“How so?”
“They wanted to take over parenting us while my father pulled it together. They suggested he get out of town for a bit, grieve, and then come back when he could give us his all. It’s true that there were a few weeks when he wasn’t himself and we ran wild all over the neighborhood, but he really was doing the best that he could.”
Sympathy for Cormack’s predicament had me clucking my tongue and nodding. “I’m sure he did.”
“My grandparents didn’t see it that way and tried to move on the situation,” Braden explained. “Redmond was an adult. Cillian and I were essentially adults too. Aidan and Aisling were teenagers. My grandmother suggested at one point that they take Aisling and Aidan because there was still a chance to mold them into respectable adults. Apparently the rest of us were beyond their help.”
Curiosity gave way to anger and my lips curved down. “They wanted to separate you?”
He nodded. “They said my father was incapable of taking care of all of us. They were determined to take Aisling and Aidan.”
“I can’t see your father reacting favorably to that,” Oliver offered.
Braden’s smile was rueful. “Not even a little. He melted down. He was always protective of Aisling, but it kicked into high gear around then. I think it’s because she was the only girl and he convinced himself she had some of Mom in her — even though she’s all him.
“It doesn’t really matter why he did it,” he continued. “He blew up in fantastic fashion, told them that he would die before he saw us separated, and then kicked them out of the house. It was an ugly business. They didn’t talk for a few years. It was a good thing for us, though, because he snapped out of his depression and started interacting with us again.
“I mean, he was still sad, but he started looking toward the future again because of their visit. I guess something good did come of that situation. That’s the last thing most of us remember about them.”
I debated what to say. I hadn’t expected the conversation to get so deep — and dark. “Why are they coming now?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
I didn’t have to guess. “Lily,” I said, referring to Braden’s niece. She was several months old now, but she would be the elder Grimlocks’ only great-grandchild. “They want to see her.”
“And maybe try to wrestle her away from Aisling so they can raise her right,” Braden agreed.
There was zero chance of Lily Taylor being removed from her family, so I ignored his statement. I was about to press for more information on his grandparents — surely there had to be something good about them — when the door to the gate room opened to allow Paris Princeton, the newest member of our gate team, entrance. Rather than greet us, she remained focused on her iPad as she walked.
“I think you’re being unreasonable,” she said pragmatically, never looking up. “I’m sure your mother did what she thought was right.”
“She threatened Dakota Bishop with castration if he ever looked at me sideways again,” a female voice shrieked from the iPad, causing me to smile.
“Sami,” Oliver and I said in unison.
Sami Winters was Paris’s goddaughter, a spitfire of a teenager who lived in mid-Michigan and spent her days endlessly messaging Paris in an effort to get her godmother to circumvent whatever rules were being foisted upon her by her parents. Paris was a recent addition to our team, but we’d all become accustomed to the regular calls from Sami. I found her drama amusing. Of course, I wasn’t raising her.
“Who is Dakota Bishop?” Paris asked reasonably.
“Um, only the cutest boy in school,” Sami replied, petulant. I couldn’t see her face, but I could imagine the eye roll.
“And why doesn’t your mother like him?”
“Because she’s the devil,” Sami replied. “She got Dad all riled up. He swears he’s going to sit outside the high school and beat up every boy wearing a letterman’s jacket until they all swear to never talk to me. They’re ruining my life.”
“Yet somehow I think you’ll survive,” Paris replied wryly. “I am confused. Why would your father be staking out the high school? You’re in middle school.”
“The middle school is across the road from the high school. I see the boys there all the time.”
“And this Dakota Bishop is a high-schooler?” Paris placed the iPad on the desk as she sat next to me, allowing for a clear view of Sami, who had taken on a dreamy expression.
“He’s a senior and he’s ultra-hot.”
A male voice from behind Sami invaded her reverie. “He won’t be hot after I bury him in the woods.”
I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. Aric Winters, Sami’s father, made the occasional cameo on the video calls. He was always amusing when his offspring started complaining.
“I wasn’t talking to you,” Sami screeched back to him. “I’m talking to Aunt Paris. Can’t I get five seconds of privacy in this house?”
“No,” Aric shot back. “It’s my house. I just let you live here. I decide the rules, and the number one rule is that you’re not allowed to like high school boys.”
“You can’t tell me who to like,” Sami shot back.
Braden, who had only witnessed one or two calls from Sami, looked as amused as I felt as he watched the interaction. “This reminds me of when Aisling was fourteen,” he rhapsodized. “She fell in love with Kip Hunter. He lived next door ... and was in college. My father threatened to use one of his swords to hack off Kip’s ... um ... little friend. Aisling reacted just like your young friend there.”
I could picture that, and it made me smile.
Sami, who had one ear to the iPad and the other on her father, narrowed her eyes. “I’m totally mature. Who said that?”
I grinned as Braden shrank back, making sure he wasn’t visible on the screen. He was brave when it came to a physical fight, but Paris’s stories about Sami made me believe the little girl was powerful on a whole other level. Braden was wise to be leery of her.
“It’s just one of my co-workers,” Paris replied breezily. “It doesn’t matter. The fact is you’re still a minor so your parents can do whatever they want when it comes to boys. Despite that, your father isn’t going to bury a teenager in the woods no matter what he says.”
“Yes, I will,” Aric called out, passing behind Sami. He looked to be busy around the house, but he was the sort of father who was never too distracted to be invested in his child’s life. That’s how I imagined Cormack was when raising his brood. “Don’t listen to her, Sami. She’s just trying to cement her place as your favorite aunt. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. I’ll totally kill that kid and hide his body if he comes sniffing around this house.”
I smiled as Sami shrieked again. She was good at being a teenager. I had no doubt that one day she would grow into a marvelous adult.
Out of the corner of my eye I noticed the gate room door opening again. I expected another member of the Grimlock family — maybe even more than one. What I got was Tara Middleton, the woman who oversaw the day-to-day operations of the aquarium upstairs. She rarely visited the gate room, but she was well aware of the secret we were keeping below the main action on Belle Isle.