Enticing An Angel (10 page)

Oh, well,
she thought,
might as
well be myself.

Michael led them through an open garage door
and Melanie noted the late model Toyota Camry. She nodded her head
in approval. It was not a flashy car, but it was clean and spoke to
some aspect of its owner's personality. She figured it was
Michael's mom; why else would it be parked in her garage.

Entering the house deposited them directly
into the spacious kitchen with hardwood floors, oak cabinetry, and
a skylight installed into the vaulted ceiling. The first thing
either of them noticed was a man about Michael's age and build,
leaning against the marble topped island and drinking beer from a
bottle. However, he had a more rugged appearance than the man who
was now entering the house. His hair was shorter, his face more
chiseled, and he sported a tan. All of which spoke to a man that
worked outside with his hands.

"Asshole," the man said with a nod of
greeting as he took a sip of beer.

"You must be Brian," Melanie said as she
chuckled. She found the cavalier greeting of the man to be funny.
He didn't appear to mean the comment. For all she could determine,
he might as well have been Dagger with her signature "Sup?"

Brian scrutinized the woman that had
addressed him. He seemed to have missed her entry with Michael, but
now that he noticed her, he took the time to take a good look.

"Now, what the hell did my brother say to you
to allow you to recognize me that easily?"

"Oh, he just said you’re the second oldest
and work in construction. He also said you like to curse. I can see
by your muscles that you must workout or have a job that keeps them
toned."

"Yeah, well my pansy brother has to go to a
gym. Us real men get muscles from real jobs," Brian said, still
eyeing Melanie carefully.

"Real jobs?" Michael said. "Seriously?"

"Look Bro, you design the shit, I'm the one
that has to read that chicken scratch you architects printout so an
actual building can be built."

Melanie walked up to Brian and eyed his arms
carefully. She turned her head from side to side; from Michael and
Brian's perspective, she was either confused or curious. Brian's
arm was bent as he held a beer close to his mouth so the muscles
were easy to see and Melanie reached out and poked it. She then
poked Brian's ribs and unceremoniously lifted his shirt to see the
muscle tone.

Brian looked at Michael oddly.
What the
hell is this?
he seemed to say with his eyes.

Michael just shrugged his shoulders. He had
no idea.

Melanie finished her inspection and then
appeared bored or appeased, or perhaps her attention was needed
elsewhere. The men couldn't discern.

"Well, you’re a little pipsqueak aren't you?"
Brian said as he looked down.

"Uh huh," she said without giving him much
attention.

Her focus was now turned to the interior of
the house, and the men watched as she glanced around, nodding her
head with approval. Brian's face contorted with confusion.

"Michael, who is this piece of tail?"

"Seriously, Brian?" Michael asked in
return.

Brian was unable to answer as another man
came into the kitchen from a side opening which appeared to be an
entryway to a formal dining room.

"Michael!" he cried out as he entered and the
two brothers headed toward each other.

"Nathan, how are you?" Michael asked as he
took his little brother in a bear hug and proceeded to lift him off
the floor.

"Ah," Nathan called out.

Melanie watched the affair and came to
Michael's side. When Nathan was returned safely to the ground, she
looked up at him with a scrunched face. Nathan noticed the woman at
his brother's side and looked down at her with confusion as she
eyed him with curiosity.

Nathan was shorter than his brothers by a few
inches, slimmer of build, with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes.
While his build was slimmer, he was still toned, and his body type
gave him a more fit appearance than his older brothers. While
Michael and Brian were buff, Nathan was athletic, perhaps the body
of a runner rather than a weightlifter.

"Who the hell is this?" Nathan asked as he
looked at Michael and Brian. As his eyes fell on Brian, the man
just shrugged his shoulders.

"I have no fucking clue," he said as he took
a sip of his beer.

"I'm Michael's piece of tail," Melanie said
plainly.

Brian spit his beer back into his bottle and
had to cover his mouth as he laughed. Nathan just looked at her as
if she had just told him the world was about to end. Michael
snorted himself and shook his head. His snort turned to a chuckle
as he took the time to introduce his lover.

