Easy Little Lick (Copperline #3) (18 page)

“Wait,” Drew said, pulling my attention back to the conversation we were having, “are you coming home any time soon, or were you just going to have naked-sex-day?”

Naked-sex-day sounded kind of awesome, but very unlikely to happen with Max around. Based on Ilsa’s wary expression, I doubted it would even happen without him around.

“I’ll probably be home in an hour or two,” I told him.

“Huh… really? Now I’m not so sure you fucked her after all. Every girl I know that you've done in the past has been pretty sure you were
the one
. They all say you’re like a big teddy bear with a dick the size of a horse or some shit.” He groaned. “Oh hell, was it bad? Was she a nut buster or smelly or some shit?”

“I’m going to hang up now, Drew,” I warned.

“Wait, no,” he said. “Sorry. I’ll get to the point. We were thinking it looks like it’s going to be an awesome day out, all clear and sunny, and it’s a holiday, so we’re all taking the day off. We want to barbecue.”

“It’s a holiday? What holiday?”

“It’s We Wanna Barbecue Day.”

I rolled my eyes as Ilsa stepped over to me and motioned with her hands to take Max. He squealed a little and dropped into her arms.

“What the fuck was that?” Drew asked.

“Nothing,” I quickly replied, then tried to distract him. “So a barbecue, huh?”

He took the bait—hook, line, and sinker.

And they all thought I was the dumb one.

“Um, yeah, we were thinking just something kinda laid back. Low key. Denny and Felicity, Brannon and Sophie, me and Maggie, Justin and his right hand, and you and… well, you and Ilsa.”

Ilsa was close enough that she heard him say her name, and her eyes widened in alarm.

“It’s okay,” I mouthed, then talked back into the phone. “Drew, nothing—”

“Whatever,” he interrupted. “Just stop by the store on your way home and get some kind of meat or something.”

“Drew—”

“Okay, see ya in a bit,” he said. Just before he ended the call, I heard him talking again. “Justin, you
so
fucking owe me twenty dollars.”

I looked down at Ilsa, who was almost white with panic, and tried to reassure her.

“They’re just making random guesses, Ils. They don’t know anything.”

“I heard my name, Cody,” she said in a choked voice. “They know something.”

“They know I fixed your car. They know I didn’t come home last night. The rest is just Drew and Justin hypothesizing. I didn’t confirm or deny anything.” I wrapped her, Max and all, in my arms like I had wanted to before. “They won’t blab about shit, not even Justin, if I tell them to keep it to themselves.”

She leaned into my bulky frame, allowing me to support her, even if it was only just a little.

“You know, this isn’t really fair,” she murmured against my bare chest.

“What isn’t?” I asked.

She looked up at me, still a little sad and reserved, but more calm than she’d been a minute ago. “When you do stuff like this… like wrapping your arms around me,” she quietly replied.

I raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“I told you last night, there’s something about being held by you that makes me feel safe.”

Cupping her face in my palm, I brushed my thumb over her cheek.

“Safe enough to go to a barbecue with me? To hang out with my friends?”

“I don’t know, Cody,” she hedged.

“You don’t work today, right?”

“Well, no, but you guys can be kind of wild, can’t you? It’s probably not the best place for Max.”

“This is just a cookout, not a drunk fest party. Denny and Felicity will be there with their kid.”

“Denny and Felicity have a kid?”

“Yeah, Eoghan,” I answered. “He’s just over a year old.”

She looked down at her son. “Not much younger than Max.” Her voice sounded kind of wistful.

“Yeah,” I said, slightly mystified by her tone.

“Max doesn’t get to be with kids much,” she murmured. “Like ever, really.” Her finger stroked his little cheek.

“Not even at his sitter?”

“He’s the only kid she watches.”

“Then come with me,” I urged. “Who knows, they might be buddies for life or something.”

That didn’t seem to make her feel any better. Instead, she just swallowed hard. I pulled her close again and ran my hand along her back to calm and soothe her.

“It’ll be fine, Ils. You might even have fun.”

It took some doing but I did manage to get her in the truck, Max in the middle all buckled into his car seat. He seemed to love my pickup. Must have said ‘
cruk
’ about a bazillion times, and when I romped on the gas and the engine rumbled and roared, he let out pure squeals of joy.

Ilsa twisted her hands all the way to the store, all the way
through
the store, and all the way to the Mofo house. She looked out the passenger window. She looked at Max. She looked at me.

But she barely said a word.

Max babbled the whole time. I could barely understand him, but a few words stuck out.

Of course there was ‘
cruk
’ over and over, not just mine, but every truck we saw. In Ophir, where damn near everyone drove a pickup, that was a lot.

There was also ‘
cow
’ followed by ‘
mooooo!
’ That made me laugh.

His jabbering sort of filled in the apprehensive silence that surrounded Ilsa, wrapped around her like a thick blanket.

We pulled up in front of the house, and Ilsa went white, almost shaking.

“I don’t know if this is such a good idea.” Her voice trembled.

“Just relax,” I said. “These guys are like my brothers. You can trust them.”

The expression on her face said she was having second thoughts about even trusting me, but, with another look at Max, she gave a short nod. She undid his car seat and lifted him into her arms while I reached into the pickup bed to grab the groceries I’d been told to bring.

