Chapter 5

FIVE

Maverick

“We’re doing two trips this year, right?” Orrin asks our dad.

My brothers, my cousin’s husband, Deacon, and I are all sitting out on my parents’ back patio with Dad talking about this year’s camping trip. It’s an annual event Dad started when we were little to give Mom a break. Now that we’re older, and all but me and Merrick are married, my brothers convinced our dad to add a second annual trip.

“Yeah, one for us guys, and one for the families.” Dad nods, and there’s a smile playing on his lips. He loves that Mom is now included. Not just Mom, but the grandkids and my sisters-in-law—they’re just his daughters in his eyes. The in-law added to the end is unnecessary.

“I think we should hold off until the fall for the family trip. Jordyn is pregnant and who knows who else will be by then.” Brooks, the nurse in the family, laughs. “It will be easier for her if it’s not so hot.”

“Not a bad idea,” Dad muses. “I’m sure the kids wouldn’t mind, but a nice fire on a chilly night is the best.”

“Maybe, but if we don’t find Jordyn some help, we won’t be going anywhere. My wife is stubborn,” Ryder grumbles.

“What’s going on?” Sterling asks.

“She’s doing too much. She’s pregnant, and she’s dragging her feet at finding help at the boutique,” Ryder explains.

“She’s early in her pregnancy. As long as she’s not walking around thinking she’s Hercules lifting things she shouldn’t be lifting, she should be fine. She’ll rest when she needs to,” Brooks tells him.

“Have you met my wife? She’s determined to make this boutique a success. I get it, I really do, but I worry about her. She needs to give herself some downtime. She’s convinced she doesn’t need help yet.”

“Have you discussed this with her?” Dad asks.

He nods. “I told her she needs help, so she doesn’t work so much.”

Dad laughs. “Son.” He shakes his head. “Come on now. You know better than that. You can’t tell her what she needs to do. You have to express your concerns with her. Have an actual conversation that’s more than you telling her what she needs to do or can’t do.”

“Yeah,” Declan chimes in. “Have you learned nothing from us?” He snickers.

“Right? There is no telling Crosby what to do.” Rushton’s eyes widen like he can imagine his wife being pissed off at him.

I’ll say this about my brothers. They fell in love with kind, loving women, but they also aren’t pushovers. They’re not afraid to stand up to their husbands—as it should be. I’d say out of all my sisters-in-law, Palmer and Scarlett are the feistiest, but then again, Alyssa, Crosby, Kennedy, Jordyn, and Jade can also hold their own. It’s actually fun to watch these tiny women put my brothers in their place.

“Happy wife, happy life,” I say with a grin.

“Like you would know.” Deacon chuckles.

Ryder turns to face me and smirks. “How’s Stella?”

I shrug. “How would I know?” I dropped her off to get her car on Monday and texted to make sure she got home okay and didn’t have any issues. I haven’t heard from her since. Not that I really expected to.

“Come on now,” Archer chimes in. “You two looked pretty cozy last weekend.”

“She was in a bind. I helped her out. How is that cozy?”

“You stayed by her side the entire time,” Rushton speaks up.

“She didn’t know anyone. Besides, I was eating… she was eating.” I shrug. It’s not a big deal, but I should have known my brothers would make it so. I mean, Stella is a beautiful woman. Of course they would assume I’d want more from her. I really was just trying to be a nice guy and help her out.

Declan clears his throat and gives me a pointed look. I glare back at him. I know what’s about to happen. There are no secrets in this family. “How’s her car?”

“Fine. I dropped her off to pick it up, and that was that.”

“Really?” Orrin asks. “I was certain a little birdy told me that you took her and her daughter out to dinner before you took her to get her car.”

“Stupid small town,” I mutter under my breath.

“And…” Sterling grins. “I heard she might have had some assistance with the bill.”

“You know, now that you mention it,” Merrick muses, “he’s been on his phone a lot lately.”

“What?” I turn to look at my twin. “I haven’t been on my phone any more than usual.” I glare at my brother, and he laughs.

“Let me rephrase that. You’ve been checking your phone more frequently.” He holds his hands up in the air as if he needs a line of defense against my look.

“Just because I’m bored out of my mind sitting at home with you at night.” Fucking twin. Everyone knows that Merrick and I are practically the same person, and if he makes a claim, when it comes to me—and me when it comes to him—it’s ninety-nine percent fact. Most of the time.

“That’s what we do. We go to work, come home and chill, hang with the fam, and hit the club sometimes. You’ve never been bored before,” he challenges.

“Are you done?” I ask him.

He taps his index finger against his chin as if he needs to think about it. “I will be when you admit you’re hoping to hear from Stella.”

“I didn’t expect to hear from her,” I defend. “I didn’t know you were monitoring how many times I looked at my phone.”

