Chapter 25

“And he fired her?” Kevin asked through gritted teeth.
“Yes. Don’t worry, Pa. She isn’t coming back, Jeff made sure of that,” Jack reassured him.
“Bitch,” He cursed. “I hope I see her. I’ll give her a piece of my mind.”

They were all sat at the table eating some food before returning to Kennedy’s. But they were planning on taking a side trip first to the animal sanctuary in Windermere, where David, Mark’s younger brother worked as a vet.

“Papa Bear is very protective of his pups,” Jack said teasingly.
“Jack, don’t tease,” Mark scolded him.

They had all but finished their food and had just finished telling them about Jessica being fired.
“I love you, fat head.” Emily rose from her chair and walked to her father. “I missed you.” She leaned down and hugged him. “I love you too, Rosie,” He returned her embrace and moved her to his lap. “So, so much.”

He closed his eyes, breathing in her scent.
“My baby girl.”
Mark watched with a happy smile.

“I’m feeling kind of left out,” Kennedy commented and stood to join Emily on his father’s lap making them both laugh. “Ken, you are going to squash him.”

“Hey, I’m not that big, Doll. Plus he’s built like a truck.”
“It’s alright,” He chuckled and moved one of his arms around Kennedy, holding her too.
“I am glad to have two daughters and a son,” He gave Mark a huge grin. “Our family is complete now we have both our babies.” His partner returned his smile and hugged his own son.
“Great. You are turning our dads into women,” Jack muttered, half joking. Emily stuck her tongue out at him in reply.

“Not to mention a special little extra,” Kevin kissed his daughter’s and Kennedy’s forehead.
“I’m hardly little,” Kennedy replied with double meaning.
“Ha, I’m sure you aren’t,” Mark laughed and Jack cringed. “Please don’t flirt with my dads.”

“Urr!” She curled up her lip. “No offense to your dads, they are handsome men. But I have never and will never want a man. The only dick I ever want to touch is my own and the only girl, your daughter.”

“No offense taken. You’re beautiful but much too young for us and I prefer men not girls. Not to mention you are Rosie’s girl and we have come to see you as our own daughter now.”
She cooed and hugged him tighter.

“Who would have ever thought that cute little boy would have grown into such a beautiful woman and brought us back Emily?”

“She really was a cute little boy,” Kevin admitted. “You are going to have beautiful children.”
“And between the two of you and my parents I doubt we’ll even see them,” Kennedy joked. “And that is also why we have to start making them now.”

Emily looked at her amused, “You know that makes no sense, right? Also, I hardly think sitting on my dad’s lap is the place to discuss it.”

“I agree. Kennedy, you are like a horny dog. Joke. But seriously, I swear, you only had it this morning,” Jack teased standing up and collecting the dishes to clean.

She smirked. “You really think I’d wait that long?”

Emily flushed bright red as everyone looked at the pair.
“The bathroom?” Jack realized.

She rose and shuffled up the stairs mumbled an excuse.
Kennedy followed her lead and made a move to follow her. “Kenny, I think she actually wanted a moment alone,” Jack tried to stop his friend.
“That’s alright. She can have a moment alone with me.” She sounded so sweet and innocent for once none of them had the heart to stop her leaving. “She is like a lost sheep without Emily,” Jack commented once she was gone. “She acts all confident, but it is all because of Emily.”

Mark silently nodded his head before saying, “They are an adorable couple. Really. I am glad it was Kennedy.”
“I was actually thinking of killing the man who touched our little girl,” Kevin said with a serious expression making his partner frown.

“But I have admitted, I am actually glad it was Kennedy.” Mark smiled and nodded moving to his partner.
“Me too.” Then looked to Jack with a guilty grin. “I kind of always hoped that you and he would start dating.” Jack’s eyes widen. “I mean, she was such a cute lonely little boy. I just wanted to pick him and cuddle him.” Kevin chuckled pulling Mark onto his lap.

“I doubt that would have happened. But we have our Rosie back now and Kennedy is just a bonus. We’ll have grandchildren in no time.”

**

They pulled up outside the animal sanctuary, paying a short visit before heading to Kennedy’s to prepare for the party.

Mark had called his brother early to make sure he was working today and it was alright to pay a visit. Though he didn’t mention why.

The moment they stepped out the car, Mark was almost knocked to his feet when Emily launched herself at him. Wrapping her arms around his neck. He quickly moved his arms around her waist to hold her up, her feet were hovering off the ground.

“Thank you, Poppa. This is awesome. Thank you for bringing us here,”
She hugged him and kissed his cheek. “We aren’t even inside yet,” Jack mumbled, but they ignored him.

“No problem, darling.” He smiled beyond happy that she had taken him so well.

