Page 5 of Surrender

Home sweet home.

With a muted sigh, I gather my kids and our bags, and walk into our home for the foreseeable future. Our temporary home.

2

Jack

Cooper alarms a single soft woof from his place near the door. The gentle mastiff returns to his nap once we make eye contact.With the sleeping baby tucked into the crook of my arm like a football, I open the door to her parents waiting on my doorstep.

“Did you bring coffee?” I greet, scrubbing my free palm over my face. The growth of stubble on my cheeks needs a cleanup before I can head to work at the motel.

“Here. Now give me my baby.” My sister-in-law Bree forces the warm cardboard cup into my hand and snatches her precious offspring from my grip before I can even say thanks.

Corjan, one of my five adopted siblings, just laughs at his eager wife with a look only a smitten bastard would dare to wear in public. The two took their first night away since Charlotte was born. Out of all our siblings, I was the only one free for the night.

Babysitting her was easy enough. Newborns can’t really get into much trouble. Their schedule consists of eating, sleeping, and defiling diapers. Waking up on a Monday morning with broken sleep would have felt a smidge better with a fresh pot of coffee ready to go, but I was all out today.

“Thank you.” I mumble the delayed gratitude around the rim of a much-needed swallow. “Next time I babysit, remind me to make sure I have coffee grounds before you bring her over.”

Corjan slaps me on the shoulder. “I’ll pack a canister in her diaper bag.”

“Rough night?” Bree teases, her mood calmer now that her baby is in her arms. She was reluctant to leave her and tried to bail twice last night before Corjan persuaded her out the door.

Charlotte blows a wet raspberry and gazes happily at her mom.

“She was up four times for food and diaper changes. I hate to be the one to tell you, but your sweet little munchkin has the colon of a forty-year-old man.”

Corjan barks a laugh, startling Cooper from his nap. “Nah. It’s just the milk. She’ll firm up a bit when she gets into solids.”

“Listen. I don’t ever plan on having kids, so this is a little too much information.” I hide my grimace around another drink.

Bree and Corjan share a look clearly deciding I’m full of shit.

They just can’t see anything other than the love and stars in their eyes since finding their way back together. The fact Corjan is my second brother to settle down in just as many years means he’s forgotten that the rest of us are perfectly happy being single.

Jude, Aiden, and I aren’t in much of a rush, that is. Last I heard, our sister Cortney might be getting serious with some guy named Sebastian, so it’s only a matter of time for her, I’m afraid.

There must be something in the water.

That, or everyone’s biological clocks kicked on at the same time.

Regardless, I don’t intend on being one of those lovestruck saps. I’m content with my dog and my motel. The help I lend to our family’s dog sanctuary from time to time fulfills me.

“If you don’t mind, I’m going to feed her quickly before we leave. We’re meeting Nancy for lunch.” Bree slips off her shoes.

Nancy Powell is our very much involved mother. Even as us siblings near our forties, minus Lee, who’s already there, she still insists on hosting weekly dinners, all holidays, and attending any other significant life event. Hell, the woman doesn’t even miss a single one of our nephews’ baseball games.

“Take your time.” I wave my hand in indifference. “I have Hunter covering the desk this morning, so I can head over to the motel whenever.”

“How’s that going for you?” Corjan doesn’t bother removing his shoes before crossing to the armchair facing the television. With everyone getting comfortable, I find my own seat on the leather couch.

I shrug at his question. “Business has been better. Usually the winter is pretty steady with skiers needing a place to stay, but with the snowmobile races postponed due to the blizzard coming this week, I think we only have a guest or two unless someone showed up overnight.”

“Next week should be pretty solid then,” Corjan remarks.

“Should be. I know the racers weren’t too happy with the delay, but this isn’t like the city. County roads take longer to plow, and we’re expecting thirty to thirty-six inches of snowfall over a twenty-four-hour period.”

“Shit. That’s worse than the Halloween Blizzard of 1991.”

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