Five.
Now.
I launched into a slide, a blur of denim, dirt, and flying arms.
Time froze.
Thwap!
My fingers smacked the edge of home plate a split secondaftermy third eldest brother, Camdyn, tried to make me eat a baseball, along with the dirt in my mouth.
“Out!” Number Two, Leith, called.
“No, I’m safe!” I replied, lying on my back like I’d outrun death itself. Jeans streaked with grass. I placed my hands behind my back, relishing the soft, late January sunshine.
“Slide King, I’m calling it.” Camdyn glared down at me, knife tattoo on his neck twitching with the way his pulse popped. “You’reout! Last out, my team is up to bat.”
“Yeah!” Carly, his daughter, called.
“What?” I shot into a seated position to glare at the seven-year-old munchkin. “You’re not even playing.”
“Am now. Me first.” She flashed a smile sharper than Camdyn’s attitude. Like father, like daughter.
“Carly’s first, when you numpties get a third out.” I shrugged, jumping to my feet. They were right. Iwasout.
But I didn’t have anyone to defend me.
My team consisted of my younger brother, Rory, who was no doubt doing another livestream to his millions of followers. At the same time, Baby Jake—twenty-five years old—stood at first base, drawing psycho blobs in the sand like one of his patients had taken over his body. No clue what inning we were in. No clue what baseball was.
Camdyn launched the ball straight at my thigh.Whack!
I stumbled. Legs buckled.
Red flashed.
And that was it. I charged him. Right in front of his daughter. So what? These nieces and nephews were wild anyway—half of them were Cam and Willow’s. We crashed into the dirt. Human freight trains. Little Brody tried to intercept. Big brothers? They fought for each other.Scum. As he charged, Rory body-checked him from the side—bouncing Brody back three feet.
“Okay, Romeo.” I grinned at my younger brother. “Didn’t know you had that smoke.”
Rory smirked, chin jutted toward Justice and Jordyn, my sisters-in-law. One held his phone, recording.Damn, social media op.
After a second, Jordyn handed Justice the phone and marched over. Her expression suggested she had something to say, even before she placed her hand on her hip.
“You entering the fight?” I smirked.
“Sorta,” Jordyn said. “Remember when we met at the cabin? Jamie threatened to break your legs for flirting with me?”
A round of laughter came from my brothers.
I addressed her seriously. “Forgive me, Jordyn. Had I known you’d be my sister-in-law…”
“Please listen. I’ll say this before Cutie Pie arrives. If you hurt her?—”
“You’ll break my legs.”
“Just listen. I can’t break those muscular thighs?—”
“JorJor, I’m standing right here.” Jamie scoffed.
