Page 18 of All in April

Jack walks hurriedly back to the car, swiping a thumb across his cheeks to gather his tears he doesn’t want us to see. When he gets in, he turns to both of us.

“We fucked up.”

“I’m not leaving her.” Brahn growls. April enters a room on the second floor with one last look back at us sitting in the car down below. Brahn tilts his head toward the door. “I’m staying and watching over her. She needs us. And we need her.”

Jack’s mouth sours into a frown. He opens it to speak, but I cut him off.

“He’s right. I think one of us should stay here at all times and monitor her. Make sure she doesn’t need something. We need to give her a credit card with some money on it so she can buy stuff. Brahn, take first shift with the car. If she needs it, take her to the grocery or wherever.”

Brahn’s shoulders relax as I bite out the commands. Jack’s are still stiff. “How do we get her back, though?”

My tongue toys with my bottom lip. “I think we create a home that she’ll miss. Instead of her doing all the work, what if we do it for her, show her how good we can treat her if she comes home. Then, if she lets us have the babies, we can already have those routines in place. All she’ll have to worry about is feeding them. We’ll take care of the rest.”

Brahn’s eyes light up and he almost smiles behind his full beard. “I like that.”

“What do you mean? Like clean and stuff?” Jack asks.

“Yeah, ingrate. Clean and stuff,” I answer him and slap him on the back of the head.

Jack smirks, but relaxes. “I think you’re on to something. Maybe if we can invite her back home for a date on Friday, show her how nice the place is, she’ll want to come home.”

“I’m down.” Brahn grits out. “You two are nasty. It’ll be nice to have you pitch in.”

“It’s Jack’s mess,” I say.

This causes an argument over who is dirtiest. I win, of course. I’m the clean one…

Well, if I have to admit it, I may have a slight slob problem worse than the others. But I’ll never tell them. It’ll be tough to change my ways, but I can do it, if we can keep April.

“Let’s walk home. Brahn can stay with the car.”

“Good. ‘Cause I’m not leaving.” He grunts when I pat his shoulder.

Jack follows me and Brahn settles into the driver’s seat and hunkers down, watching the window of April’s room.

“So what kind of stuff are you thinking?” Jack asks. His voice is determined, but there’s a hint of anxiety behind it, too.

“I say we go through and make it as pretty as we can. A place that’s suited for a girl like April. My girl deserves the best.”

“My girl deserves the best,” he snaps.

As we amble along the sidewalk, I nod in reply. “Our woman definitely does.”

“I don’t know how to do all that stuff. Cleaning and everything April always seems to know how to do.”

“Well, we can learn. Like Brahn said. We got books. And the internet. We’ll figure it out, smart guy.”

It’s not too long before we make it to the house. The outside is looking pristine in the spring morning light with its fresh coat of paint, repaired porch, new front door, and shudders. We’d cleaned the gutters and the roof was repaired, too.

I halt my steps on the front drive and grab my chin in contemplation. “Something’s missing.”

Jack scans the area, looking for anything amiss. “Couple of four-wheelers? Motorcycles?”

With a quick jab, I hit his arm. “No, dumbass. Like flowers. Gardening stuff.”

“April does that in the back.”

“That’s different. Those are herbs and things she cooks with. These will make the front pretty.”

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