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“The rules of soccer are very simple, basically it is this: if it moves, kick it. If it doesn’t move, kick it until it does.”
Phil Woosnam, former Welsh football player and manager
It was early. Too early for Flynn. Especially seeing as he’d been awake most of the night trying to come up with a way to help Abby—and hopefully get rid of the pain in his chest at the same time. His brother didn’t care about Flynn being knackered. Nope, Harry ignored his pleas and dragged him over to their parents’ house. Apparently there was a family meeting and his attendance was mandatory. Flynn didn’t understand why it couldn’t have waited an hour or two. At least until he’d had a pot of coffee and his brain was working properly. He never got up before nine unless he was training. Which meant he was never getting up before nine again. Now there was a cheery thought to start the day.
His brother, Harry, pushed him into his parents’ dining room and Flynn stopped dead. The room was packed. This couldn’t be good. There was Matt and his wife Jena, Harry and his fiancée Magenta, Claire and her fiancé Grunt. Seriously? Grunt? On what planet was Grunt an acceptable name? Flynn shook his head. His parents were there. His aunt Heather was there. The only one missing was Megan, the other half of the nightmare twins. Everyone in the room was frowning at him. Well, except for Magenta, she was grinning. It wasn’t pleasant. It was the same look he imagined on the face of Jaws just before he ate the boat captain.
“Got any coffee, Mum?” Flynn plopped into one of the two free chairs.
“Coffee later. Talk first,” his father said.
He’d used the same tone each time Flynn had screwed up as a kid. It set off all sorts of alarm bells in Flynn’s head. He suddenly worried he wasn’t just an attendee at the meeting, but the subject of it.
Jena looked up from her phone and spoke to Matt. “That was Abby. She’s running late and isn’t sure when she’ll get here.”
“Should we wait for her?” Matt frowned and Jena shook her head.
“Why does Abby need to be at a family meeting?” Flynn asked.
“Because, dirt-for-brains,” Matt said, “this involves her too.”
Yeah, Flynn was right. This wasn’t a run-of-the-mill family get-together. He was about to get roasted. His dad confirmed his suspicion when he looked right at Flynn and said, “Let’s get this over with.”
As if everyone knew something Flynn didn’t, all eyes turned to Matt, who sat beside Flynn. Matt glared at Flynn as he spoke.
“Abby’s sister is here to assess whether or not she’s a fit mother. She’s got one week to prove Katy lives in a good environment. A stable, quiet and civilised environment.”
Right, now Flynn knew why he was there. He was obviously the unstable, noisy and uncivilised element that needed to be fixed. Excellent. And all of this without a cup of coffee. He opened his mouth to tell them he already knew about Abby’s problem and was working on it, when Matt’s glare dared him to speak. Guess he wasn’t allowed to talk. Fine. He folded his arms and waited for the rest of it.
“If,” Matt continued, “at the end of the week, her sister decides Abby isn’t a fit mother, or the living environment isn’t healthy, the family is going to bring legal action and try to take Katy away from Abby.”
Everyone in the room stared at Flynn. The air of disapproval was palpable. He stared back. They wanted him silent. They were bloody well going to get silent. There were groans of frustration.
“You’re the reason her family is here, dirt-for-brains,” Matt said. “They saw Abby losing her mind on the ten o’clock news. They think living next to you is going to warp the kid. You need to clean up your act and behave like a civilised person.”
Aye, Flynn was done being quiet. “Look who’s talking. You wouldn’t recognise civilised if it bit you on the backside. Don’t forget, I was by your side for most of your delinquent behaviour. I know exactly how uncivilised you can be. You might want to shove the superior attitude before you say anything else.” Flynn sure as hell wasn’t going to share about his intent to help Abby now.
“This isn’t about Matt,” his dad said. “It’s about you.”
“We’ve had enough, son,” his mum said. “We’re worried about you. And now we’re worried about Abby and Katy.”
“It’s time to grow up,” Matt said, making Flynn’s fists clench with the need to pummel him. “We’re sick of cleaning up after you and dealing with the fallout from your life. People are really beginning to suffer, and it’s pissing us all off that you don’t seem to give a flying fart about the damage you cause. This situation with Abby and her daughter is serious, and you influence the outcome of it. We’re all worried about it. We’re not sure you won’t blow it for her. You’re a mess. You’re out of control and it’s time that changed. It’s time you changed. We’re here today to make sure you get the message.”
