Page 99 of Deceived Wrath

Brennan crouches down in front of Scout. “So, your dad tells me you like sports.”

Scout looks at me again. He looks a little overwhelmed, considering he has half a dozen strangers all staring at him, so I place a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“He’ll give you a run for your money when it comes to baseball, that’s for sure.”

Brennan grins. “Is that so? Want to bet?”

Ronan huffs. “Let’s not get the kid into gambling, Brennan.”

“Hundred bucks?” Scout asks, and everyone bursts out laughing.

After that, Scout quickly becomes the center of attention, and I barely get the chance to talk to him for most of the dinner. Between Ciara fussing over him and Brennan grilling him about his favorite sports teams, I’ve been officially bumped to the bottom of the pile.

But I don’t mind. Seeing Scout smile so much is worth it.

“He’s a cute kid.” Fiona’s sitting to my left, holding a sleeping Addison in one arm as she watches Scout across the table.

“You sound surprised.”

“Well, he has half of your genes, and I wouldn’t exactly use the word cute to describe you.”

“Oh, yeah?” I lean in just a little. “What word would you use?”

“Asshole is the first one that comes to mind.”

I swallow a laugh as I reach for my drink.

Brennan is nudging Scout. “Come on, you’re telling me that you’re not willing to give up the Dodgers in favor of the Yankees? You’re in New York now, kid. You can’t be seen supporting the enemy.”

“Don’t care.” Scout crosses his arms.

“Why not?”

“Because I have a Dodgers jersey.”

Brennan looks horrified. “This is about a jersey? Kid, I can buy you a thousand jerseys.”

Scout frowns. “I don’t want a thousand jerseys.”

“What do you want? I can buy you anything.”

“Stop trying to buy my kid,” I interject.

Brennan scoffs, throwing his hands in the air. “This is serious business, Cormac. You have raised your son to be a Dodgers fan!”

“I watched Dodgers games with Ray,” Scout says. “He bought me my jersey.”

Brennan looks at me. “Who’s Ray?”

“An old friend.” I reach for my drink and drain it.

“Fine. So, your loyalty can’t be swayed for baseball. What about basketball?”

Ciara sighs. “Can we please talk about anything other than sports?”

Fiona laughs. “I second that.”

Once the plates have been cleared and I catch Scout yawning across the table, I decide it’s time for him to go to bed. The poor kid is exhausted, and I really need a chance to talk with my brothers without Fiona being around to witness the fallout I know is coming from the looks Kieran keeps shooting at me and Fiona across the table.