29. Lady and the Champ

LADY AND THE CHAMP

EVERETT

I was sprawled on the couch, idly flipping through sports channels. I fucking loved the first week of the off-season. We had absolutely nothing to do, and I was filling it with rest and relaxation, and spending a lot of time in bed... with Penelope under me, whimpering my name, as I made her come. Again. And again.

The doorbell rang. The doorbell never rang. The only people who came over to our house—I absolutely loved thinking of it as ours instead of just mine—were my family. They didn't ring the doorbell. They just walked in. Weird.

Pen looked up with a raised eyebrow. She'd been tapping away on her tablet at the other end of the couch with her legs all wrapped up in mine.

"Expecting someone?" she asked.

I shook my head, hauling myself up. "Nope. I was gonna ask you the same thing."

I peeked through the window and didn't see anyone. Maybe some kind of a delivery?

But when I opened the door, it wasn't a delivery I found. It was Billy, our young neighbor, looking like his favorite pet had gone over the rainbow bridge. If I could only be so lucky.

"Hey, Billy." I crouched down to get on his level. "What's going on, kiddo?"

He shuffled his feet, not meeting my eyes. "Um, Mr. Kingman, sir? Is it... is it okay if I hang out here for a bit? My mom and dad are yelling at each other again."

My heart sank. Billy's dad was a dick, but his mom seemed nice. I hadn't realized it had gotten this bad.

"Of course, buddy. Come on in," I said, stepping aside to let him enter.

Pen was already on her feet, her face a picture of concern. "Billy, honey, are you hungry? I was just about to make some snacks."

Billy shook his head, but I saw the way his eyes lit up at the mention of food. "Maybe, if you've got, like, peanut butter and jelly? I know how to make that myself."

"I love me some PB and J. So I'll make some for me and you both, okay?" Pen headed to the kitchen, her phone in hand. She caught my eye and mouthed "calling his mom" before disappearing down the hallway.

That left me to entertain the kid. "Hey, you want to go throw the ball around for a bit? I could call my brothers over, have a scrimmage."

It might be February, but we were having one of our three hundred days of sunshine, and it was sixty-some degrees outside. For the first time since he'd arrived, Billy's face broke into a genuine smile. "Really? That'd be awesome."

I grinned back, already reaching for my phone. "You got it, champ. Let me just call in the cavalry."

I sent a message out to the family chat, and within a half an hour, the backyard was a hive of activity. Chris, Declan, Hayes, and the twins all showed up, along with Trixie, Kelsey, and Willa. We needed to find the twins some partners of their own too. I loved seeing my brothers happy.

And I was feeling some love guru advice coming on.

But first, football. We divided into teams, while the ladies decided to make it a full on gathering and whipped up way more than sandwiches.

"Alright, Billy," I said, holding the ball out toward him. "You're gonna be my star receiver. Think you can handle it?"

He nodded solemnly, his earlier sadness forgotten in the excitement of the game.

What followed was a hilarious and heartwarming scrimmage. My brothers, professional and college athletes that they were, played with exaggerated clumsiness, allowing Billy to dodge past them and make spectacular catches.

"And Billy 'The Bullet' scores another touchdown," Hayes commentated dramatically as Billy crossed our makeshift end zone. "The Kingman brothers are being absolutely destroyed out here, folks."

Billy was beaming, his cheeks flushed with exertion and joy. As he high-fived me, affection for this kid skittered through me in a whole new way.

What would it be like to have a kid like this of my own? Pen and I hadn't talked about that part of our future yet, and I'd definitely be bringing up sooner rather than later. Because I could imagine a whole gaggle of kids running around in my backyard tossing the ball around.

I fucking loved family.

The game wound down as the sun began to set, and we all trooped inside, sweaty and laughing. Pen waved us over to a spread of food that would put most buffets to shame. My dad, Jules, and Isak were already at the table, chowing down.

"Fuel up, boys," she said, smiling as we descended on the food like a pack of wolves.As we munched, I noticed Billy got quiet again.

"Everything okay, buddy?" I asked quietly.

He sighed, putting down his half-eaten sandwich. "I don't wanna move. Mom says we have to. And... and we can't take Bananaconda with us."

My stomach lurched at the mention of the snake, while I also held in a laugh at the new name he'd chosen, but I pushed past both reactions. I did my best to keep my voice steady. "That must be really tough."

