5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

JET

After dinner, the women gathered outside to gossip on the back porch while the kids went to play down at the beach. Tucker and I headed upstairs, beers in hand with our mom’s not close by to comment, and we sat back at the wet bar to watch our dad’s play a game of pool.

Tucker took a long swig, a content smirk on his face, but when my dad asked Chuck how Micah and Ryder were doing, it vanished.

“What’s up with you?” I asked over Chuck’s groan.

Tucker eyed me, his beer just an inch from his lips, and then he shook his head with an irritated huff before lowering the bottle. “How do you always do that?”

“Do what?” I smirked, already knowing.

He gave me another look.

I took a drink and lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “Like I’ve said before, I know you. So, what’s up?”

He sighed, glancing at our dads first, but they were so wrapped up in their own convo they weren’t listening to ours. Still, he grabbed the remote to turn on some music, covering our conversation. “Izzy wants me to talk to Micah.”

“What?” I couldn’t have heard that right.

“Yeah.” Tucker tipped his beer at me before taking a long pull. “Exactly my reaction.”

“Did she say why?”

“You mean besides the fact that he asked her to? After he saved her from Zane.”

“What?” My tone nearly growled, matching the frustration I could read in Tucker.

“Yeah, at some gas station. Zane came up and had her feeling cornered as usual, and Micah apparently swooped in and forced him to back off and leave.”

“Let me guess, she was alone when he did it.”

He slid me a look before tipping his beer back again, the gesture enough.

Fuck. I shook my head. How Zane always managed to find her when we weren’t there… “So, Micah helped her one time, and now, she wants you to talk to him?” I asked, trying to make it make sense.

“She pointed out that he pulled Ryder off of her when they grabbed her that time, but fuck that. He participated in that shit that time and the other shit Ryder’s pulled. Ugh… Fuck. What am I gonna do?”

“ Not talk to him…” I gave Tucker a look like he was crazy for even considering it, and he gave me a pained one back. “What?”

“Izzy said to at least unblock him. See what he’s had to say. He’s been trying to apologize. And now that he’s about to be her family, too, she wants fences mended if they can be. ”

I blew out a long breath, almost jumping as the balls broke with the start of another game of pool. “That’s a tough one. She has a point.”

“Fuck. You’re not supposed to say that.”

Yeah, it surprised me, too. But for some reason it made me think of my family back in Greece. Something had driven my family apart back there, and it bothered my grandma enough for it to be her dying wish that we connected again. “Just…she has a point. Micah did help her, and I’m not saying you need to forgive him or anything. Because if someone had done to Annie what your cousins did to Izzy, I’d want to blacklist them forever. But Izzy is going to be your wife.”

Holy shit, that’s weird to say. Just a year ago, they weren’t even together yet. Tucker still didn’t even know he had feelings for Izzy. It was crazy how much people could change. Fuck. That was my answer right there.

“At least, unblock him, man. See what he has to say like she said. Maybe something’s happened and he’s different now.”

Tucker scoffed.

“Well, hey, you don’t want to focus on your problem, help me focus on mine.”

“What’s that?”

I slid from my seat at the bar and set down my bottle, the glass making a hollow, clanking thud against the granite. “Gotta find Nic and figure out what’s gone up his ass today.”

“Shit, good luck with that,” Tucker grumbled, following my lead.

TUCKER

I sat back in one of the front porch chairs later that night, darkness surrounding me as I waited. Most of our families had already gone to bed. Our parents hadn’t loved it when they found out that Izzy and I were sharing the master, but she had rented the place and declared final say. Eventually, they’d gotten over it. Now, all our families were tucked in beds back under one roof, and Jet, Annie, Izzy, and even Nic were waiting upstairs for me in the game room.

I just had to do something first.

Getting up to stretch my legs, and because I was curious, I walked across the yard and turned on my phone’s flashlight, wanting to check out the sign Izzy had seen for renting the beach house. Part of me wondered how much she’d spent. It was an amazing surprise. An amazing house.

I missed the hell out of it.

Like Izzy had said last night, being here felt like coming home, and damn did it feel right to be here with her .

It just sucked that it wasn’t really ours.

