A New Enemy (Enemies 1)

I felt my forehead crease. In the meantime, Dylan was holding Lily and looking awfully amused.

“Boy, was I wrong,” Soph deadpanned. “I turned a two-hour drive to the airport into hell on earth.”

My eyebrows went up at that.

Sophia shifted on her feet, then winced and rubbed her back. “So you know our counselor’s encouraged us to start educating Teddy on puberty. I mean, he’s growing up. He needs to know what’s happening in his body.” She paused while she collapsed into the chair next to the door. “As it turns out—way too soon. He got so incredibly uncomfortable and embarrassed.”

Ouch. I couldn’t really imagine. I knew the recommendations she talked about—of course I knew what was coming—but Teddy hadn’t shown any outward signs of approaching puberty yet. That I knew of, anyway.

“I felt really bad,” Soph admitted. “I get the counselor’s advice, but he’s just not ready yet.”

Now I had to ask. “Where is he?”

“Out front,” Dylan responded. “He wanted to show Blake his favorite flowers.”

I nodded in understanding. The road on the other side of the house was called Morning Glory Road for a reason, and Teddy looked like he’d won the lottery whenever he found a blue one. Purple was his second favorite, but they weren’t as rare.

“All right, I’m with you so far,” I said. “Once he’s there—vulnerable and embarrassed—he’s easily triggered. So what set him off?” It could’ve been anything.

Teddy didn’t strike on purpose. He wouldn’t hurt a fly. But most of us had been on the receiving end of a flailing fist when he was in the middle of a rage fit.

“Oh, I got him apple slices instead of fries and denied him a second Big Mac when we stopped for lunch,” she replied frankly. “He wasn’t a fan.”

I winced in sympathy. Sometimes, too many buttons got pushed.

“Please don’t mention this to him.” She gestured vaguely to the mark. “He was so devastated afterward.”

Fuck no, I’d seen firsthand how he reacted once he realized he’d hurt someone.

“Of course I won’t say anything, but now I wanna see him,” I said. “Watch the tiger for me.”

“We’re bonding.” Dylan smiled and nuzzled the top of Lily’s head.

A hot guy and a cat or dog—there was something about that.

“Be nice to Blake!” Soph hollered after me. “He seems to have changed a lot.”

I didn’t know what that meant. From the stories she’d shared over the years, nothing stuck out to the point where it would be remotely okay for me to give him any shit. That was between the siblings in the Kidd family. Blake and David gave their baby sister shit for moving across the country. Soph and Blake gave David shit for being uptight. Soph and David gave Blake shit for not growing up. He was about my age, I knew that much, and he was known to get fired frequently, party like there was no tomorrow, and run out the door if shit got too real.

Soph didn’t talk all that much about her family, come to think of it. Plenty of minor things in passing, a few memories shared here and there, but that was about it. I hadn’t seen more than a handful of photos either. After their falling out, she’d had to distance herself emotionally from her parents.

Either way, I wasn’t here to give anyone shit. I was here to be Dylan’s moral support if the pressure from Georgia became too much—and to make sure my spot in Teddy’s life remained unthreatened. I couldn’t have any uncles moving in to replace me.

Three

As I reached the front door, I peered through the round window and spotted Teddy with his uncle next to my four-wheeler. Teddy was sitting in the driveway, right next to the wooden fence I shared with Bob, and he was picking flowers from the strip of greenery the fence stood on.

Blake was squatting down beside him, with his back to me, and he had on an actual cowboy hat. Christ. So that was a thing. Jeans, white tee, black cowboy hat. He’d brought Georgia with him.

I scratched my chest absently, hesitating, then thought, fuck it. I opened the door carefully, just a few inches. Sue me, I was curious.

“You ready to go in?” Blake asked. “I’m sure your mama needs us to tell her to sit down and rest.”

Oh, his accent was way more pronounced than Sophia’s. His voice was something else entirely too. Low and rich, and with that Southern drawl.

“My sister kicks a lot,” Teddy said and picked another flower. He sounded tired. “Dylan and I kiss her belly and say ‘Be nice to Momma.’”

I smiled faintly and stepped out on the front step.

“Does your sister listen?” Blake asked.

Teddy laughed and shook his head. “Nooo. She kicks when she wants.”

Blake let out a chuckle. “Typical sisters.” He reached out and gave Teddy’s shoulder a squeeze. “Let’s head inside, champ. You were gonna introduce me to your little friend too.”