Page 130 of Men of Fort Dale: The Complete Series

Maria and his mother hadn’t let up talking since they’d left the airport.

First, the barrage of questions about his life since he’d last seen them.

Then, questions about how the rest of the team was doing.

Finally, the conversation had been about their lives and the gossip and information they’d accrued.

“So, how’s Matt been?” his sister asked, looking in the rearview mirror to catch his eyes.

“You’re horrible at this,” Maria informed him.

“I never said I was good at gossip.”

“Good, because I didn’t raise any liars,” his mother piped up.

“You could always ask him yourself,” Nick suggested.

“Yeah, and if I did that now, he’d get that scared, rabbity look, like I just asked him the meaning of life,” Maria told him.

“Hey,” Nick chided with a frown.

“Or what his intentions with my child are,” his mother added oh so helpfully.

Nick scowled. “Leave him alone, and leave...that alone.”

His mother’s eyes were wide and innocent as she turned to look at him. “And what by chance is ‘that’?”

He held his dirty look, knowing better than to say anything else.

Refusing to say what she wanted him to would only result in her dancing around the subject even more.

Admitting it would give her the ammunition she needed to continue with whatever opinion she’d formed.

Nick had learned long ago that silence was usually enough to get someone to stop.

“You look like your father when you do that,” she noted.

Maria looked in the rearview mirror again. “I bet you wish you hadn’t had so much to drink the last time you were here, huh?”

It hadn’t been at the lodge, but he agreed with his sister’s assessment.

The last visit a couple of years ago somehow ended with Nick getting too deep into the bottle of whiskey his mother had pulled out and sitting on the front porch with them.

The night was hazy, but boy, did he remember spilling his guts about his true feelings for Matt.

Admittedly, they’d taken the news well, although Maria had already known about Nick’s occasional dalliances with the same sex.

He wasn’t sure if his mother was a consummate actress who hid her true feelings at the news or didn’t care.

Either way, they had been sympathetic, accepting, and full of so many questions that, in his drunken state, he’d been more than happy to answer.

Now, the memory burned in the forefront of his mind, and he felt his cheeks growing warm.

They were the only two people who knew about his feelings for Matt.

Personally, he would have preferred the secret had been kept, but between the booze, a melancholy wistfulness that caught him just right, and a surge of affection for his sister and mother, he had poured his heart out to them.

“Ooh, that’s not a happy face,” Maria noted.

“There’s nothing to talk about, and you two had better not make comments around him.”

“Oh please, what are we, idiots?” Maria asked.

“Nosy, gossipy, and impulsive, but not idiots, no,” Nick said.

His mother waved a finger at him. “You best behave yourself. Don’t think you’re too old for me to come back there and put you over my knee.

And don’t forget to thank your sisters for taking him with them.

Lord knows I don’t know why that boy is so scared of being around us sometimes, but it’s good of them,” his mother said, facing the front again.

“He’s not scared,” Nick told her.

“Not that I’d blame him,” Maria said.

Nick shrugged, knowing Matt liked his family just fine.

The man just didn’t do people very well, it was part of who he was, and Nick had no problem with it.

Around too many people, Matt shut down and kept quiet, unsure what to say and afraid that whatever came out would create problems. Nick had never had a problem with anything Matt said, but there were memories before Matt joined the military that Nick suspected had a big part to play in his friend’s attitude.

His mother glanced at him, brow furrowing. “Oh, don’t get that look on your face, honey. We love him, and I’m glad he’s comfortable with Nicole and Emily, and they’re willing to back him up. Maybe then he can see you’re not the only person in this family he can get along with.”

Nick sighed, shaking his head gently but saying nothing else.

He knew his mother meant well, and she wanted Matt to be as comfortable as everyone else with group gatherings.

The thing was, Nick knew Matt never would be at ease, groups made him nervous, and crowds were the bane of his existence.

Nick didn’t expect Matt to change and didn’t want him to, but he couldn’t fault his mother for trying to do what she thought was best.

As they came over the next ridge, Maria sighed. “God, it’s been years.”

Nick leaned forward as eager for a view as he was for a change in subject.

The area that made up The Lodge sprawled for several acres.

A dozen buildings were spread out in a grid, with paths connecting them.

In the center was the main building, a wide two-story affair where his immediate family usually stayed when it was just them.

It was the perfect place for the extended family to convene, with its large kitchen, dining room, lounges, and movie theatre tucked in the back.

The buildings closest to the entrance road were where everything utility-based resided.

The garages, the workshop his father had installed years ago, and, of course, the infamous boiler sat in the middle of it all.

The rest of the buildings spread out around the estate were all cabins of varying sizes, capable of housing his entire family if need be.

“You ever get the feeling our family has way too much money?” Nick asked lightly.

“I told Dad he should see if this place could be used for, like, a kids’ camp or something during the summer since we barely use the place unless it’s cold,” Maria said as they drove the last half mile.

Their mother looked at her sharply. “And what did he say?”

Maria smirked. “He said I’d have to talk to my mother.”

That earned her a threatening glare from their mother and a warning wag of her finger.

Nick took the opportunity to glance behind them and spot his sister’s truck coming over the ridge.

He couldn’t make out Matt in the backseat, which probably meant the man was dozing.

Sure enough, he watched one of his sisters turn around, and a second later, a head popped up between the seats.

Nick snorted softly, recognizing the tuft of hair that always stuck up on the back of Matt’s head when the man fell asleep.

His mother sighed. “And there’s your father.”

Sure enough, as Maria turned the vehicle onto the path toward the main family garage, his father emerged from one of the utility sheds. He was wiping his hands with what had probably been a white cloth once and watching them closely.

