Page 52 of Kidnapping Their Third

As he drove, the two in the back murmured to each other, leaving him to his thoughts. That wasn’t a good idea because one thing kept playing out in his head: the bad impression he’d made when he’d first met Cooper.

What if Cooper told Cora’s family that Pike was a horrible person? They’d all hate him before they even got a chance to meet him!

The closer they got the more nervous Pike became. He was sweating by the time he drove onto a gravel drive that opened up to a gravel parking lot in front of a house.

“Dad doesn’t believe in lawns,” Cora said as Pike parked between a truck and a sporty compact. The two story, stucco house lacked a single decorative flourish anywhere. No pots of flowers, no curtains in the windows, and the color was a bland beige. It was completely different from his parents' smallcraftsman house with the colorful pollinator garden in the front that his mother was so proud of.

“It looks very, uh…” Pike was at a loss for a descriptor that wasn’t as bland as the house.

“Practical,” Cora finished for him. “That’s my dad.”

The moment he shut off the engine, he could hear people talking and laughing. The smell of roasting and burnt meat was heavy in the air, making him wrinkle his nose. Humans always insisted on ruining perfectly good meals with over cooking. Bracing himself, he decided that no matter how badly cooked the meat was, he’d choke it down.

Because the Caddy was a two door, Pike had to get out first and flip the seat forward to let Cora and Kimble out. He waited, his hand held out for her to take, but she didn’t move. The look of reluctance on her face matched his internal struggle.

“I’m sure everything will be fine,” he lied. “I’ll be super friendly, and we’ll say Kimble is learning English, so they won’t expect much conversation from him.”

“It’s not them liking you I’m worried about,” she admitted, taking his hand and climbing out of the car. “I’m worried they’re going to make you mad. My family is really good at pissing people off and a few of my early relationships ended because I brought the guy to an event like this one.”

“They must all know that you’re in a relationship with two guys,” Pike said, voicing one of his fears. “The most they could do is try to shame you into ending it, and we all know that won’t work.”

Cora snorted as she stepped away from the Caddy to give Kimble room. “I promise, that’s not going to be an issue. Dad’s bi. He was dating guys before he fell in love with Mom. In fact, when they met, he was living with two of his lovers. Cooper is married to a man, and Trevor and his wife are looking into the poly scene. My family would never give us a hard time about a non-traditional relationship.”

That information made him feel a little better, but he was still nervous as hell. Kimble followed Cora out of the car, and Pike slammed the heavy door shut. The entire Caddy rocked and squeaked a little.

Standing next to it, Cora stared at the house. “Promise me something.”

“Anything,” Pike said without hesitation. Kimble grunted as if to say he agreed also.

“No matter what they say to you, come talk to me first,” Cora said. “My family is really good at hurting people’s feelings.”

“They can try,” Pike said. “But I’m confident in us, which makes me almost invulnerable to insults.”

Cora didn’t look convinced. “We’ll see.”

***

“You’re fucking massive!” someone exclaimed as Cora led them around the side of the house.

“Nice welcome, Carson!” Cora yelled.

Pike stumbled to a stop when everyone at the gathering turned to stare at them with varying degrees of curiosity.

“There’s a lot of people here,” he mumbled. Kimble put a comforting hand on his back, and Cora tangled her fingers with his.

“They’re all dumb, but nice,” Cora said in a faux whisper.

“Hey!” Cooper yelled, holding up his beer. He had an arm around another man, probably his husband who stared at Pike with wide eyes. “Nice to see you again, Pike.”

“Oh babe,” the husband whispered, but Pike’s bear hearing made it easy to overhear. “You said he was big, but you didn’t say he was the size of a house! He could’ve killed you!”

Cooper looked down at his husband. “Nah, I’m a tough asshole.”

The husband snorted. “You got the asshole part right.”

Their little exchange helped Pike relax. It seemed everyone was hard on each other in this family.

“Pike!” a bunch of guys yelled together, holding up beers and then taking long drinks. Cora chuckled and waited until the drinking was over to start talking.

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