Page 16 of A Fighting Chance
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Mercedes
It’s like stepping back into my childhood. After I shower and get some clean clothes on, we toss my suitcase in my car and walk next door. Now we are inside the house that was like a second home to me for most of my life and I feel like I never left.
The furniture is the same, as is the wallpaper. All along the hallway are framed photographs of all the boys and some of me. Even the smells coming from the kitchen have nostalgia rushing through my veins.
Fuck, I miss my mom.
I feel myself getting misty-eyed and take a deep breath to keep my emotions under control. We round the corner into Lucille’s kitchen, my hand clasped tightly in Alistair’s. His mother lifts her gaze to us for a moment before putting the roast back into the oven.
“So that’s what all the yelling was about,” she says. “I thought you two were actually killing each other this time.”
“Don’t start, ma,” Alistair chides with a smile, and I feel my blush re-emerge.
“What? It’s not like I don’t know my boys have sex.”
“Ma!”
“Whatever,” she rolls her eyes at him. “It was about damn time though.”
She wipes her hands on her apron before grabbing some plates from the cupboard. “Do you still remember how to set the table?” Lucille asks me.
“Yes ma’am,” I say with a nod, glad we are finally off the topic of my sex life with her son.
“Everyone is coming over and remember the extra setting for Laura.” She hands me the stack of plates before turning to the stove and stirring a dark, rich gravy. “Alistair, go wake your little brother.”
“Why is he still asleep?” Alistair frowns.
“He is working all hours on some project I don’t understand,” she shrugs. “He’s only been asleep for a couple of hours.”
Nodding Alistair heads upstairs to wake Damian while I proceed to set the dining room table. It’s like I never even left. Except for this new crazy part in my life, and sleeping with Ali, most of it is the same as I left it when I moved away all those years ago.
“You’re still doing it wrong,” a deep voice says from the doorway. “The forks go on the right.”
Turning I face Damian, the youngest Chance brother. His hair is rumpled from sleeping and he is only wearing grey sweatpants. The boy has certainly grown to be an attractive young man in the years I’ve been gone.
“Stop drooling,” he chuckles before walking forward and wrapping me in his arms for a tight hug. “We missed you,” he says into my ear.
Pushing at his chest I glare at him. “What the hell do they put in the water up here? You’re huge!”
“Had a growth spurt,” Damian blushes while adjusting his glasses and he finally looks like the little boy he was when I left.
“Well good for you.”
A knock at the front door interrupts our reunion. More Chance brothers fill the house. Everyone hugs me and soon we are sitting at the table having a loud, laughter-filled lunch. And everything is like old times.
Except it isn’t.
Chapter Ten
Alistair
I’ve never thought about what my house looked like to someone else but I’m nervous as I lead Mercedes inside. It’s clear that I live alone. My home is clean but sparse. Two navy blue couches, a massive television, and a coffee table are all that I have in the living room.
I hear Zeus scratching at the back door, demanding entry, and I know if I don’t hurry up I will have to replace the door. My boy doesn’t like being ignored.
“Give me a minute,” I say, dropping her suitcase inside the door.