Page 20 of Give Me Love

I would no longer be loud and destructive.

I would be quiet and observant.

I would learn, and I would do everything in my power to be more than what I came from.

And I did.

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The summer sun brightens the room in lemon-colored streams of light as Emily fills the table with fried chicken and every homegrown vegetable imaginable.

“Knock, knock,” a big grizzly of a man barks from the front door.

“Come in!” Emily yells back at Monnie. I hear four footsteps, and I know Lou is close behind him.

“Hey, you big bear.” Emily smiles as Monnie walks in with rosy red cheeks and a flannel shirt even in this hot ass heat.

“You should have told me to come earlier,” Lou says as Monnie gives the cook a kiss on the cheek. “I would have helped you with all this.”

“Nonsense. You do enough,” Emily argues as she hugs her best friend who holds a vase of fresh flowers for the table.

“These are beautiful.” Emily brings them to her nose. “Freshly picked from your garden, I assume?”

“You’d assume right.” Lou smiles and walks over to me. She squeezes my shoulder as I bring the cold beer to my lips.

“How are my boys?” she asks Jace and me.

“Mighty fine, Lou.” Jace tips his beer toward her.

“You behaving?” she asks him.

“Now, you know I am.” He takes a big sip of his beer.

“Don’t get drunk before you eat,” Emily scolds.

“No one gets drunk off beer,” he replies with a smirk as he tosses his empty bottle and opens the fridge.

“You heard her.” Pops comes in from the back porch as he puffs on his cigar.

“Well, there’s my brother,” Monnie says, looking at Pops with a chuckle, making his belly shake. “Give me one of those, my boy.” Jace hands him a cold one before twisting the top off of his. I eye him.

“Relax, brother. This is only my second one.” He sniffs, and my eyes narrow. He averts his, and I know.

Son of a bitch.

He takes his seat beside me, and I lean over while everyone is talking amongst themselves.

“Not another goddamn line, you hear me?”

He brings his beer to his lips. “Just enjoying the day, Bryce.”

“And I’m going to enjoy kicking your ass if you piss Pops off or disappoint Emily after she’s cooked this meal.”

“That’s your job,” he retorts.

I’m taken aback by his comment. “You wanna elaborate on that?”

He lifts a brow. “Like you were the picture of perfection growing up.”

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