Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

J oe whimpered pathetically when her alarm clock went off, letting her know that it was already two p.m. She blindly reached out and started slapping away, knowing that it was only a matter of time before she hit that damn alarm clock. A minute later, pure, beautiful silence surrounded her once again.

Deciding that another hour of sleep was just what she needed, Joe rolled over and closed her eyes. What felt like moments later, her cell phone went off. Muttering a few choice words, she rolled over and answered the phone without opening her eyes.

"Hello?"

"Hi, sweetie. Did I wake you?" Alice Parish, her surrogate mother, asked. Since Eric dragged her home when they were eight years old, Alice had been her mother. Her real mother, Pamela, had adored the situation and had happily relinquished all control and decisions to Alice.

Of course, this wasn't something that Alice had agreed to. Pamela decided on her own that she no longer had to do anything for Joe because she'd found another sucker to push her responsibilities onto. It didn't really surprise anyone when Pamela suddenly packed up and left town when Joe turned sixteen. Not that it mattered by then since she'd already been living with Alice and the boys for two years by that point.

"Sorry, Mom, I must have dozed back off again," Joe said, trying to bite back a yawn. She'd only managed to get a half-hour of sleep with Eric this morning before they got a call, and after that, the calls just kept coming. That was followed by staying an extra three hours over their shift to cover 911 before they could finally go home.

"I'm sorry I woke you, sweetie, but I need a favor," Alice said.

It made Joe smile, knowing that if she'd been Eric, Alice would have told her to get her lazy ass up. Sometimes, it was nice being the favorite. Everyone in town knew that Alice Parish adored her boys, but Joe was the little girl she'd always wanted. That and Alice was always trying to make up for Pamela abandoning her.

Joe glanced at her much-hated alarm clock and groaned. It was four-thirty. She'd definitely overslept. "What can I do for you, Mom?"

"I was wondering if you could pick up some ice cream to go along with the cake I made for dessert."

Biting back a groan, Joe sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, wishing she could go back to bed. "Of course, Mom."

"Dinner's at six," she reminded her.

"I'll be there," Joe said, trying not to yawn. God, she was really looking forward to getting rocked to sleep on a boat this weekend.

"Thanks, sweetie. I'll see you later," Alice said before hanging up.

Somehow, Joe managed to drag herself to the bathroom. After a quick shower, she blow-dried her hair, and applied a small amount of make-up before yanking on her form fitting low-riding jeans and a blouse that ended just above her belly button. Going to work looking plain was one thing. She was there to work, but any other time she left the house, she liked to dress up a bit. Well, at least she made it more obvious that she was a woman. Anything more than that was just way too much work.

Feeling somewhat refreshed, Joe got into her car and headed towards Clement's Market. She grabbed the French vanilla ice cream she knew that Alice wanted and a half-gallon of chocolate fudge swirl for Nathan, Alice's oldest son and the man that Joe considered her brother, and a half-gallon of M&M ice cream for her and Eric. Nathan's girlfriend and whoever Alice was trying to set Eric up with would have plenty of flavors to choose from.

Ten minutes later, Joe was pulling up to the small, white Victorian house that she still thought of as home. There were three extra cars in the driveway, two of them she recognized. She hated being the last one to arrive. She grabbed the bags and headed inside without knocking. If she tried to knock, Alice would get insulted. Joe was family, and God help her if she didn't act it.

"We're in the kitchen, sweetie!" Alice yelled as soon as Joe walked inside and was immediately hit with the mouthwatering aroma of Alice's pot roast.

"Yeah, sweetie , we're in the kitchen!" Nathan added mockingly.

Smart-ass.

She walked into the kitchen and found Nathan sitting at the kitchen table, holding hands with a small woman with a warm smile. She found Eric sitting on the counter, looking uncomfortable under the cold gaze of a woman with long wavy red hair, who really looked really pissed for some reason.

