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  Why in the hell is the TV blaring and Michael and Cassie yelling at each other. Don’t they know if they turned that shit down they could stop with the yelling? I risk opening my eyes and focus on the real cause of the yelling, the remote. Cassie is the first one to catch my now awakened state.

  “Dylan, Michael won’t let me watch MTV!”

  Michael turns the TV to some cartoon I don’t recognize, “She always gets to watch what she wants!”

  I sit up on the couch and pull a t-shirt over my head, “Cassie, just let him watch his show for a little bit, and then you can watch what you want.”

  She huffs and sits next to me, “This place is too small, I have no space!”

  I have to agree, this house is small. No wonder they’re always at each other’s throats, and I’m close to losing my fucking mind. Cassie and Gabby share a room as do Luke and Michael. They all need their privacy, and I definitely do. Riding this couch got old after the first night, and now with social services on our ass, I know I can’t sleep on this couch forever. And if Jax continues to live with us, he needs his space too. I wonder if I should call Brooke and ask her about it? No, no, no. I don’t need her permission. I need to talk to my family about it. What she thinks should not even factor into my plans, and I need to stop these stupid thoughts right now. “What do you suggest we do, Cassie?”

  “Well dad had been thinking about adding on to the house, but I think we should just move. I hate it here.”

  That catches Michael’s attention briefly, and then he turns back to the TV. “Cass, this is where you grew up, where we all grew up. You want to move?”

  She shrugs her small shoulders, “Everything here reminds me of mom and dad, and it sucks not having to share a room. I want my privacy.”

  Jax and I have decided to put our place in Oklahoma City up for sale. With the money I make and the sale of our house and this house, there’s absolutely no reason that everyone shouldn’t have their separate rooms. I’ve thought about buying a new place here, but until now I didn’t know if anyone else would be on board. Now that interest has been raised, I need to talk to the others. “We’ll discuss it sometime, okay?”

  She nods, “Okay, but please make it soon.”

  I get up and take a quick shower because there are five other people waiting to take a shower after me. After that, I head outside to the porch. Pulling out my cell phone, I call the shop. Joy answers immediately, “Dylan, is that you, honey?” Oh fuck, this is not good.

  “Hey, Joy, how are you?”

  “I’m doing pretty good, but I miss you.”

  Not good. “Yeah, I miss Oklahoma a little too.” Not necessarily a lie. I miss things about Oklahoma, just not her. “Look, Joy, I’m not coming back to Oklahoma. I’m staying here in Kansas to be with my family.”

  “Yeah, that’s what Jax said. I’m so sorry about your parents.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate that. Jax and I have landed on a new opportunity to expand the business, and with you and Joe in the Oklahoma City shop, we know we’re leaving it in good hands. I’ve been thinking about moving you to Office Administrator. It would mean a raise and more responsibility. What do you think?” Jax is going to kill my ass, but he said to let her down easily. I consider this a little bit of both. She can’t have me, but she can have a new shiny title and a raise. Sorry, Jax.

  “That sounds wonderful, Dylan. The timing of all of this sucks, though. I’ve been trying to get you to notice me since you hired me, and just when we could begin to build something wonderful we get pulled apart. It’s a tragedy.” I hear tears in her voice. What the ever-loving fuck, is she psycho?

  This girl thinks I want to be with her. “Yeah, it’s too bad, but you can’t wait around for me. You are entirely too special, so I have to do what’s best and let you go.” Damn, I hope that sounds sincere enough. I hate dealing with chicks who can’t let go after one night. Please buy it and let me off the hook.

  “Oh Dylan, you are such a great guy! It will be hard, but I will try to move on. Maybe someday you will come back here, though. If you do, I’ll drop whatever to be with you.” Yeah, that’s a big, fuck no!

  “Yeah, maybe, but it won’t be for a very long time, so you move on and be happy with some great guy down there who can appreciate you.” Ugh, I’m about to choke on this shit. “Look, Joy, I’ve got to go and fix the kids’ breakfast. You take care of our shop.” The. Fucking. End.

