The security system that Jensen put in at Clay's request was simple enough to get used to. Explaining the need for it to my employees, a little less easy. Keli was staring at me with a look of shrewdness that almost caused me to squirm, but I couldn't tell her that Clay and the others were fucking assumed dead black ops, and that my dad and his two butthole buddies were gunning for them, could I?
Baking, creating new sweet treats, kept me mostly sane, and almost nightly visits from Clay helped too. Actually the nightly visits more than helped, but I was worried about when the other shoe would drop. Matthew and Alex Xavier along with my biological sperm donor wouldn't just go away on their own, not with Clay and his group still working to bring them down. Even with Clay keeping my bed warm and the rave reviews I was getting from customers for the newest pastries I came up with.
Time seemed to keep slipping by, and I lost track of the date, even while keeping the inventory and ordering schedule on track. I was crouched behind the counter, checking out the supplies that we kept there, when Keli nudged me with her knee. I almost tapped her leg back, but then I heard her mutter out a greeting to Davy and George. Shit.
I nearly smacked my head on the counter as I rose to my feet, fuck shit fuck. "Hey!" I offered, sounding high pitched and slightly freaked out. Way to go, Char. "I didn't realize it was time for you two to visit." A call would have been nice, a postcard, a fucking email. I walked around the counter so my two uncles could embrace me between them. My two sweet, loving uncles.
"When did you put in the security system?" Davy asked, as he pulled away and smiled down at me. "Didn't think our little town was a hotbed of criminal activity."
My smile felt forced, because it definitely was. "The fire across the street, I told you about it, remember?" George tsked and pulled me back into his arms. "I'm alright, Uncle George."
"Has the donor been by lately?" Davy looked like he smelled and tasted something disgusting which was apt, since my father was pretty fucking gross. I shook my head, not since the last time, thank God.
I sighed. "No, but my two favorite officers have started to come in every other day." Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum I called them in my head, which was a hell of a sight better than some of the nicknames I heard Keli mutter at them. "I completely forgot that you guys were coming," even if you come every single fucking year around the same fucking time. "How's Florida?"
Davy and George had kept their house in town, so while I was expected to have dinner with them almost every night, we weren't all squished into my apartment upstairs. Once I locked up that evening, I went upstairs to change into something more comfortable so I could drive to their house, completely forgetting my new routine. When I heard Clay's soft knock, it hit me that I hadn't told my uncles about the new man in my life. In fact, I hadn't told them anything about Clay or the others. My fucking life had been in complete upheaval for months, so give me a break, would you?
"Hey," I offered, after I killed the security system and unlocked the door. He was staring at the dress I'd pulled on, my hair down from the topknot that was part of my unofficial uniform for work.
"We going somewhere, Char?" He and his team hadn't been in for their daily dose of caffeine so I hadn't been able to tell him that Davy and George were visiting, and now- Shit.
"Dinner with my uncles," I bit my lip, wondering if I should call and tell them I was bringing a guest. "Give me a second, I want to make sure they made enough food for four." He shook his head, but was smiling, so I knew that he probably knew I'd forgotten to tell them he was coming along.
I called and told George that I'd be adding a plus one for dinner. He chuckled and said he'd heard from Keli that there was a certain someone. After assuring me that he assumed that my guy would be coming along, and so they had more than enough, especially if the rest of my gentleman's friends wanted to tag along. Shit, Keli was just a little sharebot wasn't she?
"I think it will just be the two of us," I answered, smiling as Clay's eyebrow raised in curiosity. "Let me make sure though." Holding my hand over the mic, I asked him if his team wanted to join us.
"Jensen has another date with Carrie," he offered. "Pooch went home for a furlough with his wife and son. Cougar is doing what Cougar does. Just you and me, Char."
Confirming with George that it would just be the four of us, I told him we'd be on our way soon. Clay's arms were around me as soon as I hit END. "This is nice," I leaned back into his chest.
"But," he kissed the top of my head, "we have to go." Ugh, the thought of not climbing Clay like a tree was repulsive to me, but he was right. "Come on, Charlotte, let's go so I can meet your family."