Billy nodded, his eyes welling up. "I don't know how I'm gonna find her a new home. Nobody wants a snake."

I caught Pen's eye across the room, seeing the mixture of sympathy and determination on her face. I knew that look. It meant we were about to do something either very brave or very stupid.

Probably both.

Billy looked up at me, his eyes wide and hopeful. "Mr. Kingman? Do you think... maybe you could adopt Bananaconda?"

Aw, shit. Yep. I knew it was coming, and I still couldn't breathe. Why was the room spinning? "Me?"

Adopt a snake? Fuck that.

But before I could stammer out a kid-appropriate response, Pen's voice cut through my panic.

"You know, Ev," she said gently, "this could be a great way to work on your fear of snakes."

Really? Throwing me into the deep end was a great way? I thought maybe we'd go to the zoo and look at the snakes from far, far away or something. Not get a snake as a freaking pet. Couldn't we get a dog or something first?

I looked at her, torn between love for her support and terror at the prospect of living with a snake. But then I saw Billy's face fall, and something in me shifted.

"You're... you're afraid of Lady Bananaconda Hisstledown?" Billy asked, his voice small and confused.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to meet his eyes. "Yeah, buddy. I am. Since I was about your age."

There was only one other person in my family that knew this story, and she wasn't here to tell it anymore. When I was about Billy's age, we went to visit my Aunt May who lived in a really old house out in the middle of nowhere, Texas. And the absolute urban legend of the snake in the toilet actually happened to me. Except that snake had actually bitten me on the ass.

And my mom has saved me. Just like it was no big deal, she pulled that snake off my butt and tossed it out into the yard. All before anyone else in the house was even awake. I'd been afraid of snakes, and old farmhouse toilets, ever since.

And when she died, my fear of snakes got worse. Because who was going to save me from snakes if she was gone?

To my surprise, Billy's face lit up with understanding. Then he cupped his hands and held them near my ear to whisper to me. "Like how I'm afraid of the dark sometimes?"

I gave him a nod and a chuckle. "Yeah, kind of like that."

"But you're so big and strong," Billy said, his brow furrowed in concentration. "If you're scared... does that mean I'm not being a big baby if I'm scared of stuff too?"

The question hit me like a ton of bricks. Here I was, a professional athlete, a grown man, being given a lesson in representation by a kid. I glanced around the room and caught my dad's eye.

Oh. He knew. Of course he did. Mom would have told him. He gave me the slightest of nods.

"You know what, Billy?" I said, my voice stronger now. "It's absolutely okay to be scared of things. Everyone is afraid of something. But the important thing is to let the people around you help you get over that fear. When you're ready."

Billy nodded solemnly. "Like when my mom reads to me until I fall asleep?"

"Exactly," I said, feeling a surge of affection for this wise little guy. "And maybe... maybe it's time I faced my fear too."

The words were out of my mouth before I could really think about them, but as soon as I said them, I knew they were right. Pen was at my side in an instant, her hand slipping into mine.

"Billy, if it's okay with your parents, we'd be happy to give Bananaconda a home."

The joy that spread across Billy's face was worth every ounce of fear I felt. He launched himself at me, wrapping his arms around my waist in a fierce hug. "Thank you, Mr. Kingman. Thank you so much."

I hugged him back and caught my family all looking syrupy sweet at the sight of us. Declan gave me scowl, and Flynn was pretending to wipe away a tear.

"Aww, look at our baby brother," Chris said dramatically. "All grown up and adopting danger noodles."

I rolled my eyes at him, but I was grinning too. "Yeah, yeah. You're all going to help me set up the terrarium, right?"

"Oh no," Chris laughed. "This is all you, snake charmer. We'll be cheering you on from a safe distance. Your new pet would like to eat ours."

"We'll help," Kelsey said. "I've already hung out with Lady Bananaconda. She's cool."

Declan gave her a look like she was crazy. Ha. I was definitely making him help me. In fact, I'd make him babysit someday when Pen and I went on our honeymoon.

We all laughed, and I stretched the muscles in my neck that had been tensing since the subject of the snake started. Yes, I was still terrified at the thought of having a snake in the house. But I was also excited. Excited to face this fear, to grow, to make Billy happy, and to share that story with Pen.

She was looking at me with such pride and love that my heart swelled so much I could hardly breathe. "You're adorable and amazing, you know that?"

