Page 32 of Grin and Bear It

And it was at that moment, all my nephew’s bravado collapsed.

Chapter17

Oh my fucking god, Knox was going to hit his brother.

I jerked to my feet, but then what? What the hell was I going to do to intervene between two towering teenage boys? But with the sixth sense men seemed to have, their uncles emerged from the different rooms of the house like stray cats.

“Knox!”

Cole’s voice was more growl than anything right now, cutting through the air as he strode forward, but Lin reached out and grabbed the man by the back of his tank top, holding him where he was.

“—you’ll have had to learn to do without her.”

Maddox ground the words out with tears in his eyes and I was willing to bet his brother was the same. Because once Maddox had his say, Knox seemed to crumble. His hand fell limp by his side and he wavered on his feet.

“Knox?” Nash said his name but his nephew didn’t answer. He couldn’t. He was barely functioning right now. But Nash saw Knox sway and was up and over my couch in a fluid leap and then he was there. “Hey…” He drew the boy closer, the two of them close in height, if not in maturity. Knox was part man, part boy and neither seemed to know what to do about this.

But Nash did.

I wasn’t sure if he’d done this before, but he wrapped those massive arms around Knox and then pulled him close, reaching behind to grab Maddox as well. He hugged them so tight, at least for a minute.

“Boys, it's gonna be alright.” That same certainty he’d used when talking me off a ledge came into play here, his voice deep and reassuring. “We’re gonna get past this, I promise. I’m here, boys.”

I would’ve thought that was the right thing to say. I would’ve said something similar to one of my nieces or nephews, but when Nash did, Knox stiffened. He shoved his hands against Nash’s chest, the moment well and truly over apparently, a small groan of frustration rising until finally Knox fought his way free. Then he was off, out the door, trying to slam it behind him and failing, leaving only a shame-faced Nash and a flustered Maddox.

“Sorry, Miss,” was all Maddox would say before he pulled away much more gently and then went after his brother.

Nash just stood there.In some ways it was reassuring. He’d shown up here, all competent and in control when I was falling apart, but now the shoe was on the other foot. There was a special kind of discomfort that came from losing your shit in front of near strangers.

“I need to go after them,” he said.

“Go, it's fine.” I grabbed the stuff we’d been working on. “I’ll show this to your… To the boys’ other uncles and give them the twins’ bags.”

“Right, right… I think the pipe system is fixed but…” He jerked his wallet out and then held out a business card. “Just gimme a call if it isn’t.”

“Of course and thanks. Just let me know what I owe you.”

Nash nodded before disappearing out the door.

I played with the edges of the business card as the others stood there.

“So, I think if you guys focus on small achievable goals and build up some confidence in the boys, especially Knox, you’ll get them back on track.”

“How can you put up with that shit?” Cole asked, his brows wrinkling. “Like kids pulling that crap every day.”

“We have to,” I replied, shooting him a meaningful look. “Everyone who takes on the care of children has to. Kids fuck up, more than adults do. Hmm. Maybe? It’s hard to say. But, if they don’t have a safe space to screw up, how do they learn?”

“They need a swift kick up the arse, is what they need,” he said with a shake of his head. “It’s what my dads would’ve done.”

I let out a long sigh, not wanting to piss off the nice men who were fixing my plumbing, but at the same time? The amount of people who felt like all the world’s ills could be solved through corporal punishment…

“You know what, I wish that was true. I wish that the studies backed up what you’re saying. I wish science said you are right and I’m wrong, because, fuck me, my life would be so much easier. I wouldn’t have to endlessly talk, model, correct, praise, respond, support and remind. Instead I’d just put my romper stomper boots on and put them up each kid’s arse, kicking them into success.” My hands formed fists. “Kids aren’t footballs. They can be really, really annoying and the desire to boot them can be overwhelming, but…” I shook my head. “I’ve dealt with a helluva lot more kids than you, and I haven’t seen any evidence that kicking a kid when they’re down helps at all.”

I’d pissed him off, that much was plain. His face became super pale, red spots forming in his cheeks, but his jaw locked tight, not saying anything more, so I turned to the others.

“This is the work they need to get through. I’m pretty sure I can get some wriggle room on some of it due to what they’re going through. But, yeah.”

Lin stepped forward, taking the pile of books and the list of outstanding items we’d identified. He nodded.

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