“Leave him be.” Dad comes to my defense. He’s laughing, which tells me he’s sided with my brothers. I’m annoyed, but I shouldn’t be. I’ve been on the giving end of dishing out shit on my brothers my entire life. I guess it’s only fair, I get my turn receiving as well.

“Yeah, leave me be,” I tell Merrick. We may be fully functioning adults, living on our own, working full-time jobs, and paying our own bills, but we’re also still the little boys who grew up together, and I hope like hell that will never change.

I fight the urge to stick my tongue out at him, but I like to think I’ve grown out of that stage, even if the will to do so is strong.

I love my brothers—all eight of them, including Deacon. I love them even when they’re riding my ass about things that don’t matter, like how often I look at my phone.

“So, it’s settled then. A trip for us next month, and then with the entire family in the fall?” Dad asks, turning the conversation back in the right direction. After raising nine boys, he’s a professional at deflecting an argument and rerouting a conversation. Not that we’re arguing, really, but you get the point.

“Sounds good,” Brooks says. “That’s my weekend off, so we’re all set. I need to go. Palmer has some photos she needs to edit. I told her I wouldn’t stay long so that I could help with the kids while she gets her work done.”

“You should have brought them with you,” Sterling tells him.

“Get your own,” Brooks fires back. There’s no heat in his tone. It’s common knowledge that we’re all baby hogs. All of us. Currently, there are not enough babies to go around, which is why my mom snatched up baby Ada last Saturday to love on her.

“Working on it.” Sterling grins.

It’s not just an “I’m happy I’m having lots of sex with my hot wife” grin. It’s an “I know something you don’t know” grin.

“Spill it,” I tell my brother. I probably shouldn’t be calling him out, because if that grin means what I think it means, his wife will have his balls if she finds out he told us without her.

Sterling crosses his arms over his chest and smirks. “You tell us why you’ve been watching your phone like it might grow legs and walk off, and I might.”

I hold his stare for several seconds and shrug. “Just checking to see if she’d reach out.”

“And she would be?” Sterling asks.

I roll my eyes. He knows exactly who I’m talking about, but I get the game. I need to spell out my confession to them. “Stella. She’s new in town, and I told her if she needed anything, she could reach out. She doesn’t have a lot of support, and I know she’s been looking for a job. I told her that if she needed insight on a local company or employer, she should let me know.” I don’t know why they’re making such a big deal over this.

“Uh-huh,” Sterling says. He doesn’t believe me, but that’s fine. They’ll see it, eventually.

“Your turn, brother,” I tell him. I make a show of crossing my arms over my chest and mimic his stance. My brothers and I are all muscular. Hence the “arm porn” my niece Blakely can’t stop talking about.

Sterling makes a point of letting his eyes scan over all of us. “Not a single word,” he threatens. We all nod because, with a warning like that and the smile he just gave us a few minutes ago, we all know what he’s about to say. “We’re pregnant.” His smile is huge as he says the words. “Tink wanted to wait to tell everyone tomorrow at Sunday dinner. She’s just passed her first trimester, so thirteen weeks.” His smile is infectious.

“Congratulations.” I rush him, wrapping my arms around him in a hug. I step away, letting my dad, brothers, and Deacon take turns congratulating him.

“So, just to be clear, I can’t tell my wife?” Brooks asks. We all chuckle, and Sterling scowls. Brooks holds up his hands and slowly backs away. “Just kidding. I’ll see y’all tomorrow at Sunday dinner.”

“Kincaid Central!” Ryder calls out.

“Got it!” Brooks calls back as he disappears around the house.

“I should get going too.” Orrin stands. “I need to stop by the shop on my way home, and Jade texted saying we’re out of milk.”

“Me too.” Declan also stands. “I don’t have a reason other than wanting to see my wife and kids.” He grins.

“Let me know when you want to cash in on that babysitting,” I tell my brother, holding my fist out for him for a bump as he walks past.

“My wife is all over it. She’s planning something. I’ll let you know as soon as I know.”

“You’re supposed to be the one planning and surprising her,” Archer tells him.

“Yeah, Dec,” Deacon chimes in. “Are you losing your touch now that you’re an old married man?” he jokes.

“I mentioned a night out, and she told me she’d handle it. I’m not going to argue with my wife. It’s a night out, just the two of us. All night,” he says, looking over at me in question, and I nod.

Blakely is a huge help where Beckham is concerned. Besides, it’s not like I can’t call in reinforcements if I need them. And more than likely, Merrick will be home to help as well. That’s the perks of living with my twin, and having a large, close family.

Work hard, and love harder.

We’re damn good at both.

“I got you,” I tell him.

“See. I don’t care what we do. I know how the night ends.” Declan wags his eyebrows, and we all laugh. “One tomorrow, right, Dad?” he asks.