Flynn stared at his cousin’s angry face. “Seriously?” To hell with coffee. There wasn’t enough caffeine in the world to deal with this. “You’ve staged an intervention? For me?”
“Call it what you like.” Matt crossed his arms. “We’ve all had enough of you. You’ve been back home two months and you’re driving everyone insane. Especially Abby. It’s time you quit behaving like a teenager.”
“My behaviour isn’t any of your business. I don’t go around telling you how to live.”
Matt let out a cold bark of laughter. “You don’t have the right to tell anyone how to live.”
Flynn clenched a fist. It’d been a good few years since he’d gone head to head with his older cousin. Maybe it was time to rectify that.
“Your behaviour affects everyone around you,” his mum said. Her pixie-shaped face, which had very few lines considering her age, radiated distress. “You might think it’s only about you, but it isn’t. I thought I taught you better than this. I thought I raised you to understand that your actions have consequences, for you and for those around you. I don’t know where I went wrong.”
Great. Mother guilt. Just what he needed. The woman had been taking lessons from Aunty Heather. Again. He cast a glance at Heather and watched as she nodded her approval at his mum. Yeah, they’d definitely teamed up.
“We had the tabloids camped on our doorstep for days when the paternity story broke,” his dad said. “Your mum couldn’t even go to the local shop without getting harassed about your love child.”
“I didn’t father that woman’s kid. The claim was bogus.” Great. Now he was being blamed for things outside his control.
“That’s not the point,” Harry chimed in. “The point is there wouldn’t have been any paternity case if you weren’t living like Hugh freaking Hefner.”
Flynn rolled his eyes. Hef wished he could live like Flynn. There was no comparison.
“People keep calling me.” Matt scowled. “Every time you get into trouble, they want my reaction. As though your cop cousin would step in and sort it out. Even if I could, I wouldn’t. You know, life isn’t all about you. You aren’t the only one in town the paparazzi find fascinating. Josh, Kirsty and Harry here are trying to live quietly. You’re screwing it up for them.”
This little attack on his character was getting out of hand pretty damn fast. “You want me to leave town?”
Aunty Heather shook her head. “We want you to grow up.”
Well, that sucked.
Flynn worked at controlling his anger. This situation needed to be defused, and fast. It was time to charm his way out of trouble. He gave them the smile that showed his dimples and used the same self-deprecating head tilt that worked with aggravating reporters during interviews.
“You’re making a big deal out of nothing,” he said. “I’m just having some fun. A little downtime while the leg heals. So I’ve had a few friends over. And yeah, things might have gotten a little out of hand, but seriously, you lot need to lighten up.” He congratulated himself on his tact.
His mother straightened her shoulders and pursed her lips before she spoke. “You have three half-naked women living with you in your motorhome. Rumours are rife. Your women do their best to keep those rumours going. We’ve had a magazine reporter asking if the town as a whole was alternative when it came to relationships. The woman hinted we were free and easy with our...” She trailed off, suddenly finding the tablecloth really interesting.
“With our sex lives,” his dad finished for her, practically barking the words.
“It’s embarrassing seeing you live with three women,” his mother said.
Flynn thought it probably wasn’t the time to explain there was nothing going on with the Babes. They’d needed somewhere to have fun; he’d needed the distraction and asked them to stay. There were no multiple girlfriends. No group sex. In fact, no sex at all. Being in pain all the time didn’t exactly put him in the mood. Not to mention he’d been in and out of hospital for months. He knew he had a reputation with the ladies, but seriously asking him to perform after orthopaedic surgery was pushing it a bit far. He opened his mouth to confess about the women, saw the glares coming at him and decided no one was really in a listening mood. They were leaning more towards a ranting mood. So he kept the information to himself.
Jena glared at him. “Then there are your visits to the pub. Dougal is losing business because no one wants to eat around your entourage. You’re noisy, rude and disruptive.”
“Not to mention the town is overrun by bimbos,” Magenta said. “Every week brings a new wave of bleach-blonde stick insects with inflatable boobs. We’re tripping over them. They’re all here to vie for the honour of getting into your pants, probably for the money in your pocket, because it sure as hell couldn’t be for anything else.”
Flynn scowled at her as his brother high-fived his fiancée. It was painful to think he was stuck with her in his family for the rest of his life. She’d been a pain in his backside when she was a kid. She’d only gotten worse with age.
