Leo stopped in the doorway, and I did just that. He rubbed at the spot and scowled at me.
“This is the last time I do something nice for you, asshole.”
“What the fuck are you…” My words trailed off as I finally focused in on the guy standing across the room. Well, not standing per se. He was leaning heavily on a pair of crutches, and smirking at me like the cocky bastard I knew he was.
I jogged across the room, my arms going around my brother and lifting him off the floor, his crutches both clattered to the ground.
“Put me down, you big ape!” He laughed, but despite his protests, he was squeezing me just as tightly as I was him. “I’m broken, you need to be gentle.”
Scoffing loudly, I placed him on the floor and helped him into a chair at the nearest table. “That what you tell all the nurses?”
He grinned, his boyish and almost innocent smile was one that had gotten him out of virtually every shitty situation since we were kids. While I was quiet and liked to take my time, standing back and assessing a situation, Jake was the kinda guy to walk right in with a ‘let’s just do it and see what happens’ attitude. One which I knew he’d toned down since he joined the army, but still popped up here and there, driving his commanding officer fucking crazy.
“Seriously, what the hell are you doing here?” I asked, pulling out a chair and sitting opposite him.
Leo came over with a smug grin on his face and took another seat at the small table. “He called one day when you were out to ask if he could come here for a week or so until they had a space open at the rehab unit in Washington. I asked Op, he said yes, then we just didn’t tell you.”
“Fuckers,” I mumbled, but with a smile on my face. I appreciated the fact that they let my brother come here to stay, it wasn’t often we had outsiders remain on the property.
Jake grabbed hold of his leg, his face twisting as he pulled it in closer to the table.
“Okay, so fill me in. How much damage did the shot do to your leg?”
He looked at me as if he was annoyed that I’d caught him out. He was in pain, and I knew the wound was still fresh, but my brother was also fucking strong, so for him to be showing signs that he was uncomfortable then there was something wrong.
“It’s nothing I can’t work through,” he said, trying to blow me off with a wave of his hand, but I stared him down, completely unsatisfied. His brow pulled together. “Fine. There’s some nerve damage, as well as a little bit of muscle damage, but hopefully, I’ll be able to build it back up.”
I glowered at my little brother, not liking the way he was trying to play things off like they were no big deal. Nerve and muscle damagewasa big deal. It would all depend on his recovery, but these were things that could stop him from doing the job he loved. “Seriously Jake, you nearly fucking died. Don’t pretend like that was nothing, or that it’s going to be a piece of cake. It’s gonna be hard,” I told him, my voice stern like how I used to speak to him when he was younger, and trying to pretend that his D grades were just a starting point for negotiations with the teacher.
I could see him fighting the urge to roll his eyes at me. I tried not to step into that father role too often because of the relationship we’d had with our actual dad, but I hated when he didn’t take shit seriously, especially his health and how it could impact on his future.
Our childhood had been somewhat of a fucking mess.
Jake and I had two younger twin sisters, who were just babies at the time our dad lost his shit. Dad lost his rights and I hadn’t seen the girls since they were adopted out, and honestly, I wasn’t all that upset about it. I wanted them to have a better life, one where I wouldn’t have to answer questions about why their mom was dead, and why their father was in jail—at least until they were old enough to hear the honest answer.
Jake and I had moved in with our grandmother. She was too old to really do much other than to keep food on the table and to give us a place to sleep, which was why the twins couldn’t come with us, but that had been the only option at the time that didn’t involve us being put into foster care. I’d eventually joined the army when Jake was fourteen. He continued to live with our grandmother, but it was me that tried to attend all his sports games when I was home and speak with his teachers about where he was academically.
“What will be will be,” Jake said, his shoulders slumping. “Nobody knows right now what will happen, I have to wait until I can get into physical therapy and then just push my hardest.”
I reached over and slapped him on the back. “And I know you will. If anyone can fight through this and get back out there, it’s gonna be you.”
I had faith in Jake that he would fight with every ounce of strength left inside him to get back with his team because that was what he loved, the army was where he thrived. He was never academic, but he played sports, and he was damn fucking good at whatever sport he tried.
“Okay, so now that the sappy bonding shit is over, can we have a drink or something?” he asked with a grin.
Leo raised a brow. “You on any pain meds?”
“Nothing crazy, just the over-the-counter shit,” he replied, waving off Leo’s remark.
“Beer it is then,” Leo grinned and headed for the bar.
We sat chatting and catching up for a few hours, not moving from that spot. My brothers came and went, the ones who hadn’t met Jake before introducing themselves and instantly forged a connection with him. Jake was the life of the party, a little bit cocky, a little bit class clown, but deep down he was a sweet kid who had a lot of love for the people he cared for. He would protect them at the drop of a hat, no questions asked, which was why he connected so well with my brothers in the club because that’s exactly what we stood for.
Jake was chatting with Blizzard, and I looked up when I heard Skylar’s soft laughter float in, followed closely with her body. She was just one of those people whose presence entered the room first, lighting it up with positive energy. She and Jess were giggling like school girls and playfully pushing each other.
“Sky!” I called, drawing her attention to me. Her smile beamed, and I couldn’t help but grin back as I waved her over.
She said a quick goodbye to Jess and walked toward us, her hips swaying with that natural sex appeal that I loved. It wasn’t forced, it was just her. Her blonde hair fell loosely around her shoulders, and her eyes reminded me of the ocean, deep but playful.