"so you're with him now?" douche asked, and i give him a smug look; my way of telling him to "suck it, she's mine".

"yes!" i growled, at the same time she answered, "we're friends, bill."

"best friends," i said. she glared at me and i shrugged.

"is this a fucking joke? i don't even live in your town and i know about the mayson brothers."

"if you think he's going to be faithful, y-" he didn't get a chance to finish because i took a step towards him. he was starting to piss me the fuck off, and it was taking everything in me not to lay him out on his own driveway.

"i came here to bring you this." she shoved his hoodie at him while coming to stand in front of me. "i just want to know what you found out about tim." i could hear the shakiness in her voice and knew she was on the edge. this shit with her brother was completely fucked up.

"i don't have any new information," bill said.

"you told me last night that you had a new lead."

"i don't."

"if this is about trevor-" she started, but he interrupted her.

"it's not about him; it's about you being a tease."

"i'm not a tease," she hissed, taking a step towards him. i pulled her back by her sweats before she could get too far. she looked up at me with murder in her eyes. i had the urge to kiss the fuck out of her, but i didn't think she would appreciate it very much at that moment.

"i told you he was a douche," i said on a shrug.

"fuck you!" bill said to me, and i laughed; this guy was a joke.

"let's go, baby," i pulled on liz's sweats, causing her to step back.

"pussy," bill said low. i pulled liz behind me; i was about five inches taller than him; i bent down so my face was in his.

"listen here, you little bitch! i'm being nice, but you keep pushing me and i will be forced to teach you some fucking manners. don't play with me; i guarantee that you will lose." i bent deeper so only he could hear me, "stay the fuck away from liz; no phone calls, no texts, no visits. i hear you've made contact, you won't like what happens." i stood and patted bill's chest. "good talk," i said. turning around, i pulled liz with me and opened the door to my truck, lifted her, and sat her inside. i gave her a soft kiss on her forehead. walking around to the driver's side, i slid behind the wheel, leaving douchebag bill stunned and standing in his driveway, clutching his hoodie to his chest.

"sorry," liz whispered. i looked over to her; her forehead was resting against the window. i reached up, running my fingers down her arm. she had no idea how sweet she was; it made me want to lock her away so the fucked-up world didn't have a chance to contaminate her. it was hard to believe that she hadn't become jaded by the way people treated her when she was younger, or the way some still treated her. she's honestly one of the strongest people i know. nico showed me a yearbook picture of her in high school; even with short hair and bad clothes, she was still pretty. she just looked run down, like she was fighting against the world. but looking at her in the truck, i couldn't help but appreciate her beauty, not only on the outside, but inside too.

"how 'bout we stop for coffee before we head out to see july?"

"sure," she shrugged, keeping her head to the glass.

"how 'bout a cinnamon roll with that coffee?"

"sure." she still didn't make a move to lift her head.

"how 'bout a quickie in the bathroom while we wait for our coffee and cinnamon roll?" her head finally turned and she glared at me.

"i'm not sleeping with you." she crossed her arms over her chest with a pout, but not before i saw a small smile.

"yet," i said, and she giggled. i don't think i had ever heard her giggle before; my stomach muscles tightened at the sound. being around her, i had a permanent semi, but her giggle, and knowing that she wore my hoodie to bed, then seeing her in nothing but a towel with water still beaded on her skin, made me want to lick every inch of her. she had me with the worst case of blue balls ever; even when i was younger, it wasn't this bad.

"you're relentless," she said quietly, but she didn't make it sound like a bad thing.

"hey," asher said, answering the door. he didn't have a shirt on and i looked over at liz to see if she was checking him out, but she only had eyes for july, who was also shirtless against his chest.

"can i?" she asked, finally looking at my brother. i could tell that he didn't want to hand her over, but relented. i'm sure november told him that she would kick his ass if he didn't share.

"hey, beautiful. you look more and more like your mamma," liz whispered, kissing july's chubby cheek while walking into the living room. she sat on the couch; my heart squeezed at the sight of her holding my niece, her long blonde hair over the opposite shoulder that july's head was laid against. to see the comfort and ease she had with a baby was surprising.

asher cleared his throat; i looked at him, brow raised. his eyes went to liz, and then came back to me in a silent question. i shook my head.

"where's november?" liz asked, looking around.

"taking a nap. july's been giving us a hard time; she doesn't want the bottle, so november's boobs are on tap, and it's wearing her out."

"let me see a bottle," i said, walking over to liz, sitting next to her.

"you wanna try feeding her?" asher asked, walking into the kitchen to get a bottle out of the fridge.

