The Gray Brothers: The Beginning✔️ (Kindle version)

Here comes the Gray Brothers

Patty

A girl in the house makes for an exciting dynamic, but a seventeen-year-old girl is crazier. The boys and Maggie fought, fought, and fought some more.

It started with the twins. They wanted to have a little fun and decorated our front yard with Maggie's underwear.

Nate and I returned from grocery shopping to find bras and panties strewn everywhere. Then we heard yelling, "I'll kill you, you demon spawn from hell!"

"We leave them alone for one day, and this happens." Nate sighed.

"Come on. Let's get the yard cleaned up." I got out of the car.

We gathered her underwear and brought them inside.

"Nathan and Noah!" Nate said.

"Yeah, Dad?" The twins asked.

"Get your asses down here now!"

The twins jogged downstairs.

Nate held Maggie's underwear in his hand. "Is this what you're doing, I take it?"

"Sometimes, you have to make the yard look pretty with lace." Nathan smirked, causing Noah to snicker.

"Get the groceries, then you're grounded," Nate told them.

"What?" The twins asked.

"You heard your father," I said.

They walked by us, grumbling. I took Maggie's underwear from Nate and put them in the washer to clean them. And so, it starts.

*****

Maggie got even with the twins and put itching powder in their underwear. They didn't realize it until breakfast and started to itch.

"What are you boys doing?" Nate asked the twins.

"Nothing," they said.

"Then quit itching your junk at the table."

A few minutes later, they started itching again.

"Nathan and Noah," Nate said.

"Dad, we can't help it that we have to itch." Noah itched even harder.

"I put itching powder in your underwear." Maggie held up a bottle of itching powder. "It gives a whole new meaning to the word jock itch, doesn't it?"

The twins glared at her, then ran upstairs and slammed the door behind them.

I looked at Nate as he looked at me. We tried not to laugh. But the twins deserved their payback for what they did to Maggie.

*****

For the next two weeks, Nixon wasn't home much. We didn't see him until I caught him one night while coming in.

"Nixon?"

He stopped. "What?"

"Don't use that tone with me, young man."

"Sorry, Ma."

"What's going on, Hunny?"

"It's nothing."

"Talk to me, Nix."

Nixon was always so hard to read. He would tell us if he's unhappy, but he's been even unhappier ever since Nash left.

"I miss Nash," Nixon said.

"Nix, we all miss Nash."

"But you don't understand. Nash is my best friend, and he's gone, and I have no one to talk to."

"You have your father and me, along with your brothers."

"It's not the same. You wouldn't understand." Nixon turned and walked away.

I might not understand, but someone would. I strolled into the bedroom.

Nate was sitting in bed while reading. "I take it Nixon is home."

"Yeah." I sighed and sat down on the bed. "Nate, can you explain something to me?"

He set his book down. "I can try."

"Nixon said that I wouldn't understand about him missing Nash. What did he mean?"

"Nixon means that Nash is his best friend and brother, and Nash is the only one that gets him."

"What do you mean?"

"Nash is the big brother and has a calming effect on Nixon. Nash takes charge and handles his brothers. With him not here, Nixon feels like he must take charge. It's the alpha mentality, and Nixon isn't an alpha-type personality."

"I miss Nash."

"I do too, but we would lose him if he didn't go. Baby, he'll be home before you know it."

Nate pulled me to him. I couldn't wait until Nash came home, but his return would be crazy when he found out Maggie's here. He didn't know she was staying here. With him gone, I didn't think it would have mattered.

It would matter more than anyone realized.

*****

I folded clothes and placed them in a basket to take upstairs. As I stepped onto the top step, I heard Maggie say, "Nolan, give me back my bra, you little brat!"

Nolan ran down the hallway, waving her bra around like a flag.

"Nolan, stop taking Maggie's underwear." I snatched the bra from him and tossed it to her as she passed him in the hallway.

"Aww, Ma. You're no fun," he said.

"When you have kids, then you won't be fun." I shrugged.

He walked away as I winked at Maggie before returning to her room. I walked into our bedroom and set the basket on the bed.

Life as a Gray has been exciting. What started as neighbors but ended up with one hell of a story. I remember how it all started, wondering if I would do things differently. Then I realized, no, I wouldn't. My life turned out perfectly imperfect, and I wouldn't change anything.