Page 20 of Hearts of Fairlake

"Devin," Chase finally protested in a low growl. "Behave yourself."

"Or what?" Devin asked, cocking a brow that I just knew was saying, 'Or you'll spank me?'

Chase glared back at him, letting out a defeated huff before returning to the grill. "There are kids around."

"And I didn't say anything inappropriate to their innocent ears," Devin said with a chuckle, knowing he’d won that battle of wits. He clearly wasn't afraid to flex his influence in the relationship, and honestly, I had to respect it. Anyone who could make Chase, the apparent former reigning king of, 'I will do and say as I please, and if you don't like it, you can fuck off,' and turn him into something softer and better behaved, deserved respect. "And since it didn't sound like a bad word, they won't try to repeat it."

"You hope," I said with a snort. "I'm in enough trouble with Bri without adding your degeneracy into the mix. I'm throwing you under the boss in a heartbeat if a question about that conversation pops up."

"He'll just bat those big eyes at Bri and sweet-talk her," Chase grumbled.

"I think he's pouting," I loudly whispered to Devin.

Devin chuckled. "It's cute when he does it."

"I do notpout," Chase complained.

"Right, right," Devin said with a smirk. "He broods. Much more manly and tough that way."

"Which completely takes away from it when you explain," Chase growled. "Fuck's sake, Devin."

"Adult word!" Colin piped up from exploring the grass. Ididn't know what he'd found this time, but it clearly had his attention, although apparently not enough to keep him from overhearing our conversation.

"You're absolutely right," I told him loudly, then dropped my voice. "This has been everyone's way of keeping the kids from repeating the words and scolding anyone who uses them. Probably a good idea considering Captain Foul Mouth back there."

"I know you, of all people, aren't going to talk about language," Chase said, glaring at me, spatula in hand. "I know."

"My friend, you make me sound like an innocent nun in comparison," I said with a snort.

"We're not friends," Chase huffed. "You're an example of how my fian…boyfriend can't make good friends in this town. And then you bring screaming rugrats with you."

Devin and my eyes met and lingered as Chase started scooping meat off the grill onto a plate as fast as possible. Chase wasn't exactly smooth and he hadn't even tried to cover up his slip other than to plow on with what he’d originally meant to say. The silence was probably making things worse, and in a rare moment of pity, I cleared my throat. "And don't act like these kids didn't specifically ask for you. And don't act like you didn't say they could come over."

"Yeah, well, what am I supposed to do? Tell a bunch of kids, no? I'm a dick, not evil," he said, stomping off toward the house with more speed than usual.

Not that he was going to fool anyone; he loved the kids. True, he had a favorite, said favorite trailing after Chase carefully on two legs she still wasn't completely in control of, but you were allowed favorites when you weren't the parent. Yet he would never have said no, even if it had just been Colin or Brendon who’d wanted to come over. However, Brendon was perfectly content in the grassbetween Devin and my chairs, seemingly pleased with the plethora of toys left behind when Colin had lost interest in them.

It was funny how Colin could look and sometimes act so serious, like his father, but the older he got, the more energetic and carefree, if bold, he was becoming. Bri had been slightly surprised by that, but I hadn’t. I remembered all too well when he had been around Brendon's age; he could be quiet and thoughtful, but generally, he was inquisitive, talkative, and pretty adventurous.

Amber was different, but I wasn't all that surprised, considering her circumstances. There was a hardheaded streak in her a mile wide that was going to be oh-so-fun to deal with down the road, but there was a sweetness to her. All in all, I thought that once she finally came out of her shell, she’d be more like her older brother than anything else.

Brendon, however, was just...sweet. He took after his dad's side of the family because neither Bri nor I could claim sweetness, whereas her patient, compassionate husband certainly did. Brendon loved being around other people but usually did his own thing. Sometimes, he paid attention to conversations like he could fully understand them; other times, he was happy to just exist around others.

As if sensing my thoughts, Brendon looked up from the toys and grinned at me, waving a toy at me for whatever reason had crossed his little head. Snorting, I pointed toward Devin, which had the reaction I expected. Brendon lit up as if he’d completely forgotten Devin had been there the whole time, dropping his toys and reaching out with pudgy grasping hands.

"Oh, I got you, sweet boy," Devin said, setting his beer bottle on the table before reaching down with a grunt to heft Brendon onto his lap. "Coming back to reality, huh?"

"He likes being off in his own world," I noted, glancingagain at Colin to see he’d made his way toward the neighbor's bushes.

"That's alright," Devin said with a smile, smoothing the thin wisps of blond hair on Brendon's head. "I did that a lot as a kid too. I did it because the worlds I could build in my head were better than many things I was dealing with in real life, but...I probably would have done the same if I grew up with a normal family like he has."

"Normal," I scoffed. "These kids end up at so many people's houses and see so much. And not one of us is normal."

"Healthy then," Devin said with a roll of his eyes. "It might be easy for some of you to think how weird these kids are being raised sometimes, but for people like me and Chase? We could only dream of having a childhood like theirs. They've got so many people: you, Trevor, Me, Chase, Adam's parents, Ian and Kyle, Ayla, and Annie, and that's not even covering the fact that although Brendon isn't Adam's, and Amber isn't any of theirs, they're being raised by two sets of parents that treat them like their own."

I felt a flash of regret, knowing I’d spoken carelessly. "Well, maybe that's the weird part. They've got more people to take care of them than they know what to do with...which, when I think about it, actually makes it a little depressing."

"Why, because most kids don't get that?"

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