The Brick Wall

Chapter 11

Collins POV

  Monday evening finds me knocking on my brother's front door, ready to fulfil my obligation of a family dinner.  I'd hidden away all day inside my apartment, honestly terrified of running into Curtis and incurring whatever other wrath he might like to dish out. 

  Dude didn't even give me a 'thanks' for taking care of his daughter.

  So what if I was basically holding her hostage until he proved she was his, any sane person would have done the same.

  No, a sane person probably would've called the police or at least checked in with other neighbors to find out who the baby actually belongs to. 

  The door swings open, Mark standing in the doorway, leaning a shoulder into the frame. "So, you build a bookshelf?"

  He's making fun of me, knowing damn well that I failed without me even opening my mouth. So, I play him right back. "How was work?" I ask with a smug smirk painted on my face, one hand on my hip, already knowing exactly how it went. 

  "Touché," he grunts, finally moving out of the way.

  I'm immediately bombarded by Paige, her little five year old body being thrown against my legs with a force that could rival a bullet from a gun. She must've been trying to land me on my tail, because low and behold I find myself flat on my back, the girl climbing all over me. Immediately my hands start tickling her frame, making her riggle against me until she's finally crying through her laughter. 

  "You never let me win!" she pouts, sitting up.

  "You'll never win a tickle fight with me, girlfriend." I give her a smacking kiss right on her forehead and ask her to help me up. "Where's Gage?"

  "With Uncle Paul in the backyard."

  "Don't they know it's December and cold out?" I ask, ready to shed my own jacket when Mak comes around the corner. 

  "Uncle Paul is teaching Gage how to shoot a gun."

  My eyes snap to my sister in law. "Come again?"

  My brother coughs out a "that's what she said," behind his hand to help muffle it more. He might be forty years old, but he's still a man.

  Mak slaps his arm as he walks past her simultaneously rolling her eyes at her daughter. "They're not shooting a real gun. Gage showed interest in maybe being a police officer so Paul went and got some Nerf guns and a target. That's all."  She hugs me tightly, whispering in my ear. "You didn't finish that bookshelf, did you?"

  My shoulders drop while she's still holding me. "No," I mutter, stepping out of her hug. 

  "No worries. Paul can help," she calls out to me, walking away before I can object.

  "I can help with what?"

  I hear Paul's voice coming from the kitchen, realizing he's entered through the back door.  "Collins didn't finish that bookshelf last night," I overhear his sister inform him. "Figured you could help her."

  I round the corner, making myself known and try to stand my ground. "No need. I've got all day tomorrow." I direct the statement more so to Paul, having not even given him a hello by word or wave, but I'm adamant about me and that bookshelf. "I'll have more pride in it if I do it myself."

  "Collie," the voice matches his smile and I swear I feel like that little girl again, giving heart eyes to the handsome older boy. 

  "Disco," I reply, stepping into his outstretched arms. I return his hug, my brain shifting gears. "Have you gotten wider?"

  His laugh fills my ears. It's not a normal occurrence for him to laugh since he became a detective. He tends to remind us that his job is pretty serious. He certainly has a difficult time relaxing and letting loose. 

  Maybe he should hang out with me. 

  With one step back, my hands stay on his biceps, eyes surveying his body. He's dressed only semi casually, jeans and a button up shirt, sleeves rolled to the elbows. "You have. You're wider."

  "You know," he starts, one brow cocked, "if I said that to you, you'd say I was commenting on your weight." I shrug my shoulders, silently saying there's a difference between the two but not willing to jump into that discussion. "But, yeah. I'm going to the gym daily if I can. Helps me relax."

  "Get a girlfriend and it'll have the same effect," my brother chimes in, tossing a cucumber into his mouth. 

  "Getting a girlfriend will make him wider?" I ask, he'll think it's for clarification but really, I'm just pushing his buttons. 

  The question is enough to get his wife involved, her hip sitting against the kitchen countertop, waiting for his response. When he just looks between the two women in his life, she adds her own two cents. "Are you saying I'm the reason you gained weight? I seem to recall I was the one making sure you followed all of those meal plans set forth by the trainer," she rambles on quickly, making me hide my giggles behind tight lips. "Jerk," she throws in for extra measure. 

  "That's not what I meant! I meant the relaxing party!" Mak walks past him, tossing me a wink, carrying the salad to the dining room. "Baby! You know that's not what I meant." He trails off behind her leaving Paul and I alone, laughing together.

  "Your sister makes my life so much more fun with him," I admit. 

  "She definitely has the girl code down, guess it maybe comes easier having grown up with only brothers around." Paul leans back against the counter, arms crossing against his chest, giving me a delicious view of his forearms. "So, you got a bookshelf you need help with?"

  "Um, well. I have a bookshelf, that part is correct."

  Paul grins back at me. "Same Collie, refusing any sort of help."

  "I'm a strong, independent woman, Disco. Don't rain on my parade of independence because you constantly feel the need to save someone."

  "Damn. Don't hold back on my account, beautiful," he whispers quietly as he passes me to call the kids for dinner.

  What?

  What did he just say?

*Unedited