“It isn’t just the women,” Aunty Heather said. “You leave a trail of destruction wherever you go. There’s rubbish from parties. Women’s clothing hanging on bushes by the stream. One of your friends got drunk and drove through three fields taking out the fences. Fences people had to fix. It’s costly, time consuming and downright annoying to clean up after you.”
“I want to talk about the noise,” Jena told him. “We live on the other side of the field and we can still hear the racket you make. People shouting at all hours. Loud music. Car horns. It isn’t only Abby you affect with your wild behaviour, it’s all of us. And you don’t listen when people complain. Abby has spoken to you time and again. Matt has been over to your place several times and yet you haven’t changed one thing.”
Matt’s lips thinned. “I’ve been cutting you some slack seeing as you’re family. But from now on I’m going to arrest your hairy backside for disturbing the peace, littering, being naked in public—whatever I can come up with. You can have your film crew sit with you in your jail cell. I’m sure it will make great TV.”
“Okay.” Flynn barely managed to keep a lid on his temper. “I think I’ve had enough of this intervention. Thanks for making my morning memorable, but I’m done here.”
“We’re not done.” Matt put a hand on Flynn’s shoulder.
“Nowhere near done,” Jena added.
“We need to talk about the state you’re in,” Harry said. “You look like crap.”
That was pretty offensive coming from a guy who thought an Einstein T-shirt was high fashion. He sneered at his brother. Harry ignored him.
“You drink too much.”
“I haven’t been drunk in ages.”
“Not since your last DUI.” His father frowned. “At least you don’t have your licence back yet. One less thing to worry about.”
Flynn just stared at him. Talk about an overreaction. One DUI and everybody freaks out.
“You don’t shower,” Harry carried on. “And you’ve stopped buttoning your shirts. What’s with that? We don’t live in the Mediterranean. We’re in Scotland. Sure, it’s summer, but it’s still bloody freezing. It’s like you think you’re Matthew McConaughey. Or maybe the Hef thing is spot on. Are you going to start wearing pyjamas next?”
“And cover this?” Flynn looked down at his bare chest. “Abs like these shouldn’t be hidden.”
He’d thought it was funny. He’d even hoped the mood would lighten. It didn’t. There were groans of frustration.
Jena threw up her hands in disgust. “You aren’t listening to a word we’re saying. You really don’t care how you’re affecting your family and friends, do you?”
It was plain no one was willing to listen to anything he said. Flynn pushed to his feet.
“Thanks for the chat,” he told them as he headed for the door. “It was a blast. Let’s not do it again sometime.”
“That’s it? That’s your reaction? You’re just going to run away?” his dad barked.
“Run? I’d be ecstatic if I could run. No, Da, I’m just going to hobble away. Feel free to continue the character assassination once I’m gone.”
His dad started to bluster as he rose from his seat.
“Let him go,” Matt said. “I knew this was a waste of time. Flynn only cares about Flynn. And right now he’s too busy feeling sorry for himself to notice anyone else. I just hope he can live with himself when they take Abby’s kid from her.”
Flynn clenched his jaw at Matt’s words. To hell with him. To hell with all of them.
He stalked down the hall, threw open the front door and barrelled straight into Abby.
“Sorry,” she said as he caught her around the waist to stop her from stumbling.
Her cheeks were flushed as though she’d been running. Flynn’s fingers curled into soft flesh as he fought the urge to bury his nose in the crook of her neck and breathe deeply. He knew Abby’s scent would wash away the hour he’d spent being attacked. He knew it would bring him peace.
Big chocolate eyes looked up into his. “Did I miss the meeting?”
He snorted. “You mean the character bashing? Aye, you missed it.”
The look of uncertainty she gave him made him want to hug her close. She licked her rose-coloured lips. “Did they tell you I need help?”
“Mainly they told me to grow up. Then they detailed my humiliating and annoying behaviour, just in case I missed any of it while it was happening.” He clenched his jaw as the words from earlier swam through his mind. “But aye, they told me about your sister’s visit.”
Abby let out the breath she’d been holding. He noticed she hadn’t moved from his hold. He wondered if she even realised she was still wrapped in his arms. It felt natural for her to be there. It felt right.
“Why didn’t you just talk to me yourself? Why the three-ring circus?” He nodded behind him to his parents’ house.
She let out a frustrated sigh. “Would you have listened? I’ve been traipsing over to your place for weeks asking you to turn down your music and you never paid any attention.”
