“I’ll have a beer.”

I look up to see Black standing beside me at the bar. Just what I fucking need. He sits down, despite me giving him a look that clearly says: “Back the fuck away.”

“Imagine my surprise when I go to check on my sister and find her crying her eyes out.”

“Back off, Black. What goes on between me and Petal is none of your business.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. When it involves me finding my sister crying, sick, and alone while she’s ready to give birth to my nephew, it is my fucking business.”

“Sick? She’s not sick. I just left her. She was fine.”

“Except she’s cried so much, she’s made herself sick. You promised me you were going to take care of her. That’s the only reason I stood back and let you marry her,” Black tells me, and he’s pissing me off.

“Stay out of it, Black. This is none of your business,” I warn him.

He grabs my collar and pulls me around to him. I jerk away—but when I see the anger on his face, I stop. I’ve seen Black angry before. I’ve seen Black angry and even had it directed at me before. This is different.

“My sister made mistakes, Luka. I won’t deny that. But, she was sixteen. You don’t have that excuse.”

“I didn’t know she—”

“Save it. I’ve heard it all before. It doesn’t matter. Petal made mistakes, but at least she owned up to them, and she’s giving a hundred percent now to try and fix them. You, on the other hand—”

“You have no idea what I’m doing or going through! Don’t try—”

“I know that people want to talk shit about my family in this damned town, but at least we know how to take care of our own. We don’t fucking let others treat them like shit and then punish them for taking up for themselves.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I growl, but I get the feeling he does.

“Before you walk out on my sister leaving her crying and alone, maybe you need to ask yourself what the hell your father did to her before you showed up.”

“Listen, my father’s a bastard, but Petal should have—”

“She should have a man with enough balls to protect her. I like you, Luka. I always have, and the fucked up part about all of this is I think you truly love my sister.”

“I do.”

“Then I’m sad for you. Because if you don’t wake the hell up, she’s going to leave you. She’ll leave you, and I’ll be the first one in line to help her,” Black finishes, and then he walks out.

The bartender puts his drink on the bar, and I grab it. No sense in letting it go to waste, especially when I’ll probably have to pay for it anyway.

Fuck.

* * *

Present:

“Well, well…What do we have here?” Black asks, opening the door.

“Uncle Black!” River yells, tackling his uncle’s legs.

“Hey, buddy! You’re just in time. Terry is in the family room playing video games, and Aunt CC is bringing over the twins.”

“Cool! Bye, Dad! Love ya!” River yells without so much as looking back. There’s nothing like feeling appreciated—I guess. Once he leaves, I look at Black. He’s wearing a smile that’s a fucking mile long. His arms are crossed at his chest, and he looks cocky as hell. That would be enough to set off alarm bells, but it is what I see behind him that could strike fear in any man. Cyan, Green, White, Gray, and Blue. They’re all sitting there giving me similar looks, and at the head of the table is the biggest worry of all: Jansen.

Fuck. This is not going to be pleasant.

“Luka. We were all just talking about you,” Green says. I bet they were.

“Is that a fact?”

“Come on in,” Black says with a grin.

“I need to be going. I’ve got plans for later.”

“I’m sure you do,” Cyan mutters.

“What’s that mean?” I growl.

I’m not taking their shit. Whatever is going on between me and Petal now will stay just that: between me and Petal. We’ve had too much family involvement when it comes to our relationship.

“Blue had an interesting story to tell us tonight,” White informs me. “Care to guess what it was about?”

I cast Blue a look, and the bastard just shrugs. Slowly, I look at each of Petal’s brothers, and then, finally, Jansen. Whereas the brothers are all smiling and staring at me like they have something over me, Jansen’s face is impassive, giving nothing away. Ida Sue has always hated me, but for some reason, Jansen always remained out of it. I grudgingly respected him for that. Now, I have to wonder if he’s about to get involved. Christ! Of course I would have to love a woman with a family who are all flirting with being clinically insane.