"This is Melanie Price. She's a paralegal
that I met while working on Mom's estate planning. Melanie this is
Nathan. He's the second youngest."

"Ah, well nice to meet you Nathan," she said
as she extended her hand. Nathan raised an eye at Michael, but took
the hand gingerly and shook it just as gingerly.

"Nice to meet you," he said carefully.

A small ruckus was suddenly heard and shrill
voices intruded upon the introduction of Melanie and the Angel
brothers. Suddenly two little children came into view from a
hallway.

"Daddy, Joey scared the cat. Now, we can't
get the cat. And I want the cat."

Nathan bent down as a girl of about five came
to him. He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her up and set her
on his knees.

"Oh, really," Nathan said.

"Na ah," the little boy said as he came to
his father.

"Yea huh," the girl replied and made a funny
face at her little brother. "He bit its ear and now it's under the
bed, and it won't come out."

Nathan looked up at the adults in the room
and gave a serious look. He chuckled and then turned his attention
back to the kids.

"Well, maybe you should leave the cat alone
for awhile and it might come out on its own."

"But, I wanna play with it," the girl said as
she cast her eyes downward.

"I know, Little Angel, but give it some
time," Nathan kissed his child on the forehead, gave her a hug, and
set her down.

"That's so cute," Melanie whispered to
Michael.

"Isn't that the pot calling the kettle
black," Michael whispered back.

Melanie shot him a glare and Michael had to
chuckle.

She is so damn cute
, he thought.

"Melanie," Nathan said as he stood fully.
"These are my Little Angels, Katherine and Joey. Katherine is five
and Joey is three."

Katherine walked to Melanie, looked up, and
tilted her head back and forth.

"I'm a little angel," she said.

"Yes, you are," Melanie replied with a wide
smile as she bent down to the girl.

"Will you help me get the cat?" Katherine
asked Melanie sadly.

Melanie stood up with a frown on her face.
She looked at the men in the kitchen; each one of them was just as
confused as the other ones were. Brian was the only one to
speak.

"Don't look at me," he said shaking his head.
"It's not my fucking cat."

"Not around the kids," Melanie said as she
glared at him. Brian widened his eyes and scrutinized Melanie for a
second. He shrugged his shoulders and went back to his beer.

"Well, Katherine," Melanie said as she bent
back to the girl. "I suppose I can help you. Have you been nice to
the kitty?"

"Uh huh," Katherine said as she nodded her
head. "I tried to poke her with a stick to get her out, but she
wouldn’t move."

"Try hitting it harder," Brian piped up and
Melanie turned her head and glared at him. Brian just chuckled.

"Well, let's see what we can do," Melanie
said to Katherine as she turned her attention back to the girl.

"I wanna help," Joey said.

Melanie looked to Nathan for approval. Nathan
smiled warmly and nodded his head slightly.

"Okay," Melanie said. "Let's see if we can
get the cat, but we have to be nice to it and not scare it.
Okay?"

"Okay," both children said. Joey went off on
his own and Katherine grabbed Melanie's hand to pull her along.

"Come on," Katherine said.

After the trio had trudged off into the
bowels of the house, Michael turned to his brothers.

"Where's mom?" he asked.

"In the office," Nathan replied. "She's
wrapping Josh's present."

"Is Josh here yet?" Michael asked.

"Nope," replied Brian, "and he better get his
ass here soon. I am not dealing with another lecture about
punctuality from mom."

Michael shook his head at Brian's comment. He
agreed with the sentiment, but could’ve done without the swearing.
He let it go without a retort of his own and headed into the house.
He figured he should be dutiful and say hello to his mother; better
that than having to deal with a subtle guilt trip about
manners.

"Michael, oh good you're here," his mother
said as he entered the office.

His mother was at the far side of the room,
standing over a dark wooden desk and trying to wrap a present.