She would never understand why Alice took it as her personal mission in life to find a girlfriend for her youngest son. Eric was incredibly good-looking if you liked the bad-boy look, which she did, but that was neither here nor there. He never lacked options. They couldn't go anywhere without a woman shoving her phone number in his hand. So, why Alice thought he needed her help, Joe would never know.

"About time you got your lazy ass here," Eric said with a wink.

"Eric Parish!" Alice said, sounding more shocked than she really should at this point.

"Yeah, Eric," Joe said, sticking her tongue out like a two-year-old.

As she passed him on the way to the fridge, he swatted her on the ass.

Hard.

"Eric!" Alice gasped in outrage.

"What?" he asked, blinking innocently.

Joe barely resisted the urge to rub her ass. Damn, that stung, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing that. Their relationship was complicated and, admittedly, very weird.

"Sweetie, this is Nathan's girlfriend, Caitlyn, and this is my friend Camie," Alice said as Joe put the ice cream away.

"It's very nice to meet both of you," Joe said, palming an ice cube before she casually walked behind Eric and discreetly shoved it down the back of his pants. She heard him suck in a breath and had to smile. Immediate retribution was always nice.

"Camie, Caitlyn, this is our Joe," Alice said, gesturing to Joe before she gave her a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Joe walked past Eric and just barely missed another swat on the ass as he stood up to rid himself of the ice. She walked over and gave Nathan a big hug and a kiss before she shook Caitlyn's hand.

"So, you're their sister?" Camie asked, turning that glare on Joe.

"She's Mom's favorite brat, my pain in the ass sister, and Eric's bitch," Nathan said as Caitlyn bit her lip to hide a smile. No doubt, she already knew the whole story behind their family. Camie looked really confused and Mom's face turned completely red.

"Nathan Parish!"

"What?" Nathan asked, still laughing as Joe playfully swatted his arm.

Eric shrugged it off. "It's true," he said before he pursed his lips up thoughtfully and added, "Actually, if anything, I'm her bitch."

Joe sighed as she nodded. "That's true. You are my bitch."

"Josephine!" Alice gasped in outrage as she struggled to bite back a smile. "You're going to make them think I raised you like this!"

Nathan blinked. "You did."

"I did not!"

"Oh, come on, Mom. No need to pretend. Everyone knows you raised the three of us to be foulmouthed little bastards," Eric said, egging his mother on.

Caitlyn laughed while Camie somehow managed to look even more confused. If Joe had to guess, she didn't really know Alice that well. It only took two minutes after meeting Alice to know that she was a down-to-earth woman and incredibly kind. She'd raised the three of them with more love than anyone could ever hope for.

"So..." Camie began. "I'm really confused."

"I'll explain our little family dynamic since I get a kick out of it," Nathan said with a satisfied sigh that had Joe biting back a smile.

Eric settled into a chair away from the woman that his mother was trying to throw at him. He seriously had to question her mental status on this one. None of the women he'd dated, not even Beth, the woman he'd been engaged to, had been anything like this woman. This woman was a fucking snob. She'd already sent Caitlyn a dismissive look that really pissed him off. To top it off, she wouldn't stop staring at him like she owned him. He was half afraid that if he turned his back on her that she'd brand his ass.

He leaned back in his chair as he let his eyes roam over Joe. He definitely hadn't missed the nasty look she sent Joe when she'd walked into the kitchen. His upbringing was the only thing that prevented him from tossing her out on her ass at the moment.

Women could be such bitches sometimes. It pissed him off when women gave Joe a dismissive look. Joe was incredibly beautiful with generous curves that managed to make his blood boil, probably always would, Eric thought as he let his eyes roam over her. He took in her long, honey-blonde hair and nearly fucking groaned when she pulled out an elastic from her pocket and put her hair up in a messy bun. He let his eyes run down her slender neck to the tight black shirt she wore that ended just above her belly button before running his gaze back up and-

Nearly fucking groaned as he took in firm breasts that filled out her shirt just right.

