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Chapter Nineteen

Riley

Marge’s backyard is incredible. The air is filled with the fragrance of lavender from the garden. She claims the flowers are a natural bug repellent, especially for mosquitoes. More impressive is the koi pond, a little oasis surrounded with rocks and ferns. Sunlight, filtered through the leaves of a sweet bay magnolia tree, sparkles before my eyes. Five beautiful orange-and-white fish glide through the water, swishing and swirling about each other as if going through the motions of some kind of ancient dance. They’re mesmerizing. I can’t imagine how Marge takes care of this all by herself most days. It can’t be easy.

The air is warm and soft. May is nearly over, which means spring is coming to a close. Summer heat and humidity will soon fill the air, making the ocean a refuge for many. Not that I mind. I absolutely love the ocean. Just not the crowds.

The shrieks of children capture my attention. Amongst them are Mason and Marge’s younger daughter Leslie, who happens to be the birthday girl. Jim and Bear are also in the mix. I chuckle at the sight of two grown Navy SEALs wrestling with a bunch of little kids, but the two men are in their glory. Maybe Jim isn’t such a bad guy after all. I’m beginning to see what Taya sees in him as he rolls around in the grass with children clinging to him.

Speaking of SEALs... I stand and spin around, trying to see where my husband is. Oh, no. Guess I’m about to get firsthand experience with the chaos Lucas and Tony have a reputation for creating.

“Mira, Riley.” Inara comes up from behind me. Her black hair is pulled up off her neck in a messy bun and a floral sundress swirls around her legs. “These two fools might ruin this party.”

All I see are two grown men hiding behind the bouncy house until Inara tugs me close and points to Tony’s hands. Oh, hell. They’re going to egg Jim and Bear. Seriously? I look at Inara, not sure what will happen next. “How bad is this going to be?”

“Wouldn’t be surprised if someone ended up with a broken nose. Maybe a black eye or two.” Inara pulls out her phone, taps on the screen, then puts the phone to her ear. “Taya, you better get out here. Tony and Lucas are about to stir shit up. You know how pissy Jim can get.”

I can’t make out what Taya says, but Inara tucks the phone back into her pocket a few seconds after speaking. Of course, the moment we return our attention back to the possible future crime scene, my gaze falls on a white oval object sailing through the air.

My mouth falls open when it hits Jim in the back of the head. Of course I didn’t see which dolt threw it, only that Lucas and Tony have tucked themselves farther behind the inflatable as they laugh and slap each other on the back.

“What the fuck?” Jim spins around, searching for the culprit. Yellow goo oozes down the back of his head.

“Watch your mouth,” Taya chides from the back door of Marge’s house.

As soon as he focuses on his wife, another curse cuts through the air. This time from Bear. Yup. He got egged too. He reaches back and wipes at the mess on his neck, then shakes his hand to try to get the slop off.

Tony and Lucas double over with laughter. “Uh, Inara, how many eggs do they have?” I ask.

She groans. “I think I saw one of those eighteen-egg cartons.”

That’s a lot of egg-shaped chaos to wreak. Maybe we should intervene before it gets out of hand. “Do we rat them out?”

She gives me a look. “Do you want to die?”

Nope. I shake my head and stand back to watch the scene unfold. Jim is beet red and I swear there’s steam coming out of his ears. Mason is rolling on the ground laughing as Leslie picks up remnants of sticky eggshells and throws them at her dad. Oh, wonderful. The kids think this is a great game.

“Martinez! Craiger!” Bear barrels toward the bouncy house as my husband takes off running toward the back door.

Holy crap. Lucas is fast. Faster than I remember. But so is Bear and I’m surprised by that, considering how big and burly the man is. Guess I shouldn’t make assumptions about people’s capabilities based on appearance.

While Bear chases after my husband, Jim sets his sights on Tony. Inara huffs beside me. “This was supposed to be a kid’s party. I forgot Lucas and Anthony are the biggest children of them all.”

I laugh. “What’s going to happen if you do have kids?”

She huffs and points to her husband using her entire hand. “I already have one. Right there.”

I tilt my head sideways, brows furrowed. “Never seen that gesture before.”

Inara glances at her hand and snorts. “Tony does it all the time when he’s mad or very passionate. Think it’s called a knife hand. God help me. Wonder what other mannerisms I’ve adopted from Tony.”

My attention returns to my husband. It’s fun seeing this side of him, watching as he interacts with the men on his team. The ones he fights alongside, that count as his brothers. His family.

Part of me is jealous because I want that kind of camaraderie in my life. My illness has isolated me from friends. I thought I’d made peace with it, but maybe not. Then I watch Jim throw himself at Tony, tackling the other man to the ground. Okay, I don’t want that exact kind of camaraderie.

“Jim Stephens, I swear to God if you throw one punch in front of the children, you will be sleeping in the backyard for the rest of your life.” Taya is not just pointing at her husband, but doing the knife-hand point Inara just did moments ago, eyes blazing. If I were Jim, I’d do what she says. She doesn’t look like she brooks any nonsense at all.

“Sorry, sorry. Ouch!” Lucas’s voice emanates from inside the house and my eyes move from Taya to the door behind her.

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