Page 69 of Liam (Preston Brothers #4)

Liam

“She” is Alyssa Wilks—a woman we’re all familiar with, but none more so than Lucas. And Dad now. Obviously.

Alyssa has a son named Garray, who our family calls Dumb Name—usually behind his back, but sometimes accidentally to his face.

Luke and Dumb Name have been best friends since I can remember.

He’s a great guy, regardless of the name, and Alyssa seems like a great lady, regardless of her choice of names.

From the little information I can pull from my memory bank, Dumb Name’s parents divorced right before Luke’s senior year of high school.

That would’ve been around nine years ago.

Which has me wondering how long Dad and Alyssa have been seeing each other.

In a small town like ours, gossip runs rampant, and a secret relationship with a widow and divorcée wouldn’t stay secret for very long.

But, I also don’t see my dad introducing her to us as his “special guest” if it wasn’t all that serious. So, really… I don’t know what to think.

When Dad returned from picking up the pie, he didn’t seem at all surprised by the fact that all seven of his kids were here, even though only three of them said they would be.

And, when the food arrived, it appeared he had ordered enough for all of us, which meant that either he was expecting Linc, Lachy and me to be really fuckin’ hungry, or he knew exactly what he was doing by leaving us breadcrumbs.

I’d wager on the latter.

Now, we’re all sitting around the table, and all of Tom and Kathy Preston’s kids are on their best behavior. Kind of. I’m not going to lie; it’s weird. Maybe Alyssa has dated before, and maybe she’s even sat down for dinner to meet said date’s kids before, but for the rest of us—this is new.

And it’s not as if we haven’t met her before or seen her around town and waved, smiled, shared pleasantries, but this… this is different.

When Alyssa first arrived, Dad brought her into the kitchen, where we all were, and said something to the effect of, “I know you know them all, but just as a refresher…” and then he introduced us all, one by one, in age order.

He even introduced Lucas, who spent a large portion of his younger years at her house.

As soon as their backs were turned to head into the dining room, we all turned to Lucy.

Being the oldest and only girl, she was, by far, the closest to our mother.

I think, in that moment, us boys silently agreed to take her lead.

If she was happy to accept this new woman into our lives, then we all would.

If she was going to smash the pie in Alyssa’s face, then, well…

we wouldn’t join her, but we also wouldn’t stop her.

The thing is, Lucy’s face was blank, passive, void of any emotion. She’s still that way now, even as she tries to speak and smile at the appropriate times. She hasn’t touched her food. Hasn’t even picked up her fork. We’re almost done with dessert.

“Well, it was so lovely to see you all again, like this, all together,” Alyssa says, her eyes sweeping around the table. “I hope we can do it again soon.”

Everyone mumbles something in return.

Everyone but Lucy.

Dad stands, offers his hand to Alyssa. “How about we go for a walk?” His beard shifts with his smile. “The kids can clean up.”

The moment Alyssa stands, all the boys do, too. Dad drilled old-school manners and chivalry into us at a young age, I guess.

We all silently watch them walk out of the room, hand in hand, and listen to the front door open, then close.

Then we turn to Lucy. She stands, her eyes empty as she picks up her untouched plate and brings it to the kitchen.

We all follow, like useless newborn puppies chasing after their mama.

Lucy sets the plate on the kitchen island, then just stares at it for a long moment.

My brothers and I all look at each other, then back at her.

And then she cries—just one sob—before her hands cover her face.

“Shit,” Logan hisses.

Luke shoves Leo forward. “Go to her,” he whisper-yells. Of all of us, Leo seems to be the best when it comes to sensitive emotions.

Beside me, Lincoln sighs.

Lachlan shovels more pie in his mouth.

Leo steps to Lucy, places a hand on her shoulder. She’s so tiny compared to him. “Luce…” he starts. “Uh…” He glances at us, panic written on his features. “I can’t tell if these are happy or sad tears.”

“Yeah,” Luke agrees.

“You want us to slash her tires?” Linc asks.

“We can steal her car, drive it into the lake?” I offer. I don’t mean it. Unless I do. I’d do pretty much anything for Lucy. We all would.

“Nah,” Logan says, shaking his head. “That means she’ll be here longer.”

Lachlan pipes up. “This pie is so fucking good.”

“Shut up!” Linc snaps.

“You shut up!”

“No, you?—”

“Boys!” Lucy yells, and the room goes silent, all eyes on her.

Tears cling to her lashes as she looks at us one by one. “You guys…” she breathes out, her shoulders dropping. And then she’s crying again. “He looks so happy!”

Swear, no sound has ever been more synchronized than the collective exhale of six relieved brothers.

“He does, right?” Logan asks, the joy in his voice evident. “We should all be happy for him.”

“We are!” Lucy cries. “Losing Mom took so much out of him, and I’m not saying Alyssa will replace her, because no one can, but gosh, I’ve been waiting for him to find someone who will love him as much as she did, and now…

” The weight of her emotions prevents her from finishing her thought, and Leo’s quick to pull her into his arms. Luke’s next, hugging her from behind, and then Logan goes, and then it’s all six of us, wrapping our tiny little big sister in a bubble of love and protection and respect and everything else we feel for her.

At some point, her cries turn to laughter and she tries to escape, but we don’t let her, and that somehow turns to all us boys tussling and play fighting.

Lucy escapes between Leo’s legs. “Boys!” she yells, and we stop immediately.

“Time to clean up!” Then she taps at the tablet beside the speaker on the counter and plays some bullshit song she knows we’ll all hate.