I pulled her close, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I'm just following your example, babe. You've taught me a lot about being a brave example."

Bring on the danger noodle. I was ready.

We were still discussing the finer points of snake care when the doorbell rang. Billy's face fell, and he and I knew instantly who it must be.

"I'll get it," Pen said softly, squeezing Billy's shoulder as she passed.

A moment later, she returned with Billy's mom in tow. She looked exhausted, her eyes red-rimmed and her shoulders slumped.

"Billy," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "It's time to go home, sweetie."

Billy didn't move from his spot next to me on the couch. "Mom, Mr. Kingman said they'd adopt Bananaconda. We don't have to find her a new home. Just us."

His mom's eyes widened in surprise, darting between Billy and me. I nodded, trying to project a confidence I didn't entirely feel. "It's true. We'd be happy to give her a home."

"That's... that's very kind of you," she said, her voice cracking slightly. She took a deep breath, then seemed to make a decision. "Billy, honey, can you go wait in the car for a minute? I need to talk to Mr. Kingman."

Once Billy had reluctantly trudged out, his mom's composure crumbled.

"I'm so sorry for all of this," she said, tears welling in her eyes. "It's just... Billy's dad and I... well, I'm leaving him. I don't even know where we're going to live yet, let alone how to handle all of this with Billy."

My heart went out to her. I wanted to offer some words of comfort, but to my surprise, it was Chris who spoke up first.

"You know," he said, his voice casual but his eyes kind, "I've got a new apartment building not far from here. Same school district. There's a unit opening up pretty soon. If you're interested, I can make some arrangements."

Billy's mom looked at Chris in disbelief. "Are you serious? That would be... that would be amazing."

Holy shit, I was so proud to be a part of this family. But as I looked around at them, the lot of them were sharing some looks that meant there was more to this story than I knew. They'd done something.

Once the logistics were sorted and Billy and his mom had left, with profuse thanks and promises to bring our new fucking pet snake over soon, I turned to my brothers. "Alright, spill. What's this about a new apartment building, Chris? And why do I get the feeling there's more to this story?"

The guys exchanged glances, and I could see them trying to hide their grins. Hayes was practically giggling.

"Well," Chris continued after getting a nod from my dad. "Dad did some digging. Turns out that 'forest' Odin's always chopping trees in for his stupid videos? It's just the open space behind his apartment building. And he definitely didn't have permission to cut those trees down."

My eyes widened as I began to see where this was going. "No shit?"

Chris nodded. He might be the golden boy, but he had a penchant for revenge. "Yep. He's been ticketed and fined."

"Okay, the fucker deserved that," Pen said. I almost snorted my drink through my nose. She'd always been so much sweetness, light, and positivity, doing her best to ignore Odin. I was loving this slightly vindictive and dirty mouth she had all of a sudden. "But what does that have to do with the apartment for Billy and his mom?"

Chris shrugged, and Trixie gave him a little swat. "That apartment building is where Odin lives. My company just bought it."

"And let me guess," I said, a slow grin spreading across my face. "Odin's lease won't be renewed?"

"Already in violation of a lot of his lease. Looks like he'll probably get evicted." A flash of anger crossed his face. Remind me never to cross my eldest brother. Jesus. "We don't want trash like that in Colorado."

Pen and I gave each other a shocked look. The answering grins on my brothers' faces told me everything I needed to know.

I let out a low whistle, torn between admiration for my brother's thoroughness and a twinge of guilt at enjoying Odin's misfortune so much.

"I can't believe you guys did all this," Pen said, her tone a mix of disapproval and reluctant amusement. "What happened to killing him with kindness?"

"Oh, we were very kind," Dad's voice carried across the table, making us all jump. "We could have driven him up to the mountains he doesn't actually know anything about and let him get lost in bear territory."

He folded his arms, a mischievous glint in his eye that I rarely saw. His voice dropping dramatically, he added, "Because nasty little fellows such as Odin always get their comeuppance."

There was a moment of stunned silence before we all burst into laughter. Leave it to Dad to quote " The Mummy ."

As our laughter died down, I looked around at my family—my brothers, my dad, and Pen—all gathered together, supporting each other and even a young neighbor in need. Sure, we might have bent the rules of "kindness" a bit with Odin, but at our core, this was who we were. A family that stuck together, faced fears together, and yes, occasionally plotted elaborate revenge together.