He had often feared over the years that she would hate him for being gay or taking her father away. But she had shown him nothing but acceptance and love in the short time he knew her. He remembered Kevin telling him about her, but he never fully believed she would be completely as he was told. He thought his partner and his parents saw her through rose tinted glasses because she was their blood and a child. But meeting her, seeing her now he could see it was all true. She had even thought of Jack as of her own blood, despite her horrible past with her other stepbrother.

“You are my baby girl. What are dads for?”
Her arms tightened around him, but she squeaked when she felt a hand on her backside.

“Calm down, Doll. It’s just me,” Kennedy’s voice came from behind her. “Your dress has ridden up, I was just pulling it down. I love your ass, but I don’t want anyone else seeing it.”

“Sorry, little one.” He set Emily on back on her feet and kissed her forehead. “You two are so cute,” He gushed making Kevin chuckle.

“Yes, Rosie takes after me for being beautiful.” Jack scoffed, but Kennedy nodded. “Definitely. The only thing she gets from her mum is her eyes. She is huge.”

Kevin chuckled, “Yes, she was always a larger lady. Only in the beginning she was attractive, but after we married and she got pregnant, she changed, became bitter. I think she was jealous of the amount of attention I gave Emily. Unlike she would have everyone to believe, I didn’t marry her because she was pregnant, we found out that shortly afterwards. I did love her when I married her, but I fell out of love with her and not because of anyone or weight but her attitude-. Like I said her attitude changed, she wasn’t the person I fell in love with.”

“So you weren’t gay?”

“I had always been attracted to men, but no, I wasn’t gay. If anything I would have said I was bisexual though nowadays I would say I was gay. I don’t want anyone but Mark. To cut a long story short, I met Mark through work. Then I started to see him every time I went to pick you up and I found out he had a son – Jack – a bit older than you in the same school. We started seeing more of each other, going out for drinks after work. After a particularly bad day with your mum and maybe a little too much to drink,” He grinned.

“And one thing lead to another and… Well, you can guess.” He and Mark exchanged a smile. “We tried to keep it quiet. I know it’s cheating, but I wanted you to have a happy home, mother and father. But it didn’t last long. Mark and I fell in love and I couldn’t keep it up anymore. We discussed everything and decided I would tell Diana I wanted a divorce the next day. I packed my bags and left, told your mum I was coming to see you later that day and was going to take you with me.” There was sadness in his eyes. “She refused to let me see you. I spoke to a lawyer about getting access or joint custody, but you both disappeared. I tried to find you, but…”

“It’s alright, daddy.” She walked over and hugged him. “I know. Mum told Gran and Grandpa loads of lies, I think. That is why they hid us. They would never have if they knew the truth, knew what a bitch and idiot she was and is.”

“I should say not to speak about your mum like that, but I can’t because I completely agree.” He hugged her back tightly. “If I didn’t know how much your course meant to you I would keep you with me and never let you go.” He took a deep breath, breathing in her scent.
“Don’t worry, Pa,” Jack hugged the pair. “I’ll look after the girls, Neil and me both and bring them back safe and sound.”

“I know.” They hugged a moment longer before pulling back to see Kennedy with her head resting on Mark’s shoulder.

“Comfortable, princess?” Emily asked amused. Kennedy grins and held out her hand for her.
“Yes. His muscles make him all soft. Not like my dad, he’s too boney.”
“Lord. Who knew having a sister would be so… Strange.”
“I know. It’s great, isn’t it?” Kevin exclaimed happily.

Jack fought back a smile and shook his head. “Come on, let’s head inside.”

Once inside they were greeted by an older woman – Hilda – with white hair, in her fifties, who began showing them around while Mark’s brother was treating a dog.
She was one of several volunteers working at the place. She listened happily to the girls speaking about the animal course they were doing and their love of all creatures.

“That would be excellent,” Hilda exclaimed when they offered their help when they returned to stay.
“We often struggle to get trained people to volunteer. That is why we are so happy to have Dr Bridges working here. He works so many hours, but I don’t know how’d we cope without him.”

“You haven’t got any other Doctors?” Kennedy asked surprised while petting a small Pomeranian, who was dumped because of its skin problem which was fixable with treatment. Emily was knelt beside her.
“We do have one more, but he only comes one day a week because he has a busy veterinary practice. There was a female doctor but…” She trailed off not wanting to go into any details.

But by the guys expressions everyone but Kennedy and Emily knew.

“Speaking of the devil and here he comes.” The girls turned their heads at the sound of Mark’s voice just in time to see a man in his early thirties to arrive. He was handsome, with similar features to Mark but slightly short with broader shoulders. With glasses and slicked back hair he looked like a geeky body builder.

