Decker (Torey Hope: The Later Years #1) Read online

  “We’ll stop in about forty-five minutes to get gas and stretch; Kendrick can take over the driving then. Man, I’m so glad we’re almost there; my ass is numb and I’m starving. Part of me wants to grab a snack, but you know the grandmas will have gone all out with the taco bar for supper and I definitely want to have room for that.” Decker rubbed his stomach and laughed. He worked out religiously so he knew he’d work off the big meal and he planned to take advantage of their first home cooked meal in a while.

  “Nah, man, I asked Grandma Judy to have a baked potato bar for our first night home. Damn, you know how they pull out all the stops on toppings; I plan on putting so many toppings on that it will be hard to find my actual potato.” Sawyer, with the same workout regimen and lucky genes as his brother, had no worries about eating a big meal; he’d burn it off within one workout tomorrow.

  “You both need to shove it, Grandma Cindy asked me what I wanted for our homecoming meal and I told her it would be fun to make pizzas like we used to do when we were kids. Remember we’d all get a small pizza crust to make just the way we wanted it? She laughed when I told her and said, ‘I doubt those little crusts would fill you up now, but I bet we can figure out something’. So, sorry ‘bout ‘cha, it’s pizza night.” Zach had awakened and joined in the conversation. Kendrick stirred next to him.

  “What the hell are you all talking about? And why so loud? How about a little respect for a guy trying to get some beauty sleep?” Kendrick grinned, knowing that he had been blessed by both of his parents’ good looks and needed no rest to improve his attractiveness. “Besides, I told the grandmas that I wanted a whole ‘Surf and Turf’ spread. Steak, chicken, shrimp, lobster, salmon. Damn, I can almost taste it now.”

  A quick stop for gas, drinks, restroom, and a little stretching brought them to the last leg of their journey. The excitement was thick in the truck. True, the guys had spent their whole lives together and the last four years had been no different, but they were all anxious to be back with family and start their new endeavor.

  To pass the time, they spoke of their plans. Decker, ever the task-master and planner, had insisted from day one at college that each of them get the best job they could get that would still allow them time to study and do their best. He didn’t force the others, but he highly suggested and they grudgingly agreed, to build up their savings accounts. Over the four years, the four of them had saved a hefty sum of money. Decker had advised them in solid investments and they’d worked together to set up spending accounts. Thanks to him, they were coming back home with a good amount of money to start their new lives.

  “Okay, so we’ll stay with family the next couple nights. Then on the weekend we can move into the house. Monday we start work, so be ready boys. Be ready.” Decker was a mixture of stern and giddy over the next step in their plans.

  As young boys, they had talked endlessly of their plans to expand The Center where many of their family members worked or contributed time and/or money. Before the boys were born, the twins’ mother, Libby Decker Morgan, began working at The Center as the media specialist. Later, Zach’s father, Nicky Morgan, took a job at The Center where he had spent most of his youth because his mom, their Grandma Cindy Morgan, had worked there as an administrative assistant. Zach’s mom, Carly, met his dad at The Center. Over the years more family became involved in the unique programs and setting of The Center and the ideas for making it even bigger and better grew in the minds of the boys.

  Now, the Morgan, Jordan, Decker, and Martin families were sole owners of The Center. Some family members were more silent partners while some were more active; everyone, no matter their monetary involvement, spent many hours keeping The Center running and functioning at its best. The family had been drawing up expansion plans involving the boys for several years and it was time for those plans to come to fruition.

  Decker graduated top of his class with a degree in business management. He would be the active manager of The Center. His parents were the CEOs and his Aunt Audrey and Uncle Jeremiah were the COOs; this was on paper only, but having actual positions named was helpful in any business. One of the first changes Decker had to convince them of was the name change. He had proposed that they keep The Center but add a plus sign to show the addition of more programs. The board had offered unanimous approval of The Center+. Decker’s first order of business was to hire an assistant manager. He had a pile of resumes and a list of numbers to call for interviews starting Monday.

