Elmore returned just as we were serving up the food. He had Cori and, of all people, Travis Lehman, in the Hummer. He seemed to have taken my habit of finding strays to heart. Cori looked like she wanted to bolt, while Lehman found Sam instantly.

Jade was busy fitting two more place settings around the table and rounding up chairs. Elmore handed me that utterly disarming smile of his.

He had that right.

Jade and I had privately decided Elmore could probably tell Cori what to shit, how high to pile it and where he wanted it piled. Of all the women routinely blown away by his combination of country boy charm and physical beauty, Cori was the one most completely shot down. We weren’t at all sure she knew it herself, but it was true.

That must have been a trip—twenty-odd miles in a car with the original cat and mouse.

He gestured, in deep disgust, at the corner where Sam and Lehman were settled. Sam gave Lehman a quick head shake before answering Bill.

Sam shrugged and smiled, then turned away from Bill as if to say ‘I’ve been doing it, dumbass, you tell me.’ There was no liking and only grudging respect there. It was pretty safe to say that Sam stayed because he knew a deal when he saw one, and maybe for me. And probably the best that could be said was that neither man was ready to release what they held in common... that they filled a perverse need for one another.

Cori had inched into the kitchen and taken a seat. Nuala had t-boned her and was showing her a handful of something or another. Cori was looking at what the child had to show her and listening to the little girl’s prattle, hearing ‘Ma’ this and ‘Da’ that and finally turning to Jade.

Jade worked at arranging buns on a baking sheet. Her hands moved quickly, gracefully.

I hadn’t known that, though I’d been aware of the reasons the little ones had been sent to Ryan and Jade.

Jade had been counting on Nuala not understanding the meaning of the word ‘orphan’ and her confidence had not been misplaced. The tragic term had rolled right past the child. The transition from Ireland to Minnesota had been far from seamless, but the job had been better than I’d thought.

Cori was listening quietly, absorbing everything as was her habit. Survival, for her, depended upon her paying attention. It was a habit she was unable to break.

Jade shook her head, silenced the young woman.

I sagged against the countertop.

I didn’t even know quite what it was I was trying to ask. Jade continued to work with the rolls, preternaturally calm as she related the sad story’s ending.

She stopped herself, shook her head.

She cleared her throat.

And wasn’t that a nightmare? I could understand anybody wanting to avoid that mess.

Jade finished with the rolls, washed her hands and turned to the bundle of energy standing between Cori’s knees.

I marched up to Ryan as he stood in the front room filming a catfight, made him put down his fucking camera, and hugged him.

His arms were comforting, his voice a soothing low rumble. He patted my back once or twice, then put me away from him and looked me in the eye.

Jade called us all to the table.

No Norman Rockwell moment here, the turkey had been viciously carved to bits and transferred to a serving platter. While the adults took their places around the table, Jade and I busied ourselves with plates for Mick and Nuala, Bill stabbed at meat, fought Ryan off for potatoes and waited patiently for dressing. I took my place beside him, once the Hungry Irish Girl was settle, and fell to nudging food towards him. Bill normally treated food with nonchalance—it was fuel, after all. To see him pursue and eat it with such enjoyment was a treat.

Bill grabbed the gravy bowl and dumped it over meat and potatoes. He looked around—what was he missing?

God, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph the three-fingered carpenter! What was I trying to prove. Bill mostly ignored my cluckings anymore, but this caught him.

Bill reached across to snatch up some stray turkey skin. Sam tried to save it but wasn’t quick enough and the crisp morsel disappeared.

A peeping noise alerted me to the security system. Who in hell would be coming in—the boys were already at the table, Elmore had brought Cori and Lehman...

Jade and I rose at the same time and went to the kitchen, where the monitor had been placed. Jade had figured out how to operate the master controls—normally, I only succeeded in turning the system off or in increasing the alarm sensitivity to the point where squirrels set it off—so I stepped aside while she manipulated the display. Several images were empty while one displayed a deer close to the riverbank. Jade punched that one away quickly before I could get interested. Finally we saw what had caused the warning, a man with a mangled seabag of his own hiking up the drive. He was busy looking around and trying to stay out of the worst of the fresh snowfall. He turned his dark head and we got a look at his face.

We broke and ran, tearing up the driveway, and hit him low. We knocked him into a snow-filled depression, and he managed to twist himself around to break part of my fall.

