Auggie, the fire-breathing dragon, hadn’t given him a chance to explain or make that kind of offer.She’d ripped into him, telling him what a jerk he was, that he was just like his father, and his mother would be so ashamed of him.
He’d remembered that day ever since.She’d brought up hismother.
“It should be ready soon,” another sister said.This one had the fiery red hair like the baby.Juniper—the middle one.She had been there the night her father had almost killed Cal’s sister Claudia five months ago.She’d been abducted by the men responsible and had barely escaped.She looked at Em.“I’ll grab the pizzas; you handle the hand washing.We’ll let Aug have Calloway Grady here.She should be able to keep him in line.”
“Works for me.One of us should probably text his sisters or something.So they don’t worry, especially Clancy.She told me Gramps here has a nine p.m.bedtime.She’ll freak if he’s not there when she gets home,” Em said, pulling out her phone.“So…Claudia, Clancy, or Cloe?Ireallywant to know how Clancy’s date with Barand is going right now, but if they are getting it…well…I don’t want to interrupt.”
“Interrupt, please.Go ahead.You have my permission.Why is she out with Barand Hauffman?”Cal would definitelyinterruptClancy right now.Hauffman was far too old for her.
Maybethatwas why Clancy hadn’t told him exactly what she was doing tonight.
“Why would they worry about Callous Cal?”Junie asked.“From what I’ve heard, he’s cold as stone.And indestructible.A golem, even.Or is it a gargoyle?I can’t remember.You know, cold as stone?”
“Well, a gargoyle is made of stone, carved.But a golem is made from clay or earth, so…it could be either?”Auggie had to add.“Either way, they fit him.”
Well, none of them liked him much tonight apparently.Well, the feeling was mutual.He did not likeTylersin general.Well, he didn’t like guy Tylers in general.Not when they got too close to his sisters, anyway.He had three to protect, and the Tylers had reputations where women were concerned.
Bruce Tyler, these beasts’ evil father, had nearly gotten his sister Claudia killed, too.That was hard to forget.Tylers and Gradys probably shouldn’t mix.He just couldn’t get his sisters to understand that lately, though.
The teenager stepped closer and took the preschooler by the hand protectively.Cal blinked twice, seeing her.She was a carbon copy of Auggie at that age, no denying that.Auggie and Em had been in and out of his parents’ house for years when they’d been younger.“Isn’t this the man who was going to steal the ranch from you, Aug?”
“This is him,” Auggie said, patting him dismissively on the chest.“He’s the greedy land-grabber type.Him and his pals.This is Claudia’s oldest brother.He and the other one own all the land around our ranch now.We are currently surrounded, I think.Probably planning to push us out or something.”
“Hardly.I am not pushing you out.Just…developing it.Maybe.”Damn it, his head really hurt.He seriously had no idea how he had gotten there.
He shot the queen of trouble a glare, she smirked at him in return.She was a seriously hot woman.When hadthathappened?
“He’s very pretty.For a boy,” yet another little girl said, leaning over him.Wow—this one was a clone of Em all the way.
They were… just everywhere.Little girls.Six of them.From the baby crawling around on the floor, watching him with fear in her eyes.Plus, Augusta, Juniper, and September—who were all in their early to mid-twenties.
Girlseverywhere.
Bruce Tyler had been a busy, busy boy through the years.Nine daughters in twenty-four years were just a bit too much.
“Well, sometimes the prettiest faces can hide the darkest souls,” Auggie said.“Just because something is pretty doesn’t mean it’s good for you.He definitely fits that.I personally think he’s a troll, rather than a golem or a gargoyle.We can talk more about that later.”
“Cake is pretty,” the child, about ten or so, he thought, pointed out.This one apparently liked to question and argue.“And it’s really good.”
“But too much cake is definitely not good for you.And it will make you sick,” Auggie said so calmly, while adjusting the blanket over Cal’s chest.“Go.Hands.Then set the table.I’ll be there in a minute with Mae-Mae.”
She leaned down a bit awkwardly and scooped the baby up and held her close.
The little girls left them, heading to the kitchen sink across the open concept living room, where they noisily washed their hands and set the table.
He just stayed where he was—trying to strategize.Even though his head felt twice its regular size.He literally had no idea how he had gotten here.The last thing he remembered was being irritated at his truck for…something…mechanical, maybe?
After that was a total blank.
Cal smelled pizza on the air.The Junie-she-devil started chopping a salad at the counter.Every thwack of the knife shot through his head.
He lifted one hand to his forehead.He’d taken quite a knock when his truck had run off the road, but there weren’t any tender spots.Just a small one at his hairline.He didn’t remember getting there at all.
But somehow, he was ensconced on Augusta Tyler’s living room couch.
This was his ultimate fate, then.This was how it ended?
What a horrible way for a man to go.
