Bender (The Core Four #1)(70)

The living room was open with exposed beams that ran the length of the ceiling, and worn looking couches sat in the middle of the room. Dodger and Macie were standing in a corner looking at some sort of photo album and hadn’t seen us yet. An older gentleman was sitting down talking to someone who looked strikingly like Camden. I didn’t think it was possible for anybody to beat him in the size category, but this guy did. He was monstrous! When both men saw us coming in the room, they stood up. The older man held a look of pride in his eyes. His eyes resembled Dodger and the other man’s piercing blue ones. The boys all clearly got their build from their father. He was tall with broad shoulders and a wide stance. If I had to guess his age, I’d say he was in his mid-forties, and it was obvious that he took care of himself.

No words were exchanged between both men when they greeted each other, Camden and his dad hugged each other tightly. After a few claps on the back, his dad pulled back and held on to his son’s shoulders.

“You’re lookin’ good son. Real good.”

“Thanks Pop.” Just the look on Camden’s face told me how much his father’s words meant to him. “Oh, I have someone I want you to meet. Keegan, this is my dad, Paul.”

I was going to shake his hand but when he took a hold of it, he pulled me into a bear hug. “Sorry kiddo, I’m a hugger. And it’s very nice to meet you.”

A lump was forming in my throat. This was what a dad was supposed to be like; supportive, loving, caring. Not missing from your life for the past twenty years, never caring that you were alive. I hugged him back tightly, almost wishing that I could stay this way a little longer, regardless of just meeting him. I could feel the warmth radiating off of him.

“Nice to meet you too,” I said, stepping back into Camden and enjoying that he possessively put his hand on my hip.

“You going to introduce me, little man, or are you afraid I’ll steal this beautiful creature from you?” Camden’s almost identical twin said, approaching me.

“What is it with my brothers trying to take my girl?”

“Well if you were giving her what she needs, then it wouldn’t be an issue, now would it?” He looked at me. I was immediately drawn to his blue eyes. His compliment caught me off guard, and I blushed a deep shade of red. I didn’t know if this was normal banter between the two of them or not. Both of their faces were serious, but slowly a grin slipped onto Camden’s face.

“Asshole,” Camden growled. “Keegan, this is my older brother Turner. Turner, this is mine,” he stated possessively.

Their dad chuckled. “Nice to meet you Turner.” I tipped my head at him, thinking better of shaking his hand like I had with the rest of the family.

He noticed and smiled. I gulped loudly. The resemblance was uncanny minus their eye color.

I felt a presence sidle up to me on my other side, and I looked up to see Dodger. He flung his arm over my shoulder, and he tipped me over to kiss the top of my head. I loved that he felt so comfortable with me. “Lookin’ good beautiful. Where’s Sarah?”

Oh crap, in my moment of distraction, I’d forgotten where my sister was. “She’s in the kitchen with Mom. I think she’s having her help make sweet tea,” Camden answered for me. I let out a sigh of relief.

Macie had sat down on one of the couches and was thumbing through a magazine when she lifted her eyes and smirked at me. I bet she could sense how awkward I was feeling. I rolled my eyes at her and leaned my head onto Camden’s shoulder. If we weren’t in front of his family, I would kiss him so hard right now. I loved that Turner pushed him to stake his claim on me. And I love that he did it in front of the people that meant the most to him. Hello warm and fuzzies.

“Well.” Paul rubbed his hands together. “Hopefully your mom is almost done cooking ‘cause I’m starving! Cam, why don’t you take Keegan and show her around the house. We can catch up when we sit down to eat.”

“Wanna see the house?” he asked softly.

“Sure I’d love to.”

I gave a small wave to everyone in the room, because they were watching me intently. I briefly wondered if I was the first girl Camden had brought home before. They sure seemed to be intrigued by me. Camden had taken my hand and started leading me through the house. He showed me everything downstairs from the dining room that was set up for dinner, his parents’ master bedroom that made me drool with their beach theme and four-poster bed, to the laundry room that could make washing clothes seem like fun. When we started going up the stairs, Camden’s mom called him to come help her with something real quick. He left me standing there so I took advantage of the alone time to look at all the photographs hanging on the wall. There were family pictures from vacations they had taken, school pictures, and ones of the boys playing sports. They all looked so happy. I had a pang of jealousy run through me. I wished I could give Sarah something like this, but I knew it wasn’t going to happen. Pushing it aside, I continued up the steps one by one reveling in each smile and action shot. They seemed like the picture perfect family. Almost at the top of the steps, one photograph caught my eye. It was of Camden during his high school graduation. He was wearing his cap and gown, and the smile that was on his face took my breath away. But what had caught my attention the most was the girl he was standing next to. She had dark hair and sea-blue green eyes. Her tanned skin almost matched the color of Camden’s. She was strikingly beautiful. What threw me was the hold he had on her. She was looking at the camera, while he beamed down at her. It seemed so intimate. Who was she? He’s never told me about an old girlfriend, but we’ve also never discussed our pasts. Something about it wasn’t sitting right. I’d seen who he’d brought in and out of our apartment before; this girl was different, this one was special.