Chapter 22
Jake
I wake up to the incessant buzzing of my phone. It was already past midnight when we got the call from Ray, letting us know everything was going to be alright. Zane pulled through the surgery with flying colors, and it looks like he’s going to make a full recovery. He’ll need to stay in the hospital for at least a few days, but he’s going to be fine. What a fucking relief!
I glance down at Amber, still curled up against my side. Her arm is draped loosely across my stomach, her blonde curls splayed across my chest, and she’s softly snoring. It’s an absolutely adorable sight. I’m hit with an unfamiliar feeling, and after a moment of contemplation, I realize it’s contentment. Genuine contentment. I’ve felt plenty of sexual satisfaction, but this blissful happiness—simply because I’m waking up with Amber in my arms—is completely new to me.
I’ve never been one to let women sleep over. I always preferred meeting at their place or somewhere neutral so I could leave as soon as we were done. On the rare occasions they stayed at my cabin, I could hardly wait for them to go. But right now, I wish I could wake up like this every day, with Amber snuggled against me. Now that our secret’s out, I hope we can start doing this more often.
My phone keeps buzzing, breaking the moment. I reach out to silence it, remembering too late that I’d left it charging on the counter last night. Letting out a silent curse, I carefully slip out from under Amber’s arm and get up. We were so worn out from last night’s worry that we just crashed in my bed, me in my boxers and Amber in my shirt. Seeing her asleep in my bed, wearing my shirt over her panties, I pause for a moment. The sunlight catches in her hair, lighting it up like pure gold. It might be the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen.
Another buzz pulls me from my thoughts, and I reluctantly step over to grab my phone. I plan to silence it and climb back into bed, but then I notice our family group chat is blowing up. Frowning, I quickly scan the messages to see what’s going on.
LILY: 911!
LILY: Defcon1!!
LILY: I need help! URGENTLY!!!
COOPER: What''s wrong?
COOPER: Where are you? You’re not in your room??
NATE: Who are we beating up?
LILY: Out seeking help. I need a shitload of baked goods for the assembly tonight. In a fucking halloween theme. Thoughts, anyone?
NATE: But Halloween is already over?
LILY: Yes, I know Nate…
LILY: Don’t even get me started. It wasn’t my idea.
COOPER: Just buy something from the store.
LILY: You think I haven’t looked into that? All the halloween stuff is already gone. I’ve been to three stores already.
HUGO: Back up, Lil. What’s going on? Is this for your school thing tonight?
LILY: YES!
NATE: What school thing? Is this some weirdass party??
LILY: Assembly for seniors to get advice on college applications. There’s a panel with people from college admission offices to give us advice.
LILY: I’m on the college application committee that organizes a couple of these kinds of things this year, remember?
COOPER: Yeah, you told us.
HUGO: Of course.
NATE: Doesn’t ring a bell.
LILY: It’s tonight and fucking Susan, who is the chair of the committee, only told me yesterday that the baked goods need to be FUCKING HALLOWEEN THEMED. She conveniently left that detail out of the minutes she sent me of the last meeting, which I missed.
COOPER: Seriously? What a bitch!
HUGO: Why weren’t you there?
HUGO: Don’t tell me you were skipping school, Lily Thompson!
LILY: Calm down, Herc...
LILY: Ironically, I was at a mandatory meeting with the school counselor about my plans for next year. All seniors have a couple of those throughout the year during school hours.
HUGO: Ok.
LILY: Can we get back to my problem now?? How am I going to get Halloween themed baked goods for tonight? I’ve never even made box brownies, guys...
COOPER: Sorry! I’m only good for dinner. The only pie I ever tried to bake was classified a biohazard.
HUGO: I’m afraid I can’t help you there, kiddo.
NATE: Scrambled eggs and pancakes are all I’ve got.
COOPER: Have you tried a bakery?
LILY: Yes, I went to three different ones yesterday after school, but they couldn’t do a custom delivery on such short notice.
NATE: Why did you agree to bring this shit in the first place?
LILY: Can’t you read, dickhead? I DIDN’T AGREE TO THIS. IT WAS ASSIGNED TO ME WITHOUT ME EVEN KNOWING ABOUT IT!!!