Still, none of us makes a move to change it.

Instead, we all get to work cleaning the dining room and kitchen.

My phone alerts me to a text just as I’m wiping down the table.

Addie

Just got into town. Should I get Roman to drop me off at the cabin?

I’d been so wrapped up in Dad’s “special guest” and Lucy’s possible emotional meltdown, that I’d almost forgotten all about Addie’s meet up with Olaf/Gaston. Clearly, my decision to be here saved my sanity.

Liam

Come to the house.

Addie

Okay. I’ll be there in a minute.

“I’ll be back,” I tell Lincoln, who’s pretending to sweep the floor.

Kendrick Lamar plays in the kitchen as I pass through and head outside.

It doesn’t take long for Roman’s truck to pull up.

He waves, and I wave back, and not soon enough, Addie’s right where she belongs—in my arms, laying her head on my chest.

“God, I missed you,” she murmurs, saying out loud the single thought that’s plagued me most of the day. I saw her last night, kissed her goodbye just outside her door. It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours, and until the shock of Dad’s date, it felt like I was drowning under the weight of longing.

“I missed you, too,” I tell her. It doesn’t feel like enough, but what more can I say?

That I missed the light in her eyes when she looks at me, the crease in her nose when she scrunches it just the tiniest bit.

I missed her smile, the way the corners pinch down slightly.

I missed her voice, her laugh, even her cute little scowl.

But, mostly, I missed how I feel with her presence beside me.

“I just have to finish helping clean up, then we can go.” I open the front door and wait for her to step in first. When she does, I break out a smile.

Orange ribbon today.

“Mini Roman!” Logan greets Addie with a tight hug, and she returns it with a quiet giggle.

“That’s not Mini Roman,” Lincoln says, broom still in hand. “That’s Baby Baker!”

“Aww,” Lucy coos, elbow deep in the sink. “Baby Baker!”

I physically peel Logan’s arms from around Addie and push him away. “Okay, that’s enough of that,” I mumble, linking my fingers with Addie’s and bringing her close. Logan chuckles as he walks away. Though I don’t really know what’s funny.

Lucas and Leo greet Addie with smiles and a short wave.

Lachy’s too busy finding a new song to play.

He chooses “Sweet Caroline,” and Leo and Lucas immediately start bopping their heads and whistling the intro.

Then Logan and Lucy start humming the lyrics.

When the chorus starts, the singing gets louder, and just before the infamous “Sweet Caroline” line hits, Lachlan mutes the speakers and shouts, “Sweet Addie-line!”

He unmutes it in time for everyone to shout, “Buh! Buh! Buh!”

Addie busts out a laugh. “How many names am I going to have?”

“Eleventy-three once we’re done with you!” Leo shouts over the music.

The songs continues to play, and the next time “Sweet Caroline” is sung, everyone shouts, “Sweet Addie-line!”

Lincoln even uses the broom handle as a microphone.

Addie stands in one spot, smiling wide, watching my insane family as they put on a performance, just for her.

She hasn’t stopped giggling, and I haven’t stopped watching her, and I push away the questions trying to force their way into my mind.

Trying to ruin my moment. Give me this , I almost beg.

Just one moment where I can live in the here and now and not worry about what the future might bring.

The songs ends, and Lucy dries her hands on a dishcloth, shouting, “Again!”

Lachlan plays the song again, then laughs as he’s swept into Lucy’s arms. She forces him to dance with her, while my other brothers continue to sing/yell.

I feel Dad’s presence behind me, and I turn to him, my smile matching his when he takes in the sight in front of him. All his kids, together, healthy, happy, safe.

I don’t think you can ask for more in this life.

I grasp Addie’s hand tighter, bring her closer again.

“Sweet Addie-line! Buh! Buh! Buh!”

“Oh shoot,” Logan says, spotting Dad watching us. He turns the volume down, but not off completely.

I step aside so Dad and Alyssa can enter the kitchen. “Hi, Addie,” Dad says, his gaze dropping to our joined hands. He grins from ear to ear and claps my shoulder, almost like an Atta boy . “Addie,” he says, motioning to Alyssa. “This is my… my… my, uh…”

“Girlfriend?” Logan offers.

“ Lady friend?” Leo suggests.

“ Special friend?” Lucas this time.

Dad sighs. “This is my Alyssa.”

Lucy squeals, rushing toward Alyssa and hugging her. “You’re his Alyssa,” she cries, and Alyssa cries, too, and they hold each other through their tears, and Addie looks up at me, questioning.

I squeeze her hand once. “I’ll explain later.”

“Girls are so weird,” Lachlan mumbles, hitting replay on “Sweet Caroline.”

“You know the backstory to this song?” Dad asks, and Logan and I share a look, the memories of that day in the garage no doubt hitting us both. “Neil Diamond saw a picture in a newsletter of President Kennedy’s daughter, Caroline, and was so struck by her, he wrote this song.”

“And…?” Logan asks.

“And the lyrics are a little weird when you consider Caroline Kennedy was eleven at the time . ”

My face drops, as I’m sure everyone else’s does.

Everyone but Lachlan. “Still slaps,” he says, shrugging and turning the volume up.

“Let’s go,” I tell Addie, leading her out of the room. “We’re leaving!” I tell everyone else.

“Bye, Addie!”

“Bye, Mini Roman!”

“Bye, Baby Baker!”

“Bye, Addie-line!”

“ Buh! Buh! Buh! ”