Page 20 of Hell of a Mess

Seventeen

Luther

The sight of Gathe sitting in our kitchen, eating a stack of waffles, wasn’t really a surprise, although it was still annoying.

“Guess you heard that it’s a girl,” I drawled as Maui scrambled to get up from the floor, where he’d been watching Gathe eat with his best beggar expression.

The fluff ball wagged his tail as he stared up at me adoringly, and I bent down to give his head a scratch.

“Is she awake?” Gathe asked.

Yeah, but he wasn’t about to go barging in on her.

She’d had a rough night. At least until I went in there. She slept so damn deeply that she didn’t move after that. I finally gave in and lay down beside her, figuring it was a safe bet she wouldn’t end up snuggling against me. And she hadn’t.

I headed for the table, where Jayda was already taking my cup of coffee. “I don’t fucking know,” I replied and pulled out the chair I always sat in.

“You want to eat now or wait?” Jayda asked me.

“Just coffee,” I told her, leaning back as Maui placed his head on my lap. He was going to be disappointed that I wasn’t getting food. “Eh, go ahead and bring me some bacon.”

Jayda glanced back at me from the coffee machine. “He’s had five slices already,” she said, giving Maui a pointed look.

I shrugged. “It’s for me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Sure it is.”

Picking up my coffee, I took a drink, then studied Gathe, who was eating like it was his last meal. “You not have any food at home?”

He finished chewing, then flashed his grin at Jayda. “Not as good as Jayda’s cooking.”

“You’re aware she likes to lick pussy as much as you do, right?” I asked.

He knew. We all did, but it was fucking funny to say it.

“I wasn’t flirting,” Gathe replied. “Unless flirting will get me an in to watch her and Beth sometime.” He waggled his eyebrows at Jayda.

“I’ve told you no a million times,” she said, annoyed.

“But there is always the chance you’ll change your mind,” he replied.

“No, there isn’t,” she deadpanned, then went to put two slices of bacon on a plate and bring them to me.

“Guess I’ll have to just keep imagining. It’s some of my best spank-bank material.”

“Eww,” she shot back at him. “I do not want to know about your spank bank.”

I smirked over the rim of my cup as I took a piece of bacon and handed it to Maui, who snatched it and ran off, as if he feared Jayda would take it away from him.

“Linc been down yet?” I asked.

“Left an hour ago. He’s gone to get the girls,” she replied.

Ah, so he was allowing them in the house with Lace now that we knew Bowen blood ran in her veins. Good. I didn’t want her to feel pressure to leave. Besides, Branwen was going to like her, and then Linc could deal with his wife on the matter of how long Lace stayed here.

“Does she normally sleep late?” Gathe asked.

“We’ve not been monitoring her sleeping patterns.” My voice was laced with sarcasm.

Gathe was like a damn dog with a bone.

He cocked an eyebrow at me as he took another bite of his ridiculous amount of food. Fuck, I missed being able to eat like that. Getting old sucked. But then the alternative was worse.

My thoughts went back to the bedroom this morning and Lace’s interpretation of my tattoo.

It wasn’t the only one of my drawings that was inked on my body, but it was the one I was most proud of.

She’d nailed it. In a better way than I could ever describe it.

Not that anyone had ever asked me. They all assumed I liked the way it looked.

Few even knew I had been the one to sketch it out, create it.

“When she does wake up and come down here,” Jayda said, looking at Gathe, “don’t overwhelm her with a million questions. Let her eat, get comfortable.”

I seconded that, but I didn’t say anything.

It was best Jayda handle it. Lace wasn’t mine to protect.

The less I acted like it, the better off we would all be.

If the damn instinct to immediately step in when she needed anything would go away, then it would be a hell of a lot easier.

Like last night, for example. Bad move, staying in there with her.

“I just found out I had a sister,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “I want to meet her.”

My gaze flickered over to the refrigerator’s smart screen to see the time.

She’d been awake now for over an hour. Unless she had gone back to sleep, which was unlikely.

Maybe I should have checked on her before coming down here.

No, I had to stop checking on her. That wasn’t good.

She’d get dependent on me, and that would be a fucking mess.

“Go check on her,” I told Jayda.

She might not leave the room otherwise. Although why the fuck I cared I didn’t know. But she needed to eat.