NATE: Jeez, calm down…
HUGO: Why didn’t you just get some shelf-stable Halloween items while they were still in the shops?
LILY: OMG! PEOPLE!! READ THE MESSAGES!!! PLEASE!!!!
LILY: I didn’t know I had to bring the baked goods and I certainly didn’t know they had to be Halloween themed until yesterday! Susan completely fucked me over. She even said she assumed I would be baking it all myself.
HUGO: You?
NATE: That’s a joke right?
COOPER: Don’t they know that you know shit about cooking or baking?
LILY: Of course Susan knows. She set me up so I would fail. She knows there’s no way anyone in our non-traditional household is going to be able to help me get this done.
COOPER: Why would she want to fuck you over?
LILY: We’re both in the running for valedictorian and she can’t stand me. If I don’t show up with a ton of Halloween baked goods tonight, she’s gonna say that I flunked my responsibilities. And as chair, she’ll be able to kick me off the committee.
NATE: Okay, great…
NATE: If that means you won’t have to be on some stupid committee anymore, who cares?
LILY: I need the credits.
COOPER: Just bring some other stuff then. Store muffins and cookies.
LILY: Then she can technically still kick me off for not doing the Halloween theme, as that was agreed upon in the minutes all the other’s received!
LILY: Then I won’t get my credits, lack in extracurriculars on my college applications, don’t get into college, become a street hooker to support my inevitable drug and alcohol addiction, and die of an overdose in a back alley, all before the age of 21. Great idea.
NATE: Spiral much?
LILY: Or something similar.
HUGO: Ok, ok, fine, you need Halloween baked goods.
HUGO: Maybe Mrs. Williams can help you out?
That is actually not a bad suggestion, I think to myself. Mrs. Williams is a sweet old lady who lives down the street from us. She stayed with Lily during the day a few times, when Lily first started living with us. And she used to bring us food from time to time, back when we just moved into the house. She has kind of a soft spot for us, so she’ll probably be willing to help.
LILY: Where do you think I am now? Already thought of that, but she’s not home. Neighbor told me she’s in Colorado with her sister.
LILY: Coming back as we speak. See you at home in a minute.
LILY: She was my last hope.
LILY: THINK PEOPLE, THINK!!! Or I’m totally screwed!
‘What’s going on? Is something wrong with Zane?’
I look up from my phone just in time to see Amber push herself up into a seated position. She’s still rubbing the sleep from her eyes, but there''s an alarmed expression on her face.
‘No, Zane is fine,’ I quickly reassure her. ‘Or the same, I think. I haven’t heard anything new.’ I hold up my phone. ‘It’s just my family group chat.’Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.
‘Oh, thank the Lord for that,’ Amber yawns. At first, she seems relieved, but then a look of concern crosses her face. ‘It sounds urgent, though. Is everything alright?’
‘Lily is panicking over a school thing. A classmate screwed her over,’ I explain. Amber gives me an inquisitive look, so I scroll back to Lily’s first message. I hand Amber my phone, so she can read it for herself, while I quickly use the bathroom.
‘Well, that’s not very nice of her,’ I hear Amber say through the door. I assume she is referring to the girl who fucked Lily over. I fervently agree. Susan is clearly a bitch! When I come back out of the bathroom Amber looks at me with a curious frown. ‘What does she mean by a “non-traditional household”?’
‘Just that we’re not exactly your standard, white picket fence, good ol’ American family,’ I grin at her.
‘What is that supposed to mean?’ Amber looks puzzled. She scrunches her nose and she hands me back my phone.
‘There are five of us,’ I explain to her. I quickly glance at the screen for new messages, but there’s nothing. Apparently, no one’s had a brilliant idea yet. ‘Four brothers and one sister. Our mothers—Anna, Grace, and Maggie—were sisters, so we’re all technically either siblings or cousins. But we’ve lived together for so long that we all consider each other siblings now.’
‘Wait, but isn’t Lily still a minor?’ Amber asks with a frown.
‘She is.’
‘Then why isn’t she living with her parents? I mean, you told me your parents passed away, and Lily mentioned a few weeks ago that she was technically your cousin when she came to the ranch. I figured that meant you lived with your aunt and uncle.’