Bully tightened his grip on us both and hauled us to our feet. We made a great production of brushing snow off his shoulders and backside as we walked him to the house. Bill was waiting inside the front door to spear him.

Jade pulled Ryan’s white cableknit sweater from the closet. Bully dropped the seabag and clawed into the warm garment. He was smirking at Bill when he poked his head free.

Bill didn’t let Bully see the grin. This was a man who’d based his life on a ruthless reputation, who had expected to live out his days friendless on the fringes of the society he wouldn’t let anyone know he was sworn to protect. It must have been a surprise to learn how many friends he really had.

Bully squeezed in at the end of the table, between Cori and Three.

He rested an arm across the back of her chair and tossed her one of his artless ‘goof in the rigging’ grins. Cori blushed to the roots of her hair and looked into her plate.

Jade wrenched the empty serving bowl out of Ryan’s hands. I reached across for the empty dinner-roll plate and dressing bowl. I had never in my life sat around a table full of so many people bound and determined to eat themselves stupid. It was a gratifying feeling, really. Cori scraped the last of Jade’s green bean casserole from the dish—Jade took that as well, to refill it.

There was a thought. Cori was so plainly... and wishfully... smitten with Elmore, but the big lummox didn’t seem to have the first clue. Bully couldn’t hurt things, those things, anyhow.

That was an understatement—big Elmore and little Cori, side by side... usually I had to squelch the feelings of watching a favorite son with a well-liked mate. What shit. Still... he made her look tiny without losing any of his innate grace. They were a joy to watch.

Laden with food, we headed for the dining room once more. Nuala was grinning widely and trying to eat the remains of a battered roll.

Bill ignored her in favor of another serving of both potatoes and stuffing. Elmore tossed Lehman a roll and directed the serving bowls Bill was finished with down to the parole officer. He seemed a little uncertain, Travis did, but the food went a long way towards making him comfortable. He was settled enough to eye Bully carefully, I could see that much.

Bill’s head rose, and he stopped chewing.

She fumbled for words, Bully’s warm gaze reducing her to hot blushes.

Lehman and Bully stared at one another over Cori’s bent head. Jade kicked me under the table. Too many more undercurrents here and this would start feeling like a bad piece of writing. Bully was incapable of ignoring the ladies, it simply went against his grain. Since Bill would crack him upside the head and Ryan was looking for an excuse, Cori seemed to be fair game. As for Lehman, I might have said he was merely interested in Cori’s success, but it didn’t seem possible that he dogged all his cases the way he did her. It would follow that their off-hours association probably had generated a level of closeness neither one of them had counted on. Cori... well, Elmore had referred to her as a friend. Between that and the attentions of the overwhelming Bully Hayes she was actually doing fairly well.

I turned my attention back to Bill. He might as well have put up a ‘man working’ sign and I was afraid he was going to make himself sick. There was no distracting him; when I tried, I got an evil growl.

Jade dealt me another kick and motioned toward the other end of the world. Cori was smiling, that rare prettiness of hers showing to full advantage. Bully, a master of gauging his fellow humans, had correctly judged Cori to be painfully shy and cautious almost to a fault. He kept the flirtation gentle. It was a world away from the sledgehammer levels Jade and I were familiar with.

Bully turned to Elmore, grinned blindingly and displayed the International High Sign. Elmore chomped off a huge bite of dill pickle and favored Bully with a like response.

Nuala and Mick had been watching this civilized exchange closely. They saw ones like it going on all day long but ignored them as aberrations of adult dignity. Once they saw Uncle Elmore, god of all things, indulging in it the gesture took on a previously unknown status. Before either Jade or I was aware, little Irish digits were waving like daisies in the breeze.

She snatched at the small hand, but Mick was too fast for her. Nuala, equally enthusiastic, was sitting between Bill and Sam. Bill laid down his fork then reached over and caught the tiny paw in his huge one. He folded the errant finger down into Nuala’s fist and held it there, effortlessly, until she stopped trying to free it.

Bill interrupted, in a voice I recognized instantly. It was not a voice he had ever used in my hearing before, but very likely a voice Bill himself hadn’t been aware he possessed in his repertoire of intimidation. I had run across it many times, as a small child, and I could remember clearly watching my large father turn his to great effect on a young cousin. It was a universal voice, the Dad voice.

Two heads whipped around. Bill’s tendency to self-edit had relaxed as he grew more accustomed to the children. Most times there was no point in chastising him, but as long as we had him cornered there was nothing to be gained by letting him off the hook.

