Page 75 of Protecting Silver
They had driven down from Montana, and as he reached the back of the truck for their luggage, they paused as a car pulled in behind them and stopped. Patch stood there and stared as a young woman, not looking any older than twenty-five, climbed out of her car, and rushed forward with a small screech.
“DANIEL! You made it! I thought you said you couldn’t make it until Friday. You’re two days early.” The woman had thrown herself at Patch and he could only open his arms and catch her. He felt something tug at the region of his heart when he felt her hug him. “Come help me, I have a ton of stuff to take in to Mom and Grandma.” She reached down and grabbed his hand to pull her behind her. She paused when she spotted Silver, then looked back over her shoulder and frowned. “You’re not Daniel.”
“No, I’m not.” Patch smirked at her.
“Who are…?” She didn’t finish her sentence as her eyes grew wide, then her mouth opened in shock. “Holy shit, are you Mikey?”
“Patch, please call me Patch, but yes, I’m Mikey.”
The woman let out another screech, and this time when she launched herself at him, he caught her, and could barely breathe at the tightness of her hug. When she started talking a mile a minute, Patch set her down, and placed a finger over his lips.
“I’ll answer all questions when we’re all together. First, may I ask who you are?”
“Oh, I’m Nancy, your youngest sister.”
“Hello, Nancy. I’m Douglas Atwal, better known as Patch, and this is my girlfriend, Silver Roundtree.” Hugs were exchanged, and before they could do anything, another car pulled in, and another woman exited the car.
“Nancy,” she called out. “Don’t hog all of Daniel’s attention. I need help carrying things in too.”
“Wait for it,” Nancy said as she leaned in to whisper to Patch and Silver.
The other woman approached and stopped two feet from Patch. “Holy shit, you’re not Daniel.”
“I am not, I’m Patch. Who are you?”
“Your sister, Ellie. I’m the fourth child in the line of five, but I’m the oldest girl.” She stuck out her hand, and at the last minute, she rushed Patch and hugged him. “Have you been inside yet?”
“No, we just got here. This is my girlfriend, Silver.” The two women exchanged hugs, and the two sisters grinned.
“Thank god.”
“What?” Patch frowned as he extricated two suitcases from the bed of the truck.
“That neither Mom, Dad, Grandpa, or Grandma are on any heart medications. They are going to flip out when they meet you.”
Ellie started toward the front of the house, and Silver called out, “Don’t you need help carrying things in?”
Both Ellie and Nancy waved their hands, dismissing the statement. “We can get it later.”
Patch looked at Silver with a grin, and grabbed her hand. He kept her back a few steps, then leaned in, and whispered, “I think I could get used to these two.”
“Me too.” She grinned back at him, then before they could start forward, another vehicle pulled in. This time when the person exited, Patch waited for Daniel to join them.
“I see you’ve met the whirlwinds?” He grinned as he approached and was quickly surrounded by his two sisters.
“I did, we were just about to enter the house.”
Daniel looked at his siblings, and grinned. “Want to trick Mom and Grandma?” He asked, then turned to Patch to explain. “I’m assuming Dad and Grandpa are out there somewhere.” He waved his arm to indicate the rest of the ranch.”
“How?” Ellie asked.
“Have Patch walk in with you two, and you tell her what the cat dragged in. I’ll come around the back way with Silver.”
“Lets!” Nancy laughed and danced where she stood. She reached down and gripped Patch’s hand with hers. “We’ll let them get situated.” She grinned as Daniel told Silver to follow him. When Ellie’s phone indicated a text, she looked up with a smile. “They’re ready.” Together the two girls pulled Patch after them, and he didn’t know if he would be scared, petrified, happy, or sad to be seeing his mother and grandmother for the first time in over thirty-three years.
The girls didn’t allow Patch to stop and take in his surroundings as they pulled him into the house, and through several rooms to end up in the kitchen. The first people he spotted were the two older gentlemen sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and a slice of pie before them. Then, there was another younger man. Patch assumed they were his father, grandfather, and brother.
“Hey, girls,” the middle man called out.