  “Okay, bye Dylan. Take care of yourself.”

  I hang up the phone and hear a slow clap behind me as Jax sits down next to me on the porch. “Very nice.”

  “How long were you listening?”

  “Long enough to hear you spinning your special line of bullshit with Joy. Bravo, you have not lost your touch.”

  “Fuck off, shithead. So, am I guessing you heard about Joy’s new title?”

  “Yeah, right. That’s not happening, but I’ll let her think whatever the hell she wants to; with a raise of course.”

  I finally notice Jax dressed in a suit and tie. “Ah shit, did someone else die?”

  “No, asshole, we’re going to the bank today. So go change.”

  “Today? Damn, that was fast.”

  “Yeah, well, I may have scheduled an appointment a couple of days ago. Now get your shit together and get moving or we’re gonna be late.”

  I go in to grab the suit I wore to court. Might as well put it to some use. In the kitchen, I notice Luke getting something to eat. “Hey, I have to go out for a little while, so can you watch them please?”

  He takes a huge bite of leftover pizza, “I’ve got shit to do today.”

  “Okay, I won’t be gone long. Just watch them until I get back.”

  “Fine.”

  That was as good as it was going to get. “Alright, see you later.” I turn to go then turn back around deciding to sweeten the pot, “Hey, Luke, I need a favor. I want to pick up my stuff from Oklahoma City. The problem is I need someone to drive my Camaro back so I can drive the truck and bring back my bike. I was hoping you could help me out. Otherwise, I’ll have to drag my car while Jax drags the bike. Think you’d be interested?” I know I just made his day. His face looks like he just came in his pants after looking at his first pair of real-life tits. This kid is so much like me it’s beyond scary.

  He wastes absolutely no fucking time, “Hell, yeah. You’re really going to let me drive your car?” He’s turning red with excitement.

  I continue playing like it’s no big deal. “Yeah, man. You’d be doing me a real solid if you’d drive my car back. I don’t want to ruin any plans you have, though.”

  “No plans. None.” And folks, my job here is a success. I could ask him to paint this whole damn house, and he would just want to know when he has to have it done. I just wonder how long it will last.

  “Okay, I’ll let ya know when. Jax and I are leaving now, but we won’t be gone long. Thanks for watching the kids.”

  “Yeah, no problem, Dylan. They’ll be fine.” I turn away with a self-satisfied chuckle at how well I played that. Now you know why I am the people person of our business. I tell the other kids goodbye and then head to the bank with Jax.

  When we arrive at the large main branch of the bank, we are greeted by a nice receptionist who shyly smiles at Jax and me, and then leads us into a big office with an older guy sitting at the desk. He introduces himself as the loan officer, and we all sit down to discuss the loan. An hour later, Jax and I walk out of the bank. He takes his tie off as we head out to the car, “Well, we’ve got that loan in the bag.”

  I hop in the driver’s seat, “Easy man, don’t get ahead of yourself.”

  He gets in and buckles his seatbelt as I start to drive back home, “Please man, he was so excited about our plan that I wouldn’t be surprised if he were our first customer. They are going to call us by early next week guaranteed. You’ll see.”

  I laugh. I did feel pretty confident about the loan. There isn’t any reason to deny us, but it was still goi
ng to be a waiting game. I don’t give a shit. I feel like things are finally starting to look up. I know they aren’t perfect, but the shit doesn’t seem as damn thick as it was two weeks ago. Hell, I even made my asshole brother’s day, and Tuesday I would get to see Brooke again, my hot little social worker who’s going to fuck with my life more than just being all in my family’s business. But damn, what a ride.

  Chapter 6

  Brooke

  When I walk in the break room, I find Marla pouring herself a cup of coffee. She looks up and smiles at me and silently offers me a cup. I’m not much of a coffee drinker, so I decline. “How’s everything going?”