  Sawyer graduated as an Art major. He had interests and talents in several types of art, including sculpting, music, dance, and graphic design. Between him and his mom’s cousins, Josie and Kyle Martin, they were starting a much more extensive art program at The Center+. Sawyer had lamented the fact that The Center only had a small art program over the years and he was chomping at the bit to get the new courses set up and started.

  Zach had graduated with a degree in business and marketing. The guy could sell ice to an Eskimo; he was a charmer, but the appeal of Zach was that he was genuine and honest. All of the expansions at The Center+ were possible because of their family’s financial backing, Decker’s sound business plan and investments, and Zach’s task of advertising and bringing in new funding. Along with that undertaking, Zach had offered to help teach several fitness classes. Their cousin, Zoey Martin, had graduated early from high school and was taking classes at the local college to become a personal trainer. She was going to teach several fitness classes too, but Zach knew there would be times when her classes conflicted with teaching. Zoey and Zach weren’t technically related, but they had always been super close; she was who Zach had missed the most during his four years away.

  Kendrick, the all-around sport jock, had graduated with a degree in recreational sports management. He had big plans for a huge advancement of The Center+’s whole sports program. His part would probably take the longest to realize success; it would take a few years at least for him to build up the reputation of solid, quality sports programs and teams. But, Kendrick was a patient man; he would wait and slowly make his teams some of the best around. He had plans for his sports program to be a feeder for local high school and college teams.

  “Alright, men, let’s review the rules of our new place before we get home.” Decker might as well have written a handbook; he probably would have if he didn’t know the others would have tossed them in the trash within five minutes.

  “Dude, how many times do we have to listen to this? We survived four years living together and eighteen years growing up together before that; I’m pretty sure we can live together peacefully now that we’re back home.” Kendrick rolled his eyes as Zach chuckled silently and shook his head.

  “I know, I know, but I just want to move into our new place with a new slate. First, we’ll continue our spending budget; if we find we need to revise it we can take a look at it. We’ll stick to our once a week grocery trip; if you need something, add it to the list and then whoever goes to the store can get everything needed. Second, it makes the most sense to continue washing clothes together. We’ll set up a basket system to make it easy. We all know how to do laundry, so it shouldn’t be a problem. If you take a load out of the dryer, try to be respectful and at least lay shirts and pants out nicely for the person they belong to. I know none of us likes to iron. Dishes should be done once a day, bathrooms cleaned once a week, trash taken out when it’s full. We’ll do vacuuming and dusting once a week. Once The Center+ is up and running maybe we can look into hiring a housekeeper, but until then it’s on us to make sure our place represents us as the professionals we are. Parking shouldn’t be a problem, I arranged for all four of us to get a covered spot. We’ll get internet and cable set up soon. The final thing is the spare rooms; this is an older house as you know. It was actually built to be a double, but the last owner remodeled it to be a single dwelling. We’ll each have our own room and there are two spare rooms along with a den and an office. The basement is perfect for Sawyer’s art stuff; I think we c
an also set it up for some workout gear. I think Zach and I can share the office space as needed and the den can be set up for video games.”

  Listening to him talk about their new house had the other three looking forward to seeing it and getting moved in; however, they knew his final comment wasn’t done.

  “The spare rooms will be perfect for when we have people over. I don’t want us to be a place for parties or for people who drink too much to crash; we’re now business owners and professionals in town, we need to carry ourselves as such. I thought we’d keep the spare rooms set up for our siblings or cousins. Who knows, we may have nieces and nephews in a few years and they may want to have sleep overs with their uncles when they are old enough. I doubt Abby or Megan or Beckett will be spending the night much since they have lives of their own.” Decker spoke of his own sister and Kendrick’s siblings. “But Zoey will probably hang out at our place a lot since Zach is back home and we all know that if Zoey is around then Aly won’t be far behind.” Zoey wasn’t blood related, but Aly was Zach’s little sister. “I think Asher will buddy up with us now that we’re back home. He’s the one I feel like we know the least. He was only ten when we left, I’m looking forward to getting to know him.” Asher was Zoey’s younger brother. “My last word on the subject is that we all,” he gave a pointed look at Kendrick, “need to remember that we are back home, this is where our futures are, and we have impressionable kids watching our every move. We have to act like grownups, we aren’t college students anymore.”