“Hello,” He said to the guys with a small smile. “It’s good to see you. I was going to come and visit in the next couple of days.” His eyes wandered to the cage and he saw the girls knelt with the dog. His mouth turned into a straight line and expression turned blank, almost cold.

“Hello David,” Mark greeted him and at the same time Emily whispered loud enough for only Kennedy to hear, “I don’t like him.”
“Me either, Doll,” Kennedy pecked her lips and placed the dog on the floor before standing up.
“Come on, Pretty Dolly,” She reached out to help Emily, who pouted.
“We can come and see him again tomorrow. Right, Hilda?” The older woman smiled and nodded, “You are welcome back anytime.”

Emily reluctantly stood up with her partners help. “Thank you, Princess,” She pecked the corner of Kennedy’s mouth and moved to her side to see the guys and the older woman watching the with a small smile. Well, all of them except David – he was wearing the same blank expression.

“David, I would like you to meet my daughter and her fiancee – Emily and Kennedy,” Kevin introduced them.

He seemed slightly surprised by the daughter part, but quickly hid it.
“The famous Rosie,” He used her father’s nickname. He took a step closer and she reached out her hand as if to shake his. Only instead of shaking it he took it and kiss the back. Then did the same to Kennedy, surprising them both. But he still wore the same cold, emotionless mask. “Nice to meet you both.”

“My little brother, ever the gentleman,” Mark said teasingly, but Jack moved beside Emily, almost protectively. To Jack it didn’t matter who the man was, he didn’t like the way his uncle was looking at the girls.
No matter what had happened in the past to him.

The older woman excused herself upon hearing a car pull up.

“It would have been nice to see you, but Neil and I are going with my sisters to Grimsby in a couple of days. We won’t be back until mid-December when college is out.”

The sound of music filled the air causing a couple of the dogs to bark. Kennedy cursed and pulled out her phone. “Sorry. It’s mum.” She answered the call but didn’t walk away, not wanting to leave her girl’s side with that miserable man nearby.

“Hello mum… Yes, mum… Just going too… Yes, she’s fine…” She answered Patricia’s questions nonchalantly. But then a huge grin took over her face. “Might have… Well, why are you asking if he told you,” She laughed at her mother’s interrogation. “No. I promise I’ll wait until we get back… I know. I got to go… Yes, at the sanctuary where Mark’s brother works… No… Okay… Okay, fine… I love you too… Yes, Bye.” She hung up to see everyone staring at her, but her eyes were only for Emily.

“Mum was just asking if we were on the way back because the people are going to start arriving in less than two hours.”

“Yeah and girls take forever to get ready… Ouch!” Emily elbowed Jack in the ribs.

“So mean,” He mumbled childishly.
“Anyway,” Kennedy ignored the exchange. “Mum said to invite David along,” She was looking at him but sounded more like she was addressing his older brother.

“It is a fancy dress, but my mum keeps all my dad and brother’s old costumes, you can borrow one of them.” She wasn’t a hundred percent happy about inviting him, but her mother insisted despite Kennedy saying otherwise.

“Hey. Why did I have to go shopping for a costume?” Jack said annoyed.
“Because…” Kennedy turned her attention to him. “I had to go shopping for my Dolly,” She kissed Emily’s cheek. “Plus I really enjoy shopping and making you guys try things on.”

He began to mumble incoherently about women and she turned her attention back to the other men.

“Oh and don’t worry about getting home, mum said you can stay over.”

Standing with her arm around Emily’s waist, she thought, was certain he would say no. He didn’t really seem like the partying type.
He seemed more the ‘stay at home and curse the young people for having fun’ type. Not the type of person she nor Emily would get on with at all.

“Alright.”

“What?” Mark asked in surprise. “Are you actually agreeing to willingly going to a party? It’s a big one, with lots of people going.”

“I have nothing else to do,” His replied nonchalantly. But then quickly added, “Plus I want to catch up with my nephew, find out about his trip.”

To ask him why he’s bothering, more likely, Kennedy thought to herself.

“Uncle David at a party, there is a first thing for everything,” Jack joked.
“Where abouts do you live? We can-“
David cut her off.

“I always have a change of clothes in the car in case. Working with animals can be a messy job,” Both women though he sounded condescending but the men didn’t seem to react.

“Yeah. I know,” Her reply full of attitude. “We’ll wait outside by the car while you collect whatever you need and tell Hilda you’re leaving.”
Without another word, Kennedy led Emily away. Jack followed close behind, loyally making his fathers smile.

“Don’t think the girls like me much,” David commented watching the three leave.
“Are you surprised?” He turned to see his brother and Kevin glaring at him.

“I know you have issues and a bad past, but so do they. Yet they try at least.”
David said nothing.
“You are my brother and I love you. But I swear if you say or do anything to hurt either of them girls, you will regret it.”