Loved. Loved a woman. I mean, I respect Petal now. She’s the mother of my child, and despite our history, she’s an amazing mother. That’s it, though. What’s between us has more to do with sex, not…

I need to quit fucking being a pussy and man-up. A man doesn’t go a year without a woman. He doesn’t turn down a woman like Tani unless… he’s completely in love.

I love Petal. I’ve always loved her, and if after everything between us I can still say that, it’s clear that it will never change. Which means I might as well deal with these assholes, because they aren’t going anywhere, and I’m not giving my wife up—not again.

Which also means, I might as well get used to having Ida Sue as a mother-in-law for the rest of my life.

Fuck.

“You’re not even going to ask what Blue’s story was about?” Green adds.

“The weather?” I ask, doing my best to sound like I’m bored.

“No. Though I did hear something got pretty wet last night,” Cyan jokes.

“Cut it out, dumbass! That’s our sister you’re talking about,” Black growls, hitting him on the back of the head.

“Ow! Damn it! Stop that! I was talking about Luka’s dick!”

Just for fun—and because I can—I reach over and slap Cyan on the back of his head, too.

“Stop even thinking about my dick.”

“Asshole,” he growls, but he’s still laughing.

“I forgot what a joy it was to be around all of you dumbasses,” I sigh, sitting down at the table because apparently I’m going to be here for a while.

“We are fucking awesome,” Gray insists, and I flip him off.

“What’s going on between you and Petal?” White asks, and just like that, any pretense of joking is gone. It’s as if someone flipped a switch and immediately the mood shifts to serious.

“That’s really none of your business,” I tell him and just wait for the fallout.

“The hell it’s not. She’s our sister,” Green yells, and several other brothers chime in. Two of them don’t, however—the two I’m actually the most concerned with.

Black and Jansen.

“She’s my wife,” I answer, my fist clenching with the need to lash out. I don’t want to be discussing this with them. I won’t have her family being part of our relationship—not again.

“Odd. I could have sworn you were divorced,” Jansen answers, and it occurs to me what I said. I swallow down the retort.

“And that you were just out with another woman a few days ago,” White adds, and that’s it.

“Listen. I know you all love your sister, but this isn’t your business. What happens between me and Lo’ is our business. Whatever happens from here on out will remain just that—ours,” I growl, getting up. I need out of here before I go off on every one of them.

“Do you love my daughter?” Jansen asks. The room goes quiet.

“I didn’t realize that—”

“I may have not been the seed that planted this crazy garden, but I’m damn well claiming them, and I have for a while now. So, my question to you, son, is simple: do you love my daughter?”

I look at Jansen. There’s different things I could say here. I could walk away, I could lie, or I could just give him the truth. Jansen’s always been a straight shooter with me, and I find myself wanting to give that back to him.

“I love her. Are you going to cause problems?”

“Good enough. I reckon you will have your hands full enough with Lovey.”

“I figure you’re right. She’s never liked me. I don’t imagine that’s going to change, and all respect Jansen, I don’t really give a fuck at this point.”

“Ida Sue is a good woman. She has a heart of gold, but in every heart there’s a little darkness. I don’t expect you to sympathize,” he says, likely because he can see the coldness that comes over my face. Before I can respond, he starts again. “But you need to know Ida Sue has her reasons for feeling like she does.”

“I don’t see what. I’ve never done a damned thing to her. I realize the way Petal and I got started wasn’t ideal, but that wasn’t entirely on my shoulders either.” I sigh, rubbing the back of my neck and feeling the tension build there. I need to see Petal again. I need to make sure I’m not alone in this, because right now, I’m feeling as if I’m out facing the storm by myself.

“They’re not my secrets to tell, and I won’t be giving them away. I’m just letting you know they’re there. So before you lash out, remember, a woman’s heart is a deep well. It can hold a lot more pain than a man’s can. That’s just truth,” he says mysteriously. He walks over to me and slaps his weathered hand on my shoulder. He leans in where only I can hear him. “Good luck, son. You’re in for a fight, but then again, most good things are a fight to hold on to.” Then he walks away.

I half-turn so that I can watch him leave. Once the door closes, I realize I’m alone with the Crayon brothers, and this time, every damned one of them is grinning at me like the loons they are.

Great. Just great.