‘No, I don’t.’
‘Then, I don’t understand?’ Amber furrows her eyebrows even further in confusion.
I sit back on the bed, propping my pillow up against the headboard so I can lean against it. I place my phone beside me on the mattress and stretch my legs out, crossing them. This is a part of my past I’ve never shared with a woman before. It’s not a secret—plenty of people know our story—but since my past encounters with women were only about sex, it never came up. I’m not sure where to start.
‘Do you remember what happened with my parents?’ I ask Amber after pondering it for a few seconds.
‘You told me they died in a gas explosion in their kitchen.’ Amber sends me a sorrowful glance.
‘They did,’ I confirm, ‘but it wasn’t just them,’ I explain. ‘The explosion happened during Thanksgiving, when Nate and Lily were visiting us with their parents, my aunt and uncle. The four of us were outside in the yard when it happened. Cooper and I were actually pretty annoyed with our parents because they made us take Lily outside too. Nate was ten, which was fine enough, but Lily was only four years old back then. And we were stupid fourteen and sixteen year old boys with no interest in hanging around with a fucking preschooler, even if she was our cousin. We were actually considering sending her back inside right before the explosion happened. You can imagine how grateful we still are that we didn’t do that.’
‘Oh no, Jake! That’s just awful!’ Amber exclaims, covering her mouth with her hand and looking at me with shocked eyes. ‘So all four of you lost your parents at the same time? What happened? What did you do? I mean…’
‘Honestly, a lot of what happened right after is a bit of a blur,’ I confess. ‘I remember there being a lot of police, and firefighters, and a couple of news reporters. And later there were a few social workers, while we were staying with our old neighbor. They told us they were trying to find a place for us to live, but that we most likely wouldn’t be able to stay together.’
‘I don’t even know what to say, Jake,’ Amber says softly. She seems genuinely horrified and moves her hand from her chest to place it on top of mine. ‘That must have been awful! I’m so sorry you had to go through that. But I guess they did find a way to let you stay together?’
‘They didn’t. Hugo did,’ I correct her, offering a warm smile.
‘You, Cooper, Nate, and Lily… So Hugo is the fifth person in your household?’
‘Yes,’ I confirm. ‘He’s our older cousin.’
‘He was not with your family when it happened?’
‘No, we hadn’t actually seen Hugo in almost eight years at that point,’ I tell Amber. I turn my hand so I can intertwine my fingers with hers, then sadly shake my head. ‘That’s a whole different depressing story, actually. When Hugo was thirteen, his entire fucking family died—his parents and his two younger sisters. I was only six at the time, so I don’t remember much about it, but Hugo was the only survivor.’
‘So, you’re all orphans?’ Amber asks empathically.
‘Yeah, we’re the offspring of an unlucky generation,’ I say without even a hint of sarcasm. ‘Nobody in the family could take Hugo in when he was orphaned. He was already thirteen at the time, so his chances of getting adopted or finding another permanent family were pretty much non-existent. He disappeared into the foster system and we all lost touch with him. He had it pretty fucking rough there. He bounced around between group homes until he was seventeen, and then he took matters into his own hands. He dropped out of high school and started working for a construction company, so he could live on his own.’
‘Poor Hugo!’
‘Eventually, it turned out alright,’ I smirk at Amber. ‘The old man who owned the construction company took Hugo under his wing. He had no children of his own and passed the business on to Hugo when he retired. Hugo then expanded it into his current company, HercuStruct. He’s actually pretty fucking successful.’
‘Good for him!’
It pleases me that Amber sounds impressed. I’m fucking proud of my big brother and all of his accomplishments. Then Amber scrunches her nose again.
‘But if you hadn’t seen him in eight years, how did the five of you end up living together?’
‘We had one big funeral for our parents, and Hugo came to pay his respects,’ I explain. ‘He saw the four of us sitting together, and when he learned that we were likely going to end up separated and in the foster system, he offered for us to come live with him.’
‘Really, just like that?’ Amber raises her eyebrows in surprise. ‘But he couldn’t have been much older than…’
‘Twenty-one,’ I confirm with a nod.
