“Thanks,” he said. “Who are the mongrels?”
“Thomas and Sarah.” They were exceedingly practical names. No wonder they were so fascinated by his, which was not practical in the least. Not remotely.
Courtesy of his mother. Which seemed mean in his opinion. Dropping a name like that on him and then leaving. Maybe it was common in her circles; he didn’t know. That was another thing that bothered him.
“It’s my real name,” he said to the kids, who gazed up at him in awe. He didn’t particularly like kids. But he supposed these ones were his kin. And they were sort of cute.
“Come on in,” she said. “I’m afraid there are more children.” She smiled. “I can guarantee you a lot more questions.”
She wasn’t kidding. When he entered the house, it was to a cacophony of noise. There were three small redheaded girls, jumping up and down on the couch in the living room, and there was a dark-haired girl and a dark-haired boy, both a lot more serious-looking.
“The redheads are Liss and Connor’s—Mary Beth, Annalee and Jessie Lynn. The brunettes are Jack and Kate’s—Carson and Smith.”
Between Carson and Smith, he had no clue which name would belong to the boy, and which the girl. He figured it wasn’t polite to ask.
The little blond kids joined in the fray, and the other kids didn’t seem as interested in him, possibly because they were so busy being holy terrors. Which, in his memory, was what being a kid was about.
“Are there any adults in this place?” he asked.
A beautiful, cheerful-looking redheaded woman appeared, wearing a floral, flowing dress and resting her hand on a baby bump. “Hi,” she said. “You must be Wolf. I’m Liss.”
He could see this being an evening of introductions. He knew that Liss was Connor’s wife, and not just because of the intro to the children. “Nice to meet you,” he said.
“The guys are back in the dining room. And Kate.”
Sadie laughed. “Always Kate.”
He walked back with them and heard a crash behind them, and Sadie and Liss didn’t even turn.
“Everything in there’s replaceable,” Sadie said.
“Except Eli’s TV,” Liss said. “I mean, I know you can get a new one, but will he be able to watch the Ducks game?”
“He’ll be fine,” Sadie said. “It would do him good to miss a few games. That team is not what they once were. I used to root for the Beavers just to spite him, but honestly, now I can’t even pretend. It’s become a long, protracted mourning session every time they play.”
Wolf didn’t give much of a shit about football himself. But the rivalry between the two colleges was something sacred in the state of Oregon. You were hard-pressed not to pick a side.
He personally liked to take the opposite side of whatever room he was in.
As a matter of course.
They walked into the dining room, and a fourth redheaded girl blitzed through just briefly.
“Ruby Kate,” said Liss. “We have a guest.”
The girl acknowledged him with a lift of her stubborn chin. Yeah. She was definitely a Garrett.
Eli, Connor and Kate—who had been barely a teenager last he’d seen her—were all seated at the table. Eli was in his sheriff’s uniform, the top button undone on his tan shirt. Connor was wearing a flannel pushed up past his elbows, his dark hair messy, as if he’d just taken his hat off. Kate had her hat on, pushed down low over her eyes, her dark hair in a braid.
There was a man sitting beside her, and Wolf assumed that was her husband, Jack, whom he dimly remembered meeting all those years ago when he’d been out. Jack was Eli and Connor’s lifelong friend, who had at some point taken up with their younger sister, causing a minor family scandal. As he remembered it, relayed through phone calls.
They were holding cards, and Kate had an intense look on her face.
“She’s ruthless,” Jack said. “Don’t turn your back on her.” He could see that Jack already had his cards folded in front of him.
“Read ’em and weep, Kate,” Eli said, laying his cards down.
Kate howled and stood up, kicking her chair.