Page 41 of Keeper
I smile. “Perfect. Bloody perfect. She’s the best niece ever. I hope Tanner and Camden’s little ones are half as good when they inevitably start procreating.”
She flops down on the lounger next to me. Bruce rests his mug on her legs as she gives him a good fondle. “They will be little sods.”
“Too right,” I chuckle. “Did you guys have a nice time last night? All things considered I mean.”
She half smiles, but it looks a little sad. “It’s always an emotional night for Hayden’s family. I think Rocky would have been a nice reprieve for everyone, but I didn’t want to have to leave early if she decided she’d had enough. Plus, the anniversary of Hayden’s sister’s death is extra hard on him, so I wanted to be free to be there as his partner and not a scrambling new mummy.”
I nod with understanding and readjust the bottle in Rocky’s mouth. “How’s he doing?”
Her smile is prideful this time. “He’s good. He’s My Hayden. He amazes me every day with how much he’s overcome.” She sighs and looks out at the London skyline, the pinks of early morning sun illuminating the city. “I think it helps that fatherhood really suits him. He already wants another.”
She giggles at my dubious brow. “Marriage first maybe.”
This makes her full on belly laugh. “Oh, look at you, Mr. Moral Compass over there.”
I half smile. “Well, you’ve put off your wedding long enough. I’d just like to see you settled I guess.”
She shifts so she’s lying on her hip, facing me. “Putting it off is easier than change. Change scares me sometimes. We did so well adjusting together with Rocky, but I want to make sure we don’t overwhelm ourselves with too much too fast.”
I nod, my brow furrowed. “I can certainly sympathise.” I pull the bottle from Rocky’s mouth to sit her up for a burp.
“And what’s new with you, my baby brother?” Vi’s bunny foot kicks me in the knee as she tweaks her brows. “What’s the latest chatter on the home front?”
I frown but feel a nervous energy creep up my neck. “Nothing.”
“Bullshit,” Vi deadpans. “Tell me. What’s going on with you and Poppy? You were shooting her some serious heat at Indie’s birthday.”
I shrug, but I know there’s no use keeping anything from Vi. She will always dig it out of me, using force if necessary. Shifting Rocky onto my shoulder, I reply, “It’s been a bit of a complicated mess with Poppy actually. We’ve had a couple slips.”
Her eyes narrow. “Slips?”
I really hope she’s not going to make me say it. “Yeah, slips. But I put a stop to them. I’m done fuc—…messing things up with her. She tried to pull a runner on me, like she did when she buggered off to Germany. I can’t let that happen.”
Vi looks at me and shakes her head. “You and your bloody abandonment issues. I still remember how much of a nightmare you were when Poppy left.”
“I wasn’t that bad,” I deny.
She scoffs. “Yes you were. Suddenly, you decided you wanted to hang with Camden and Tanner at the nightclubs and hook up with Harris Hoes like it was your job. That’s never been you. You don’t pull girls like them. You don’t Bacon Sandwich Rule.”
I roll my eyes at her reference to Camden and Tanner’s ridiculous rule about “whomever licks the bacon sandwich first, gets it”. Bacon sandwich being a euphemism for girls. Bloody pigs. “I didn’t do all that because of Poppy leaving or fucking abandonment issues.” I frown and then snuggle Rocky to me as a means of an apology for my coarse language.
Vi pins me with a sad look. “You’ve always been sensitive to change and people leaving. Don’t you remember when Gareth signed with Man U?”
I scowl, immediately transported back to that awful day.
14 Years Old
“Over my dead body you’ll go to fucking Manchester,” Dad roars from the other side of the kitchen table.
I’m crouched down by the counter, hiding. Gareth and Dad came storming in so fast, my instinct was to duck and get the hell out of the line of fire. Fights between Dad and Gareth are common, but this one seems far more serious. The two are at a standoff, both on either side of our long kitchen table, clutching the edges like they could snap the thick wood in half. Both looking like a couple of bulls ready to charge each other.
Gareth’s veins pop out on his neck as he screams, “I’m twenty-one years old. I’ve signed a contract. You don’t have any say in where I live or who I play for!”
“I’m your God damned manager!” Dad exclaims.
“Weremy manager.” Gareth’s upper lip curls with his words. “You’re fired, Dad. Effective immediately.”
Dad’s face shakes with barely contained fury. “You’d actually go back to that place? The place that took her from me?” His voice cracks.
