Chapter Twenty-Three

Soul

EVERYTHING THE WOMEN bought is now in our home. Brooklyn and the ol' ladies are going through all the clothing and bedding, taking all the tags off and getting it out of any packaging to put in the washer before the kids use it. I can hear them talking and laughing as they go through everything. Fetch and Theo are getting all the new toys out of the packages. Theo is sitting on the couch as people pass him things and he isn't moving too far so he doesn't injure the leg he had surgery on. Gotta give him credit too; he's not letting his temporary situation keep him from doing whatever he's asked to do. He'll make a good addition to our family once we patch him into the club. He's watching everyone as they talk and laugh. Everyone is busy either watching the kids or doing something to help us put everything that's been bought away after unpacking it. Goliath and Hulk are putting away all the food as Nanny directs them. I love how our family is here to help and we're only missing one person. Autumn is in Dobber's Cove with the club there and I'm not sure when she'll be back.

I turn my attention to Kyler where he sits on the floor. My baby brother is looking all over the place and I can tell he's getting very overwhelmed. His eyes are large and he can't keep his attention on one thing. I don't think Kyler's ever been around this many people at one time. On a good day we're a lot for everyone to take in. With everything my brother's been through over the last week or so, there's no telling how he's feeling about everyone in the house. Especially since he's not even paying attention to Jethro and he's been with him since Fetch brought him into our home. Something needs to change and I have to do something to get Kyler out of this crazy mess before he has a meltdown and we set him back in some kind of recovery as we all navigate this new way of life.

"Hey, Ky, why don't you and I go up and put your bed together? I'll teach you how to use tools and you can do most of the work and I'll just supervise," I ask him as he puts the car down but keeps his toy motorcycle in hand. "I may need to tighten some stuff for you, but you'll be doing the work, okay?"

"Yes," he whispers, still frantically looking around the room at everyone.

Grabbing Kyler's hand, I lead him upstairs and to the room across the hall from us. Entering his room, I see the box laid out on the floor. We walk over to it and Kyler looks down as if he's trying to figure out how to open the box up. Bending down next to him, I act as if I'm inspecting the box right along with him. Moving to the end, I see the flap and call Kyler over to where I'm crouched down.

"I think if we pull this up we'll get into the box. Do you think you can help me?" I ask him as he stands up and moves around toward me.

I lift the corner of the box just enough for Kyler to slide his fingers under the edge and grip it. Moving my hand down a little bit farther, I put some pressure under the flap and count with Kyler to lift it. My brother grunts and growls as he uses every ounce of his strength to pry the corner of the box up so we can get it open. I hide my grin at his attempt and vow I'll keep doing what I can so he can ‘help' whenever possible. It's something my dad did with me when I was younger and even though our relationship went to shit after my mom died, I have fond memories and want to instill Kyler with the same things my dad gave to me. It wasn't very often, but still, every boy needs to learn how to properly use tools.

"Hard," Kyler grunts when we finally get the flap open.

"That was hard, Little Man. Thanks for the help. I don't think I would've been able to get it if it weren't for you," I tell him as I move around the box so we can get all the pieces of his bed out.

"We did it," he tells me, his voice filled with the slightest bit of excitement in it.

"You stay here and I'll go get my tools so we can put your bed together. Unless you want to come with me. It's up to you."

Standing from the end of the box, I make my way out of the room and almost run into Brooklyn as she walks down the hall with an empty laundry basket in her hands.

"Hey, Love. Are you feelin' okay?" I ask her as exhaustion fills her eyes and face while looking up at me with a small smile on her face.

"I'm just tired, Gavin. Where's Kyler?" she asks me, looking around in the rooms with the open doors.

"He's in his room. He's gonna put his bed together while I supervise him," I answer her as her smile gets bigger and her eyes light up. "He was gettin' overwhelmed with everyone downstairs. I could see him about to have a meltdown so I brought him upstairs to get away from it all."

"This is a lot for him. Especially with everyone in the house. If you need me to help do anything, just let me know," she tells me, lifting up on her toes and pressing a kiss against my lips.

I wrap my arms around her and deepen the kiss for a minute before pulling back and resting my forehead against hers. After just breathing her in for a few minutes, I pull back and make my way to where my tool box is. Grabbing it, I head back upstairs while seeing everyone still doing whatever they were previously. I haven't been upstairs with Kyler for very long so it's not surprising.

Walking back in Kyler's bedroom, I find him putting the various pieces of his bed in a line based on the letters covering them. I set my toolbox down and watch as he puts the final piece in a line and stands up to inspect his work.

"What ya doin', Little Man?" I ask him, moving over next to him as we look down at everything around us.

