High Tide

Chapter 24 [Like Father Like Daughter]

Chapter 24

Like Father Like Daughter

Things got a lot more tolerable for Charlie when his little brother arrived to help shoulder the bulk of their mother's strong personality. For the most part, they just stayed outdoors drinking beer and feeling bad for their wives – not bad enough to go inside and help them cook, surely. The extra three people did make for a more crowded house though, but everyone seemed to be handling it quite well...

Well, almost everyone.

"Henry!" the two men heard their mother screech from inside the house on Saturday afternoon, followed by an inaudible string of words as she made her way out of earshot, most likely towards the living room.

"Dad's done it this time," Charlie smirked, elbowing his brother in the ribs.

No more than five minutes later however and they heard the screen door slide open rather ungracefully. Both men cringed, looking like two overgrown children caught doing something they weren't supposed to... which was ridiculous since they hadn't done anything!

That was probably the point.

"...and will you two get out of those darn chairs and make yourselves useful for once? For Pete's sake, do I have to do everything around here?! We'll need more chairs for dinner, your father can't do it all by himself anymore, not with his back! Get that extra table too for the kids!" Martha huffed, poking her head through the patio door and glaring at her sons.

Charlie put his beer down on a coaster and shook his head. "She makes me feel like a damn ten year-old," he chuckled, standing up and following Austin down the steps towards the other side of the house.

"At least this only happens once or twice a year," Austin laughed. "Imagine if she still lived in town... we'd have family dinners every weekend," he added with a knowing smirk.

"Not if I have anythin' to say about it," Charlie huffed.

They made their way to the garage and each took a side, picking up one of the folding tables off the wall it was leaning on.

"So how's the adoption thing goin'?" Austin asked with a grunt.

"We're just waitin' for some more paperwork; seems like that's all we're doin' these days," Charlie replied with a low chuckle. "It's painful, I just wanna call 'em my kids already," he added a little jokingly.

"You don't need paperwork to do that," Austin pointed out. "Looks to me like they already are," he shrugged.

"Yeah, well, I'll rest easier when it's all done and official; until then there's too much that can go wrong," Charlie shrugged, although the unease he was feeling showed in his features. "Speakin' of kids though; how's Jessie doin'? Baby number two givin' y'all much trouble yet?" he asked.

"She's fine; they're both fine; Jessie's already lookin' forward to April though," Austin grinned proudly.

"She sure is gettin' huge," Charlie chuckled, setting down the table in the middle of the patio and making sure the legs were nice and sturdy. "How's Brody dealin' with all of it anyway?" he added, wiping his hands on his jeans.

"I don't think he really gets what's goin' on," Austin admitted. "We'll need to grab a rag and wipe the table down... it's dusty as fuck," he added, strolling back into the house, Charlie following after him.

On the other side of the house, hanging out on the porch swing, Avery and Marissa were given the job to entertain Brody while the women were busy in the kitchen preparing dinner. Of course, babysitting the little guy wasn't really a job at all as far as the girls were concerned. Brody was the cutest toddler and he was just as smitten with the girls as they were with him.