"Come over here and give me your finger," she
said. She was trying to wrap a bow and Michael obeyed. He put his
finger on the wrapping and his mother went about her work.

"So, is she here?"

Michael sighed and rolled his eyes. His
mother couldn't see the gesture. She was focused on tying the bow.
When she finished, she grabbed scissors and began to run it along
the ribbon to curl it.

"Yes, Mom," he replied. "At the moment she's
helping the little angels get your cat out from under a bed."

"Oh, well that's nice of her."

"Well, they think so. I believe Nathan would
agree as well."

"Now, Michael. I want you to behave today,
okay?"

"Of course, Mom, I'm not Brian."

"I don't want to hear it. I'm happy to have
my boys together, even if David has to work; and I don't want any
squabbling. Besides, this is Joshua's birthday. So let's make is
special. Lord knows he could use some happiness."

"He's doing all right, Mom," Michael
said.

"I'll be the judge of that," she replied.
"There, what do you think?"

Michael looked at the box that she had
wrapped. It was a present, what was he supposed to think? It had
fancy paper and a curly bow. Not wanting to say anything offensive,
he smiled and asked her what it was.

"It's a football DVD series. All on blu-ray,"
she answered.

"What series?" he asked.

"Does it matter?" she asked.

She had a point, and Michael shrugged his
shoulders.

"Come on," she said as she took her present
with her. "Let's go see this girlfriend of yours."

Michael smiled. His mother appeared to be
more excited about having another woman in the house than having a
birthday for her son. He even commented on the fact.

"Michael, I love all my boys, but when you
men get together the testosterone level can get a little high," she
said as she walked out of the office. "To be honest, I'm looking
forward to some female conversation with Jennifer."

Michael stopped in his tracks and opened his
mouth. His mind froze, and he couldn't think for a moment. His
mother didn't notice. She was in the lead and now well ahead of
him.

"Oh, shit," he said to himself when his mind
finally cleared.

He had forgotten to correct his mother's
impression about his girlfriend, and it was too late now. Michael
shook his head and quickly followed his mom. She was in the dining
room and placing her present on a side table along with a few
others. Michael suddenly remembered that he had yet to get his
present and bring it in. That thought delayed his approach, and
when he neared his mother, she had an odd look on her face.

She was staring into the kitchen. Michael
came near and peered in as well. Sitting on the floor with a kitty
in her arms was Melanie, and she had two little angels happily
petting the feline. Michael smiled as he witnessed the scene and
then saw Nathan. The man was lying on his side with his head
propped up and laughing as his children pet the cat.

"What is she doing here?" his mother asked as
she turned to Michael. "And where's Jennifer?"

Michael didn't respond, and his mother
quickly understood the situation.

"Oh Michael," she said with a disapproving
look and a shake of her head.

Michael felt like a little kid again who had
disappointed his mother. The words she had spoken both angered him
and made him feel guilty at the same time. As the emotions vied for
dominance, his mother helped the battle.

"Michael, that girl's not for you," she said
still shaking her head.

The anger won out and Michael snapped at
her.

"That's not for you to decide," he said
sharply.

He then moved away from the kitchen entryway
and his mother followed.

"You wanted me to date, Mom. Well, I'm
dating."

"Yes, but not her. That girl can't even make
coffee."

"Well, it's a good thing I'm not dating her
for her coffee making skills isn't it."

"What is this? Some attempt to hurt me or to
prove a point?" she asked.

Michael rolled his eyes and didn’t give a
damn if his mother saw. She did and didn’t appear to give a damn
that his eyes rolled.

"Look, Mom, I love you, but this is my life;
and I happen to like Melanie. She's smart. She's funny. And we have
a lot in common."

His mother didn't buy it and crossed her
arms. She shook her head and continued to show disapproval. It
didn't work. She had raised five boys with that method, and each of
them had learned to defend against it to some degree.

"Mom, are you going to behave yourself?"

She glared at him.

"I don't approve, Michael."

"So, what's the deal? Not only do we have to
have women in our lives, but they all have to be mom approved?"