Page 42 of Guarding My Love

“I can’t believe she lives here,” the guy mumbled to himself, ignoring Foster, and climbing off the porch, then going to his car and starting it. Foster waited there until the guy left and then typed the license plate number and make and model of the car into his phone so he didn’t forget it.

He pulled out and made his way to West’s to prepare himself to play nice.

He was the last one to arrive and it didn’t surprise him. Chances are his siblings had come up on Saturday to stay the weekend.

“There he is,” Laken said. “Better late than never. I was starting to think you weren’t going to make it.”

“I said I’d be here,” he said to his sister. “Hey, Penelope.”

His sister was engaged to ex-NFL quarterback and now Fox Sports analyst Jamie Wilde. Penelope was his two-year-old daughter, and he had to admit, she did put a smile on his face when many people didn’t.

He wanted to think he wasn’t much of a kid person having been around so many, but maybe he’d grown some patience in his life.

Nope. He didn’t.

He just knew he had the ability to escape when he needed to.

“Hi, Foster,” Penelope said, running over to him and showing him her new toy. “It’s a computer.”

It was a plastic toy made to look like a computer that was teaching her all sorts of things.

“Wow,” he said. “That one looks like it’d work better than mine!”

Jamie laughed and Penelope ran back to where she was sitting.

Braylon was next to his fiancée, Lily, and Abby was walking out of the kitchen where a beer was poured into a glass and handed right to him.

“Thanks,” he said. “West doesn’t realize how perfect of a wife he has to know I need this.”

“I’ve learned that a beer puts you in a better mood,” Abby said. “And we got this shipped to us yesterday from Elias. It’s one of his newest creations. It all tastes the same to me, but I’m not supposed to say that.”

Elias was the brother he was closest to. The one he talked to the most, and since he didn’t talk to many, that was saying a lot.

That brother owned a brewery in North Carolina.

Foster took a sip and closed his eyes. “This is great. I’ll be sure to let him know.”

“You have the most refined pallet when it comes to beer,” Braylon said. “He’ll appreciate it.”

“That’s because all you fancy city folk need to drink your sparkling water and Dom Perignon.”

“You know what Dom Perignon is?” Nelson asked, walking into the room and putting his phone in his pocket. He was probably taking a call somewhere. Mini West was what they liked to call the youngest son of the family.

“Asshole,” he said.

“Boys,” West said. “It’s supposed to be a relaxing weekend here. So far we’ve had no fights or anything until Foster showed up.”

“I didn’t start it,” he said. “I never do.”

“We know that,” Laken said. “Your buttons tend to get pushed the most. And remember, there are little ears around here.”

He cringed and looked at Jamie. “Sorry about swearing.”

“It’s not as if she hasn’t heard it before. She’s too busy playing,” Jamie said.

“What’s your problem today?” Nelson asked. “It’s a long weekend. You’ve got a beer in your hand and you’re not working. No reason to be moody. It’s not like you just spent thirty minutes on a call like I did.”

“You have to earn your way to the top,” Laken said. “We’ve all done it and could get calls too at any given time.”

---