Page 88 of Fight For Us
“I’m sorry! Thank you again. You don’t know how much I appreciate you guys.” I opened the box she’d brought over to me and stacked books on my bookshelf.
“I want the good wine with our pizza tonight. No box crap,” she said with a smirk.
“Anything for you, my loyal helper.” I bent my head in a mock bow and she snort laughed.
In all seriousness, I don’t know how I would have survived the past few weeks without our support system. Alex’s appointment went well. They discharged him with a referral for physical therapy three times a week and a follow-up visit in sixweeks. He was like a new kid without his cast—optimistic and energized. Although, the school situation was still iffy. He and Lilly stayed pretty quiet about it though, and my emails to the teacher haven’t answered much. At least their grades have gone up, thanks to us rocking their family tree projects.
If the teacher thought anything of Wes’s family being on both Alex and Lilly’s project, she said nothing and for that, I was grateful.
After that good news, we found out they accepted our application for the beach house but wanted a fast move. Two weeks! It’s been a whirlwind of work, pack, sleep, repeat.
But it would be worth it. The house was more than I could ever hope for. It fit our little blended family perfectly and we had room to fit a table big enough for family dinners. There was no way Regina could object to a home like this for Lilly.
Wes and Walter came into the living room, each carrying table lamps. “Where do you want these, Tiger?”
“Tiger?” Walter asked. “Is that some kind of sexual innuendo?”
Wes groaned. “Dad, seriously?”
Walter put the lamp down on the floor and walked toward the front door, shaking his head. “I don’t need to know.”
“Your father cracks me up,” I said to Wes. “Such a character.” Wes came up behind me and squeezed me around the middle.
“That he is. The place is looking great. What else can I do?”
I settled the last book from the box onto the shelf and stepped back against Wes’s chest to survey my work. “It’s missing something.”
“Looks good to me. I can bring in some of my license plates if you want to jazz it up.”
I twisted my neck to glare up at him. “Hard pass.”
“Your loss.” He shrugged with a smile. “Maybe you should quit listening to your dirty audiobooks and buy books instead. Fill these empty shelves.”
“Oh yeah, because that’s what Regina needs to see when she comes over. Half-naked man books lining the shelves. I’ll stick to audio, thank you very much. Plus, I like their voices.” I watched Kendahl and Coby walk inside, chatting to themselves and carrying a box of toys into the kid’s room.
“If you want me to talk dirty more, you should have said so.” He leaned his face against the crook of my neck and whispered in my ear. “Now what did that book I caught you listening to say? Hm, I remember.” He lowered his tone to a deep timbre. “Shut the fuck up and take that dick like a good girl.”
I’m ashamed to say that I melted right there. Yeah, Wes’s dirty mouth did it for me.
“God, Wes… You can’t just say stuff like that with our family around.” I said through closed lips, although I couldn’t help myself from smiling. “Save it for later.”
“Roar, Tiger. Put your claws away, I’ll be good,” he crooned. “Now, where do you want those lamps?”
“Over there.” I pointed to the corner of the room as Mia and Shawn walked inside.
“Sorry we’re late!” Mia called. “Shawn had to deliver some furniture to a client. I brought snacks though.” I grabbed the empty box to break it down for recycling and went to hug my sister.
“Where can I help?” Shawn asked, getting right to the point. Maybe I was imagining things, but he looked more frazzled than usual. I hoped he wasn’t having a rough time with his mental health. Like me, he had flare-ups with his PTSD symptoms now and again.
“I think Wes is planning on assembling our bedframe. I’m sure he could use some help.” I smiled and pointed toward the bedroom. He hugged Mia and whispered something in her ear before heading that way.
“Bring anything good?” I asked, peeking into the shopping bag Mia had put down on the kitchen counter.
“Always. Check it out. Take whatever you want but, uh, leave the crackers for me.” She plopped down in one of our kitchen chairs and took a sip from her water bottle.
I pulled out a bag of sour cream and onion chips, a container of pre-cut fruit, two packages of cookies, and a box of saltines. Opting for the chips, I opened them and sat next to my sister.
“So how’s it going? I haven’t talked to you much the past few weeks.” I pulled out a chip and took a crunchy bite.
