Page 14 of Throw Down

Susan was leaning against the dented fender of her Chevy Astro when they pulled up to the Stop n' Shop. Her hands were shoved deep into the pockets of her cut-off shorts, and her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail that made her look like a fresh-faced teenager again.

“You rat!” she shouted, pointing an accusing finger at James. “I told you not to tell him!”

“You should have told me,” Derek grouched, flicking her in the forehead with one finger.

“I’m a grown woman,” she protested, ducking and swiping at his offending finger. “Besides, I already called Ian.”

“Then where is he?”

Her gaze slid sideways. “He’ll be here,” she muttered. “He was just busy at work.”

Derek looked pointedly over her shoulder at the four children, all under the age of ten, bouncing around inside the van.It looked like a game of seat tag was quickly spiraling out of control.

“So, I guess I'll just leave you to wait it out,” he said sarcastically.

Susan opened her mouth, hesitated, and then snapped it shut with a growl.She’d always been Derek’s counterpart, the de facto mother to his role of pseudo-fatherhood, and she'd never willingly admitted when she needed help.

It was Susan who had left a covered plate in the fridge whenever Derek came crawling home from work in the middle of the night, and it was Susan who sat beside him at the kitchen table, sorting bills into piles based on how long they could be ignored.

She’d married an ignoramus straight out of high school, but Derek didn’t blame her. Why wouldn't she take the first chance she got to escape and live her own life for once? Buther brief leap toward freedom ended with a giant thud when she delivered her first baby less than a year after her vows on the courthouse steps, and a new one every eighteen months ever since.

By the time her little ones were grown she’d have spent nearly her entire life taking care of everyone but herself.

That’s what Derek was for.

“Fine. You can take a look,” she muttered, glaring at both her brothers.

Derek took the win and graciously didn't say anything. He just reached around Susan and opened the driver side door to pop the hood.

“Uncle Derek!” A chorus of exuberant voices blasted his eardrums.

“Unca Deek!” the youngest chirped with a thick lisp.

Chubby toddler arms wrapped around his neck, smelling of peanut butter and jelly, and a wet, sticky mouth landed somewhere beside his ear.

“Unca Deeeeeeek!”

“Let go, Jeremy! You know he hates that!” That was Serena, the eldest, sounding exactly like her mother.

“No!”

Serena grabbed her brother and tugged, but Jeremy clung with all his might, plastering himself to Derek’s back like a sack of overheated Play-Doh.Soon all the children were yelling and fighting, slowly strangling Derek in their tug-of-war.He popped the latch one-handed and escaped, dislodging his nephew and holding him up to get a better look at him.

The toddler grinned, showing off an enormous gap in his baby teeth.His fat little cheeks were flushed bright red, and his eyes shined like bloodshot marbles.

Derek ignored his giggles and pressed a wrist against his forehead and then the side of his neck.

“Did you know he's sick?” he demanded.

Susan’s eyebrow twitched. “Really?I can’t believe I missed that!What would I do without your powers of observation?”

“Don’t get smart,” he warned.A quick look back at the van confirmed that Jeremy wasn't the only one.The children were a disheveled, drippy mess.There was an edge in his tone when he asked, “Why the hell did you take them out?They should be home resting.”

“Chicken soup doesn’t make itself, genius.We’re low on groceries. Ian doesn’t get paid for another week, so I can’t hire a sitter.What was I supposed to do?”

“You should’ve called me!”

She gave a rude snort and rolled her eyes.“You're always bitching that no one can wipe their nose without you.Then when I try to handle something myself, you throw a fit?”

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