  I think Marla feels responsible for me since I shadowed her a lot during my internship. She is constantly asking me how everything is going. I head for the refrigerator that blessedly someone keeps stocked with bottled water. That’s my drink, well that and wine. And after my first visit with Dylan and his lovely family, I may need to find a close vineyard. “Everything’s going fine. So far that is. I haven’t run into anything I can’t handle.” Except a 6 foot 5, tattooed sex god. No worries here. I knew it wasn’t very convincing; it was Tuesday, and that meant I had to visit the Monroes today. I was nervous as hell, and I know Marla picked up on it. She just doesn’t know why I’m nervous, and I’ll be damned if I’m sharing.

  She’s just about to say something when Paige joins us looking more irritated than tired, “Ugh, I need coffee now.”

  Marla laughs, “You look well rested why do you need coffee?”

  Paige looks agitated as she gets her cup of coffee. “Because if I can’t drink wine at work, at least, I can have coffee to keep myself going. You know what happened to me yesterday?” She doesn’t wait for either of us to guess, “A fucking kid bit me.”

  I look at her, surprised, for some reason that was not what I was expecting, “A child bit you? Why?”

  “Oh, because I wouldn’t let her go with her meth addicted mom.”

  Marla laughs, she actually laughs at this, like it happens all of the time and says, “Was it at the Stewart’s?”

  Paige takes a huge gulp of coffee and nods, “Yep, it was my turn yesterday.”

  I have no idea what they are talking about, and my curious nature makes me ask, “The Stewart’s?”

  Marla grins and explains, “They are a short term foster family. They take in kids for three days tops and hold them during really bad situations. We all get sent there eventually to pick up or drop off a kid; they get a lot of kids.”

  I feel saddened by that, these poor kids that were born into horrible situations. That’s why I’m so determined to do everything I can for the Monroes. I turn to Paige, “So, the kid bit you?”

  She nods, “Yeah, but I mean it’s not that big of a deal. That’s not even the worst thing that’s happened to me this month.”

  Marla shakes her head at Paige, “Don’t scare her away.”

  They all seem to think I’m fragile and need to be protected. If they only knew. “I don’t scare that easily, but why do they all hate us?”

  They both look at me, and it’s obvious they are thinking about how to answer that. Marla speaks up first, “What’s the matter? Are you having problems with one of your clients?”

  I sip my water, “Not really, I mean, I only have one assigned family. Everything else has been random appointments.”

  Paige rolls her eyes, “Oh my God, please tell me you are not complaining about Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome!”

  “I’m not complaining, they just seem to hate me. I mean he does for sure and one of his brothers. I’m working on them, though.”

  Marla laughs, “Oh, for that boy I’m pretty sure I would take the abuse.”

  My eyes widen when she says that, and I can’t help but laugh. I’m not blind; I know Dylan is a gorgeous man and sexy as hell. But he’s so rough around the edges and clearly has no patience whatsoever for me. I’m trying to help him, and he seems determined to fight me the entire way. I can only hope that he thought about what I said about trusting me. I return to the conversation at hand, “I’m sure your husband would love to hear that.”

  She laughs, I know she’s kidding. She is completely head over heels for her husband. Paige pours some more coffee into her cup. “Seriously, Brooke, I can’t believe you aren’t thrilled about having him as a client. He’s so hot.”

  “Well, you can have him because he hates me.”

  Janice walks into the break room, and we all shut up, not that Janice is all that threatening, but she is our supervisor. “Who are you trying to get rid of, Brooke?”

  I stumble on my words, “I, uh, I’m not trying to get rid of anyone. We were just kidding around.”

  She gives me a kind smile, “You know you can come to me anytime if you need advice and pretty much anyone in this office. We have all been there. We know it can be hard at first. The people we work with are usually going through the worst times of their lives and it pisses them off. We are natural punching bags.”

  I smile, “Thank you, Janice.”

  She pats my shoulder sweetly and then goes back to her office. I talk to Marla and Paige a little more before I head over to my desk to start my day.

  My day is full of meetings with people to help them get food assistance and then fifteen minutes before four I grab my purse and stand up. Paige sees me stand and hollers over at me, “Have fun, Brooke!”

