Chapter 23
“You’re late,” Kenzie said, smiling hugely as she reached up and threw her arms around his neck, yanking him down to give him a bear hug that would put his brothers’ sad attempts to shame. “I missed you.”
Closing his eyes, he returned his sister’s hug and chuckled. “You saw me last week.”
“It was a short visit,” Kenzie pointed out as she released her hold on him and headed back towards the kitchen.
“I had somewhere to be,” he lied, rubbing the back of his neck as he followed his sister.
“Sure you did,” she said, sending him a mischievous smile over her shoulder as she pushed the swinging door open.
He walked in, expecting to find his mother arranging large bowls and platters of food, only to find his father standing in the middle of the kitchen with a large bowl of mashed potatoes in his arms. When his father’s gaze locked on Kenzie, he shot her that warm, sappy smile that belonged to his only baby girl. That smile quickly disappeared when he looked up and saw Danny standing in the kitchen. Jaw clenched firmly, he walked past Danny, pointedly looking straight ahead.
“I do so love these family dinners,” Danny mumbled, rubbing his hands down his face.
“Why don’t you just tell Dad that you-”
“Don’t,” he said, dropping his hands by his sides, “Just don’t.”
“Sorry,” Kenzie said, giving him a small smile as she grabbed a large platter of fried chicken.
“Don’t worry about it,” Danny said, sighing heavily as he looked around the large kitchen. “Where’s Mom?”
“She spilled gravy on herself and had to go change,” Kenzie said with a shrug.
He gestured absently behind him. “I wanted her to meet Jodi.”
The smile on Kenzie’s face slowly turned to horror as his words registered. “You brought your girlfriend here?”
“Yes.”
“Where is she?” Kenzie demanded, shoving the platter of chicken in his hands.
“In the front hall with everyone,” Danny said, wondering what her problem was.
“You left her with our brothers? Are you out of your damn mind?” she demanded, shoving past him and making him realize what he just did.
He’d left Tinkerbelle alone…
With his cousins…
And his brothers…
Who all thought it was their job to look after him.
Shit.
He dropped the platter on the kitchen counter by the door and shoved past his sister at a dead run. He was halfway down the hallway when he realized the large foyer where he’d left Jodi with his brothers and asshole cousins was empty. By the time he’d reached the stairs, the cries to stop had started.
“Please, stop!” Tinkerbelle cried, sounding out of breath.
He was going to fucking kill them, Danny swore as he followed the sounds of her pleas. He couldn’t believe how stupid he’d been to leave her like that. He’d known better than to leave her with them, but he hadn’t been thinking. He hated coming here, hated seeing his father, hated the reminder that his father hadn’t spoken a word to him since the night before he’d run off to enlist, but most of all, he hated the fact that his father looked at him as though he was a stranger.
“No, I can’t take anymore! Please, stop!” Tinkerbelle cried, sobbing hysterically as he rounded the corner and ran down the hallway where he used to race his matchbox cars with his brothers late at night when their parents had gone to bed.
He ran down the hallway, shoved the double doors to the family room open and decided then and there that he was definitely going to kill his brothers.
“Please, stop!” Jodi cried, gasping for air as she tried to stop laughing, but she just couldn’t, not with all seven of Danny’s brothers shoving the most embarrassing pictures they could find of Danny in her face.
