Page 62 of Desert Loyalties
The gate telecom dings. The sound snaps me out of my spiral.
I’ve been locking the damn thing religiously, double-checking it like some paranoid old man. Only Skye has the code. No one else should be coming in. No packages. No visitors. Nothing.
I shuffle over to the panel, squinting at the screen.
At first, I think it’s a mistake. Just some strangers who wandered too close. But then I see them clearer.
Women.
A bunch of women? What the hell... wait. That’s Jenna leading the pack. Damn it. Ever since she got that high school teaching gig, she’s been walking around like she runs the damn county. Probably just muscle memory from dealing with mouthy teenagers.
I think about pretending I’m not home. But they won’t stop. Bell keeps ringing. They’ll hop the gate if I don’t open it. I hit the button, stepping outside. I can only go ten meters from the door thanks to the ankle monitor. Thought the backyard would be chill, maybe swim. Turns out I can’t even dip a nut into the damn pool. Real smart planning, Mandrake.
It’s not just women. It’s kids. Loads of them. Tiny, loud, sticky. I always imagined filling this place withourkids. Ones that looked like Skye and me. Not my brothers’ little demons.
One of them, Lehy’s brat runs straight up and headbutts me in the nuts. I pick him up and give him the look. Thelook.The one that’s made grown men piss themselves. He just tries to grab my face. Dropping him I retreat, fast.
I can hear stuff breaking inside already. Come on.
I fought for family days in the club. Pushed for it. Wanted to kill off the weird tension between the single guys, the cheaters, the loyal husbands. Thought if we embraced family, let our lives be visible, we’d be stronger. United. But now? Watching these women take overmykitchen? I don’t know.
This house is mine. Not communal. Skye’s and mine.
Rani catches my scowl and snaps, “Oh, shut up. We gave you a week to mope, to screw your girl on every surface. Time to rejoin the human race. Our men are worried about you. You don’t know how many times we had tostopthem from coming here.”
She pauses, hand on my pan.
“You, okay?”
“Yeah. Just... bored,” I say.
The women laugh. Loud, carefree. Rani claps her hands. “Well, you’re not going to be bored anymore. Go entertain the kids while we set up.”
I groan like a teenager but head out anyway.
These kids? They don’t care about my reputation. I give them the glare. Nothing. They’re like their fathers. Fearless. One of them yanks open the curtain hiding the pool. Suddenly every tiny face is pressed to the glass. Then, synchronized:“Can we? Can we? Can we?”
“Be quiet!” I bark.
“Please? Uncle? Uncle, please!”
Uncle.Since when am I Uncle?
I march into the kitchen. “Your little demons saw the pool. What do you want me to do?”
One of them smirks. “Why do you think we came? They’ve got floaties. Most know how to swim. Relax.”
She follows me out. We pull floaties out of bags like clowns from a tiny car. Strapping arms, waists, tiny bellies. I’m on edge, because even one slip, one accident...
So, I sit at the edge. Dip my free foot into the pool while they splash.
The older kids? They look out for the little ones. Keep them afloat, steer them clear of danger. It’s... sweet.
Weirdly endearing.
Watching them laugh, scream, lose their minds over the water, it cracks through the darkness. Lifts something off me.Thisis why I wanted kids. Not for control. Not for some legacy. Forthis.Because at the end of the day, their joy?
Their joy saves us.