What ain’t it, Lord Manners?

Oh, that’s rich.

Can’t fault a child for being truthful. Most of the time the happy gesture under discussion was directed at the big ox discussing it.

I gave Bill a tight, loaded little grin. Answer that one, Einstein.

That had to hurt.

I guessed I did. I waited until both children were distracted and flipped him off. Bill swatted at my hand, then reached to pinch my cheek. The gesture would look affectionate while feeling like someone was trying to peel off my face. I batted his hand clear, returning the favor.

The Definitive Dad.

Nuala met his gaze fearlessly, and then backed off. She returned her attention to her food and Bill brushed his hand across the top of her head briefly before going back to his own plate.

As usual, the meal ended with about the same level of organization as it began with. One by one, the men pushed back from the table, groaning, tottering into the living room, nursing distended bellies. The children returned to their toys and promptly fell asleep. Jade and Cori and I went to the kitchen and, working steadily, cleaned up the mess.

Cori yawned.

Bill groaned deeply as we picked our way past him. Served him right, as far as I was concerned. Bully had claimed the center of the floor and was serving as canine skull support. Hewey snoozed with his chin resting on Sam’s outstretched foot. Nuala was curled in the crook of Elmore’s arm while Mick had managed to insert himself into an impossible position behind Ryan’s bent knees.

Lehman’s head turned slightly at the sound of her voice—always on guard, that one—but he never moved from his sprawl.

Jade’s voice was dark.

We left the human carpet and climbed to less congested regions.

Cori was standing by Elmore’s door, hesitating. I shook my head firmly.

She did well. There was one remaining room, intended as a nursery, but I hadn’t touched it and Bully would end up using it anyway. Cori would enjoy the chance to curl up under Elmore’s blankets for a couple of hours, if I was any guess. It wouldn’t hurt a thing, she wouldn’t disturb Elmore’s belongings, and he wouldn’t think twice about it.

I shucked my sweatpants and crawled between the flannel sheets. I was always ready for a snooze.

I dreamed of Bill. Hokey, sappy, sloppy, but I dreamed of him touching me. I had gone for so many weeks without the prods, the headlocks, the pokes...

The pokes...

The poke...

Poke...

The room was dark and Bill had turned on the bathroom light to see by. He was scratching himself idly and using his free hand to poke me in the easiest place to find. Somebody disliked the intrusion and pushed back.

He poked again. The Lump returned the favor. Bill had flattened his hand against me and felt the baby’s response.

Down the hall, there were voices.

Elmore’s voice was warm. If he was annoyed, I couldn’t tell.

Bill caught hold of my arm as I rolled to my feet and steadied me while I regained my pants. We both listened.

Elmore knew that was for him.

He appeared in our bedroom door.

Bugging out was putting it kindly. Being caught red-handed in Elmore’s bed by the owner of record had rendered our shy Cori more or less catatonic. She went where she was led, sat on the chair offered her, spoke when she was spoken to, and the only time she lit up was when Elmore was talking.

Lehman tossed down the rest of his beer and crushed the can before dropping it in the recycler.

Travis wandered off, after tipping Jade a grin that took a lot of the sting out of what he’d said. I had remained silent during the exchange, and it left me wondering what else was lurking behind that deceptive exterior.

Several hours, many pies and screenings of U.S. Marshals, Blown Away, and Under Siege that left the population at large gasping and a triumvirate of large people poorly controlling their rage, I found myself in bed with a scratchy cheek pressed against the buys mound of my midsection. It was an unlikely position for Bill, very stereotypical and 90’s guy. The Lump seemed to realize it as well, because he walloped his father good in the side of the head. Bill reared up on his elbow and stared down at me, watching random bumps busily forming and dissolving on the landscape.

He stopped himself.

Bill settled back, reached for the remote and turned the TV to CNN.

Bill vegged in front of the talking heads for a while. Hopper appeared and clawed his way onto the bed. He marched up the length of Bill’s prone body, purring loudly, and curled up under the lord of the manor’s chin.

He pointed at the gray bundle. Hopper regarded him with golden eyes, and yawned in the face of the threat.

I decided not to mention the llamas.

Hopper decided the finger was aimed at him for a reason. He bit it. Bill let loose with a yell, more of a surprise, since he could hardly have felt the little milk teeth gnawing on his callused finger.

Hopper went to sleep, more than satisfied with his choice of bed. I followed suit. I knew exactly how he felt.