“Teddy,” Curtis called, waving his hand at me. “You might wanna move if you don’t wanna get wet.”
I scrambled to the side with the kids as he sprayed away the mixture. Underneath was clean cement.
“See, told ya,” Curt said to Finn. He smiled and sprayed Finn in the chest with the hose, making my boy squeal in shock.
I quickly moved to put the truck between me and Curt, which had been an excellent decision because Jesse and Dylan got sprayed next.
They yelled and complained, but all of them were laughing by the time he shut the water off.
“No more fightin’,” he ordered, gathering up the hose. “Fuckin’ behave while we’re gone today, all right?”
“I’ll behave,” Finn said immediately. He watched as Dylan pulled his sopping wet T-shirt off and then grabbed his own by the back of the collar and pulled his off the same way.
My throat grew tight as his narrow shoulders straightened and his chest puffed out a little. The difference between Dylan’s nearly grown chest and Finn’s skinny one couldn’t be overstated, but Curtis must’ve noticed that the boys were standing the exact same way because I felt him look at me. When I met his gaze, he shot me a small, knowing smile.
“Okay, everyone back inside,” I ordered, waving them toward the door. “Dry your feet off on the rug and get changed before you sit on anything.”
***
Half an hourlater, I was slipping on my sandals while Curtis laid out the ground rules for when we were gone.
“We’ll be home around dinner,” he said. “You stay in the house. No playin’ outside, no openin’ the door.”
Unsurprisingly, the older kids didn’t protest. We’d sat them down months ago to let them know that Finn’s grandfather was unpredictable and unhappy with our move to Oregon. I hadn’treally given more information than that, but Jesse already knew what an asshole David was, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if they filled Dylan in later.
Finn, on the other hand, still knew nothing. He was too young to fully understand the situation, and I didn’t want to freak him out. Thankfully, he just wanted to be doing anything the older kids were doing, so he played by the rules we set.
“We know, Dad,” Dylan said, lifting his head from the arm of the couch. “We’ll stay inside until you get back.”
“I say movie marathon,” Jess mused from the other end of the sectional. “We can use this huge ass TV. It’s like being in a theater.”
“With popcorn,” Finn added excitedly. “And candy. And ice cream.”
“We don’t have any ice cream,” Jess replied. “But the rest, we can do.”
“Thank you,” I mouthed in their direction. They nodded back.
“I’ll lock the door behind us,” Curt said, gesturing for me to get off the couch. “Call if you need anythin’.”
“We won’t,” Jesse retorted boredly. “Go. Have fun.”
“I’ll make dinner when we get home,” I told them as I grabbed my bag and headed for the door. “Don’t let your brother get sick on candy.”
“We won’t,” Dylan replied.
“Which brother?” Jess snickered at the same time.
Dylan kicked out at their feet, and they yanked them out of his reach.
I let out a sigh and tilted my face to the sun as Curt backed the bike out of the garage a couple of minutes later. The weather was actually nice for once, not sweltering hot and muggy like it had been for the past few weeks. I loved the heat, and I was used to it, but even with the air conditioning in the house, sometimesour bedrooms upstairs got really warm. Surprisingly, I was kind of looking forward to the rainy weather that everyone promised me was coming.
“You’re so fuckin’ beautiful,” Curt said, making me tip my head back down. “Jesus.”
I glanced down at myself. I was wearing an old pair of black cut-off jeans, a gray T-shirt, and, since we were riding the Harley, a pair of scuffed black Dr. Martens Chelsea boots. Nothing especially enticing.
“You just think that because I sucked your dick last night,” I joked as I walked toward him.
“Didn’t hurt,” he conceded as he handed me his helmet. “You ready for this?”
