15. Cin

15

Cin

I t's been a while since I did manual labor on this scale. I'm no stranger to chopping logs, and I can easily bench 250 pounds. Not as much as my brother or Madden, but I hold my own.

I have plenty of muscle definition and when I post gym selfies, I get thousands of likes. Kade says I'm vain. He's not wrong. Why wouldn't I want to show off this body? I work hard to look this good.

The humidity out here is unpleasant and the biting insects are killing me slowly, one blood sucker at a time.

"Quit stalling," Madden grouches as he heaves another massive piece of the trunk we've chopped into pieces.

"Gotta update my Insta," I tell him. "My fans are thirsty as fuck."

He snorts with amusement and watches as I pose for another sweaty lumberjack selfie. The last one I posted an hour ago has already gained me another 1,000 followers. At this rate, I'll be giving Matthew Noska a run for his money. The guy's pretty, but I have the edge.

"OK, I'm done. Fuck me, it's hot. I could kill for a cold soda."

"Well you're shit outta luck. I finished the last one while you were posing." He lifts the can I didn't see him holding, and I groan.

"Sharing is caring, bro."

The sound of a crushed can being lobbed into the cooler we schlepped down here tells me all I need to know. The fucker drank it all.

"Cin! Cin!" yells a familiar voice just as a small human comes hurtling down the track with a pretty redhead in hot pursuit. I take a moment to appreciate the way her breasts bounce enticingly before I grab Harry around the waist and swing him into the air. "I'm flying like a bird!" he shrieks.

Tessa stumbles to a halt, her dark eyes drinking me in like I'm the beverage she's been craving for her whole life. Same, girl, same.

Using my tee to wipe the sweat from my brow, I quirk my lips at her. "Come to ogle the sexy lumberjacks?" I tease.

She blushes. "Figured you might want some cool drinks."

"Oh my god, I'm in love!" Never one to miss an opportunity for some telenovela overacting, I collapse dramatically on the floor while Tessa giggles and Kade rolls his eyes.

"Get up, you idiot." Madden glares at me, not impressed at all, but I give no shits. He's such a grump. Thank fuck one of us knows how to have fun.

"We brought some cookies, too!" Harry looks up at his mom with a hopeful expression.

"Wow, are they all for me?" I tug the lid off the container and pick a cookie. "These look delicious. Thanks!"

Harry's lip wobbles when he sees me take a large bite. "Oh, did you want one too?"

"Can I, Mommy?"

"Only if you promise to eat your dinner this evening."

"Pinky promise!"

"OK, take one. Only one!" she adds when he goes to pick up two. "And offer one to Madden!"

Kade walks over, baby Chloe strapped to his chest. I smirk at him.

"You should post a selfie on Instagram. Tatted up dude with a cute baby. That kind of shit goes viral, bro."

"Like I give a shit," he scoffs.

"Might help you get laid. I bet it's been a while." I can't recall the last time my brother mentioned a woman. He pours all of his energy into the Valentino family business. Which is pretty fucking sad.

The thought of my brother missing out on a life because of me makes me uncomfortable, so I do what I always do and push that shit down. What's done is done.

"He has a candy," Harry pipes up before shoving the last of his cookie in his mouth.

"A candy?"

"Candy likes hot tubs, Mommy said," Harry adds. "What's a hot tub?"

"Listening to adult conversations is naughty, Harry!" she hisses before dragging him to one side for a lecture. I glance up at Kade. From the way he's trying not to laugh, Candy is a woman.

"Stripper, eh? Classy, bro."

All traces of amusement slide away. "Candy's not a stripper! She works the bar in one of Alberto's clubs."

Even Madden's laughing now. "For real, dude, Candy is a stripper name. Has she got fake tits too?"

He glares at me. "Fuck off."

"What are fake tits?" Harry asks, his eyes wide. Tessa throws her hands in the air and walks off, muttering something about idiot men who can't keep their mouths shut. She has a point. We all know better than to talk about shit like this in front of little kids. Madden's sister would legit rip our balls off if we said this kind of stuff in front of her toddler.

"Balloons," Kade says with a tight voice.

I take the batten and run with it. "Yeah, she probably likes to make balloon animals."

Harry beams. "My friend Kelwyn had a balloon clown at his party. He made balloon dogs and balloon giraffes." Then his face falls. "I asked him for a balloon snake and he told me I was stupid." Harry stares at the floor. I wonder if he remembers the name of the balloon guy. I'll track him down and pop all his fucking balloons. How dare he make a little kid feel bad! "Did Candy make a balloon animal for you?" he asks Kade.

This conversation is getting more bizarre by the minute and Kade looks like he wishes the ground would swallow him up.

"Kade doesn't need any balloon animals," I tell Harry. "He has a snake."

"He does?"

"That's enough talk about snakes, Harry," Tessa says in a firm voice. "Cin's teasing you. Kade doesn't have a snake."

"Oh, he does," I murmur in a low voice, enjoying the way she flushes. My brother's reputation for being hung like a horse is well-deserved. Luckily for me, it runs in the family. "We both do."

Her cheeks turn bright red and she spins away, taking Harry with her. "Let's go and look at the creek."

Kade unstraps the harness and lifts Chloe out, popping her on a patch of soft grass. She rolls into a sitting position and smiles at us, babbling nonsense.

"Stop being a dick, Cin."

I try - and fail - to look innocent. That ship fucking sailed a long time ago.

"We talked about this last night."

"Jesus Christ, you're no fun at all. Can't a guy have a laugh?"

"Not if it involves alluding to the size of my cock, no."

"I thought you were proud of your cock?"

"Oh for fuck's sake!"

"Cin, enough!" The warning in Madden's voice is enough to shut me up. As much as I like it when he goes all Dom on my ass, I can't chop logs with a hard-on. Not unless I want a permanent injury.

"OK, fine!" I throw my hands up in the air, guzzle some soda, and then get back to work.