"Lines," he says, as I bend down to pick up the instructions and all the hardware needed to put the bed together.

"This is a line," I tell him as Rion makes his way into the bedroom but doesn't say a word as he remains far away from my brother so he doesn't overwhelm him or make him upset. "I think Rion would like to help you put the bed together. Do you think we can let him help?"

Kyler turns around and faces Rion where he stands in the entrance of the room. After looking at him for a few minutes, Kyler turns back to me and nods his head. With a smile on my face I motion for the Prospect to walk further into the room. The three of us get down on the floor and I grab the tools we'll need to put this bed together. Setting them on the floor in front of Kyler, I point each one out and he inspects them all as I talk about it. Rion remains silent as he watches us interact and smiles at Kyler when he turns his head to face him every now and then.

"Okay. Kyler, we need the pieces with the A and the D on them. Can you grab them for us?" I ask my brother as he jumps up and moves to the line of his bed pieces.

Rion and I watch on as he grabs the correct pieces. The three of us settle in and begin to build his bed. I let Kyler do most of the work on our end while Rion works on the opposite side so we can get this put together. It takes us a lot longer than it would have if Rion and I were the ones to put the bed together, but Kyler was happy so neither one of us cared about the hours it took us to put it together. Brooklyn even comes in to watch us for a little bit when she brings in his bedding and the blankie Theo picked out for him. It's just big enough for him with a motorcycle taking up the entire blanket. There's other things on it, but I didn't look at it too closely since we were still putting the bed together.

"Can I see your bike?" Kyler asks me when we finish putting his bed together.

For a minute, I look at my brother in shock and surprise as he looks up at me with hope filling his large, chocolate brown eyes.

"Of course you can. It's outside. If you're gonna go out there, we need to get you in a sweatshirt or somethin'. It's too cold for you to just have your tee-shirt on," I tell him, looking around the room for anything that's ready for him to put on now. "I think we might be able to find somethin' in your bags that were brought with us. Let's see what we find."

Kyler and I manage to find a hoodie in one of the suitcases that were packed from home before we came back here with the kids. Getting it on him, I take Kyler's hand when he holds it out for me and we make our way outside the house. Wheels and I will have to put our bikes in the garage soon. For now, we've just been leaving them outside. Maybe I'll put mine in there tonight so I can put Kyler on the bike without actually taking him anywhere.

"So, this bike is mine. The one parked right next to it is Jayce's," I inform Kyler as he gets up close and inspects each machine.

Kyler doesn't touch either bike as he moves around them. Jayce joins us and we stand back while watching him act as if he actually knows what he's looking at. It's the cutest fucking thing I've ever seen in my life and I want to commit this moment to memory. I want to have a picture to hang in our home. Jayce, already sensing where my head is, pulls his phone from his pocket and takes several pictures of Kyler as he continues to examine the bikes. First going around my bike and then moving to Jayce's.

"You wanna get on the bike and help me put it in the garage?" I ask Kyler, my voice barely a whisper as I realize we truly have something to bond over in a way I never bonded with my dad.

"Yes!" Kyler yells in excitement as he rushes over to me and puts his arms in the air for me to pick him up.

I lift my brother in my arms and move to my bike. Putting him on the seat, I climb on behind him as Jayce moves to the garage to open the door for us. Pulling out my keys, I start the engine and let Kyler rev it a few times. Jayce still takes pictures on his phone of the two of us as I put the bike in gear and place my hand over Kyler's. Together, we get the bike in the garage before Jayce walks over and asks him to help put his bike in the garage too. This time I pull out my phone and take pictures of the two of them as they move the bike inside out of the weather and park it next to mine. Kyler's smile is so damn wide I'm surprised his face isn't hurting. This is a once in a lifetime moment and I'm glad I was able to have it with him.

Yesterday was so overwhelming for us all. We had a house full of people, got Mia and Kyler settled into their rooms for now, and were up way later than we anticipated. Mia didn't sleep in and was up a few times during the night. Brooklyn was right there for her every single time she woke up crying. Jayce and I watched on as she changed and fed her, rocking her back to sleep in the nursery we started to set up. She's a natural when it comes to these kids and I don't know how she does it when she's already so exhausted from the twins she carries. Whenever Jayce and I tried to tell her to stay in bed, our stubborn wife refused and got up immediately.

Today, we've been working on finishing putting everything together and making sure our home is in order. Brooklyn can't stand to have a mess in the house and I have a feeling it's because of her parents and how she grew up. She can't stand to have things out of place and it's something Jayce and I try to ensure doesn't happen on a daily basis. Now that we have two kids in the house, it's going to be a challenge, but we're up for the task.

