Knox blinked his way. “How old are you?”
“Eleven,” Colton proudly reported.
“Yeah...” Knox shook his head slowly. “Cherry limeade is all you’re getting from me.”
As Colton heaved out a sigh and gave a reluctant groan, saying, “Fine,” Brandt thundered, “Why can’t you just
trust me? It wasn’t as if I attacked some poor, innocent, unsuspecting guy. I’m telling you, the douchebag cocklicker fucking deserved it.”
While both Aspen and Noel railed at him to watch his language, Ten slugged him companionably on the back. “Hey, man, I totally believe you.”
Noel sent him a scowl. “You’re not a part of this conversation.”
“Uh, excuse me? I’m just as much his brother-in-law as Shakespeare is,” Ten argued, motioning to Aspen.
“Except Aspen and I have legal custody over him. You don’t. Butt out.”
“I just don’t see why you’re not cutting him any slack,” Ten went on mildly. “Since he came to live with you, he hasn’t gotten into one scrap. He’s been a damn good kid.”
“Thank you,” Brandt told Ten as Knox set Colton’s drink on the counter in front of him.
The eleven-year-old took a big drink and sighed out his satisfaction. “Thanks.” Then he eyed Knox a second before tipping up his chin. “Hey, are you the one dating Felicity?”
Knox paused and cocked him a curious glance. “Yeah. Why?”
“You ask her to marry you yet?”
Eyebrows furrowing, Knox narrowed his eyes. “No.”
“Well...” Colton puffed up his chest. “She’s kind of the woman of my dreams, so...” He sighed as if refreshed by the thought of Felicity Bainbridge. “If she’s not married by the time I’m sixteen, I’m making her mine. Just thought I’d warn you, you know, man to man.”
“So...you’re saying I’ve got five years to put a ring on it or I’m going to find myself some healthy competition, huh?”
Colton merely shrugged, and Knox broke out grinning. “You’re on, little man.” He held out a fist and the two bumped knuckles.
On the other side of them, Brandt was still arguing his case. “Why does it really matter why I did it? His nose is still broken, and I’ll still be suspended from school for a week. None of my motives will change any of that. Can’t we just drop it?”
“I don’t understand why you just won’t tell us?” Noel growled.
As I watched Brandt clench his teeth in frustration, I decided he was protecting someone else.
Thirty seconds later, I learned who when Mason swept in late, two minutes before we were supposed to open.
When he spotted Brandt, he veered toward him, saying, “You...I need to talk to you. Sarah told Reese what you did today.”
Brandt winced and slowly turned on his stool to face Sarah’s brother. “She did? Shit.”
Mason nodded. “Reese was over at my mom’s when Sarah got home from school, clearly upset. It took some coaxing, but Reese finally pried out of her what had happened. And...” He heaved in a deep breath before holding out a hand for Brandt to shake. “Thank you.”
As Brandt turned an embarrassed bright red, Noel waved his hands. “Thank you? What! Lowe, what the hell did he do?”
Mason needed another second before speaking, then announced, “Some little asswipe was bullying Sarah, messing with her wheelchair and calling her names. I guess she spent her lunch hour crying in the bathroom. When Brandt here heard about it, he taught the idiot some manners.”
We all turned to gaze in amazement at Brandt, who only sank lower and lower onto his stool, looking totally mortified.
Aspen finally covered her face with both hands and groaned. “Oh my God, I am so sorry, Brandt, but...” Lowering her fingers, she scowled. “Why didn’t you just say that from the beginning?”
The fifteen-year-old growled out a mutter. “Because she was embarrassed and didn’t want any more attention brought on her.” He scowled Mason’s way. “I can’t believe she caved and told Reese. I promised her I wouldn’t drag her name into it, and that’s all she wanted.”