  At his final words, Kendrick groaned and grumbled, “Do grownups at least get to have sex? Because I’m planning on having sex and a lot of it. I’ll hang a sock on my door so the youth don’t see something they aren’t ready to see.” He paused for a moment and laughed. “Can you imagine Kyle and Josie if they had to explain things to Asher if he found me, ass in the air, puttin’ it to some fine chick?” He chuckled again.

  Zach, good-natured as always, just smiled and shook his head, “Yes, Mother, we’ll be on our best behavior. Hear that Sawyer? No girls in your bed when the youth is around.” Sawyer looked uneasy, but smirked at his cousin’s comment.

  In a not so subtle attempt to change the subject, Sawyer shifted in his seat. “Aw, man, look; they hung a banner out for us.”

  All four turned to look out the windows of the truck; the words WELCOME HOME blurred slightly in four sets of eyes as they blinked back tears.

  Chapter 3

  The homecoming was located at John and Cindy Morgan’s house. A large banner was strung between the bannisters on the front porch and every member of their family was on the porch, ready to welcome them home.

  The boys didn’t miss the hands over their mothers’ mouths, the tears in their eyes, or the way their father’s hugged their wives close to comfort them during such an emotional time. Kendrick put the truck into park and the men drew in deep breaths.

  “This is what we’ve wanted since before we left for college; this is our dream. Beckett told us a long time ago that we were cousins, siblings and best friends and that we had to support each other. We’ve done that and it won’t ever stop. I love you all. Now, let’s go hug our mommas.” Decker clapped each of them on the shoulder and they piled out of the truck.

  Unable to wait any longer, Libby, Audrey, and Carly all rushed down the front steps and caught their boys up in hugs and tears. Each mother, as only mothers can do, wrapped arms around her son or sons; if coming home hadn’t felt right already, it sure did in that moment.

  Nate joined Libby and grabbed each son up in his arms. “Decker, Sawyer, it’s good to see you back home. It’s been a long four years, but knowing you were coming back made it a little easier.” Abby Morgan, the twins’ older sister joined them in hugs.

  “Hey, twerps, it’s good to see you.” She smiled as she spoke and both boys ruffled her hair, knowing she hated it. She may have been a few years older, but they were now much taller and broader than her.

  “Ah, Abby, it’s going to be so good tormenting you again. That’s one of the things we’ve missed the most.” Sawyer laughed at his sister’s crinkled nose.

  “Yeah, well, it’s a good thing that none of us are living at home anymore. I don’t know if we’d survive.” Abby gave both brothers a quick punch to the gut and laughed as they feigned pain.

  Next to that scene, Audrey had not let go of Kendrick. It was unusual for her to be at a loss for words, but the tears and lump in her throat had her struggling. Jeremiah wrapped his arms around both his wife and his son. Kendrick’s older brother and sister, Beckett and Megan, joined the hug and they all hung on for several moments. Kendrick’s past had some dark moments and had threatened to take him from them; the five of them knew what a blessing it was to have them all back home and together.

  “Hey, momma, think you’ll ever be able to let go? I mean, I know you love me more than Megan and Beck, but maybe you should try to hide your favoritism of me since they are right here.” Kendrick broke through the emotional moment with his exaggerated whisper and wink at his siblings. Laughter erupted and tears were dried.

  Carly had stepped aside to let her husband engulf Zach in a bear hug that shook with sobbing tears. Nicky Morgan, never one to hide emotions, spoke to his son as he pulled Carly back into the embrace. “Zach, I missed you. I know you’re my son, but you’re also my friend and I missed having you here to talk to and hang out with. I’m really glad you’re home. Now I have both of my babies back home with me.” He reached out for Zach’s younger sister Alyson. “Aly, I don’t think you can go to college, I’m not sure I can live through you being gone that long.”