The only time we left the house was to attend church. I have a feeling Anguish called the meeting only to get a read on where we are with the kids and how things are going at the house. Other than going over the numbers for each business, nothing else was discussed but trying to figure out what we were doing at the house and how things were coming together. We tried to assure them the best we could that things are okay. That I'm okay because that's what they really want to know.

"Guys, I appreciate everythin' you've done over the last week or so while I was lost in my head. Wheels helped me see that I need to pull my head out of my ass. Yes, I can still mourn our loss and the possible relationship I could have had with my dad. Right now, Kyler and Mia need all of us and that's what I'm gonna do. My brother and sister are more important than anythin' else so I have to be there for them," I tell the table as I look around the table at the guys and make sure they realize I'm okay and telling the truth.

"Okay. If any of you need anythin', you come to us, Soul. Don't let the grief suck you under and drain you of everythin' good and pure. You're a good man who's been dealt a shit hand in life. Make sure your past doesn't repeat itself with how you take care of Kyler and Mia. Bring them around the clubhouse too. They need to get used to us. I know it was a lot for Kyler last night and we don't want him to be overwhelmed or anythin' when it comes to us. We want him to know he can come to any of us at any time," Anguish states as all the men surrounding me nod.

"We will. And I have to thank you all for last night. You really stepped up and helped us when you had your own things to do. Fetch, it was a good idea to bring Jethro over for Kyler. Can you bring him over after dinner so he can see him again? Theo, thank you for leavin' the clubhouse to help pick out some toys for him. Rion, you've been a great help all the way around. All of you. I have no words to convey what it means to me and my family.

"Hell, also gotta say thanks for the fact that all of y'all pitched in to cover what we bought," I admit. I was stunned last night when I went into our mobile banking app to make sure I didn't need to transfer any money around to see that in the grand scheme of things, Brooklyn barely spent any at all. When I asked her, she said that Robynn pulled out a black American Express card and told her that the club was taking care of it as a welcome to the family gift," I say, tears filling my eyes because not many others would have stepped up the way these men and women did last night and while we were back home for the funeral.

"You've always got us at your six," Goliath states, his voice a low rumble as he looks at me and nods his head. "You've had our back when we needed you and it's our turn to step up for you."

"Why don't we all get out of here. I want to go home to my wife and kids while you two get back to your home. We'll meet back up next week when we need to," Anguish says, slamming the gavel on the table in front of him.

All of us leave church and Jayce and I rush from the clubhouse after collecting our phones and weapons. We take Jayce's truck to the house and leave it in the driveway. Walking in the house, I find Brooklyn, my gorgeous wife in the kitchen with Mia sitting in her bouncy chair on the counter next to Brooklyn. She doesn't take her eyes off Mia as Kyler plays on the floor next to them. He's never too far from Brooklyn and Mia for any reason.

Music is playing softly from Brooklyn's phone. I can't tell what song it is right now, but it doesn't matter. We didn't have a wedding reception and have never once danced with our wife. I don't stop moving until I'm right next to Brooklyn. She squeals when I wrap my arms around her waist and hold her tight while leaning down to press a soft kiss against her lips. Her hips are still swaying as she moves fluidly to the music playing. I lower my arms and begin to slow dance with her as Kyler watches us and Jayce stands next to the counter where Mia is sitting in her chair.

We dance for a few minutes until the song changes. Jayce steps in and takes over while I move to stand next to Mia, pulling her in my arms from her seat and dancing by swaying side to side with her. Kyler stands and watches Jayce dance with Brooklyn as I stir the pot of soup Brooklyn's making for dinner tonight. It's chicken noodle and appears thicker and fuller than any soup I've had in the past. This is almost more like a stew than soup. I can't wait to try it with the amazing smells filling the kitchen and our home.

"I dance?" Kyler asks Brooklyn and Jayce before the song ends.

"Of course, Kyler. It would be my honor to dance with you," Brooklyn answers him, a large smile on her face as she looks down at him.

Jayce steps back and watches with me as our wife takes Kyler's hands in hers and they slowly spin around in the middle of our kitchen. My brother is looking up at Brooklyn as if she hung the moon and stars just for him. Again, he's wearing the largest smile on his face and laughs with Brooklyn as they spin and twirl together. Jayce is taking pictures of us all and I have a feeling we'll all be doing the very same thing as we move forward because these are all moments in time we'll never forget but want photographic evidence for ourselves. Pictures the kids can have when they get older and move away from home. This is the time we have to create these memories while they're still young and want to hang out with us. As they grow and get older, these moments will become less and less frequent. My heart breaks to realize this is such a fleeting time and I almost missed out on it because of my stubbornness to go back home and start to mend the rift between my dad and me.