"let me see her, baby," i said quietly, next to liz's ear. i could smell her subtle scent and my mouth watered, making me want to put my lips all over her. i could tell she didn't want to hand july over. when she finally gave in, i ran my fingers down her cheek to her chin, pulling her forward, trying not to scare her off. i kissed her softly on the edge of her mouth. i was glad i was not the only one affected. the small gasp she made let me know a lot more that she probably wanted me to.

"you need to stop kissing me," she whispered, looking away.

"never," i told her, putting july in the crook of my arm. asher walked back into the room holding a bottle.

"she won't take it. i can't even get her to drink it and i'm her favorite person in the world." asher said, looking smug. i shook my head and chuckled. i took the bottle from him, rubbing the bottle's nipple across her lips while squeezing it so some of the milk came out, and after a second, she latched on. she struggled a little, but i could tell she wasn't happy with the flow of milk, so i pulled it away when she started to fuss. i handed her to liz, and headed to the kitchen so i could poke another hole in the nipple. when i was done, i took july back, and went through the same steps again. once she latched on, i could see that she was content; i looked over at my brother, and he didn't look so smug anymore.

"shit, bro. why didn't i think of that? my poor wife has been exhausted, and i haven't been able to do a damn thing about it because she wouldn't take a bottle."

"what can i say? i know women," i shrugged. asher looked over at liz, who was watching july; he looked back at me and smirked. if i wasn't holding my niece, i would have punched him in the face. he thought this shit was funny. ahh, fuck, all my brothers did.

"sure, you do," he chuckled, walking to the kitchen to pull out some sandwich stuff from the fridge.

"do you guys want to eat?"

"no, thanks," liz said, her eyes never leaving july.

"do you want kids?" i asked, her eyes meeting mine.

"no," she shook her head.

my heart froze. looking at her, i could see the longing on her face with the way she looked at july. "why don't you want kids?" i knew the question sounded almost angry, but she caught me off guard.

"i just don't," she whispered. standing up, she walked towards the back door where beast was sitting outside, looking in through the glass. she opened the door and stepped out. i watched as she walked down the back steps to the yard, picked up a ball, and threw it for him.

"what did you say?" asher asked, coming back into the living room with a sandwich and chips. july finished eating, so i put her against my shoulder to burp. i looked back out the door and watched beast run up to liz with the ball in his mouth, his tail going a million miles a minute as she wrestled the ball from him, and tossed it again.

"i asked her if she wanted kids. when she said no, i asked her why not. she said she just didn't, and she got up and walked off."

"dude, what the fuck?"

"what? it's just a question; she fucking shocked me saying that she doesn't want kids."

"let's say she has a reason for not wanting a child. do you think that she would tell you the reason? and why would she, when you're not someone she trusts?" he asked, shoving a huge bite of ham sandwich in his mouth.

i shook my head looking back out the window; she was now sitting on the grass, with beast sitting on top of her. "i know it's fucked up, but she's it." he raised a brow at me. "i knew from the minute i saw her."

"she's your boom." he nodded in understanding.

"yeah, but some shit went down, and i used it as an excuse to avoid what i was feeling and pushed her away. i was still trying to hold on, but it didn't work and blew up in my face. now, i'm trying to figure out how the fuck to get back to where we were."

"the only advice i can give you is to stick with it, and it might not hurt to push her a little; it sounds like she's not going to be very open to a relationship with you. but don't give her a choice; play all your cards, even the ones that push her into a corner."

"is that what you did, don juan?" i asked, looking down at july who had fallen asleep. if i got this in the end, i would do whatever was necessary.

"fuck yeah!" he said, making me laugh. he shook his head, shoving chips into his mouth. "laugh all you want, fucker, but look at my life. i have a beautiful woman wearing my ring in my bed every night, a little girl who couldn't be more perfect, and if god's feeling generous, i will have my wife knocked up before the years out."

"you trying for another already?" i asked, slightly surprised. july was just two-months-old and i figured they would wait a year.

"i need a son, dude. fuck, my wife is beautiful, my daughter is going to be a knock out...i'm fucked unless i get another set of male eyes around here to help me out."

"you do know that shit's like fifty-fifty, right? you could end up with another girl."

"naw," he shrugged, "i know it's going to be a boy this time." shaking my head, i looked back out the window where liz and beast were laying down in the grass, her hand running over his head on her stomach.

i stood, taking july with me as i walked to the door, slid it open, and saw her head tilt back. "come inside, baby; we need to go soon." she didn't say anything, but stood up, dusted her sweats and hands off while heading towards the house with beast following behind her. she turned sideways to fit by me, and walked to the kitchen. she grabbed her bag off the counter, dug inside to pull out a box, and sat it on the counter while looking over at asher.