“I didn’t think you were serious.”
The look she gave him was half incredulity and half anger. “Really? That’s what you thought?”
He relaxed slightly at the sight of her passion. “Okay, maybe I didn’t want to take you seriously. Plus, I liked watching you tell me off in that prissy tone of yours.”
“Now that sounds more like it.” She stuck her nose in the air. Pleased she was right. It was cute.
“But this is different, Abby. You think I’d just ignore you asking for help with your sister? You think I wouldn’t care about someone wanting to take the terrorist from you?”
“Flynn.” She patted his chest above his heart, and he was suddenly sad that this was one of the few days he’d buttoned his shirt. He would have killed to feel her touch on his skin. “I know you don’t understand this, but I don’t really know you at all. Of course I thought you’d ignore me. You ignored everything else.”
He frowned down at her.
She cocked an eyebrow and it made him grin.
“This situation is different. Of course I’ll help you keep your kid.” He’d already decided he would. Which he would have told his damn, interfering family if they’d shut up long enough to listen.
Abby’s lips trembled, and he realised just how much she was holding inside. For someone who normally didn’t notice other people’s feelings, the sudden insight into Abby’s fragile emotional state almost knocked him off his feet.
“Really?” she said quietly. “No more parties, loud music, cars and rubbish? No more half-naked women?”
He noticed the dark circles under her eyes. She’d tried to cover them with makeup, but they were still sorely out of place on her creamy skin. The circles bothered Flynn more than they probably should have. He traced one with his fingertip.
“No more noise. No more parties. No more Ball Babes. It’s done. I’ll be good. I won’t screw things up further for you and the kid.” I hope.
His body trembled slightly as panic hit him. This was insane. How the hell was he supposed to keep his word? What was he thinking? He felt Abby’s fingers clench on his chest as she leaned into him. Her relief was so obvious it made Flynn heady with the knowledge he’d done something right—for once.
“Good,” she said. “That’s good.”
He took a deep breath and gave her the rest of it. She deserved honesty. Even he knew that much. “You need to know, I’m not sure I can pull this off. But I’ll try.”
Wide eyes stared up at him. She blinked solemnly. “Just remember I own a set of very sharp chef’s knives and I’m not afraid to use them. Think about those if you’re tempted to backslide into debauchery.”
Flynn burst out laughing. Although he had a slight suspicion she wasn’t joking.
He was about to pull Abby closer when his younger cousin Megan raced up.
“Damn it, I’m too late. Have they told you off yet?” She stared between Abby and Flynn. “They have, haven’t they?” She faced Flynn. “It’s not too late. You need to hear my point of view too before you make up your mind about turning over a new leaf. I just wanted to say, whatever you’re doing, keep it up. In fact, feel free to get worse. You’re making me look good. I haven’t had any hassle at all from the family since you came back.”
“Megan!” Aunty Heather shouted with outrage, and the three of them snapped around to see they had an audience peering at them from the living room window. Great. Just what Flynn needed—more family interference.
“What?” Megan shouted back. “He needs to hear all sides of the argument so he can make an informed decision.”
Aunty Heather pursed her lips at Megan. Flynn figured his cousin had an intervention of her own to get through in the near future.
The door opened behind them.
“I take it from the fact you’re wrapped around Abby that you plan to help her out,” Matt said.
Abby jerked in his arms as though suddenly realising where she was. She took a step back, dropping her hands from him and leaving him cold.
“Thanks a lot,” he said to Matt.
“Flynn’s turning over a new leaf,” Abby said.
“Thank the Lord,” his mother said. “This calls for cake. I’ve got a chocolate one in the fridge. Who’s making tea?”
At the mention of chocolate cake, everyone rushed for the kitchen.
“Don’t screw this up,” Matt warned him.
Flynn’s fingers tingled with the urge to make fists as he looked at his cousin. “Soon as my leg is better, you and me are going to spend some time in the ring.”
“Bring it on, ball-boy. I’ll wipe the floor with you. Again.” With a laugh, Matt headed into the house, leaving Flynn alone with Abby.
Flynn glared after him.
“Thank you,” Abby whispered, bringing his attention back to her pale face.
Flynn jerked at the words. They made him feel something he’d never felt before. It took a minute to recognise what it was and when he did, he wasn’t pleased.
It was responsibility.
He felt responsible for Abby.
And the thought terrified him.