“Oh, yeah.I need to know.It’s been killing me.Especially when Freya said you pushed her into a pile of rubbish before diving on her to hide from him once.”
“Oh fuck,” I groan.“Can you wait for me to be ready to talk about it?Please?It’s really embarrassing.”
She doesn’t answer for a moment, but then lets out a sigh.“I suppose.”
“Now, why do you have dirt on your face?”
“I’m fixing the chicken coup.I want to have fresh eggs.Makayla is talking about having our own fruit and vegetables too.”
“You know how to look after chickens and grow stuff?”
“No, but how hard can it be?Paisley has a duck who thinks he’s a dog.”
“You really can’t compare it to them,” I stress as she gets up.
She laughs.“Don’t worry, I’ll read up on chickens before we get some.”
I breathe a sigh of relief.“Thank you.”
“Now come on downstairs and eat.I want to lock the food away before we let another stranger into the house.That Liam guy is coming over in a couple of hours, and last night, I heard he’s really close to the Carters.One is even named after him, so I’m thinking he might want to try and steal our food too.”
“Not everyone is out to get your food, Malia.”
“Then why do you keep letting food stealing fuckers into my house?Because I know it was Reid who ate the cookies I left in the oven.”
“You couldn’t possibly know it was him.”
“Babe, I had it padlocked after Mercedes kept glancing at the oven.And I know you don’t know how to pick a lock.If I wasn’t so impressed that he managed to get into it, I would be waking him up with my bat.”
I laugh.“He’d probably get turned on.”
Her nose scrunches up.“Eww.I didn’t need to know that,” she replies, getting to her feet.“I’ll let you get ready.”
I stop her when she gets to the door by calling her name.“Thank you for trusting me with all that information.”
“You are our family,” she states.Instead of leaving, she stays near the door, facing away from me.Her head lowers.“Do you think we can trust this Liam guy?”
There’s that vulnerability again.“I think the Hayes family are good people.Plus, you said he’s close with the Carters, and we can trust them.”
“Really?”she questions, her eyes narrowing.
My lips twitch.“If you push aside the food issue, then yes.I haven’t known them long, but their story has been passed down like gospel around here.If anyone knows what it’s like to do everything possible to protect those they love, it’s them.Freya has told me some of the younger generations’ stories, and trust me, none of them have had it easy.Faith was catfished, burgled, and beaten by said person.Bailey, Aiden’s missus, got beat up so badly, she lost her hearing.Landon nearly died.Hayden got kidnapped.Charlotte, the sweet redhead, had something heinous happen to her and then after had to deal with a psycho wife who tried to kill her, and you know all about Mark.”
Her eyes widen.“Wait, what about the food stealing idiot, Maddox?”
“He was the one who delivered Asher, who was later kidnapped by his biological father’s family.Honestly, I really do think you can trust this person.He’s been helping the Hayes brothers for a while now.And Reid told me last night that Liam was kidnapped by Black and they didn’t think he would survive when they found him.Apparently, he coded a few times.”
“Well shit,” she rasps.“I guess we don’t have a choice.I can’t let them lose any more of their lives running.They need to be able to live free.”
“No more running,” I whisper.
She clears her throat.“Food.”
She pulls open the door, and every single one of my cousins stand on the other side, staring in.
Makayla pipes up first.“Is she staying?”
All eyes turn to me.“I’m not going anywhere,” I reply.