Drew and Justin were out back when we got there, and, since neither Brannon’s Cougar or Denny’s truck were there, I figured they were it for the moment. I set the bags on the kitchen counter and motioned for Ils to follow me.

“‘Bout time, you fucker,” Justin muttered as I stepped through the sliding glass doors, but then his mouth fell when he noted Ilsa behind me… more like, when he saw her holding Max.

“Jesus fucking Christ, you have a kid,” he gaped.

For a second, I thought Ilsa was going to turn on her heel and run back out to my truck.

“Language, you fucker,” I ground out, and Justin snapped his jaw shut.

Drew looked equally shocked, holding a bottle of beer halfway up to his lips. Then, like he’d been hit by a bolt of lightning, he jumped up out of his chair and pointed at Justin.

“See?! I told you he slept with her! I fucking told you!”

Justin scowled up at him and repeated my words. “Language, you fucker.”

With every word, Ilsa seemed to shrink behind me.

“Guys,” I said, and they both stopped and looked at me, startling me a little. To be honest, I wasn’t sure exactly what I had planned to say. They generally ignored me, so I figured I’d have a little more time to come up with something before they stopped.

An awkward couple seconds passed. Very awkward.

“So, you've met Ilsa,” I finally said, slipping my arm around her waist and drawing her forward. She didn’t resist, yet seemed to unconsciously tuck herself against my side. I was her shelter, her strength, and that knowledge gave me the most incredible feeling. “This little guy is Max.”

“Cool name,” Justin murmured, a little dazed still, but managing to say something that didn’t include some form of ‘
fuck
.’

“Thanks,” she whispered in response.

“So where is everyone?” I asked after another uncomfortable silence.

“Denny and his little fam are on their way,” Justin explained, “and Brannon and Sophie should be here shortly.”

“Is Maggie coming, too?” I asked Drew.

He shrugged in response, looking kind of morose. “Who the hell knows what Maggie’s doing anymore.”

I glanced over at Justin.

“Why do you think he’s drinking already?” he hinted. “Trouble in paradise.”

We heard a rumble of exhaust pipes nearing the house, followed by the sound of the front door opening. Denny’s thick Irish accent floated out to us as he spoke to his son.

“There you go, ya snapper,” he said. “Go find your Uncle Justin and whack him in the bollocks for me.”

“Denny,” Felicity’s laugh echoed through the house. “Don’t tell him to do stuff like that.”

There was a rustle of grocery bags in the kitchen and Eoghan came toddling through the open door to wrap his little arms around Justin’s calf.

“Ahhhh!” Justin froze, seeming terrified. “Get him off me.”

Felicity appeared, her hair almost blinding in its bright crimson red, and handed a sippy cup to Eoghan. As she turned, she caught sight of Ilsa, who was once again trying to disappear behind me with Max.

“Ilsa,” she gasped with a tender smile, “you’re a mom?”

Denny stepped outside and looked equally shocked, catching my gaze for a moment.

“Guys,” I said, “meet Max.”

Felicity smiled with a brilliant warmth that seemed to ease Ilsa’s panic just slightly. She still clung to me, and I could feel her shaking, but I knew if anyone could make her feel comfortable, it would be Felicity. The woman was born to be a social worker, and could inspire trust in the most battered of souls.

“He’s beautiful,” she softly said to Ilsa, stepping forward to hold out her hands. “May I hold him?”

Max’s gaze was trained on Eoghan, and he almost seemed startled to look up and see Felicity. Seeming just slightly unsure of himself, he hesitated before he allowed Felicity to lift him into her arms. He stared at her for a moment before returning to cast anxious glances at Ilsa and shy ones at Eoghan.

“How old is he?” Felicity asked. Everyone else just sorta stood and stared, still not quite getting over their shock at seeing Max.

“Almost a year and a half,” Ilsa replied in a somewhat shaky voice.

“Well, he’s adorable,” Felicity said.

“Thank you,” she replied with a pensive, yet genuine, smile.

I tightened my arm around Ilsa’s trembling shoulder and pulled her closer to me. She responded by tucking her arm around my waist and leaning into me, soaking up my comfort.

Eoghan toddled up to Denny, now seeming a little uncertain that his mommy was holding some other kid. Denny scooped his little dark-haired son up into his arms and stepped a little closer to his wife and Max.

“Max,” Felicity said, “this is Eoghan.”

Max just stared at the other kid, something I hadn’t really expected. I honestly hadn’t been sure what to expect, but Max, who had pretty much babbled my ear off that morning since Ilsa had woken up, was completely silent.

“He doesn’t really get to be around other kids much,” Ilsa quietly explained, “so he’s liable to be a little shy. Aren’t you, Max?” She gave her son a reassuring smile.

Felicity looked back down at Max. “That’s okay, Max,” she whispered and kissed the top of his head. “You can be as shy as you want.”

Eoghan reached out his pudgy little baby fingers to point to Max and sorta said some garbled gibberish thing.

“This is Max, Eoghan,” Felicity told him again, then repeated the name slow and clear. “Max.”

Eoghan watched his mom for a second and pointed to Max again. “
Ax
,” he said, at least I thought that’s what he said.

“Right, buddy,” Felicity said. “Max, this,” she pointed to Eoghan, “is Eoghan. Can you say Eoghan?”