I took a quick picture of the sign. I’d have to give the owners a call tomorrow and see how often they rented it out. Glancing at the time, I slid my phone in my pocket, my patience waning. I had better things to do tonight than wait outside for this, eager to get upstairs with my friends.

And later drag Izzy back to bed.

I looked up with the sound of tires approaching and watched as a dark Lexus pulled into one of the last spots in the drive behind my truck. I walked over as the driver got out, and a motion sensored flood light the new owners had added in a palm tree lit up the drive. I winced at the light. I hadn’t planned for it, but it might be good to be able to see him. Judge his expression.

“About time,” I said as Micah opened his door.

“I’m five minutes late,” he countered.

“You’re lucky I’m meeting you at all.” I crossed my arms over my chest, leaning against the back of my truck.

“You’re right. I am.” He stood by the front of his car, the two of us facing each other.

“You can thank Izzy for it. It sure as hell wasn’t my idea.”

He nodded. “I will if you let me.”

“The only reason I agreed to this is because I think you might have an ounce of a conscience. I’ll say thank you for helping her get away from Zane a couple of weeks ago, but thanking you for pulling Ryder off of her before he could finish assaulting her after you both kidnapped her is a bit of a stretch.”

Micah ducked his head, his hand coming up to rub through the back of his dark hair. “It really wasn’t supposed to go that far. Ryder just wanted to scare her a little. It freaked him out when you threatened to go to the police.”

“So, grabbing her and scaring her shitless was supposed to fix that?”

Micah shook his head, frustration and regret clear in his eyes. “No, I knew it wouldn’t, but I also know my brother. He was going to do it whether I came or not. That’s why I was there. To keep him in line.”

“And what? He’s suddenly changed now? You’ve both been wanting to talk to me, right? ”

Micah took a deep breath. “I’ve been working on him. He’s been angry since Mom… I am, too, but Ryder’s worse. He takes shit too far, and I know it. But when you punched him out and blocked us, I think he finally started to get it. Izzy’s off limits. She should have been from the beginning, the second we realized you might have a thing for her. It was even Ryder’s idea that we try to go see you at the hospital when she got hurt. He’s messed up, but he regrets losing you. We both do. You’re family.”

I stared, taking it all in, my jaw taut and my expression hard. “My family’s inside.”

Micah’s shoulders dropped, and he held out his hands. “What do we have to do, Tucker?”

I cursed, hearing the real regret in his voice. “How about not fucking terrify my fiancée again?”

Micah’s brow popped up. “You're engaged?”

I jerked a nod, and he nodded back, knowing we still weren’t good. Not yet.

“Congrats, at least.”

I nodded again.

“Izzy wants me to give you another chance.”

“Izzy does?”

I shrugged, my arms still folded over my chest. “She’s got this thing about family. But I’m not good with Ryder. Not yet. Not around her.”

“I understand. He’ll be pissed. But I get it.”

I sneered. I really didn’t give a shit if it pissed Ryder off. He’d made his fucking bed. “You want to come in? See the house?” I jerked my head towards the beach house, hoping it wasn’t something I’d regret. It was at the edge of my better judgment, but when Izzy had brought up Micah earlier today, urging me to give him a second chance now that he was going to be her family, too, I’d grudgingly agreed. Depending on this conversation.

He’d passed.

Barely.

We walked side-by-side as we headed in, silence tense between us, and I sent him a warning look when we reached the top of the stairs. One wrong comment or move and he was gone. I opened the door to the game room, forcing some of the tension back from my expression, and stepped aside for Micah to come in.

Nic glanced over first from his place at the wet bar, and the others looked up right after, their game of pool coming to an immediate halt as they stared. Annie’s expression was hard, filled with warning, and Jet’s hand splayed across her back to tone her down as he stood between the twins. The protector when I wasn’t near. Izzy stood still, her pool cue held in front of her as Micah walked up to the other side of the table.

“Thanks for talking to him.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I hear that congratulations are in order?” He glanced at her ring finger where it gripped the pool stick, and Izzy nodded, a small smile touching her features as she held out her hand. Eyeing it, Micah reached over to clap me on the back. “You did good, Cuz.”

I just watched Izzy, her eyes coming to mine, letting me know she was okay. I stepped up to the table between her and my cousin. “So, whose stripes? Looks like they’re getting their ass kicked.”