Page 11 of Gentle & Broken
The siblings all regarded their little brother with fond looks; it reminded Mack of how his siblings were always so good to him. There was also a protective feeling these Udy siblings had and Mack remembered hearing about the traumatic accident that happened to Josh and Caleb last year. No wonder the siblings wanted to protect him. For Mack, it had been the speech impediment and complete silence for years. It had made his brothers crazy protective of him, getting in lots of fights. Luckily, Navy, the oldest, was in middle school and never saw or heard about the bullying. She would’ve torn somebody apart.
“Of course.” Mack took the card and the pen Josh thrust at him. He signed his name and handed it back. “I should’ve brought you some hats and sweatshirts.” What had he been thinking? Gifts for the family would’ve come in handy right about now. They obviously didn’t have much financially, and Josh seemed to be the only one who wasn’t suspicious of him.
Caleb waved a hand at that. “Hyde gives us lots of stuff.”
Hyde. Oh, yeah. The Hyde that had warned Mack to stay away from Sariah. Hyde wasn’t going to like this at all, but Mack couldn’t dwell on that. He was an adult. Sariah was an adult. He was going to find Sariah and talk to her no matter what obstacles were put in his path.
“Can you please give me her number?” He directed the question to Caleb, obviously the oldest at home and the one in charge.
“If some dude, bigger than your house, showed up asking for your sister’s number, would you give it to him?” Caleb asked.
Mack hated to admit that he wouldn’t.
“This isn’t just some big dude, this is Mack Quinn,” Josh protested. “Best offensive lineman in the world! He protects the Rocket and makes it possible for Hyde to get perfect passes. You give him whatever he wants.” Josh jutted his chin out and looked so cute Mack had to refrain from picking him up and giving him a quick hug.
The girls both smiled patiently. Caleb squatted down next to his little brother. “Josh … you know I’d do anything for you, but I’m trying to protect Sariah here.”
“Why would Sariah need protection from Mack Quinn?”
“Just because somebody’s a great football player doesn’t mean they’re a good person.”
Mack’s eyebrows rose. He wanted to start calling character witnesses. He tried very hard to be a good person and these loyal siblings of Sariah’s were going to block him from finding her just like Hyde had. Maybe he was the one in the wrong here, but he yearned for Sariah like he’d never yearned for a person. He wanted to ask his brother Kaleb to write a song about it. Then he could sing it for Sariah and maybe win her over. He was no Kaleb Quinn, but he had a decent voice.
“You’re a good guy, aren’t you, Mr. Quinn?” Josh demanded.
“I like to think so.”
“You’re not going to hurt Sariah, are you?”
Mack swallowed hard. “I promise you, Josh, that I would never do anything to hurt Sariah. I care for her deeply.”
The sisters were looking a little less defensive but still wary. Caleb stood and shrugged his shoulders. “Look man, I’m not trying to be a jerk, it’s just Sariah … she’s pretty special to us and she’s been through a lot.”
“Hyde said something similar,” Mack admitted.
Caleb’s eyes narrowed. “So, you already asked Hyde for her number and he told you no?”
Dang, this kid was quick. Mack nodded, not able to lie.
“I’m sorry.” Caleb picked Josh up and ushered him back from the door. The girls stepped back and Caleb moved to swing the door closed.
“Please,” Mack begged.
“She lives with Hyde’s mama, Teresa,” Josh yelled.
“Josh,” all the other siblings reprimanded.
“Thank you,” Mack said.
Caleb firmly shut the door on him. That hadn’t gone too well, but at least he had another lead. He called Griff and luckily his brother answered.
“What now?” Griff asked.
“I need an address for Teresa Metcalf’s home. I think it’s near Denver.”
Griff exhaled loudly. “I’ll text it to you, but no more.”
“Thanks, bro.”