LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

wondered if his brother had ever considered sending the eight-year-olds away to military school. Or to one of those scared-straight prison programs. As it was, the only time Drew was able to let down his guard was when they were both wearing their life vests and bike helmets. At the same time.

      Thank goodness he’d finally get to see Kylie tonight. He was anxious to know how she was dealing with everything and if she’d made any decisions. He was also desperate for a little adult company and for the boys to meet some other children their own age.

      Maxine’s eleven-year-old son, Hunter, would be there, and hopefully, the older boy could take Caden and Aiden under his wing. Or at least peer-pressure them into acting like semicivilized human beings.

      Drew wrestled the kids into their seat belts and drove toward Snow Creek Lodge, where the wedding would be held tomorrow. The nonstop talking from the backseat didn’t keep him from thinking of what he’d say to Kylie when he saw her. Or how she’d look.

      The minute they arrived and he put his borrowed car in Park, the two chatterboxes bolted out of the backseat and ran straight for the ski lift—which, during the summer, was used to haul mountain cyclists and their bikes up to the top of the peak.

      “Boys,” he said when he finally caught up to them and forcibly steered them away from the moving benches. “Remember, no candy bars later if you act up while we’re here.” Drew hated using sweets as a bribe, but tonight was important, and he couldn’t have them misbehaving.

      The boys, going on their third day with no sugar since they’d yet to behave well enough to earn the coveted prize, finally fell into step—one on each side of him. The trio walked into the oversize log structure and, before he could blink, the twins took off toward a small group of boys huddled around their handheld electronic devices.

      Aiden and Caden could sniff out video-game systems within a ten-mile radius. They were like arcade bloodhounds. Originally, Drew had planned to introduce them to everyone, but why ruin a good thing? They should be safe enough over there with their attention focused for a solid thirty minutes at least. And it might keep them out of trouble.

      Maybe.

      “There’s the man in charge,” Cooper, still wearing his uniform, called out as he walked toward him. Everyone else in the wedding party turned in their direction, and he found himself eagerly searching out the one woman he’d been waiting all week to see.

      “Is everyone here and ready to get started?” Even as Drew asked the question, he could see that she wasn’t there.

      He shoved his hands into his pockets, feeling the band he’d been carrying in the left one. Was she purposely avoiding him?

      “Kylie’s running late,” Maxine said. “But don’t worry. She’s been in so many weddings, she could do this in her sleep.”

      Or with a drunk stranger in Reno.

      “Okay, well, then, let’s begin.” Drew directed everyone on how to walk down the aisle, where to stand and what to say. He couldn’t believe this was the way Cooper was making him repay the pen pal favor and he actually had to perform this ceremony. Unlike the absent redhead, he was no wedding expert. But he was a researcher and a perfectionist and had studied enough online videos lately to get through this rehearsal blindfolded.

      Maxine’s son, Hunter, handed over his PlayStation to the twins so that he could walk his mother down the aisle. But the boys, both overly eager to take their turn at playing, fought over the small device, each one grappling and scratching to get control of the coveted possession.

      Drew was about to head toward his nephews to break up the fight, but Kylie strode into the room at that exact moment, confident and oblivious to the childish skirmish going on nearby. When he saw her, he froze, waiting for her to see him.

      She looked poised and completely unflustered—until she glanced in his direction. Her smile faltered, but otherwise, she gave no outward sign that she was uncomfortable in his presence. She also gave no sign that she was going to slow her stride long enough to talk with him.

      Which was unfortunate, because if she had, the small video game console that had just been launched into the air wouldn’t have hit her right in the face.

      “Ouch!” she yelled, her hand flying to her right eye. “What in the hell was that?”

      Caden, who wasn’t used to hearing adults swear, began giggling, while Aiden made a fast getaway toward the restroom—probably to escape the pending chaos he’d helped cause.

      All of the women ran toward their startled friend, asking if she was okay and trying to soothe her. The men went in the direction of the children, breaking up the video game party, while Hunter ran to his toy, which had landed with a pop and then immediately suffered the wrath of Kylie’s spiked heel when she’d blindly stepped on it.

      “My new game is totally broken!” Hunter cried.

      Drew grabbed Caden by the shoulder and marched him toward the restroom, where he’d seen the boy’s brother run for cover.

      The twins had yet to see Uncle Drew at his boiling point. Really, nobody had seen the calm counselor lose his cool in quite a few years, but the two eight-year-olds were about to get a peek at what he’d successfully held under wraps for so long.

      “You guys not only broke Hunter’s game but also seriously hurt that poor woman out there. And all because you were fighting over whose turn it was. You’ve both been acting selfish and wild since I picked you up from Grammie and Pop’s, and I refuse to allow things to continue like this.”

      Drew was livid and the boys finally looked remorseful.

      “Are you gonna send us away to live with someone else, Uncle Drew?” Aiden had fat tears trickling down his chubby cheeks.

      The emotional pressure had been building all week and, with the combined stress of the Kylie situation, Drew was at his wit’s end.

      In the bathroom mirror, he caught sight of the vein pulsing along the right side of his neck. He took a deep breath, trying to come up with the best way to take control of this derailed mess.

      “Nobody’ll take us.” Caden stared at his scruffy sneakers, refusing to meet his uncle’s eyes. “Nobody wants us.”

      “Why would you think something like that?” asked Drew.

      “’Cause Dad is always going off on assignments and Grammie and Pop said their new motor home isn’t kidproofed yet and wouldn’t take us on vacation with them.”

      “Guys.” Drew tried to find the ideal thing to say to ease Caden’s fear, but the perfect words were escaping him. “Just because they’re not here doesn’t mean they don’t want to be with you.”

      “Yeah, right,” said Aiden, sniffing back a tear of his own. “Even Aunt Hannah ditched us.”

      What did Drew’s sister have to do with this? “Aunt Hannah is doing important work teaching at an orphanage.”

      “So? Me and Caden are practically orphans. Why’d she have to go all the way to Africa for that unless she was trying to get away from us, too?”

      The throbbing in Drew’s neck lowered to his heart and became more of a dull ache. His poor nephews were dealing with something bigger than just a lack of discipline. He sighed before easing himself to the tile floor. “Listen, boys. You are not orphans. You have a big, wonderful family that cares so much about you. And nobody ditched you guys. It was my turn to get a chance finally to spend some time with you because I love you and I want you. But you guys have to love me, too. I need you to start acting as if you want to be with me. When you misbehave and don’t follow the rules, it tells me that you don’t respect me and that you’re not happy being with me.”

      “But we do like to be with you.” Aiden was still sniffling, but at least the tears had subsided.

      “Then, you guys need to show me. I want us to have a fun summer, but we need to work together as a team,

Скачать книгу