  Aly smiled and kissed her father’s cheek, “It’s okay, Daddy, I don’t plan on going very far from Torey Hope. I’ll be able to visit more often than Zach.”

  Nicky seemed satisfied with that answer for the time being. Carly hugged him to her and comforted him as he calmed from the emotional reunion.

  By the time the parents and siblings had gotten their hugs done, the rest of the family couldn’t be held back any longer. All three sets of grandparents, along with Josie, Kyle, Zoey, and Asher Martin, crowded around to gather the boys into their arms.

  A squeal of delight escaped Zoey as she ran toward Zach. Raised as cousins, but not blood related, Zach and Zoey had always had a close relationship. He was about five-years-old when Zoey was born and he took to her right away. The boy had loved his own baby sister, but he was attached to Zoey at the hip even before she could walk. Picking her up around the waist and swinging her around, he hugged her close. “Zoey Belle, girl, I’ve missed you so much.” She buried her head in his neck and breathed deep.

  “Zach, you have no idea how much I’ve missed you. I’m so glad you’re home, I need you here with me. We can talk about it more later, but I’m just really glad to have you here again.” Zach raised a questioning eyebrow at her words, but more welcomes and hugs were being given and the subject got dropped for a while.

  Grandma Cindy, Grandma Judy, and Grandma Janie clapped their hands and announced it was time for dinner. Four voices cheered all at once and raised a fist in victory, “Taco bar!” “Baked potato bar!” “Pizza!” “Steak and shrimp!” At the boys’ outburst, the grandmas laughed and raised their own fists in the same motion, “Chinese!”

  Their newly returned grandsons stopped short and all four grunted out, “Huh?”

  “Well, boys, you all four asked for something different. It seemed crazy to fix all four meals for one dinner; we decided Chinese would allow us to visit without having to fix food or do much clean up. No worries though, we’re having your requested meals over the next four dinners; make sure you’re here each night because we aren’t telling you which night is your meal request.” Janie Decker had married their grandfather Captain Decker when Kendrick and the twins were about six-years-old, and she had adopted all four into her heart as her grandchildren immediately; Janie never even mentioned that not a single one of them was blood related to her. She smiled at the
m all now as she told of dinner plans.

  Shrugs of acceptance were given, and the entire clan trekked up the porch steps to begin their first evening of being back together. All was right in Torey Hope.

  Chapter 4

  The guys had spent two nights at their parents’ or grandparents’ homes and then the whole family helped them get moved into their new house. Zoey and Aly claimed one spare room as their own; Asher, like any hormonal teenager trying to be tough and cool, had tried his best to hide his grin when he was offered the use of the other spare bedroom anytime he wanted to stay over, as long as Kyle and Josie were okay with it.

  After four nights of fabulous dinners between four separate homes, the guys had headed to their house on Sunday night to hit the sack early in preparation for their first big day at The Center+.

  “Rise and shine, jackass!” Kendrick laughed and snapped a photo of Zach with massive bedhead and a drool pool. “Oh, look at how pretty you are.”

  “Shut the hell up, man. Damn, can’t a guy wake up peacefully around here?” Zach, the ever good-natured one of the crew, wasn’t a morning person.

  “Come on, we need to get a workout done and get to The Center+. I’ll make you some coffee, pansy. Get your ass out of bed.” Kendrick yanked the blankets off the bed and laughed at the obscenities Zach let fly. It was so easy to piss Zach off in the mornings.

  With a cup of piping hot coffee in his hand, nothing but boxers on, and sexy messed up hair, Kendrick was model perfect leaning against the kitchen counter. Knowing he’d already pissed one cousin off, he decided to try for two more when Decker and Sawyer stumbled into the kitchen. Of the four men, Kendrick was the most broody and dark, but in the mornings he was like a little bluebird of happiness compared to his three cousins who were pissed off toddlers until they got coffee and a shot of adrenaline from a good workout.