‘Wow! That’s a lot of responsibility for someone so young,’ Amber concludes, her eyes wide. ‘It’s kind of amazing that he did that.’
‘Absolutely,’ I agree with her wholeheartedly. ‘It’s solely thanks to Hugo that we’ve been able to stay together as a family.’ A smirk pulls at my lips. ‘It did take some convincing, though. Imagine it from our perspective. The four of us were just sitting there—a bunch of teenage boys and Lily, grieving our parents, with no idea what the fuck was going to happen next. Then this fucking massive, intimidating, tattooed giant suddenly walks up to us and tells us he’s our long-lost cousin and that we should come live with him.’
Amber lets out a soft giggle. ‘I can only imagine what you all must have thought.’
‘After our initial fear, we all thought he was pretty cool though,’ I shrug, a smile playing on my lips. ‘Hugo had this no-nonsense attitude, where he just laid everything out on the table. He was very honest with us. He told us it probably wasn’t going to be easy, that he didn’t have a lot of money, and that there was a hell of a lot we’d have to figure out together. But at least he was offering us a way to stay together and have a say in where we’d end up. So Cooper, Nate, and I talked about it, and we agreed to go live with him. Getting custody of us turned out to be surprisingly easy. Hugo was a blood relative, over the minimum required age to become a foster parent, he had no criminal record, and a stable income, even though it wasn’t much at the time. Plus, the old man from the construction company vouched for him and offered us an apartment space in his warehouse to live rent-free, so Hugo could meet the demand for providing stable housing. The four of us lived there for the first two years, before we–’
‘Wait, four?’ Amber interrupts me with a frown. ‘I thought you said there were five of you? You and your brother Cooper, Nate and Lily, and Hugo?’ she sums up using her fingers.
‘Not in the beginning,’ I say reluctantly.
For the first time during this conversation, I lower my gaze. This is still the hardest part of our shared history. I take a deep breath.
‘Once Hugo announced that he was going to get custody of us and we could live with him, an aunt and uncle from their father’s side offered to take Lily. They had no room for a teenager like Nate, but Lily was still young enough that they wanted her. At the time, we all figured it was for the best. It was going to be difficult enough for Hugo to suddenly take on the responsibility of raising three teenage boys. So, leaving Lily, who was barely a preschooler, in the care of her older, financially secure aunt and uncle seemed like the better option for her.’
I’m instantly overcome with the same pain and regret I always feel whenever this topic comes up. I close my eyes for a moment and I rest my head back against the wall. Amber gently strokes the back of my hand with her thumb.
‘I take it that it wasn’t?’ she asks cautiously.
‘Worst fucking mistake of our lives,’ I reply with a clenched jaw. ‘It was not a good home for her.’
‘What happened?’
I glance at Amber and see her staring at me with a concerned look in her big, beautiful eyes. I give her a slight smile and squeeze her fingers, but I firmly shake my head.
‘That’s not my story to tell,’ I say. It’s up to Lily who she wants to share her past with, not me or my brothers. ‘All I will say is that she’s been through hell there. They were living in Ohio at the time, so we kind of lost contact with her for a couple of years. We were still trying to figure out how to manage our own lives and we just assumed she had it good over there, being with her aunt and uncle, and all. When Lily was eleven, Hugo and Cooper had to go to Ohio for Hugo’s business. They were near the area where Lily lived and they had some spare time, so they spontaneously decided to drop by for a visit. That’s when they discovered her fucked up situation. They got Lily out of there right away and took her back home, where Hugo filed for custody of her too.’
The day Hugo and Cooper came home with Lily is forever branded in my memory. A scrawny eleven-year-old, covered in bruises, with terrified eyes. That was also the day that the five of us vowed we would never lose touch with each other, ever again.
‘That was a little over six years ago. The five of us have been living together ever since, in our very non-traditional household,’ I conclude. I glance at Amber again, who is staring at me with big, incredulous eyes. ‘What?’ I ask, suddenly slightly nervous.
‘I can’t believe you let me ramble on about my childhood and my parents when we first met, with everything you’ve been through yourself,’ she accuses, a blush rising on her cheeks. ‘I feel kind of ridiculous now for complaining about my life.’
