J.J. explained to his mother that we were keeping the pregnancy quiet until I was in my second trimester, but even I saw the gleam in her eyes and knew what it meant.
Sure enough, once I'd eaten lunch with the McClanes and extracted myself with the excuse that I was tired and needed a nap, which was actually the truth, Colette must have picked up her phone.
In all honesty, I expected my brothers to show up one at a time to vent their anger. They were hotheads and impatient, but I never expected what happened.
I'd just woken up from my nap and I was contemplating dinner. The day had been hot. Late September in Texas could go either way, but the heat was still no joke, even this late in the season, and it had ruined my appetite. But I had to eat.
As I stood in front of my pantry, staring blankly at the food inside, I heard a car come down my driveway.
Then, another car. And another.
With a sigh, I closed the pantry door and poured myself a glass of iced tea. At least they'd waited until around dinnertime to come calling. I'd make them buy me food.
I walked to the front door and out onto the porch. I watched as all four of them got out of their cars and convened for some sort of short conversation.
Since they were taking their time, I settled on the swing, sipped my tea, and used my toe to push myself back and forth in a slow, gentle motion. Surprisingly, it didn't make my head swim or nausea churn in my stomach.
Hmm, maybe I was coming out the other side of the morning sickness thing after all. Well, all day sickness would be more accurate.
Finally, my brothers broke up their huddle and walked toward the porch.
"Boys," I greeted them when they were close enough to hear me.
My eldest brother, D.J., spoke first. "Lee."
"What brings the four of you to my door all at once?" I asked even though I already knew. "I think the last time I saw you all together was at Mama's birthday a few months ago."
All four of them glowered at me. If I hadn't known them my entire life, I probably would have found it intimidating, but I knew every little secret these men had—from their ridiculous fears to their worst screw-ups.
"You know why we're here," Clayton said, crossing his arms over his chest. He was a police officer in a nearby town, so his stern expression was better than the others.
I took another sip of my tea. "I'm guessing Mrs. McClane has been sharing the exciting news."
"So it's true?" Robert asked. He was two years younger than D.J. and while he'd never been married, he'd dated a lot of women. More than any of the other three Prescott boys combined. He was currently single because he couldn't keep his dick in his pants. I loved him like crazy, but out of all of my brothers, he was the main reason I was hesitant to develop relationships.
"I'm afraid you'll have to ask me about something specific before I can answer." I was already irritated that they had descended on me en masse and now they were asking me questions like they had a right to expect an answer from me.
"That you're marrying J.J. McClane because the fucker knocked you up!" Robert yelled.
I got to my feet then. "First of all, you will not curse and yell at me in my own home. Second, you don't have a right to come over here and stand over me like a bunch of disappointed fathers." I took a deep breath because it was taking a lot more effort than I expected to keep from yelling at these four lugheads. "And third, I am pregnant and I am marrying J.J." I gave Scott a pointed look. "Someone you consider a friend."
He shrugged, still frowning but not as fiercely as my other brothers. "I'm not sure I'd call him a friend if he got my baby sister pregnant."
I couldn't help it. I felt the anger rising up in me and knew I was seconds away from losing my temper. Something I worked very hard not to do. I hated the things I did and said when I cut my anger loose. It hurt. That was part of the reason I tried to find creative ways to get my revenge. If I just blew up all over them, I always regretted it later.
If I took the time to plot and plan so their own poor choices were why they were caught, I didn't feel nearly as guilty.
So I turned and hurled the plastic glass of tea out into the yard before I rounded on them, pointing my finger at Scott first. All of them took a step back. They knew when I was angry that space was a good idea. Especially when it came to their safety.
"I'm your younger sister, but I'm not a baby. I'm twenty-five. I have more than one college degree, two jobs, and I'm in grad school, so I am by no means helpless or unable to function as an adult." My finger turned to Robert. "And as I recall, you're the one who knocked up Rena when you were both twenty-three and y'all never got married, so you are in no position to judge me for my choices."
Then, it was D.J.'s turn. "I never hear from you unless it's at Mama and Daddy's birthdays or the holidays, so I don't know why you would think I'd want to hear from you now. If you can't be bothered to talk to me on any other day, you have no right to come over here and try to read me the riot act when you don't like something I've done. Something that doesn't affect you in the least."
Clayton was last, mostly because as a police officer, he was a pretty straight arrow, so he didn't have nearly as much crap in his past as my other three brothers. Well, Scott was a highway patrolman now, but he'd been aimless for a few years after high school.
"And the same goes for you." With some of my steam vented, I was still angry, but also tired. Tired of them holding me to a different standard than they held themselves.
Then again, I'd always thought my mother had done that too, when in fact it had been my own perception that created that expectation for her.