“Fiddling with that damned boiler again, no doubt,” she grumbled.

“Well, if I can convince you guys to loan this place out for a bunch of kids, he’ll have no choice but to change it. Safety laws and all,” Maria said brightly.

Nick covered his smile as their mother frowned suspiciously.

He could see she wasn’t thrilled at the idea of strangers running around the property, but the thought of forcing the boiler to be replaced was probably tempting.

Nick had no doubt Maria wouldn’t be shy about tugging on their heartstrings either, as he was pretty sure the kids she was thinking of weren’t trust-fund kids like them.

More likely, they were a large group of kids who had grown up like Matt, with little or no family support, a rough home life, and probably under the poverty line.

“Coming up here for a couple of weeks of the year would probably be an experience for them,” Nick agreed as Maria brought the car to a stop. “The kids you work with don’t get a whole lot of good experiences.”

Maria smiled, shaking her head. “They don’t.”

He hopped out of the truck before his mother could accuse him of colluding with Maria. With a groan, he reached up, letting his back muscles stretch. Far too many hours sitting for his taste.

“Sounds like you’re gettin’ old,” his father’s voice quipped.

Nick grinned, turning to face him. “If I’m getting old, what does that make you?”

“Older than dirt.”

“Mmm, and Mom?”

“Lovely, no matter how many years God has seen fit to keep her here.”

Nick snorted. “Spoken like a man whose wife is within earshot.”

“I said I’m ancient, not senile.”

His mother appeared, swatting his father’s side. “William Engel, you behave yourself, or you’re going to spend the night with that boiler of yours.”

“I was looking over the generators, Kimberly. Wanted to make sure there weren’t gonna be any problems with ‘em since we’re havin’ so many people around,” he told her.

“And I’m sure the boiler wasn’t on that list,” she said suspiciously.

His father wrapped a thick arm around her waist, pulling her close and kissing her head. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, ya know that?”

She did her best to glower, but Nick could see the twinkle in her eye. “Don’t you try to butter me up, Will.”

Maria appeared, lugging Nick’s bag. “Yeah, save it for when you’ve got her alone.”

That was the moment Nicole and Emily appeared. They wrinkled their noses, shaking their heads at Maria.

“And that can get listed under things I never want to think about,” Nicole said.

“Or hear,” Emily added.

Matt appeared behind them, bag over his shoulder, looking rumpled. “I probably could have done without hearing it too.”

His father brightened immediately. “Matthew, it’s good to see you, son.”

Matt gave him a small smile. “Same to you, sir.”

Nick could see the amusement on his father’s face as he approached, taking Matt’s hand and shaking it. The formality lasted all of five seconds before Matt was drawn into a big bear hug, earning a startled squawk.

Emily grinned as she stepped around them. “Ever feel like there might be a favorite around here?”

“Eh,” Nick shrugged. “I can live with that.”

“We should probably start herding people to where they’re gonna be staying. Otherwise, they’ll stand around like a bunch of confused turkeys,” Nicole told their mother.

His mother huffed, shaking her head. “Ain’t that the truth? Girls, let’s go herd some sheep and leave the boys to chat.”

Maria shoved his bag into his arms. “Here, take your shit. I’m not your bellboy.”

Nick took it, bending forward to kiss her forehead. “Yes, ma’am.”

She grinned wickedly. “I’m going to grab you soon, maybe get some ideas on how we can wear Mom down about the camp thing.”

Nick shook his head, watching his sisters walk off with their mother.

The four women were chatting easily, and Nick felt something slip into place inside him.

That feeling warmed when his father’s arm wrapped around his shoulders and squeezed.

He grinned at the man who had given him his height and size.

“Nice to have you two around again. Your mother always frets when you’re gone too long,” he told Nick.

“Oh, trust me, she already let me know,” Nick assured him.

“How many questions did you have to answer?”

“I don’t know. How long is the drive from the airport?”

His father chuckled, patting him on the back. “Sounds about right. Give me a few minutes to lock up, and I’ll take you boys to your cabin.”

“You really want to escort us or just put off having to go to the main house and deal with everyone?” Nick asked.

His father chuckled but said nothing as he walked back toward the building he’d emerged from. Nick glanced at Matt, who was staring at the surrounding mountains.

“Looks like someone took a nap,” Nick said.

Matt huffed, cheeks going pink for a reason Nick didn’t understand. “No, just pretended to for a little while.”

Nick wrapped his hand around the back of Matt’s neck and squeezed. “Don’t worry, we’ll get you to our cabin. Be nice and quiet there.”

“I’m okay,” Matt muttered.

“Yeah, but I know after all the sitting around, we could both probably use a nap before dinner.”

Matt winced. “I guess that’s going to be a big thing, huh?”

“I bet I can talk Mom into letting us have dinner in our cabin. It’s the first day, so everyone will be a bit jet-lagged and worn out, so we can get away with it.”

“I can’t hide forever.”

“It’s not hiding. It’s resting after too many hours traveling. She won’t mind.”

Matt gave him a weak smile. “Yeah, I guess we could do that.”

Nick gave his friend another squeeze on the back of the neck before, with a twinge of regret, pulling his hand away.

Matt was more bothered by his aversion to large groups than Nick had ever been.

And his mother, for all her insistence on trying to help, wouldn’t take offense to Matt wanting at least one night before facing the whole family.

“You two ready?” his father called as he closed the door behind him.

“C’mon,” Nick said, pulling Matt with him. “Let’s go pretend we’re on vacation for a while and not surrounded by my crazy family.”