75
Cyrus and Mia made their way down to the lake. The family was already fishing, and Gage’s babies were playing under a tree with their father.
Mia giggled at Gage nuzzling his youngest child. The little girl was giving belly laughs and wiggling around.
“Aww. Babies. Those must be Gage and Isis’ children.”
“Yep. Gage acts like he’s all tough, but with his kids around, he turns into mush. They have him wrapped around their little fingers.”
“He looks like a proud daddy.”
Cyrus walked up from behind, grabbing Holly and Colt, hugging them.
Colt jumped up and away from Cyrus. “What are you doing? No pranks this weekend, Evans. I’ll have my wife kick your ass.”
Cyrus laughed. “I make no promises, pretty boy.”
“Well… So, this is the hottie Gage has been telling us about.” Colt walked over to shake Mia’s hand.
Cyrus turned and took Mia’s hand and brought her close. “Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Mia.”
Mia waved shyly at his family. “Hi.”
Lilly rolled her electric wheelchair to her. “Nice to meet you, Mia.”
“You, too. You must be Lilly. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Holly stood up from her lawn chair, narrowing her brows at the woman. She stalked over, looking at Mia like she already had her under her raider. “So… is this the chick my brother is acting like a pussy over?”
Cyrus sighed. “Mia, this is my sister, Holly. Holly, don’t be an ass.”
“We’ll see how it goes, Brother. So, you’re dating, Cy?”
“Yes,” Mia said with a nod.
Mia gripped Cyrus’s hand tight, unsure of what to expect. It was clear Holly was sizing her up.
“Humm? Interesting. Do you know about all the skanks he used to date?”
Mia’s mouth dropped open with shock at this brazen woman’s snide attitude.
Cyrus grumbled at his sister, “Holly! Stop it.”
“What? I just want to make sure this chick isn’t another one of those gold-digging bitches who follow you around at work. We have enough ring rats at IWX as is.”
Mia straightened her shoulders and stepped up to Holly with a scowl. “Well, good thing I’m not a gold-digging ring rat or a bitch.”
Holly chuckled and looked down her nose at Mia. Crossing her arms over her chest, Holly sized up her new prey with an intimidating glare. “We’re going to have a lot of fun this weekend, cupcake.”
The threatening tone was clear. Holly was testing her.
“I look forward to it.”
Wraith stepped up, almost growling at his sister. She was out of line and he didn’t like it. “That’s enough, Holly. Mia’s a cool chick. Give her a break.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.” Holly rolled her eyes and walked away. “Mark my words. She’s just like the rest of them.”
Mia looked over her shoulder at Cyrus with a look of disappointment.
He placed his hand on her shoulder with a comforting squeeze, saying, “She’s just a little protective over her family. She’ll calm down once she gets to know you. Just don’t let her intimidate you.”
Mia nodded in agreement.
Wraith went over and patted her hand to calm her. “Welcome, Mia. Cyrus told us you’re nervous. If he’s happy, we’re happy for him. Our sister, on the other hand, is a COLOSSAL ASS!” Wraith yelled toward his sister, who just flipped him off and went back to fishing.
Isis, Gage’s wife, stepped over and took Mia’s arm. “Come on, sweetie. You can hang with me. My best friend Candy and her husband Slade are in the cabin getting the burgers ready. Slade’s an outstanding cook.”
“Oh, great. I haven’t met Candy yet. She was gone when I went to sign contracts.”
“Yeah. Slade and Colt are best friends and took a vacation together with their wives. This is their last weekend off before heading back to IWX. Lilly and I are going back to the house to help fix dinner. Want to help?”
“Sure.”
“Great. We have tons of stories of this crazy crew to tell you.” Isis leaned over to Wraith. “Talk to Holly before I push her in the lake. She’s scaring the new girl.”
Wraith nodded. “I may throw her in myself. She’s been a brat all morning.”
“Hey, love. What about me? I want to girl-talk about Cyrus too. I have more stories than you do.” Gage pouted as he headed over with his daughters, Macy and Madison.
Mia waved him over. “Come on. The more the merrier.”
“Oh, no! Gage. Don’t you dare tell her bad stuff about me. I’m going to fish for a while with Holly, and you better not corrupt my girlfriend.” Cyrus told them as Gage rushed to the gulf cart with his girls.
“Me? Never.” Gage chuckled.
“Miss Mia, we understand it’s your birthday. What would you like to do today?” Lilly asked.
She looked back at the lake, seeing Cyrus now chatting with his brother and sister. “Well, I’d like to have a bonfire after dark. It would be fun and allow me to get to know everyone. I have an idea if you will help me. I hear the Evans family are always playing pranks on each other. I’ve always been a big fan of them. So, I was thinking…” She told the wives and Gage her idea. “I just thought something silly would break the ice. I want to fit in.”
Lilly smirked, looking back at her husband and Cyrus. “I’m in. I’m always down for a good way to torment those two. Let’s do it.”
Gage rolled his eyes and turned around, looking back at the men. “Dang it. I think this backfired on me. Can’t we do something else? The guys are going to kill me. I’m here to do recon to keep you girls out of trouble. Cy knew you two would try to pull Mia away to gossip.”
“Gage, really? You Benedict Arnold. Now we are doing it.” Lilly laughed. “We outnumber you. If you go with us to the house, you are one of us.”
Gage flopped his head around in a circle and looked down at his daughter. “Fine. Macy? What do you think?”
Isis tickled her little girl as she whispered for her what to say. “Daddy, one of us.”
“Sorry, babe. You’re not winning this one.”
The girls laughed and headed to the large cabin home. Gage just sulked behind them, knowing he would catch hell from his friends for this. Maybe he could blame Slade?