She was absolutely fucking perfect, Eric thought as he continued looking up until he came to soft pink lips and-

"Earth to Eric," Nathan said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Was he drooling?

God, he really fucking hoped not.

"Yeah?" Eric said, clearing his throat as he forced himself to look away from Joe to find his brother rolling his eyes.

"You want me to tell the story?"

"Knock yourself out," Eric said, dropping his head back so that he could stare up at the ceiling since the last thing that he needed was to get caught staring at Joe again. It had been way too fucking long since he got laid. Then again, after what happened the last time, it would probably be a really fucking long time before he tried to get laid again.

"So, one day when Eric was eight, Dad gets a call that some bully had not only beaten the hell out of his baby boy but had also made him eat a handful of worms," Nathan started.

"That's awful!" Camie said, looking thoroughly disgusted. It had been pretty gross, Eric had to admit. The worms weren't too bad, but all that dirt had been fucking disgusting.

"It gets better," Nathan promised. "I'm a year older than Eric, so Dad dragged me out of class with the intention of having me beat the shit out of the bully to make sure that he left Eric alone. We walk into the office, looking for the bully, only to find these two scraped up and covered in mud. Dad demands to see the little boy that beat the shit out of his son and talk to his parents only to get told that this adorable little girl was the culprit."

"Hey! He started it by shoving worms down my dress!" Joe said, gasping in outrage.

"I had to do something to improve that ugly ass dress you were wearing. It looked like you were wearing a couch," Eric said, only to chuckle when Joe threw a roll at his head, which he caught and happily ate.

"Anyway," Nathan said, drawing back everyone's attention. "I, being the good brother that I am, offered to kick her ass. Dad was at a loss but still somehow managed to slap me upside the head when I made the offer."

"You did not!" Alice sounded horrified.

"He really did," Joe said, nodding solemnly.

"Once Dad decided that I wasn't going to kick her ass, we hung around waiting for Joe's mother so he could talk to her. We waited two hours and by then, Dad had fallen in love with the little brat," Nathan said with a heartfelt sigh.

"So, did you," Joe said with a teasing smile as she grabbed the silverware and started setting the table.

Nathan chuckled. "Of course I did. I knew right off the bat that you were good sister material. So, Dad, who was at a total loss at this point because her mom still hadn't shown up, and this big baby," he jerked a thumb towards Eric, "decided she should come home with us where everything could be straightened out. Mom took one look at Joe and decided she was keeping her."

"So, you like, all adopted her?" Camie guessed, still frowning in confusion.

Everyone except Caitlyn shook their heads. "Not exactly. Even though Dad mentioned more than once before he passed away that he was going to kidnap Joe and adopt her, we never made it official."

"He would have done it," Alice said with a watery smile.

"It didn't matter what a piece of paper says since we all heard him referring to Joe as his little girl, so it didn't matter," Eric said, earning a sad smile from Joe.

"So, she never lived with you?" Camie asked, looking really fucking determined to find out exactly what Joe's role was.

"She became an instant fixture in the house. She went with us everywhere, did her homework here, and had chores here, but her mother wouldn't let her move in with us at first, which was okay until she was about fourteen. That's when she started to sleep over here more often until she was finally living here and Mom told us to go get her stuff. She stayed here until after she started working on the ambulance."

"I moved out a few months before Eric did," Joe said as she finished setting the table and helped his mother with the food.

"Only because you stole the apartment I wanted," Eric pointed out, stealing another roll with a mock glare at the little pain in the ass.

"Okay," Camie said slowly. "So, Eric and Joe are like brother and sister?"

Eric shared a look of horror with Joe. Nathan winced and even his mother shook her head, looking like she might be sick.

"That's a seriously horrifying thought," Joe muttered. "Kind of disgusting, actually."

"Damn straight it is," Eric said, shooting her a wink.