Graduation and Gifts (Untouchable Book 8) by Heather Long (ebook reader play store .txt) 📗

the end of each of these books, there will be one to the whole series, that I promise you. Some of these books will have cliffhangers, largely due to the size of the story, but the happy ending has to be earned as part of the journey.

Again, thank you for reading and being on this journey with Frankie and the boys. You haven’t seen anything yet.

xoxo

Heather

Chapter One

Guess Who’s Coming to…what?

Frankie

“I was looking for Frankie Curtis,” the man at the door said. “I’m Henry Jackson.”

Jake's shoulders went stiff, Ian sat forward, and Archie emerged from the kitchen, but Coop and I were on the sofa and closer than the others. The man's voice sounded warm, if a bit wary. I glanced down at the near see-through pale blue tank-top and sleep shorts I had on and jerked to my feet. Ian stripped off his sweatshirt and tugged it over my head. It hit me about mid-thigh and I still had to roll up the sleeves.

For his part, Jake hadn't moved.

"I did get the right apartment?" Hesitance entered the man's voice. "Sorry, if I'm coming by late. I drove here straight from the airport and I got lost once."

My heart fisted at his words.

"No," Jake said slowly. "You're at the right place." He spared a glance back at me but didn't move the door. I couldn't see past him and Henry Jackson couldn't see in. Brows raised, he looked at me for an answer and I hesitated.

"Breathe," Coop said as he tugged my hair free from the sweatshirt and smoothed it down. "We'll put on the coffee and clean this up." He was already reaching for the popcorn. Ian was emerging from the other bedroom with a new shirt on and I hadn't even noticed him leaving.

"Breathe," he said, repeating Coop's earlier suggestion and I blew out another breath. It came out far shakier and I folded my arms as a shiver assaulted me.

"I got the coffee," Archie said quietly, but Jake still hadn't moved to open the door fully.

Toes curling in my socks, I tried to quiet the shakes before walking over toward the door. Jake nodded once then backed up a step, even as he held a hand out loose for me to take if I wanted.

Oh, I definitely did. Unhooking my arms, I reached for him. He locked his fingers around mine and I shifted my gaze from Jake's to the door and the man standing there illuminated by the yellow outdoor lamps attached to the walls at various intervals.

He was a bit shorter than Jake, but still taller than me. Dark hair and…green eyes. The green eyes stopped me because I always thought I had Maddy's eyes, but the color wasn't exact. Mr. