Legacy (Book 5)

Tit for Tat

|Paul's POV|

I woke up the next morning to an empty bed. No surprise Stephanie was already awake. We were heading to New York for a long weekend. It would be good to see Zach and Kylie. Having 6 kids can be a lot to keep up with, but we manage. Our family was growing bigger and bigger, so we expect to be traveling quite a bit. At least the kids make it semi-easy and group together in one location quite often.

Getting ready for the day I went down to see Steph on the phone. From the tone of her voice, I knew it was something serious. I also knew it had something to do with one of the kids when she said the infamous,

Don't mom me.

Checking my phone I had plenty of notifications as always. Briefly looking over them, I saw a video was sent to me. Taking a look at it, there was Murphy in yet another fight. Well, this was a brawl. I noticed Murphy with two other girls and they were holding their own. Not the point, I know.

"I guess you just saw the video," Steph said, getting my attention.

"Who was Murphy fighting?"

"The girl that she got into the altercation with in Florida and her friends. She was leaving a club when they were approached. The girl was talking, threatening Murphy. Murphy said she and her friends were trying to get in the Uber when she was shoved. That's when the fight broke out."

I shrugged.

"Murphy handled herself well," I replied.

Steph just stared at me.

"Really, Paul?"

"Steph, what do you expect me to say. I know how our daughters are. They always find some way to get even and they never back down. Would I like them to, sure, but once you touch them..."

She sighed.

"Yes, Murphy was shoved, but she still could've got into that Uber. She was in a full brawl in the streets of New York. What if she would've..."

"Steph, she didn't get hurt. Murphy and all of our girls know how to hold their own. Am I happy she was in a brawl? Of course not. Still. What is biting her head off going to do? She's 18 going on 19. She has to suffer the consequences for the decisions she makes. We can't always run to their rescue. They do something stupid, they deal with it."

She just glared at me.

"Who are you and what did you do with my husband?"

I couldn't help but laugh. I moved around the kitchen island and wrapped my arms around her.

"You told me I had to lighten up and with just one more left to turn 18, I'm doing my best. As far as this situation with Murphy, yelling isn't going to do anything for us. Just like when she disrespected Shawn. I wasn't happy about it. She knows better. I talked to her instead of yelling at her and she understood her approach was wrong. She apologized and what was her consequence? Dealing with him. I'll talk to her about what happened when we see her, but that's the extent of it. What do you want me to do, spank her?"

She broke out of my embrace, turning to me.

"Something more than what you're doing right now, Paul. It's like you're okay she was fighting," she commented.

"She defended herself and she didn't start the fight. I do agree with your sentiments of her walking away and not letting things escalate, but knowing this was connected to a previous situation, I would've done the same thing she did."

"So, you know she was arrested? Disorderly conduct and a $1,000 fine," she added.

"No I didn't know that. Who paid the fine?"