LITMIR.BIZ

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You will apologize. That is my bottom line.”

      “I’m not apologizing,” Paxton said again with anger in his voice. “And another thing, why can’t I sleep in the house with Lisa? Your ideas are old-fashioned and outdated. You have to start living in the twenty-first century.”

      Their mother’s lips tightened into a thin line. “This is my house, and you will live by my rules. If you want to sleep with Lisa, you can sleep with her in the bunkhouse, but not under my nose, in my home. That was a rule your father and I made years ago, hoping you boys would grow up with morals and integrity. If you don’t respect that, you’re free to leave.”

      “Maybe I should. You care more about Jenny than you do about your own son.”

      “Excuse me?”

      “I’ve had enough of your attitude.” Falcon stepped closer to Paxton. “Apologize to Mom this instant or I’m going to lay a whole lot of hurt on you. We all worked our butts off today to give you a party and this is how you thank us, by disrespecting our mother? You know better than that.”

      “Shut up, Falcon. You’re not my father.”

      That was when Falcon’s fist connected with Paxton’s jaw. Paxton staggered backward, landed against the wall and slid to the floor. He was immediately on his feet, ready to take on his older brother, who was now head of the family.

      “Falcon!” their mother cried.

      Quincy got between his brothers. “Enough. Go home to Leah, Falcon. I got this.” Since they still couldn’t take their preemie son out around people other than family, Leah and Falcon had taken turns coming to the party. Falcon had only been here a few minutes.

      Falcon turned toward the back door at the same time that Eden danced into the kitchen. “Oh, there’s my daddy. Hey, Daddy, we’re having a party. Oooh.” Eden grabbed her head. “I’m floating.” She reached for the counter.

      Eden was drunk. Before Falcon could get to her, Jude came into the kitchen. “Grandpa’s passed out, Quincy. You better check on him.”

      “What’s going on in there?”

      “Phoenix spiked the punch. Zane’s throwing up in the bathroom and I’ve got to go.”

      Their mother threw up her hands. “Why can’t we have a party like normal people?” She went to the doorway and shouted, “Phoenix, get in here! And bring that punch bowl.”

      “I’m taking Eden home,” Falcon said, placing his arm around his daughter and leading her toward the back door. “Let’s go home to Mama, baby girl.”

      Eden leaned on her father. “I love Mama and Snickerdoodle. He’s so sweet. I... Daddy... Oh...” Eden ran into the utility bathroom and soon they heard her retching.

      Phoenix walked in with the punch bowl in his arms. Falcon pointed a finger at him. “Your ass is mine in the morning.”

      “What did I do?”

      “You spiked the punch,” his mother told him. “And now Eden, Zane and Grandpa are drunk.”

      “I told them not to drink it.”

      Kate placed her hands on her hips. “How many times have I told you not to spike the punch?”

      A silly grin split Phoenix’s face. “Well, Mom, I’ve lost track, but I haven’t done it for a while. Jenny put a damper on the party and I was just trying to liven things up a little bit, to get things going again. I didn’t mean to hurt anybody.”

      “Pour that punch down the drain. I’ll deal with you later.”

      “I’ll deal with you in the morning,” Falcon said.

      “You’ll have to find me first,” Phoenix muttered under his breath, and Quincy had to give his younger brother credit for still cracking jokes when doom was about to rain down on him. Falcon was mad and everybody knew when he was to stay clear.

      Rachel entered the room, followed by Egan. She looked at Paxton, who seemed to be holding up the wall. “Lisa’s looking for you.”

      Paxton pushed away from the wall and walked out without a word to anyone.

      “What’s going on?” Egan asked. “Why does Paxton have a bruise on his face?”

      “I’ll tell you later,” Quincy said, figuring there had been enough excitement for tonight. If Egan found out Paxton had bad-mouthed their mother, Paxton would suffer another bruise on his head. Quincy was hoping he’d come to his senses and apologize before the party was over. If not, he’d have more than words for his brother.

      Egan kissed his mother’s cheek. “We’re going home. I’ll be back in the morning to help with the cleanup.”

      “Don’t worry about that. There’s enough of us here to take care of it. Spend your Sunday morning with your wife.”

      “Ah, Miss Kate, that’s very thoughtful.” Rachel hugged her mother-in-law. “We’ll both be here because Egan wouldn’t be happy unless he was doing his part. And if he’s not happy, I’m not happy.”

      Gabe, their uncle and his wife, Lacey, were the next ones to leave. Little by little, the party broke up. Since things had settled down, Quincy went to check on Grandpa, who was snoring into the sofa. He’d wake him up later. At the front door, Paxton and Lisa were saying goodbye to friends. Elias and some rodeo guys and a girl were out on the deck and Quincy could see things were getting heated. Elias was waving his arms. Quincy groaned and made his way to the deck.

      “Party’s over, boys,” Quincy announced.

      The rodeo guy glanced at Elias and then put his arm around the girl and they walked into the den.

      “What’s wrong with you?” Quincy asked Elias. “You’re starting a fight in Mom’s house?”

      “I danced with his girl, so what? She didn’t seem to mind.”

      Quincy looked toward the sky. There had to be a full moon tonight because everyone was acting crazy. “Pick up some of these cans and let’s start cleaning up.”

      Elias downed the rest of his beer. “You’re such a downer, Quincy. Do you ever have fun?”

      That question was on his mind a lot lately. He was tired of being peacemaker in the family. Maybe it was time for him to let everyone handle their own problems.

      “Life isn’t always about fun.”

      Elias laughed. “After we get everything picked up, I’ll take you down to Rowdy’s for a beer and introduce you to someone who could change your mind in about fifteen minutes or less.”

      “I’m not interested in cheap sex.”

      “Who said it was cheap?”

      “You’re an idiot.” Quincy went back into the den, and Lisa and Paxton were huddled together at the bottom of the stairs. Quincy could hear them as he made his way to the kitchen.

      “Come on, Pax, your mom won’t know a thing. When she goes to sleep, just sneak into my room. I don’t understand why you didn’t come last night. I don’t like sleeping by myself.”

      Quincy sincerely hoped Paxton wasn’t thinking of doing such a thing.

      “Quincy.” Paxton caught up to him before he reached the door. “Please talk to Mom. She listens to you.”

      “I can’t make her change her rules. There’s an easy solution to all this. Phoenix and Jericho can move into the house and you and Lisa can have the bunkhouse to yourselves. Everyone will be happy.”

      Paxton glanced down at his boots. “Lisa thinks I live in the house. I haven’t told her I live in the bunkhouse when I’m home.”

      “Have you told this girl anything about yourself?”

      “Come

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