Page 2 of Demitrius

“Are you finished whining?” She told Jack that she’d not been whining by stating facts. “Whining. We’ll help you. We’re all rooting for you to—why are you shaking your head? I said we’d help you. I didn’t ask you if you wanted us to help you. Now, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to go and measure rooms, you and I, and then the others will meet. Stop shaking your head, no. You’ll get a headache, and that won’t bode well when you tell Teddy and Martin you have a place for them.”

“It’s going to be a lot of money. And even making the kind of money that I am now, it’ll be forever before I can pay you back.” Jack put her hands on her hips and tapped her toe. “You might scare the rest of them with that look, but I’ve stared down a man holding a gun to my forehead. You don’t come back from that quickly.”

“He really did that?” She nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know, but that doesn’t change the fact that we’re going to help you out. Really, it’s what we do. And someday you can do the same thing when someone comes to you needing help.”

“If someone comes to me for help, I’m going to have to refer them to you guys, I don’t have a pot to piss in right now.” She waved her off, pulling out her cell phone. Before she could object, even if she thought that she could have, they were on their way to the house with the boys and armed with tape measures and notepads. These people were beyond pushy, she realized.

The house seemed warmer now that she was going to be living in it. The boys, especially Martin, were excited that he’d still have his own room. He loved his brother, but he snored, he told them. Teddy was excited to have his own back yard, something that he’d asked for when she’d told them they were going to be all living together. The other two women showed up about the time they had finished measuring each room and writing down the colors of the walls, most of them creamy white, so that they knew what to work with. She didn’t know what that meant; she only needed supplies and a couple of beds for the kids.

“I don’t need that right now.” It had become her litany for things put in her cart while they were out. It didn’t matter if she didn’t need it right away; she would eventually, and they were going to buy it. She was also making sure that she thanked them for all the stuff in the carts, not one or two carts so far, but three. “I can get that with my next paycheck” was something else that went unheard…or ignored, she didn’t know which. But they did a good job of finding her the best deals. A mental running total was making her sick with anxiety.

“You look pinched.” Thanking Martin for pointing that out, he cocked his little head at her and she waited for what he’d say next. “You need something to eat, I bet. I’m starving and I already ate my stash.”

She’d noticed that the whole family did that. Even the little ones had something to munch on when they went out. Locke usually had two or three granola bars or a couple of apples. He forever had a bottle of water on him, the same as his brothers. She did wonder what sort of childhood they’d had that would make them so afraid of being hungry.

“You know that’s a wonderful idea.” Shipley—her last name, she assumed that everyone calledher by winked at her. “I’m hungry too, and I handed over my last cookie to Alex. All right, we’ll pay for this and go get some lunch. I didn’t realize how late it was.”

“It’s only two in the afternoon. How about we get something and take it to my place now, and I can get this stuff put away while the boys eat something.” She told her that they’d not filled her pantry yet. “I didn’t know that I had a pantry. And I’m sure you know it.”

“You’re very stubborn, aren’t you?” She just stared at her open mouthed. “Close your mouth, deary, the men are coming. They’ll get this sorted out, and we can all dine together.”

After getting kisses from their spouses, she stood there thinking that she was going to put up a fuss about them buying groceries too. But when Teddy took her hand, telling her in a very loud whisper that he wanted to eat breakfast in his own house tomorrow, she couldn’t turn him down. As it was right now, she was in debt to the family for thousands of dollars, and she really didn’t have anything in the cupboards.

Lunch was fun. She finally got to meet Demitrius, Demi, as everyone called him, and the boys were having a good time with the other children at the table. August had five kids, and he and Jack seemed to be pros at keeping them entertained and happy. The others pitched in when they were needed, and she loved it all.

“I’m glad you like the house.” She told Demi that she was looking forward to living there with the boys. “They’ll have fun too. There are a lot of kids on that street who are about the same age as them. I think there are a lot of people your age there as well.”

“You make it sound like I’m old. I’m only twenty-five.” He turned pink, and she felt stupid for embarrassing him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. My mouth gets ahead of my mind at times. Forgive me.”

“Nothing to forgive you for. I thought it was funny, too. And I’m only twenty-seven. So not too far off. You should come to the restaurant when you have time. Dinner will be on me.”

Her mind, never in a good place, imagined Demi spread out on a table with food all over him for her to eat. Now she was the one embarrassed and told him that she’d love that. Thankfully, Martin drew his attention away from her, and she had a moment to rethink where her mind had gone.

~*~

Demi enjoyed the time with his family. Had he been open today, he would have entertained them in his place.The Crockery Potwasn’t open on Mondays or on Tuesday afternoon. It gave the people who worked for him time to do their own personal things without having to miss work. Besides, as busy as he’d been since opening, he didn’t think that having a couple of days closed was going to break him.

The woman, Mandy, was nice. She embarrassed easily, and he thought that was adorable. He had no desire to leap into a relationship like his brothers had. He might take her out or something, get to know her, and decide that she wasn’t for him. Or if she was for him, he’d take his time and get to know not just her but the boys she was trying to adopt as well. He didn’t know anything about their circumstances and was happy to keep it that way for the time being.

“I didn’t say I wanted to date you.” He looked at Mandy, wondering if she read minds or something. “You mumble when you’re thinking. I have my life just the way I want it too, so back off and we’ll both be great.”

“I’m sorry.” She turned away from him and while it pissed him off a little he knew that it was no less than he deserved. “I’m truly sorry that I thought those things. If you knew how my brothers seemed to just fall in love with their wives, you’d understand where I’m coming from.”

“I don’t, nor do I care. It’s none of my business.” She looked at him again. “Look. You just keep to your side of the street, and I’ll do the same for mine. And if you think to make me leave the house now that I’ve said I have no desire to date you, then you’ll be in for a rude awakening. I’ll sue you for breach of contract. I’ve signed the lease and have paid my deposit. There’ll be no raising my rent either. It’s in the contract for one year.”

“I never said that I’d do that.” He was getting angrier by the moment and had to try to reign in his temper or make a scene. “Look, I was thinking things to myself. It’s not my fault that you listenedin when it was none of your business. I don’t want to have anything to do with you either. You’re not nice.”

She turned fully away from him, showing him her back. Before he could reach up and pull her around, he looked at his family. Jack was staring at him like she dared him to do it. What? Well, he wasn’t sure, but he wasn’t to touch Mandy.

Demi finished his meal in silence. He’d speak when asked something, but nothing more than that. His anger and temper, never right on the edge like they were right now, were making him ill with it. As soon as the check came, he grabbed it from the waitress and said he was leaving.

No one said anything to him. There were no begging him to stay. He felt his anger grow more when he was able to walk away without a word from anyone, especially Mandy. He did feel bad as he was paying, realizing that he’d been rude to the staff, but he’d make it up in the tip. He didn’t know what was bothering him so much about her hearing what he’d been mumbling about, but he wanted to go home and beat on his heavy bag for a few hours. Or days. He was just in the kind of mood that would have gotten him in trouble when he’d been younger, much like his father’s temper.

That cooled him off right away. He never wanted to be compared to that bastard. Not even by himself. Stretching his neck several times so that when someone slapped him on the back, he nearly snarled at them to leave him alone. He was glad that he’d not when he noticed that it was his brother Knox.

“What’s up?” He asked him what he was talking about. “You nearly bit that woman’s head off earlier than the two of you were like strangers all of the sudden. So again, what’s up?”

“It’s my fault.” He realized that it was too. All his fault. “I said some things under my breath and she heard me.”

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