her hand. “Each.”

“What?” Jay and I asked together.

“Meg bet us you two would get together sooner rather than later,” Jamie said with a shrug before pulling out his wallet. Jack made no move to pay her.

“Pay up, Charming,” Meg said, using her pet name for her husband.

Emily was reserved but couldn’t help laughing as Meg demanded money.

“Princess, we share a bank account,” he reminded her with a one-armed hug. “Take whatever you want.” The love between them was palpable when he kissed her temple.

“Meg, what made you think we’d end up as lovers?” Jay asked. We weren’t quite lovers. Yet . We were in love but hadn’t done more than kiss. I couldn’t wait until I was healed enough to spend a night living out my fantasies with Jaden’s rock hard, tattooed covered body.

“The way you always looked at each other when you thought no one could see you.” She grinned and shrugged like it was a given. “It was only a matter of time.”

Jay and I made eye contact, staring deep into each other’s eyes before smiling.

No matter how much I wanted to be mad at Meg for suggesting it, she was right—Jay and I were a perfect example of enemies to lovers.

The guys offered to refill our drinks, beer for them and water for the rest of us, giving me an opportunity to talk to Emily and get to know her better. Not only am I an introvert, I built walls to keep everyone out. When I apologized for not being friendlier in the past, she confessed she thought I didn’t like her, adding to my guilt at shutting them all out.

“I’m sorry if I gave you that impression,” I said.

Jamie put his arm around Emily. “Told you it wasn’t personal. Maxwell just keeps to herself.”

“You’ll have to come out of your shell now that you’re part of the family,” Jack said.

Part of the family. I liked the sound of that. Even if it’ll take some getting used to.

We talked until Mary called us to dinner.

“That’s a lot of food,” I said as I sat down. The spread included grilled burgers and chicken, Meg’s famous bacon mac and cheese, an interesting looking salad, and grilled vegetables. Everything looked mouth-wateringly delicious .

Finally able to eat like a normal person again, I couldn’t wait to dive in.

Mary looked at the table, assessing how much food was there. “Is it? I’m used to feeding these three bottomless pits-”

“Hey,” her sons said at the same time.

“It’s true,” she said. “But you know I don’t mind.”

As the Mama Bear of the Sheppard family, Grannie’s, and SSI, it wasn’t hard to imagine her being the mom who’d always fed the neighborhood kids.

“I can see why you said I didn’t need to bring anything,” I said with a laugh.

“Anyone want a beer?” Jack asked before sitting down.

“I’ll take one,” I said.

“You probably shouldn’t,” Jay said.

“Excuse me?” My irritation flared out of habit. Just because we were dating didn’t mean he could tell me what to do.

“You shouldn’t drink while you’re on pain meds, especially on an empty stomach,” he answered.

Did he think I was stupid?

“Who died and made you boss?” I asked, reaching for his beer.

“I’m just looking out for you,” he managed to sound irritated and concerned at the same time.

Ignoring the voice in my head telling me to stop, my hand lifted the bottle to my mouth as if it had a mind of it’s own.

Holding eye contact with Jay, I grinned before bringing the bottle to my lips and chugging what was left. At least, I tried. There was more than I’d expected and I almost choked myself .

Jay’s focus never left my face.

Irritated at myself for acting like a fool, I slammed the beer bottle down, causing it to splash out.

Jay put one hand on the back of my chair, leaned in close, and waited for me to recover before asking, “Feel better?”

He wasn’t asking about my coughing fit. Smart ass . That fucking grin had me responding in ways I didn’t want to when I was trying to be mad.

“No.” I crossed my arms and squinted at him, “Happy?”

“No.” We stared at each other, both fighting grins while waiting for the other to give up in the battle of wills between us.

Staring Jay down gave me a thrill. His hand, now gently squeezing the back of my neck, wasn’t helping put out the fire.

His dilated pupils told me he was just as affected.

This is why I did it . I liked the thrill of the fight, the fire burning in his eyes when he looked at me, the promise of a passion that could consume us both.

When my dad asked if we were always like this, a chorus of “Yes,” rang out.

Jay’s lips lifted in a lop-sided grin as his amber eyes sparkled.

I smiled and dropped my eyes for the briefest second, letting him win.

When I looked back up, his grin turned to a full-blown smile. Which promptly turned into a scowl when Jack gave me a fresh beer .

“Thanks, Jack.” I said cheerfully, my eyes locked on Jay’s. When he didn’t thank Jack for replacing the beer I’d stolen, I added, “Jay thanks you, too.”

“Do I?”

“You do.”

We never broke eye contact.

