Defiance and dedication.., p.17
Defiance and Dedication (Untouchable Book 9), page 17
"Hell yeah," Jake's comment floated down from upstairs and I grinned.
"Only if I'm a good girl?" I pitched my voice a little louder, cause why the hell not.
Ian's eyes darkened. "Be a bad girl and find out."
Oh, that was a challenge. But he gave my ass a swat as I stepped away.
"Just paying it forward," he said, then winked. Okay, now my panties were officially ruined thanks to the three of them.
No one had christened my car yet, but I might have to fix that by jumping Coop later. As it was, Jeremy stood with Coop at the bottom of the stairs and my face warmed. I really hoped he hadn't heard any of that, but the sad reality was he probably had. Jeremy would never let on though and I adored him for it.
"I took the time to make some special cupcakes to take with you and they're boxed up with cooling packs to keep them fresh. Something to maybe help break the ice with your new siblings before the actual party."
Oh man, I did not deserve Jeremy. "Brace yourself, Jeremy, I'm giving you a hug."
He chuckled and accepted it graciously even if he did look a bit uncomfortable.
"We'll call when we get there and if we stop along the way. I promised updates to the guys, but I'll send them to you, too, if you'd like."
"I would very much appreciate that," Jeremy said, and not even his serene expression could hide elements of relief. "I also called a car to take you down to the garage rather than carry all your things. If you'd like, I can arrange for it to take you all the way..."
"We appreciate that Jeremy," Coop answered before I could. "But we'll be good with driving. Promise. It's good for Frankie, too."
I threw him a grateful look. Driving still made me nervous. I didn't do it a lot here in the city. Not like I had at home, and I'd been sweating bullets when I went out with Rachel. This was really only my second time behind the wheel.
"Very good then. Have a lovely weekend." Jeremy opened the door and as promised, a town car waited for us at the curb. I would never get used to this life, no matter how much I pretended otherwise.
Really, we weren't leaving with much or for very long, yet the whole farewell production and the presence of the car had me giggling. Not more than glancing up to finding all three of my guys who weren't going with us watching from different windows. I blew them kisses and then ducked into the car before I lost it laughing.
Coop was no damn help, he was snickering all the way to the garage. Not that it was a long trip, but I didn't mind not having to carry our stuff. When the car let us out, Coop was still laughing. I slapped his arm.
"Stop it."
He grinned. "I can't help it. I mean, I know I'd be just as bad if I was one of the guys waiting for you to get back. I was one of the guys waiting the last two times, but they were all but killing themselves to not tell me everything to do and not do."
"They were being sweet," I defended them. "And thoughtful."
"Yeah," Coop said with a smirk and held up his phone. "I know." He snapped a picture of me and then my phone dinged as Coop kept laughing as he went to request my car from the attendant. I fished my phone out of my pocket and had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.
Coop: Safe and sound at garage. Also, happy. Jealous yet?
The string of fuck offs and middle finger emojis killed me, but I glanced over to find Coop grinning.
"You're having too much fun with this," I called out.
"Hell yes, I am," he replied. "They've been up my ass so much this week, they can tell me what my colon looks like. This is just a healthy dose of getting what you asked for."
I couldn't blame him, not really. Still, all the laughter in the world couldn't quite quell the nerves erupting in my stomach as we climbed in the car. Coop loaded our stuff and the cooler protected cupcakes into the backseat.
"I can drive," he offered, but he was already at the passenger door. If I asked, he'd do it, but he wasn't going to press the issue either.
"Maybe after our first break."
"Break?" he asked as we both pulled on our seatbelts and then I took a selfie and sent it to the group chat.
Me: Safe and secure in the car. We will be careful. Promise. Planning to stop in Connecticut briefly. There's a town there that Stars Hollow was modeled after.
I hit send then checked that the GPS had the directions in for the town, as well as Hank's address for the next destination and then pulled out into traffic. Even leaving this early it would take some time to get out of the city, but I kept it slow and steady.
