No sooner had they parked the car than Mia was racing from the car towards Brian. Vince was already passing her. With a savage yell he tackled Brian, the blonde getting out of the way just in time. Dom and Leon ran up to pull Vince off, as Mia was yelling at him to get off of Brian. No one paid any attention to the blonde.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH! WE FORGAVE YOU! MIA LOVES YOU!" Vince screamed.
A shrill whistle pierced the air, and they all looked up to the see the beautiful blonde pointing a double barrel shotgun at Vince. They all became very still. "Now." she began. "I don't know, and at this point don't particularly care, why you're on top of him, but I'm just gonna have to take exception to you abusing my favorite cousin whom I haven't seen in far too long. So why don't you stand up nice and slow there big man?" she pointed the barrels a short distance away.
Brian wiped the blood off of his mouth as Vince moved away with his arms in the air. Then he stood and brushed off his pants. Mia threw herself into his arms. God she felt so good. He'd missed her so much. "You can put the gun down Quin." he told her looking at Vince grimly. Vince had the grace to look ashamed. "I think Vince misunderstood our hug."
A smile spread across her face, and now it was easy to see that she and Brian were related. The hair, the eyes, and the smile, all of them were Brian. "Ahhh, well then, I certainly understand that I suppose. Are these all your friends?" she asked eyeing the group openly.
He nodded, and pointed everyone out. "That's Dom, Leon, Jesse, Vince, and this is Mia." Quin saw the look in his eyes as he pulled the brunette closer.
"Well, welcome to The Celtic Cross everyone. If you'll follow me I'll lead you up to the house, and we'll get you settled in. You'll meet my sisters at some point today I'm sure."
"Sisters?" Leon asked. He'd thought Brian's cousins were men.
"Well, sure. Didn't Brian tell you we're quintuplets? I have three sisters."
"Who's the fifth?" Dom asked.
A look of sorrow crossed her face. "Our brother Parkin died in the crash that took our parents lives, but let's not talk of sad events. You all are here to relax and enjoy yourselves. Follow me on up to the house."
They followed the leggy blonde up to the 'house' as she called it, and parked in a wide open area where several other vehicles were parked. It was huge. The house was two stories, and painted white with black trim. Wide steps led up to a veranda, or covered porch, that wrapped around onto both sides of the home. Wicker love seats, rocking chairs, and porch swings were placed sporadically. She had a long graceful stride, and she led them up the steps and into the house. As soon as she entered she took off the hat, and ran a hand through her great abundance of hair to smooth it. She was fighting a losing battle as it curled this way and that recklessly.
The inside of the home was just as nice as the outside. It looked like the home had hardwood floors through out and there were area rugs placed intermittently. "Would you like to see your rooms first, or do you need something to drink?"
No one answered her at first as they were still looking around them, and feeling like they'd just stepped into another universe. Finally Mia spoke, still encircled by Brian's arms. "I'd really like something to drink." The others nodded in agreement and she motioned for them to follow her.
They passed through a formal living room, a large formal dining room, and finally into a spacious kitchen. An area near a large bay window had been designated as a breakfast nook, and held a large table. An island made of oak, and topped with gold flecked granite stood in the center of the room. The whole room reminded them of a restaurant kitchen with its large appliances and amount of space. An older black woman was bustling around the kitchen. She looked up at the group with a smile as they entered. "Well is that little Brian finally coming to visit me?" she asked delighted, and moved over to him for a hug. The woman looked over the entire group. Quin was busy getting glasses out of a cupboard.
"Hey Ms. Martha, how are you?" Brian asked grinning.
"Wish it weren't so hot, but other than that good. These girls are gonna run me into an early grave, but I been saying that since the day they were born." Brian almost laughed as she grabbed both Vince and Dom's biceps, then she gave Leon a pat. "Fine strapping young men." Martha said approvingly. She eyed Jesse critically, noting his paleness, and dark circles under his eyes, "We need to get you some rest and some food into you." She clucked in her motherly way. Then she turned to Mia. "What a beautiful girl. Is this your sweetheart Brian?"
"Yes Ma'am." He said proudly.
She nodded. "The only thing you need darlin is some fattening up."
Quin snorted. "It's Ms. Martha's goal in life to have all us girls with nice rounded hips like hers." Saying this she grabbed for a cookie and the woman smacked her hand.
"You finish getting these folks their drinks young lady." She admonished, "And then get me that strainer off that shelf. That man drives me crazy putting things on shelves I can't reach."
Quin smiled and finished pouring lemonade. After making sure everyone had a drink and was sitting at the table with the fresh cookies she retrieved the strainer for Ms. Martha. "Well, you know if you'd just give in and marry that poor man, you wouldn't have to worry about strainers bein too high." All of the men, with the exception of Brian, appreciated the view of her stretching up to reach the item.
"But if she married him then we wouldn't get to tease her about it so often." The amused voice came from the doorway. Everyone's view turned to see the newcomer. She was several inches shorter than Quin, probably about 5'4", with long curling strawberry blonde hair. This woman was also fit, but a bit softer than Quin was. They shared the same eye color, but this woman wore silver wire framed glasses perched on her nose. She also wore a silk periwinkle tank top with gray slacks. "Don't tell me you forgot me Brian?" she asked crossing the kitchen.