Davy opened the door and his face broke out into a wide grin at the sight of Clay practically wrapped around me from behind. "Oh, Charlotte, this must be Clay." I guess a part of me was happy that Keli had told them Clay's name and not his 'nickname'. "Come on in," he stepped back and let us in. I shook my head as I saw my uncle look Clay over from top to bottom and then back up again. Who could blame him? "George is in the kitchen," he offered as I walked toward the scent of my favorite meal. "Clay, come into the family room, Char is heading toward her happy place." I was grinning over my shoulder reassuringly at Clay as I moved with purpose to the one person who understood my love of baking and cooking.
George shook his head when I came through the swinging door of the kitchen. "You have a man with you and you're going to come hang out with me, I thought I taught you better." He was smiling too, and I knew that he was teasing. "I made your favorites."
"I know, I could smell them through the front door." Hopping onto a stool at the island, I watched as my uncle moved around his kitchen with the same confidence that I did in mine and the cafe's. "You know, I completely forgot-"
"That we were coming?" His eyebrow arched perfectly, making me jealous of his natural aptitude. "I think your mind was on other, far more pleasant, topics." From an arch, both eyebrows waggled, causing me to giggle. "Not to mention Daddy Dearest deciding to touch base. Fucking asshole."
I stole a bite of food and nodded. "Yeah, it was different." I wanted to know what the twins and my father had brewing that would cause him to show up now. The town wasn't huge, so the fact that we hadn't bumped into one another at all until recently told me far more, but not nearly enough. "How long are you guys staying this time?" While my uncles came home yearly, their stay lengths varied depending on what else they were planning. A cruise shortened one trip to a week, but another year they stayed almost a month.
"We're playing it by ear," his eyes met mine and I knew this was a sudden choice. One made when they learned that the cops were becoming regulars. "I want to see how harassing the police are, Char, and there are a few things Davy and I want to discuss with you." Shit.
Dinner, once we all gathered in the dining room, was a hell of a lot less awkward than I'd thought possible. Davy and George included Clay in the conversation, and for his part, Clay honestly seemed to enjoy himself. Dessert was one of my own recipes, one that George told me was a favorite among their circle in Florida, and while rushing away so we could be alone was tempting, we didn't.
Sitting in the family room, surrounded by family photos, with me as a center focus, I listened as my uncles regaled Clay with stories about my younger years.
"There she was, covered head to toe in mud, glaring at Carrie's big brother Chris like she was going to throttle him and it was all we could do to not laugh." Davy was chuckling at the memory. "I swear, I can still see her almost steaming from her rage."
"He called me a dog," I muttered, "and not a female one. Just a dog."
"How old were you?" Clay asked, eyes twinkling and dimples deep.
"Sixteen," George laughed. "She was sixteen and contemplating murder because an eighteen year old was being a douche."
"He tossed me in a mudhole that could have fucking drowned me," I glared, the memory coming back fresh. "And said even dogs were cute with mud on them, but not me."
Clay pulled me into his body, kissing my head. "Carrie's brother sounds like a blind asshole."
"Didn't he marry the Costello girl?" Davy asked, his smile widening and I giggled and nodded. "Talk about unattractive."
"Davy," George admonished, but his chuckle ruined it. "That's not very charitable."
"Charity was marrying that girl." Davy muttered, offering to top our drinks off, but I begged off. "That's right, you need to get home so you can wake up early." His eyes landed on Clay's hand running down my arm and I shook my head. "Get at least a little rest, would you?"
We said our goodbyes, my uncles hugging both of us and telling me that they wanted to talk to me at the cafe about something important, we left.
"Davy and George are pretty great," Clay was holding me, our naked skin pressed together, the well earned exhaustion pressing down on both of us. "Thank you for taking me to meet them."
I looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you for coming with me." His finger traced my lower, kiss swollen lip. "They like you."
"Good," he pulled me up so he could replace his finger with his lips. "I-" I heard him swallow hard. "Char, I think I-" I pulled back so I could see him a little better in the dim light that was coming through the lace curtains. He looked hesitant and unsure, not at all Clay-like. "Shit."
I smiled and kissed him. When I pulled away again, I shook my head. "Trying to say you love me?" I heard him gulp again. "Took you long enough," I mumbled, nipping at his bottom lip. "I love you, Franklin Clay." Then chuckling I broke the tension that seemed to be radiating off him. "Does that make me a necrophiliac?"