“Yes,” Dad confirms.

Jordyn and Ryder had a huge building built for our family get-togethers with her inheritance, and everyone is calling it Kincaid Central. It’s perfect for our large growing family. The main table is massive, and there are smaller tables for the kids, toys, and huge couches around a big screen. There’s a pool table, corn hole, and all kinds of other things, as well as multiple bathrooms. My mom says the kitchen is a dream. I don’t know about that, but it is massive. There are a few bedrooms with baby beds and toddler beds for the kids who end up napping while we’re there. Jordyn put a ton of thought into the place.

“See ya then.” With that, he, too, disappears around the house.

I finish the glass of tea I’ve been nursing when an idea hits me. “Hey, Ry, I might have a solution for you.”

“Solution?” Ryder asks, confused.

“Yeah, with Jordyn working too much.”

“I’m all ears, little brother.”

“Stella.” I can’t help the smile on my face thinking about her. I know for a fact she’d refuse if she knew this was my idea. That’s why this is perfect. Ryder can tell Jordyn, and she can contact Stella for a job.

“What about your girl?” he asks.

“She’s not mine. However, she is looking for a job. I don’t know how much she needs to make, and she’d have to figure out childcare, but I’m sure she’d be interested. She’s been looking here in Willow River and in Harris.”

“You could use Stella needing a job as an excuse to bring up Jordyn hiring some help,” Deacon offers.

Ryder points at him. “I knew it would come in handy that Ramsey married a lawyer,” he jokes.

“Not a bad idea, son,” Dad agrees.

“Give me her number.” Ryder pulls his phone out of his pocket, and I do the same as I rattle off her number.

I know it sounds crazy, but I feel a sense of pride knowing that I might have been able to solve another issue for Stella. I couldn’t imagine not having a huge support system and having a baby doing it all on my own. I know that she has her grandparents, but George and Harriette are getting up there in age. George has been talking about retirement since I was old enough to understand what the word meant, and possibly, almost certainly, longer than that.

“I’m sure she’d be interested.” I don’t know Stella well, but Jordyn will be flexible with Ada”s childcare hours. This is almost too perfect for what she needs.

“I’m going to go home and talk to my wife, and hand deliver her new employee.” Ryder grins.

“Hey, I should get some kind of finder’s fee or something.”

That causes a chorus of laughter. “How about I don’t tell my wife that you’re interested in Stella, and we’ll call us even?”

“Bro, no deal,” Merrick says. “We all know the ladies in the family know you’re interested.” He’s shaking his head, warning me away from Ryder’s deal.

“I’m not interested,” I remind him. “Can’t a guy help a girl out?”

“Sure, but when you’re both single and she’s hot as fuck.” Merrick freezes and flashes a grin at our dad. “Sorry, Pops, but you know it’s true. Anyway, not when the lady is sexy,” he amends.

Stella is sexy. There’s no denying that. Her platinum blonde hair and those baby blue eyes… and her toned legs? Yeah, she’s sexy.

“See.” Merrick points his index finger at me. “That look. He’s thinking about her right now.”

“Whatever. I’m thinking about her because we’re talking about it.”

“Lies.”

“So, no deal?” Ryder chuckles.

“Get out of here.” I wave him off. His laughter follows him around the house and to his truck.

I stay and talk to the others for a little longer until Mom gets home from the store. Everyone pitches in to help her haul in the groceries before we say our goodbyes and head our separate ways.

In my truck on the way home, I debate about calling Stella and telling her about the job. I really want to, but I know it’s better if I don’t. If she knew that I was involved in any way, she might not take the job, seeing it as a handout. When in reality, it’s something Ryder and Jordyn both need. I might be hard-pressed to get her to believe that.

I fight the urge, knowing it’s for the best. When I make it to the house, Merrick pulls in behind me. I’m about to ask him what the plan is for tonight, but he beats me to it.

“Pizza and chill at home tonight?”

I don’t know if he’s suggesting it because he thinks I’m hung up on Stella, which I’m not. Or because he just wants a quiet night in. In the last year or so, we’ve calmed down on going out as much as we used to. We stay in more or spend time with our brothers and their wives and kids.

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll call it in.”

“I picked up a twelve-pack last night on my way home from work. It’s chilling in the garage fridge.”

“Even better.”

The rest of the night, I make it a point to keep my phone in my pocket. I have to constantly think about not checking it. It’s stupid, but I don’t need to give my brothers any more ammunition to give me shit about Stella when there is nothing going on there.

Am I curious if she’ll accept the job? Absolutely. However, I know it’s best if I stay out of it. I’m certain Jordyn, and even Ryder can convince her to take the job. That means even if she was planning on leaving Willow River, she’s going to stay anyway. This job will get her back on her feet, and she can find her place here.