Shay dropped his head quickly. He didn’t want her to see him smile. He wasn’t laughing at her, but she might think he was. His Dani was very sensitive to what she considered insults.
“Uh . . . did you get the”—he hated saying the next word—“text . . . from your mom?”
“Yes. And before you ask, I’m fine. She said I could go with them, but I’d rather drive nails in my hand than watch a bunch of gross boys run around like idiots.”
“Okay.”
He saw her look at him from the corner of her eye before she asked, “Are you okay with me staying here until Mom is done doing summer football stuff for the boys?”
“Why are you asking me stupid questions?”
Now she looked directly at him. “It wasn’t a stupid question. It was polite. You should never assume people have time for a houseguest.”
“Dani, you’re my daughter. You’re not a houseguest. You’re my daughter and you live here just like you live with your mom. This is your house as much as it’s mine.”
“Uncle Finn says he paid for the house.”
“Uncle Finn is delusional!” he snapped before getting control. “I put in the down payment.”
“But Uncle Keane says—”
“I don’t want to talk about that. I’m not having this argument again.”
The sides of her mouth turned up a little as she fought not to smile at his annoyance. “Okay. But you may want to check in with Gran, because she seems to think this house belongs to—”
“Oh, my God! This family!” He smiled at his daughter’s giggling and said, “Tomorrow. What’s the plan? Math camp, right?”
“No. Puppies. They need to go to the vet. According to the book—”
“Please don’t mention that book again tonight. Okay? We’ll just figure it all out in the morning. But whatever we do, I can’t miss team practice. Keane is not going to be okay with me missing that.”
“Uncle Mean will have to suck it up. The puppies come first.”
“You’re free to argue that point with him—”
“And I will.”
“—but let’s not go into this situation looking for a fight with the man you call Uncle Mean.”
“He’s not mean to me,” she replied. “He’s just mean to everyone else.”
Dani suddenly rested against his arm. “And thanks, Daddy.”
“For what?”
“I don’t know. Just felt like saying it.”
“Yeah. I totally get that.” He kissed the top of her head. “I love you, Deacon.”
Dani sat up and glared at her father. “Why did you give me a football nickname?”
“You can pretend it’s religious.”
“But it’s not. You named me after Deacon Jones!”
“The man came up with ‘sacking the quarterback.’ He was part of the Fearsome Foursome. He was the secretary of defense! Just like you are . . . by protecting these puppies.”
Shay spread his arms wide and grinned, proud of how he’d made that whole thing work.
His daughter’s face, however, scrunched into an expression of obvious disgust, and she again hit him with “Oh . . . Daddy.”
*
“Why don’t I handle your grandmother?” Charlie asked. “And leave the rest of you out of it? Because I know you weren’t calling me an idiot.”
“I was not,” Tock replied. “I was definitely not calling you that.”
“Look”—Charlie stood, the coyote still on her shoulders—“I’ve already dealt with your grandmother before. We’ve had tea. You guys don’t even have to be involved.”
“That works for me.”
The voice came from the other side of the living room, and Tock’s teammates reacted as she would expect them to. Mads, Streep, and Nelle pulled out the handguns they had tucked into the back of their jeans or shorts. Max unleashed two of the six blades she had strapped to her back, one in each hand. And Charlie had a blade in one hand and a gun in the other. While the other four waited to see who had managed to sneak up on them, Charlie immediately let her blade fly; she probably didn’t want to disturb the neighbors by firing her gun.
Tock didn’t do anything, though. Because she instantly recognized the voice.
Her grandmother’s head moved to the side just enough to avoid the blade while she continued to eat from a plate of reheated spaghetti ladled with the sauce they’d brought back from Charlie’s house and stowed in the refrigerator nearly an hour ago.
Meaning her grandmother had been somewhere in the house all this time. Just . . . hanging out.
Standing by the hallway on the other side of the living room, which led to the kitchen, she slurped spaghetti into her mouth while calmly gazing at the others. Not even acknowledging Tock.
She gestured at the food with her fork. “This . . . is amazing. You made this, yes, Charlie?”
Charlie nodded but didn’t verbally reply.
“So good. I have been around the world many times, and this might be the best meat sauce I have ever had.” She took in another mouthful before motioning at the team with her fork. “Keep going,” she mumbled through her food. “Don’t mind me. I’m just eating.”
“I have to say”—Charlie looked at the others—“you getting in here without us knowing . . . that’s impressive.”
She began to politely applaud and the others joined in. But not Tock. She felt no need to applaud anything.
“Thank you, dear.” Mira Malka-Lepstein walked toward them in designer shoes that gave her an extra five inches. Shoes Tock would never dare wear because she was sure she’d fall on her ass. “Look at all of you. So lovely. And how you have grown. So beautiful. So honey badger. Your families must be proud.” Stopping in front of Tock’s team, her grandmother said, “For years, I have wanted to meet you, but my sweet Emily wanted to keep us apart. I have no idea why. The two of us have always been so close.”
Disgusted, Tock simply walked out of Mads’s house.
She just couldn’t stand there and listen to her grandmother another second.
As she slammed the door shut, she saw two of her cousins relaxing against a brand-new black Mercedes-Benz. She gave them a short wave—her mother would kill her if she was rude to her cousins—and started off down the street. As she walked, she saw something flash in another car and realized that other cousins were in a car parked at the end of the street. The ones planning to follow her, maybe. For her “protection,” she knew, but it still bothered her.
She couldn’t go to the place she’d been staying. She knew her family would be there waiting for her. She was starting to see they were all over this street. Watching Mads’s place and Charlie’s. Even the triplet bears’ house. Because her grandmother had to insert herself and her five-inch designer heels into everything.
And Tock was just not in the mood to deal with it.
Chapter 11
“What is that noise?” Keane roared from his room, waking
Shay up.
“It’s the damn puppies!” Finn yelled back.
“They’re just whining a little! Stop complaining!” Dani ordered.