  I shake my head. I don’t think they would be as in love with Dylan if they had to deal with him weekly. I leave and drive to the Monroe home. In the driveway, I can’t help but notice the addition of the sexiest car I have ever seen. This will always be a guilty pleasure of mine, loud and proud muscle cars. I’m mesmerized for a moment and then shake it off. I need to get a grip and face the firing squad that is the Monroe family.

  I park my boring Ford Focus right behind the sexy beast so I can get a closer look as I walk nonchalantly by it. Just looking at it makes me hot. I shut off my car and get out. Thankfully the thrill of getting up close and personal with this beauty distracts me from the nerves I was feeling on the way here, and I head to the front door.

  I ring the doorbell and hear shuffling inside. After what seems like an eternity, Dylan opens the door. Geez, he really is a good-looking man. He fills the doorway and towers over me. Obviously, we’re going to play this game again. Which is fine by me, because now I know not to take deep breaths around him. He’s wearing tight jeans and a dark t-shirt that clings to his body.

  He steps out of the way, but only slightly, “Come on in.”

  I walk into the door and notice all of the kids are all lined up in the small foyer of the home. I remember thinking how strange this was the first time, and it’s not any less strange today. I turn to Dylan because I just have to share. “I love the ’69 out there, beautiful car.” He looks slightly surprised, but just nods. Not a man of many words.

  “Is it your car?” Again with the nodding. No answer from him. Today is going wonderfully.

  I decide to turn to the kids, “Hey, guys. Have a good week?”

  Michael nods happily, “Yeah, I finished three books this week!”

  I smile at him; he is so adorable, and it’s good to see him have some joy in his life during this difficult time, “That’s awesome!”

  I turn to Gabby hoping she will answer, “Did you have a good week?”

  She nods her head slightly but doesn’t say a word. I smile at her because that’s more than I got last time. I’ll take that victory too. My eyes connect with Dylan’s, and he silently shares the progress as well.

  Now I move over to Cassie, “And how is cheerleading camp going?”

  Her pretty face lights up, “So much fun! They put us on the trampoline so we can learn to do splits in the air. I’m learning so much about cheering, and everyone has been so nice! It’s so awesome, Brooke!”

  “Cassie, I’m so happy you’re having a good time. I hope you’re making a lot of friends as well.” I give her a genuine smile, because re
ally, who can resist that face. It just dawns on me that Cassie is at that age where girls need a mother figure, and something tells me that Dylan isn’t going to be one to fill that need. I know, without a doubt, that it’s going to be all too easy for Cassie to latch herself onto me. Now this can either be a good thing or a bad thing, but I plan on doing everything I can to make sure it’s the former.

  With the same smile on my face, because it’s real, I turn to Luke. I can’t ignore him, “And how was your week, Luke?”

  He’s been standing in the foyer with a bored face during the whole exchange with his siblings. “It was fine.”

  “Well, what did you do since I saw you last. Surely you haven’t spent a week just moping around,” I say good-naturedly. At this point, I will do anything to draw him out. I’m not expecting much, but color me surprised when he goes into detail about getting to drive Dylan’s Camaro all the way from Oklahoma City. Okay, now I’m jealous, but I can work with this. I might have found my “in” with Luke, and I’ll take any small victory I can and run with it.

  I turn back to Dylan, “So that car is yours huh? My high school boyfriend drove a ’69 GTO with a 366 under the hood. Nobody could beat him on the mile. He had a big enough reputation that people from all over Kansas and northern Oklahoma would come up on the weekends to see if they could take him. Only one car got the best of him, and it was, believe it or not, a ’65 Shelby. After that, he got into racing dirt bikes. You might have heard of him on the Motocross Circuit, Adam Shiller.” I look between the two of them expectantly.

  “You dated Shiller the Thriller?” Luke asks, clearly the boy is shocked as hell. I should probably be offended that he sounds so disbelieving, but I’m enjoying this way too much.