‘No, don’t do that,’ I tell her. I immediately sit up straight and squeeze her hand. ‘My past says nothing about yours. You have your own story, Amber. That doesn’t change, simply because I have one too.’
‘I guess not,’ Amber mumbles, but she doesn’t sound convinced. ‘You and your siblings have been through a lot, though.’
She continues to stare into the distance for a while. I let her process everything I’ve told her, gently playing with her fingers in my lap. Eventually, Amber sighs and shakes her head before looking at me again.
‘There isn’t really anything I can do or say to make your past any better, but I could bake some stuff to help out Lily today, if you want.’
I lift my eyebrows in surprise. I had no intention of asking her to do that, even though I know she likes to bake. Amber works hard all week and already does a lot of baking for the Jenkins family and for us ranch workers. She deserves to have her weekends off. Amber looks at me expectantly.
‘Are you sure you want to do that?’ I ask hesitantly. ‘You don’t have to, you know.’
‘I won’t if you don’t want me to, but I’m happy to help,’ Amber shrugs. ‘It’s not like I have any other plans this weekend.’
‘Really? Are you sure?’ I ask again. I furrow my eyebrows, but I can’t hide the hopefulness in my voice. I know this is about helping Lily, but it will also be a great opportunity to have Amber over to my house and introduce her to my siblings in a low-key kind of way. I really want her to feel welcome and at home with my family.
‘Absolutely,’ Amber nods.
‘Alright, hang on. I’ll tell Lily right away. Just so you know, you’re scoring major big brother points for me here,’ I smirk as I quickly grab my phone to text Lily.
Eight seconds after I send the message, my phone starts ringing. With a big grin, I show Amber the Caller ID on the screen.
‘That was fast,’ Amber laughs.
‘Who is your favorite brother?’ I sing through the phone as soon as I answer.
‘Aw, you know I don’t play favorites, Jakey,’ my sister greets me cheerfully.
‘That’s too bad,’ I deadpan. ‘I guess that means Amber’s off the hook, and we get the day to ourselves after all. Maybe we’ll do something fun together, or just stay in bed all day. We’ve got a lot of options now,’ I muse out loud.
‘Fine. Fine!’ Lily grumbles. ‘You’re the best, Jake. Brothero Numero Uno. The hero of the hour. Savior of the day. Now please tell me that you weren’t kidding? Can Amber actually help me out?’
‘Yes, she can,’ I confirm, smiling widely at Amber.
‘And she knows it has to be Halloween themed?’ Lily asks to be sure. ‘She can actually do that?’
I inquisitively raise my eyebrows at Amber. She apparently heard the question, because before I can repeat it Amber is already nodding her head in confirmation.
‘No problem,’ Amber says. ‘Can you ask how much she needs?’
‘Yes, she can do that,’ I repeat to Lily. ‘How much do you need?’
‘We expect there to be around sixty people.’
‘Sixy people?’ I exclaim. ‘Fucking hell, Lil!’
‘I know, I know, I’m so sorry!’ Lily exclaims apologetically.
‘How are there so many kids coming to a school thing on a Saturday night? Don’t they have anything better to do? You do know that regular high schoolers go to parties and secretly drink beer on Saturday nights, right?’
‘Well, it’s not just us—there are the invited panelists and some teachers too. But don’t worry, I promise to get drunk and snort some cocaine behind the bleachers afterwards,’ Lily deadpans.
‘As long as it’s on the schedule,’ I say with a chuckle.
‘Is that going to be a problem? Making stuff for sixty people?’ Lily asks hesitantly. ‘I know it is a lot to ask.’
I glance at Amber, who seems completely unfazed. She simply shrugs and mouths that it’s fine.
‘You’re lucky that I have the best baker of the northern hemisphere sitting in my bed right now,’ I sigh. ‘We’ll get dressed and pick up the stuff we’ll need on the way home, yeah?’
‘You’re the best, Jake!’ Lily exclaims, relieved.
‘Save it for my Christmas gift,’ I tease my sister with a grin. ‘We’ll see you in a bit.’