Coop shook his head as he laughed. "We're stopping for coffee, right?"
"Hell yes," I told him. "Then we're gonna go do some sightseeing. I mean, I know they didn't film it there but it's a classical quaint New England town and I wanna see it."
"Then we'll stop and see it. Course, now I get why you wanted to leave early."
The drive turned out to be a lot prettier than I expected. What neither of us planned on were the fact that some of the trees along the route as we drove further north had already begun to change colors. They weren't just green. Some had yellow tips, others orange. No red that I could find, but we were definitely looking.
After we found our first stop for coffee, we snapped pictures of the trees and sent them to the guys. Granted they weren't fully turned yet. But it was definitely cooler and far more comfortable than in the city. "I want to come back up here," I said. "I want to see it in all the spectacular colors."
We just didn't get these colors in Texas.
"Deal," Coop agreed. And because I wanted to look, we traded spots and I let him drive for a while. My nerves had settled the longer we drove, and I was having fun trying to find the bright spots of color amidst the green foliage.
The little town in Connecticut was almost right on the way, or at least it wasn't far off the interstate. The anxiety over my family and the driving abated as Coop pulled into the little town and I swore I started bouncing. We found a place to park and I checked the time and then couldn't decide where to look first.
Stars Hollow might be fictional, but the state of mind it put you in wasn't. Catching my hand, Coop tugged me over to the town sign and had me pose for pictures. For all that he teased me about the show, he joined me in picking out what shops might have inspired Luke's Diner or Taylor's grocery or even the original Independence Inn.
"I want to come back here, too." The town seemed almost deserted, yet the shops were open and people were friendly. There was a hardware store that was definitely for hardware and another cafe that sold breakfast and coffee.
The minute I spotted the bookstore, Coop groaned but off we went. Granted, there wasn't a town troubadour, but maybe I could talk Ian into doing that on a visit. Or maybe I was just being ridiculous. Stopping here had just been this spontaneous idea I had and while there wasn't a colorful cast of characters like the show, everyone we met seemed genuinely nice. They were also used to folks stopping by looking for Stars Hollow.
We probably spent way more time in the little town of Washington than I intended, but it appealed to me. New York was great. Manhattan was great. But it was always loud and busy and there were people everywhere. This might be too slow compared to the too fast, but I loved it nonetheless.
I practically skipped back to the car with a few more presents for my siblings and some for Jake, too. I'd picked up a book on writing songs that I hid even from Coop. I still had no idea how Ian did it, but it was about time I spent some research on it. He picked up a few books, too. And we found a classic set of Dungeons and Dragons manuals. A whole set of them and we bought them on the spot. Archie would love them, and he had birthday coming up.
Course, how I would top singing him a song the year before—you know what—birthday anxiety over the twins was enough for the weekend. We stowed our treasures away and headed out again. I was much more relaxed this time.
While I drove, Coop updated the guys on our visit to the town and included some pictures. They didn't respond right away but they were probably in class. It took us another two hours to get to the exit for Newton, and another fifteen minutes of navigating through the streets to find their house.
Even when we'd come up to Harvard over spring break, I hadn't noticed just how many trees there were. There were literally trees just everywhere. We missed whole shopping centers hidden behind trees.
Thank fuck, I wasn't alone in my gawking and Coop was helping to point street signs so we could go where the GPS wanted us to. We ended up in a charming little cul-de-sac made up of three houses in front of a gable front house that had to be at least two stories and possessed an enormous front porch that extended well past the door.
If anything, it looked like Lorelei Gilmore's house and that cracked me up. Only this house was the most cheerful shade of yellow with perfect white trim. There was an actual picket fence around the yard and a huge tree from which a couple of swings suspended.
I stared at it all as we parked and I almost couldn't make myself get out of the car. It was—like the perfect house in the perfect street with the perfect family.
I swallowed.
