Page 1 of Liberty
Chapter One:Nothing But Mayhem
Liberty
The Connor House was fuller than ever. With all the families and couples, it was like an episode of some old comedy series, the Partridge Family on steroids. Well, we didn’t have the kids, just one baby and an 8 year old.
What made it crowded for me was seeing Belle everywhere I went. Yes, she was Scarlet’s sister and I liked to hang out with Justice, but did Belle have to be there all the time? I didn’t know what it was but this girl rubbed me the wrong way and apparently, she felt the same about me.
Belle was the type of girl I’d avoided in high school, college and afterwards. The cheerleader type. Stuck up, know-it-all, and opinionated. Maybe I was being unfair, but I just couldn’t seem to get past the fact she had idolized Deacon at one point. Yes, she had been fooled and maybe that wasn’t her fault, but her uppity attitude was.
Things had slowed down after rescuing Belle. We had to be creative when it came to passing time, because we didn’t have cable TV. We couldn’t exactly sign up for it since we weren’t even supposed to be here in the Connor House at all. I secretly got a kick out of that. O, Deacon’s mother had purchased it, then he used it as a hideout when he took Glory and now, we were all living in it, since the ranch wasn’t safe anymore.
So, instead of hanging out with Justice, Scarlet and Belle, I volunteered for kitchen duty tonight. Ma’s dinners were always the highlight of the day here for everyone. I knew how to chop and I could do some other culinary stuff, but I was interested in Ma’s recipes. When we all finally went home, I wanted to try myhand at it for the Requiem meals at the clubhouse. Yeah, I spent a lot of time fighting in pro MMA fights and even boxing, but cooking was something I secretly loved to do.
I figured some of the guys would be here on their turn. When I came in, I saw Fate, my twin.
Beaming at me while wearing an apron, he chuckled.
“What’s with the grin?” I asked.
Shrugging, he turned to point over at the far side of the large kitchen.
Belle was there moving around with Ma as they pulled out pans from the lower cabinets.
I shook my head. Damn, and here I thought I could avoid her with kitchen duty, but she just had to be here too. Fate had already figured out that her and I did not get along. Well, Fate could shove his excitement where the sun didn’t shine as I refused to give him a show.
I went into the large pantry to get an apron and I immediately realized that they were all too damn small. Sure, I was bigger than a lot of the guys here, but there had to be a larger one available. I rifled through the shelf of aprons and realized they were all small sized. I let out a sigh and put the damn thing on, tying it at the front. Not that it helped as the ties weren’t even long enough to make a bow with.
Turning, I went back out to the kitchen.
Looking over, I saw that Belle wore an overly large apron. Why? The smaller ones would have fit her better, and she had left me with the tiny aprons. No, I wouldn’t ask her to trade because talking to her at all was just a bad idea.
Fate motioned me over to where he stood at another counter. “It is time to chop some onions, dude. Nice apron by the way. You look like a scruffy bearded French maid.” He snickered.
I shook my head and ignored his teasing as I took up a knife and started in. Him and I weren’t identical twins on the outside or on the in. He was more like Justice. An architect with hobbies like chess, racketball, and sailing. While I liked outdoorsy shit, like fishing, motocross on dirt bikes, and hiking.
As we chopped away, Ma came over and nodded at us. “You boys are handy in the kitchen, eh?”
Fate motioned to me. “He is. Me, not so much.”
Ma looked over at me. “Oh, yeah? The fighter likes to cook?”
I nodded. “I’m not nearly as good as you, but I can make a few dishes.”
“He does a lot of the cooking, back home,” Fate added.
Ma looked me up and down. “That apron is mighty tiny on ya.” She chuckled.
I shrugged and glanced down to see the apron had rolled up a bit and was now just at my belly. “Someone took the last large one you had.”
“Oh?” Ma replied. “Well, we got big guys here and most of them are probably in the laundry.” Then she glanced over at Belle and raised a brow.
I ignored her looking and finished chopping as onion-bite tears rolled from my eyes.
“Darnit,” Ma said as she noticed them on my face. “I shoulda thought to have you rinse them in cold water first. It helps.”
“Well, I’m done now,” I said as I swiped the tears away with my arm.
Redemption came in just then and he was already wearing an apron. “What’s the matter there, Liberty? Did the Cowboys lose again?”
