46

I stroll towards the huge glass doors that open up on a veranda with lots of comfortable seating, even some hang mats, and swings.
Water falls from the second story into a natural-looking swimming pool decorated with rocks and plants, continuing the mountain hut theme. Some more shrubs, reeds, and colorful flowers separate the green lawn from the golden beach with the sparkling ocean mere meters away. To make it even more picturesque, a large barrier of rocks forms an edge on one side of the beach, forming a secluded private area, and everything is elegantly coated in soft lighting.
The architect of this project created a masterpiece that blends modernly well into its surroundings, without losing any functionality or comfortability. This is my dream house … and I envy the girl who eventually gets to stay here. For more reasons than one.
“Damion,” I turn to where he’s standing watching me. “You said you picked me up from soccer because we needed to talk.” My heart hammers anxiously into my chest.
“Yes … eh … ” he grates. “Maybe we … you could stay after … I don’t …” I’ve never seen him stutter for words before. Never. He’s the cocky one – always ready with a comeback.
There is a knock on the door and Damion rushes to open it as if he’s glad for the interruption.
He pulls the woman into a big hug and swings her around.
“Eehhh,” she chirps. “Let me go you buffoon!” The joyful laughter refutes her words.
“Oh, Mel, it’s so good to see you,” she pulls me into a warm hug that reminds me of my mother. I swallow the knot that appears in my throat.
I’m not sure where Luke’s hazel eye color comes from – although both boys clearly look like their dad – but Damion has his mother’s eyes.
Unlike Damion, hers are friendly and warm and not closed off to the outside world – the crowfeet around them deepens as her smile widens.
Oh, I would love to see his soul through his eyes – a whole happy soul. Not the broken one he hides behind layers and rules. What caused him to be that way?
“I brought food, you can just warm it later.” She holds up some bags and my tummy rumbles at the thought. I’m rather famished.
“Great,” Damion grabs the bags, and winks at me, “If you’re a good girl I’ll share it with you.” He walks to the kitchen while I shoot him a glare of destruction.
“Ug, my boys will drive me old way before my time,” Haley sighs, but her motherly love is written all over her face. I really miss my mom.
I always dreamed that one day I’ll, at least, get a mother-in-law who can fill up some of the voids. Haley would make a perfect mom-in-law … and again I envy the girl who will not only get to live in my now dream house … but will also get a super mom-in-law.
Damion comes back with some drinks and I look at him with a mischievous angry smile.
“How do I say this politely … your son is a dick,” I mumble to Haley, still staring at the devil that looks like an angel. He just cocks his brow up with a lopsided grin; he does that when he’s amused.
“Ug, I know right? All the boys in my house have this annoying cocky attitude, unfortunately. It runs in their father’s side of the family.”
We giggle and she takes my arm and steers me to one of the sofas and pulls me down with her. Damion grabs a blanket from one of the chairs and carefully drapes it over me.
I thankfully pull it tight … being so much in awe of this beautiful place, I’ve nearly forgotten that I’m cold. He came to fetch me from soccer practice and I didn’t have time to change. He gave me his hoodie again, but since it started raining on the way here, it’s not nearly warm enough.
“But, they have great hearts and make pretty decent husbands when you fix them up a little and show them who’s boss.” My eyes grow big and I look at him with a winning smirk.
“And just between you and me, this son seems to need a good fixer-upper by the looks of it.” She winks at me and then turns back to look lovingly at her son who’s now scratching the back of his head.
I love this part of him … the part where he drops his cocky attitude and becomes vulnerable like a little boy … the part when he shows his heart … the real Damion Grimm behind all the macho arrogant walls. But it doesn’t happen often.
“Oh, I love this girl.” She eyes him, “I pick her to be my daughter-in-law. And I expect you to make it happen.” I gawk at her in surprise. Damion pulls his eyes as if he wants to chastise her, but he gets interrupted by Uncle John walking in.
Then all my brothers arrive with Kiara and Axel, and for a few minutes, it’s utter chaos. Everyone’s conversing simultaneously, not all of them using inside voices, while at the same time trying to find a seat. Kiara snuggles up next to me on the couch, unceremoniously sharing my blanket.
She leans over and whispers in my ear: “Doesn’t this place look just like that dream house you drew when we were kids?”
It slams me between my eyes. It looks almost exactly like that!
No wonder it seemed familiar. I made a mood board of my favorite things … drawings, materials, images, and so on … everything I wanted in my dream house … and this is it.
“Why did Damion pick you up?” Jackson asks bluntly.
It must be another coincidence. How would he know? Maybe Damion’s architect has the same taste as me.
“I was in the neighborhood,” he answers with the same frankness as the two eyes each other.
“Men,” Kiara whispers again rolling her eyes.
Jackson gets a sinister grin on his face, as Damion lowers his eyes. I bite my lip. Sometimes that brother scares me. I swear, no one can figure out his screwed-up mind … lots of therapists tried without success.
Uncle John sent all of us for therapy after our mom’s death – and it helped – except for Jackson. I can’t decide if he was born crazy or if he got hit on the head a few too many times, but I can say that he’s broken the most of all.
Jackson sits down next to Kiara, and then she jabs me closer to her.
“Damion, sit there next to Mel. She can shift up.” I shift. As close to Kiara as I can without sitting on her lap. He sits down. I try not to touch any part of him.
“Deimos wanted to be here, but an emergency came up, so you’re stuck with me,” Haley jokes. Then she glances at our uncle, and with a deep breath, he starts.
“Before we get to the photo in the locket, I think it’s time we talk about our families’ history.”
Damion informed me on the way here about the locket Jackson snatched from his attacker. He hasn’t seen the locket either, but he saw Jackson giving it to Axel before they loaded him into the ambulance.
And Axel, being as tight-lipped as his buddy, didn’t tell anyone about it until Jackson got out of ICU.
Now we’re here at this meeting because, apparently, there’s some photo inside the locket that could shed some light on who we’re dealing with. And I’m not denying … I’m curious as shit to find out who D is … even if I have to listen to a history lesson first.
“This whole thing has been coming on for a long time, but we didn’t expect it to affect you in any way. Turns out we thought wrong,” our uncle continues, his voice breaking. Haley gets up and walks to the kitchen.
“Who are the ‘we’ you are talking about?” Ilkay asks with a frown.
Uncle John looks at Jackson with dull gray eyes and pulls his lips tight. Haley comes back with a bottle of water and hands it to him. He swallows down two big gulps.