Page 26 of Jaxon

"Just don't let it touch the meat," Stella called back. She and Jules had started a game of horseshoe.

"Veggie burger for me, too," Jules called.

Dad walked over with a beer. He had a second one for Slade. Slade lifted his beer in toast. "Hey, did Colt tell you about those guys who were lurking around the jobsite this morning?" Slade asked Dad.

"Haven't really talked to him," Dad said. "Who were they?"

"They pretended they were from the city, trying to make it seem like they were inspectors or something, but city inspectors don't usually show up in Humvees with tinted windows. These dudes looked like they were Secret Service or at least playing Secret Service agents."

"Yeah, they're part of some security detail sent by Walsh," Crusoe said casually, even though his words rendered all of us silent. He took a sip of beer and then noticed that everyone was staring at him with mouths agape.

"What do you mean?" Dad asked.

"They were at Croft Beach earlier when I was surfing with Max and Riley," Crusoe explained. "I was talking to Bridget." Crusoe grinned smugly at me. "Anyhow, I pointed this big dickwad out to her. He looked like a real fuckface dressed all in black and with a head as big as a truck tire. She said he was part of her dad's security detail. She tried to warn me to stay clear of him, but I told her I wasn't afraid."

"Well, you should be," Dad snapped. "Idiots like that, who think they're badass but are generally stupid fucks, usually carry weapons, and they're not exactly the think-before-you-shoot type. Your cocky attitude and lethal right hook aren't gonna be any match for a Glock 19."

Crusoe smiled. "Yeah? You think my right hook is lethal?"

Slade chuckled, and Dad shook his head. "Really? That's what you got out of that speech?" Dad asked. "Just stay clear of them like Bridget warned." Dad looked over at me next. Our moment of truce was suddenly feeling less truce-y. "And how the hell did you get tangled up with Walsh's kid?"

"Told you, she was hot, hot—" Crusoe started, but Dad held up a big hand to stop him.

"Yeah, got it. Seriously, Jax, sometimes you need to think with your head instead of your dick," Dad said.

I laughed, but Slade laughed louder. "Holy fucking shit, did you seriously just say that to your kid? You fucked every—" Slade started, but my Dad's expression stopped him cold. Slade turned a pretend key in front of his mouth. "Never mind, boys, the three of us were like angels. Nuns would smile and wave at us as we trotted down the street in our pressed trousers and white button-down shirts."

"Slade," Dad said.

"Yeah?"

"Shut the fuck up."

"Doing that right now. Oh look, Jade is bringing out the chips and dips, and they are calling my name." He paused before leaving, and I sensed the conversation was heading in a more serious direction. "Why do you think those guys were hanging around the worksite?" Slade asked Dad.

"Not sure, but I don't think they were there to sell bibles or ice cream bars." Dad looked at me. I didn't appreciate the accusatory scowl.

"Yep, those chips sound good to me, too," I said and walked away.

We downed burgers and potato salad and slugged back pitchers of lemonade in between beers. Strange men in black Humvees and Walsh and his minions were put on the back burner while we laughed and retold stories about our childhoods, most of them with Cormac as the main character since he was the guest of honor. Sitting there with my siblings and cousins made me think about Bridget. It seemed she was basically a lonely prisoner in her dad's grand castle, although it wasn't a castle so much as a ridiculously big beach house with enough windows to wipe out a flock of seagulls and enough steel to make the whole place look more like a jail cell than a home, and for Bridget, it was just that—a fancy jail cell. I'd somehow convinced myself that I would stop thinking about her by the end of the day, but my feelings for her had only grown more intense.

I didn't have her number, but I knew the way to her dad's beach house. I rarely crossed what I called "state lines" into Oceanview, but I needed to see her. There was a good chance I'd get shot or mauled by vicious Dobermans if I showed up at the house, but not seeing her wasn't an option. I needed to find out why she'd walked out on me this morning. It might have been my pride pushing this stupid idea or it might have been that I had really fallen for Bridget. I was going with a little of both. I had another motive, too. Walsh's security team were snooping around Colt's worksite today. I needed to find out why.

Laughter pulled me back to the party. Britton and Jade walked out with a big chocolate cake and glowing candles. Cormac was flapping around the yard in his new swim fins while Stella snapped pictures of him. I hadn't taken my motorcycle out of the old carriage house for a few weeks. After the party, it was time for a trip to the neighboring town.

We were possibly the worst set of singers on the planet, especially when we all sang together. Jules had a nice voice, and Theo's wasn't too bad, but with the rest of us crowing along it made the neighbor's dog howl when we sang "Happy Birthday." We all sat back down at the picnic table. Colt had built it himself, custom-sized to fit the whole family.

Crusoe was checking out something on his phone. Mom gave him the evil eye. She hated phones at the table. He pushed it into his pocket. "This was important. We're all meeting at the beach tomorrow after work for a rally. I told people that Walsh was sending his thugs out to intimidate us, so we're going to show up and laugh in their fucking faces."

Dad put down his fork and stared at Crusoe. "Is your head filled with rocks? Did you not hear me mention the Glock 19 problem?"

"I'll bet you and the uncles never backed down because of guns," Crusoe countered.

"Yeah, but we really did have our heads filled with rocks," Colt said. "And we just got lucky. Do not follow in our footsteps of blind fucking ignorance. We thought we were immortal."

"And you sort of were," Jade said with smile. "But Hunter's right, Cru. I'm sorry and it sucks, but there's no way to fight money and power. It's just a hideous fact of life."

"I'm already working on a way to save Croft Beach, and no one will have to get bloodied up or shot." Jules finished her comment and then dove her fork back into the cake. Everyone looked her direction. It seemed she wasn't going to let any of us in on her plan.

---