Coop covered my hand with his. "Breathe," he murmured. "You belong here, too."
I glanced over at him and found a smile even as all the earlier nerves surged to the surface. The front door of the house opened, and Hank stepped out wearing a huge, if hopeful grin.
Too late to back out now.
Chapter Twenty
This One's for the Girls
Coop
For the rest of my life, this was a moment I would treasure. The moment when the hesitation and fear in her expression gave way to marvel and joy that Hank was striding down the sidewalk to greet her. He didn't wait at the door, and I swore the man was there before Frankie even made it out of the car.
I gave them a minute as he picked her up into a warm hug, then he was there offering to help me with the bags. Of course, the minute he saw all the presents he gave Frankie an affectionately scolding look. "You're going to spoil them."
"Maybe," Frankie declared. "But they just turned eight, so I have seven other birthdays to make up for."
Hank chuckled then gave her a sideways hug. A woman, most likely Kelly, waited for us on the porch. Like me, she was giving Hank and Frankie time to catch up. "Come on kids, you made good time coming up from the city."
"Well, we'd have been here earlier," she told him. "But I wanted to stop in Connecticut and look at a town."
"Just a random town?" Hank asked as he reached the steps. "Also, Frankie, this is Kelly." Hank grinned even wider. "Kelly, this is Frankie. I've been looking forward to introducing the two of you."
With her dark hair and dark eyes, she couldn't be more Maddy's polar opposite right down to the comfortable jeans, light colored shirt with a second, larger shirt layered over it. "I'm so glad you could make it," Kelly said in a warm tone with just a hint of a Bostonian accent. She held out her hands to Frankie. "And yes, I promised no hugs but ever since Hank found out about you, we've wanted to meet you and get to know you better."
My girl wasn't quite up to the hug, but she did take Kelly's hands and squeezed them. "I've been excited about meeting all of you, and well..."
"A little nervous?" Kelly suggested. "Come on inside. Don't mind the mess. The twins were in a tizzy this morning getting off to school and Chloe wanted to have the perfect outfit to be in for when she met you. I swear she had a fashion show."
"I'm sorry," Frankie apologized immediately. The living room didn't look that bad. The front door opened right up into it and it had a huge multi-sectional sofa and two recliners. The room seemed centered around the fireplace and the television mounted over it.
There was some home redecorating show on, but it was muted. Clothes were stacked somewhat haphazardly on one end of the sofa with at least four different pairs of shoes on the floor.
"Don't be," Kelly assured her. "Chloe's just been excited for so long. She loves to send you messages and that you answer her. Thank you for that, I know she can be a bit much."
"I think she's wonderful." The complete sincerity in Frankie's voice won Kelly over and the two shared a grin.
"Come on, Coop," Hank said. "Let's take this stuff up to the guest room while the girls chat then I'll introduce you, too. She won't notice, she's too busy trying to figure out how to get a hug out of Frankie."
"I heard that," Kelly called and I caught Frankie's eye and raised my brows. If she didn't want to be left alone down here, I would totally make an excuse, but her grin widened. "Men, I swear," Kelly continued and Frankie laughed.
"We'll be fine, I'm just shooting a text to the guys and Jeremy to let them know we're here safe and sound."
"Got it!" Good idea. Before we got too caught up. I followed Hank up the stairs. The walls were literally filled with photos and tons of those huge collages with pictures of all their kids. I could pick out Alec from his deep serious look and Craig younger and definitely wearing a mischievous smile. Chloe reminded me of Frankie, if Frankie had darker hair. All the kids seemed to take after their mother in that respect.
At the top of the stairs, Hank nodded to one hall. "The kids all sleep down there. Kelly and I have a master bedroom on the ground floor. The guest room is this way." He took me in the opposite direction of the kids. "Kelly keeps an office here for when she needs to work from home. I have one too, but I'd much rather just spread out downstairs." He shrugged. "I do better in chaos."
