The Naughty List Bundle - Kylie Adams [86]
He stared at her, not answering at first. He shook his head, distracted, and just when he started to speak, another voice intruded.
“There you are.”
Morgan looked up. “Casey. What in hell are you doing out here?”
Misty turned to see Sawyer’s son. At sixteen, Casey already showed signs of his own masculine superiority. He was tall, nearly six feet, and had the bone structure that promised wide shoulders and long, strong limbs.
“Dad wanted someone to find you and haul you back inside.”
Morgan shook his head. “And of course, you just naturally volunteered for the job.”
Casey chuckled. “Actually, Uncle Jordan and Uncle Gabe beat me to it, and they did seem pretty anxious to come out here and fetch you in, but Dad told me to go instead, on account of he said you wouldn’t slug me.”
Morgan threw an arm around his nephew, held him in a brief headlock and then started them all toward the door. “Don’t be too sure of that, boy. My affection for you is kinda thin at the moment.”
With a laugh, Casey said, “I’m not worried. I can still outrun you.”
“You think so, do you?”
“Yeah, ‘cause I’m fast—and you’re getting old.” Casey ducked quickly under Morgan’s arm and came to Misty’s side. Walking backward, his grin wide, he said, “Dad also told me if you didn’t want Honey to get after you, I should walk Misty in and you should come in after.”
“He said all that, did he?”
“He said you wouldn’t want to shatter Honey’s skewed illusions, being as she doesn’t know the real you, yet.”
Casey was having a fine time of it, pestering his uncle. Misty smiled to herself, amused at their close camaraderie and a little wistful. Her own family consisted of Honey and her father, since her mother died when they were young. Her father had been overbearing and overcontrolling, cold, without the foundation of love that would have made those personality traits more bearable. If it hadn’t been for Honey, she didn’t think her childhood would have been at all tolerable.
Casey seemed to have a fantastic family foundation. It was easy to see why Honey had fallen in love with the whole clan.
Morgan stopped just out of reach of the patio, still in the shadows where the lights didn’t reach. “You go on in, Casey, and tell your dad I expect him to control his wife. We’ll be there in just a moment.”
“Dad said you’d say that, and then I was supposed to tell you he’s sending Uncle Gabe and Uncle Jordan out in two minutes.”
Morgan made a playful grab for Casey, but he jumped back, laughing. Holding up his hands, he said, “Hey, it was Dad, not me!”
Morgan reached for him again and Casey hurried to the door. After he opened it, he yelled back, “Two minutes, Uncle Morgan!”
“Damn scamp.”
Misty was still smiling, though she felt great sadness inside. “You’re all very close.”
“We helped to raise him. Sawyer got full custody when Casey was just a little pup, and between raising him and finishing med school, he would have been frazzled for sure if we hadn’t all pitched in. Not that it was a chore. Hell, Casey’s always been a great kid, even if his sense of humor is sometimes warped.”
Misty stared at him, dumbfounded. “You helped raise him?”
“Yeah, sure. Along with my mother and the others. What’d you think, that I was too reprehensible to be around a youngster?”
Actually that was exactly what she thought, but she kept the words to herself. “I was just…surprised. The idea of four men raising a baby…”
“Yeah, well, like I said, my mother taught us what we needed to know. But she felt real strong about Sawyer being involved as the dad, and that meant the rest of us just kinda chipped in. I was…let’s see. Nineteen at the time. I’ll admit, the diaper thing threw me for a while there, and having formula spit up on me wasn’t exactly a treat.” Then he grinned. “But the whole uncle bit really turned the girls on. Hell, every time I took Casey into town with me, they’d come on like a mob.”
Misty rolled her eyes. “What a lovely image.”
Morgan laughed, but then his laughter died. “Look, about what happened…”
“You already made yourself pretty clear,