Page 24 of The Ones We Fight For

“Why?” Carter complained, looking down at his Barenaked Ladies graphic tee. “It’s a band!”

“Somehow, I have an inkling that you only bought the shirt because it’s an inappropriate name. If you can name one song by them, I’ll let you wear that,” Walker challenged. Carter thought for a moment and opened his mouth like he was going to name one before Walker cut him off quickly. “Too late. Go change into something nicer.”

“Trying to impress Talia?” Piper came down the stairs in one of her usual outfits that didn’t scream I’m having an affair with a senator.

“We’re just friends,” Walker replied coolly, hoping his voice didn’t waver. He would be lying if he said he didn’t want to look nice in front of Talia. The woman could wear a paper bag and pull it off, but he was fully intending to lie to his family (and himself) about his attraction to her. No one needed to know that his thoughts occasionally ventured away from platonic to taking her against any flat surface in the vicinity. Walker was far from a saint, but he’d be surprised to find any warm-blooded, single guy out there who didn’t take one look at Talia’s glowy olive skin, wavy hair, and full lips and not want to—

Be punched so hard in the nose that his face concaves.

The thought of other men thinking of Talia that way made Walker’s blood boil. Jaw ticking, he unclenched his fists and refrained from thinking further on it. Talia was his friend, so of course he wouldn’t want a bunch of men objectifying her. His body’s reaction was because of chivalry. Sure, that chivalry happened to look a hell of a lot like jealousy, but it wasn’t. Because he said so.

“Who’s Talia?” Colin came down the stairs with Cooper and Pearl on his tail.

“A girl?” Pearl asked excitedly. She was just like her parents, lighting up at the mere idea of Walker having prospects. Of Cole and Paisley’s kids, Pearl was the romantic. It was good to know that she hadn’t completely taken her head out of the clouds after her parents’ deaths. She was still in there somewhere.

“A friend who is a girl,” Walker replied. “She’ll be at dinner tonight, but I should probably tell you… um.”

“Her last name is Cohen,” Piper offered. The realization dawned on Colin’s face immediately, but Pearl and Cooper didn’t catch on.

“Technically, she’s Jeff Cohen’s daughter. She didn’t know him and hasn't seen him in almost twenty years,” Walker explained, feeling the need to defend Talia to the kids.

“She’s really nice. She picked me up when I was drunk and took me home,” Piper added, an edge of defensiveness playing into her voice as well.

“You got drunk?” Colin’s eyes went wide, and his face flipped to anger. “After everything that happened? Why would you do that, Piper?”

Colin’s reaction was the exact reason Walker had refrained from mentioning why exactly he’d grounded Piper. Colin was adamantly against drinking, even more so now due to the circumstances of his parents’ death. Splitting his attention between the two siblings, Walker tried to find the right words to reign in what he was sure to be a heated argument.

“It was just one time, Colin,” Piper snapped. “I’m not planning on doing it again.”

“Alcohol ruins lives!” Colin shouted, coming to stand in front of his sister and pointing at her. “Are you trying to die, too? What kind of example are you setting for Carter, Pearl, and Cooper if you’re out getting smashed on the weekends? Mom and Dad didn’t even drink, and they still died. Do you even know the statistics for—”

“That’s enough!” Walker yelled over Colin.

“I don’t think it’s nearly enough.” Colin scrunched his nose in fury.

“Sit. Down.” Walker aggressively motioned to the stool at the island, but Colin didn’t budge. “You don’t dole out the punishments. I do. Piper learned her lesson, and you screaming in her face isn’t going to make anything better.”

“I’m eighteen in four months. I’ll be responsible for them soon enough,” Colin said matter-of-factly.

“What?” Walker blinked. There was an extra layer of meaning to Colin’s words, something that was flying over Walker’s head.

“I’m not going to college. When I become everyone’s guardian, I won’t be able to go to school,” Colin replied simply.

Walker’s brain short-circuited. He hadn’t once considered that Colin would think to take over as head of the household.

“No.” Walker set his jaw sternly. “You are going to college.”

“I already told Johns Hopkins that I wasn’t attending next year. This is just the way it has to be.” Colin's mouth formed a straight line. Walker’s reciprocating snort was a mixture of anger, amusement, and pride at how much of a man Colin had become.

“Abso-fucking-lutely not. You’re forgetting that I used to wipe your ass. You’ll call them back tomorrow and re-enroll immediately.” When Colin opened his mouth to interrupt, Walker held his hand up in a stop and continued. “I am everyone’s guardian, and I’m not leaving an eighteen-year-old to fend for himself and four kids. Your eighteenth birthday will be just that: an eighteenth birthday. A fun milestone in your life that makes you legal to vote and nothing more. I am no longer the fun uncle, Colin. I do not want to be. I am responsible for all of you, and I will not be passing that responsibility to you. Ever. All of you.” Walker turned to face each of the siblings, Carter coming back down the stairs finally. “You will be living your life just as you would have if your parents were still alive because, dammit, I am your parent now, and I refuse, refuse to let anything stand in the way of the dreams that you had before they died. They would not want you to throw your lives away, and neither do I.”

“Aren’t you throwing your life away on us?” Colin asked, analytical as ever.

“No. I’m giving mine more of a purpose,” Walker stated with zero hesitation. “Now, we’ve been invited by a nice family to have dinner, and we are going because we need to get out of this fucking house occasionally and be around people who are alive and well. So please, for the love of God, everyone get in the car.”

???

The drive to Amala’s house was a silent one. Walker churned over his speech in his head, wondering if he had said the right thing. He could have at least left the profanities out, but he had been too riled up to keep the occasional “fuck” from slipping out of his mouth, because fuck if he was going to allow Colin to forfeit his full ride to college, and fuck if he was going to let any of them put their dreams on hold. Over his dead fucking body.

---