"Understood." The guest room was the very last room, and I couldn't put my finger on it, but I didn't think this had been a guest room all that long. It had a hastily put together feeling about it. A queen bed with mint green linens and a heavy quilt didn't quite match the white curtains and there were a couple of beaten up chairs near the window set up with a rickety table and then there was the dresser that I was pretty sure had probably been built before the last century.
I would not want to move it.
"Frankie surprised you by saying yes, didn't she?" I asked as I set the bags on the bed, and he put the bags with the twins' presents on the dresser. Wiping his hands against his jeans, he gave me a pained look. "That obvious?"
"Well, I know her and I know she canceled Labor Day Weekend and you were disappointed and now it's nearly the end of September and we've got mid-terms coming up soon, so it would have been natural for her to put it off maybe to the holidays."
Hank let out a deep sigh and ran a hand over his face. "The holidays are a stressful time for families that know each other," he admitted. "I don't want to pressure her. I just...I wish you guys were at least up here going to school, then I could try to see her more often."
"You didn't pressure her," I told him. Folding my arms, I considered him for a long moment. "If you don't mind taking a word of advice on this, just be yourself. That's who you were when you came to her graduation. It's who you've been in the texts and the phone calls. She's not used to parental approval and that's all I'll say on that front."
His whole expression fell. "I hate that I wasn't there."
"You're here now. You weren't given a choice then and you have that choice now and you're choosing her. That means a lot more than you may realize." Watching him tell Maddy off had been a highlight of our graduation, I wasn't gonna lie.
"Good deal. Thank you for that." He turned to the door then paused and looked at me. The intensity in that stare had me bracing for whatever came next. "This door locks. Use it. The kids aren't big on personal space and I'd rather not explain anything I don't have to. Our bedroom is on the other side of the house and the walls are sturdy and that's the last of this discussion we're ever going to have."
I did not laugh. "Yes, sir." I kind of wanted to salute, but I appreciated the heads up. If I had Frankie naked and screaming, I did not need kids interrupting. No thank you.
Course, maybe we should work on the being silent part. That gave me all kinds of ideas. Ideas I definitely kept to myself. Downstairs, I found Frankie sitting at the breakfast bar in the kitchen while Kelly worked on something at the stove. "We've been slow cooking the stew all day. It's almost the perfect time of year for it. Cooler at night, pleasant in the day."
"It's not quite so cool in the city yet," Frankie told her. "But it's definitely cooler than Texas."
The weather conversation gave way to food then to drinks and we were all going out to the living room. I noticed it before Frankie did, but I waited as she settled in next to me. The kids were due home soon.
"The party is pretty informal," Kelly was saying. "The twins can never agree on a theme, so we always go with something neutral. This year they wanted to go to the trampoline place, so we'll be driving over there and about a dozen other kids will join for some bouncing fun, cake and presents, then back here for dinner and a little more quiet time."
That sounded kind of fun. Even Frankie grinned.
"In other words, you won't be so on the spot," Hank assured her.
"I got it, I got it," Frankie murmured. "I am making this a huge deal and it's not."
"No," Kelly said. "It is a huge deal. They're your brothers and your sister. You're my step daughter. You’re Hank's daughter. This is very much your family. We want you to be a part of this with us and I get that might be overwhelming for you, just understand we are campaigning for some annual holiday visits and craziness with all of your boyfriends." The last she said with a glance to me. "But thank you for also easing the kids into it."
Frankie laughed but it held a little bit of tears and when she reached for me, I clasped her hand. The fact she always did that, even unconsciously, when she needed support was something I treasured. I might not be able to solve everything, but I could be there.
"That's them," Kelly said as she stood. "Hang on a sec, the whirlwind rushing in here in a minute will be Chloe."
Hank followed her to the door and Frankie glanced at me. "I really like her," she mouthed more than said. The disbelief in her expression and wonder made me smile.
"Me too."
