“You were a god amongst men,” I tell him.“Superman and James Bond rolled into one unstoppable force.”
“Fuck-n-A right I was,” he says, blinking.
Special K grunts.
“Hey!”Evander yells.“Stop kicking my fucking car, Cal!I just had it detailed!”
We get to Sulphur Springs in record time, well before seven o’clock.It’s a cool, sunny morning, and we get out of the car and stretch.Eventually, we all gather around the dark-tinted back window.Cal is still making a hell of a racket, and Evander’s SUV is definitely going to need another detail job, as well as some dent work.
At least he hasn’t busted out the glass.
Evander looks at all of us.“Who’s going to open the liftgate?Because I can assure you, it won’t be me.”
“Me either,” Declan says.“I’m still kinda woozy.”
“I’ll do it.”And that’s what Special K does.
The door raises.Cal rolls out from the cargo area in a fit.He hits the dirt.I’m happy to see that my exterior ropes are holding, and the tarp is only partially shredded.I know we’re all thinking the same thing.We’re considering leaving him tied up for the foreseeable future, because Cal sure doesn’t seem to be enjoying our quality family time.
“We’re going to untie and unwrap you,” Evander tells Cal.“But you better calm the fuck down or Special K will go medieval on your ass and we’ll just leave you out here for the buzzards.You understand me, big brother?”
To answer, Cal violently struggles against his bindings.
“Somebody sit on him while I do this,” Special K says.
Declan and Evander look at me.I sigh, but I go ahead and sit on Cal, pinning him down with my inner thighs.It takes a while, and I’ll have a few bumps and bruises afterward, but K manages to slice open the tarp and cut the ropes.
We all jump back, giving Cal plenty of room to flail.
Okay.He seems pissed off.
He rounds on us.He’s still naked, and he’s fighting red from his head to his toes.“That was my wedding night!Wedding.Fucking.Night!”
“Technically, it’s the morning after your wedding night,” Declan says, then immediately hides behind Special K.
Cal points to Evander.“Give me your pants.”
“These aren’t pants.They’re bespoketrousersmade of the finest—”
“Shut the fuck up about your virgin wool,” Declan snaps.
“Here.Take mine.”I rip off my jeans and hand them to Cal.
Special K sighs and grabs the cooler from the back seat.“We doing this or what?I’ve got shit to do today.”
We head over to the springs.We each grab a perfectly chilled beer and pop the caps.We clink bottles.
“A toast to the only married MacLaine,” I say, my bottle raised high in Cal’s direction.
“And married to a perfect woman,” Declan adds.
“You bet your ass she’s a perfect woman,” Cal growls.
“To Lieutenant MacLaine.He led us in war.He leads us in domesticity,” I add.
Everyone gives me a pointed look, and I know what they’re thinking.I was the first one married, by a long shot.I was the one who led in domesticity, but it was taken away too soon.
That’s why I made a point of giving Cal this win, so no one would mention Amy.Mentioning her wouldn’t be fair to Cal, since this is the happiest moment of our oldest brother’s life.
