He groaned and shook his head. “Forget it.” He turned to make his escape.
“Ha! Baby West.” She leaped off the bed to follow him out. “You’ve sure got his stubbornness, don’t you?”
He rolled his eyes and rushed down the stairs. This was worse than having a kid sister, in a way. She was relentless. As he got closer to the main floor, he could hear his oldest brother, Hudson, and his wife, Mimi. They’d come to drop off West’s two boys. By the sounds of things, they’d just returned from the hospital where their mom, Liv, was having her baby.
Mimi just happened to be sisters with West’s ex. Hudson had come for her anyway, like some Viking warrior who cut through all that drama and hurt, so he could win Mimi over like the boss that he was.
Now… if Eva had compared Cole to Hudson, he wouldn’t have minded. That’s what everyone said anyway, not…Westof all people!
Dah! Cole’s ears rang at the insult. He’dneverget over that one!
Cole reached the bottom landing with Eva hot on his heels, seconds before realizing that he was surrounded by happy couples—Nash and Emily, Porter and Cadence, Hudson and Mimi.
Well, maybe not so happy.
Listening to their raised voices, he realized that he’d crashed an argument. The frayed tempers weren’t too unusual when Hudson and West were in the same room.
“Oh, you called them, Hudson?” West scoffed. “Really? You think that’ll do it? Wow—wayto be bold!” Cole tried to figure out what they were talking about. Whatever it was, Hudson had touched a nerve. “Walk in and make them see your face,” West said. “That’s the only way to get it done.”
“What else are we supposed to do?” Hudson fired back. His oldest brother had his arm around Mimi. His fingers were entangled in her red hair. Hudson’s wife was tall, but he still towered over her and everyone else as he faced down West. “Momma’s on the donor list. We have to wait like everybody else.”
Ah yes, that explained it—Momma’s failing health was always a bone of contention. The Slades were big strong men who belonged in caves. They were used to taking care of their problems with fists. Now that their hands were tied, they were all going crazy.
“We can’t just tell people to hurry up and die so we can get her a heart,” Hudson argued with West, “as much as you’d like that!”
That went too far! Where was Momma? In sudden worry, Cole quickly scanned the room to see if she’d overheard. He let out a breath of relief, seeing that their old man was gone, too. This explained why a riot had erupted in the living room.
But then a new worry hit him. Wheredidshe go? Was she okay?
“She should be on the top of that list,” West said. “I’m going to the Virginia Heart Transplant Center at the Charleston Hospital tomorrow and I’m asking what the holdup is.”
“You think you can just nudge everyone else aside who’s waiting for their turn?” Hudson asked. “Aren’t their lives important too? We’ve got to be fair about it.”
“Fair? You think anything about that donor list is fair?” West sneered. “It’sallin who you know.”
Hudson seemed to remember himself when he turned to their nephews. Charlie watched on with wide eyes as his father argued with his uncle. The diminutive Pip had his fist in his mouth. “We shouldn’t talk about this in front…” Hudson tilted his head at West’s children.
West let out a heavy sigh. Charlie was barely eight. Pip was six. Neither of them should be involved in this drama. West’s gaze shot to Cole. “Why don’t you take Charlie and Pip out… and uh… show them Lizardman? I dropped the puppy off in the barn.”
Cole was already getting stuck with the puppyandWest’s children? Not a chance! No matter how much he loved his nephews, that was West’s job.
Charlie skipped up with excitement. “Lizardman is here?”
“Lizardman! Lizardman!” Pip jumped up and down. His wildest dreams had come true.
It wasn’t that Cole didn’t enjoy hanging out with Charlie and Pip, but West did thisfartoo often. “Are you kidding me, West? You’re doing this again?”
Their father came down the stairs at that moment, looking bone weary. Without having to hear what they were asking Cole to do, he held out a hand. “Cole, move it! I don’t want to hear anything more about it.”
Cole was floored. Eva was right! It didn’t matter how old he was, he’dalwaysbethe baby. His hands rolled into fists and he got ready to put West in his place.
“I’ll take them!” Eva said quickly. She leaned down to meet Charlie’s deep blue eyes. They were a mirror of his dad’s. “Hi, you’re Charlie, right? You want to see the puppy?”
Charlie stepped back in shock that a stranger knew his name, though he still looked intrigued. And why shouldn’t he? This stranger was pretty as a flower. “Who are you?”
“Eva. You want to be friends?” She stuck out her hand.
Pip stuck his drooly one in it.