Page 12

TANNER

I got the all-clear from Ridge in the form of a text.

It fucking figures that this damn meeting is running well past the dinner hour.

The consensus is that every damn project that could be behind is and that all hands are needed on deck.

I don’t know who was more pissed off—me, my brothers, or Leena.

Probably Leena, seeing as when we’re all out in the field, that means everything is piled on her plate.

“Why don’t you ask Mom to take calls and foist off the freaking wolves these next few weeks?

You already know it’s going to be a madhouse.

It’ll give her something to do, and maybe I’ll ask Dad to ride with one of us for a bit, too.

” I’m fucking dreading it, especially if I can get a lock on Marlie.

“That’s not a bad idea. Jace is back in school, so Mom doesn’t have much to do, which means Dad won’t either.

” Keller’s been a single dad since the moment his ex-girlfriend took one look at their son and dipped out on any and all responsibilities.

She didn’t even fucking hold him. It took a lot in me not to say something, and Leena, she was a teenager at the time, I thought she was going to rip the poor excuse of a womb donor’s heart out of her chest.

“I have no problem with that. Mom does great around the office, and she can whip you boys into shape in no time. Who’s going to pick Jace up from school if you guys are calling in the reinforcements?” Leena brings up a valid point.

“That’s easy. We rotate. I haven’t had any one-on-one time with Jace in too freaking long,” Asa replies. Mom and Dad stopped with names that rhymed after Keller was born. They were constantly putting our names together, and it was a mess of epic proportions. Dad’s words, clearly.

“Christ, last time he was with you, he came home asking me what bird meant, with his middle finger sticking out. Imagine if he asked Mom that?” Keller has a valid point.

“Or how about the time he came back to Keller and grabbed his junk saying, ‘These nuts’,” Deke asks, our youngest brother. He’s the fourth boy, and Leena is rounding us out at the end.

“You’re not helping. The little dude likes to hang out with Uncle Asa. Just ask him.” My shoulders shake from the laughter pouring through my body. I can’t hold it in. We have so many stories about Jace when Uncle Asa watches him, as he refers to himself when our nephew is around him.

“Then there’s the time Asa couldn’t put the diaper on Jace right.

Tanner had to come to the rescue when Jace had explosive poop, but it was because he put the diaper on backwards.

” This comes from Leena. She was a fuck of a lot younger then.

Keller was living at home after coming home from the hospital with Jace, so she got all the hands-on experience with a good dose of birth control.

I’m pretty sure Leena is still hell bent on never having kids.

“Okay, I get it. It’s gang up on Asa day. All I’m saying is, there’s five of us. We take Monday through Thursday, and Keller picks up Friday, so it’s easier for him to go home after.”

“It’s not a bad idea,” I finally get a word in.

“If you’re sure. I’m not going to take advantage, but it would help. He hates aftercare with a passion, so I’ve been trying to prevent that,” Keller replies.

“Why? Did something happen?” My hackles rise, worrying that someone would say or do something to Jace.

“No, I’ve had that talk. You know Jace. He feels comfortable with his family and close buds.” I grab my beer, take a swallow, and relax.

“Good, it’s settled. We call in the parents, help out where we can, get this shit taken care of, and get back on schedule. If that’s all we’ve got to talk about, I’m out of here.” I place my now empty bottle on the tabletop.

“He’s itching to use his phone. Go, big brother. You can add it to the favor you already owe me.” Leena pulls out the company credit card to pay for our bill.

“I’m sure it’ll be huge when you call it in, too.” I stand up, make my rounds with my brothers, hugging them all, not afraid to show my affection when it comes to the big lugs, something our father instilled on us when we were growing up, and then bend down and kiss the top of Leena’s head.

“You know it,” she replies, a huge grin on her face, and I know I’m totally fucked. That’s okay, though. The news from Ridge today is better than expected, and knowing him and Taylor, they probably did a lot more than I could ever ask for, too.