“Thank you, Jack, for giving my girlfriend a beer when she’s on prescription pain killers.”

“She’s a big girl. She can make her own choices,” Jack said. “Even if they aren’t always smart.”

“Pot,” Jamie coughed.

“What was that big brother?”

“I seem to recall you making the same not-smart choice when you were on pain meds.” Jamie made air quotes around the words, not smart.

“Shut up,” Jack said instead of denying it.

“You work with this?” my father asked, his disbelief laced with humor.

“Every single day,” John answered. He raised his beer and said, “To family.” Our battle of the wills finished, we turned to John as everyone raised their glasses and repeated, “To family.”

We dug in.

Seeing my father relaxed and getting along with John and Mary made my heart happy. When I was growing up, it was just the two of us; the only big family dinners we had were with fellow officers and their families.

None were as big, or as lively, as the Sheppard clan. Theirs was a family that lived and loved big, loud, and fierce .

They bickered and teased one another, but if you threatened one of them you faced all of them. Including those in their extended family. This is what family should be . What I’d always wanted growing up. Not that I blamed my father, he did the best he could as a single dad in the Marines.

Over come with emotion, I tried to hide it.

But Jay noticed. Leaning over, he whispered, “You okay?”

This man! He challenged me and drove me crazy, but the instant he sensed I felt uncomfortable he turned caring and sweet. And I loved him for it.

“I’m good.” I smiled to back up my words. “I’m just not used to,” I looked around the table, “all this.”

He snickered, nodding his head once. “They can be a bit much.”

“In a good way,” I added. Just because I wasn’t used to it didn’t mean I didn’t like it. And maybe, just maybe, someday I’d feel comfortable enough to participate in the crazy. But not today.

Things quieted down as we ate.

“This salad is amazing,” I said after taking a bite. The fresh tomato, cucumber, and avocado, worked perfectly with the bacon and blue cheese. “Maybe some day you can show me how to make it.”

“I’d like that,” Emily said with a shy smile. Jamie’s was big enough for me to see in my peripheral vision when I asked for an extra helping.

Everything tasted so good, I had to force myself to stop eating so I didn’t make myself sick. My ribs were healing nicely, but vomiting would definitely set me back .

“That was amazing,” My father said, leaning back and patting his stomach.

“I hope you saved room for dessert,” Emily said.

“No worries there, I’ll make room.” He chuckled.

“Meg makes the best brownies,” Jay said.

Mary put her hand over her heart and feigned offense as Meg said, “Thanks.”

“Sorry, Ma, but it’s true. Yours are good, but she adds bacon and bourbon,” Jay said.

“The salted caramel ones are my favorite,” Jack added.

“Mine are the Mexican ones,” Jamie said.

“Oh, those are good too,” Jay added. “What kind did you make tonight?”

“I made the salted caramel,” Meg answered.

“I made the Mexican,” Emily said.

“No bacon and bourbon?” Jay asked, pouting. He turned to me, knowing I’d pick up on the fact they’d each made the one their significant other preferred.

It’s a good thing I like brownies, bourbon, and bacon.

“I guess I’ll need the bacon bourbon brownie recipe, too.”

Jay’s smile doubled in size before he squeezed my thigh. “You’ll need all the brownie recipes.”

“How much free time do you think I have?”

He glanced at my sling and laughed.

“This is temporary.”

“I’ll help you bake, Sweetie Pie.”

“Don’t.”

“Snookems? ”

Ignoring him, I turned and said, “They both sound too good to pass up. Remind me to only have a small piece of each.”

“You should have giant pieces.” Jay chuckled when my jaw dropped open. “Don’t worry, I’ll eat what you don’t finish.”

“Bottomless pit,” his father said, making everyone laugh.

I had two small bites of each, before handing the rest over to Jay, along with most of my beer. The few sips I had provided the normalcy I’d wanted, which was all I wanted.

He raised an eyebrow and grinned, but kept his mouth closed like the smart man he was.

“If you have time, we’d love to have you over again,” Mary said as we packed up to leave. When she handed us leftovers, I tried turning them down but Jay vetoed me, and my father took Jay’s side.

“I have a feeling there’ll be plenty of opportunities in the future,” my dad said, smiling at me. “John, if the offer still stands, I’d like to check out the office and the training facility you’re building.”

“How about tomorrow, say ten?” John asked.

My dad looked at me to verify. “That’s fine,” I answered. I wasn’t like I had anything better to do.

The hugs goodbye were less awkward than the hugs hello.

I wasn’t sure when it happened, but at some point during dinner, I’d embraced my new role as a member of the Sheppard clan.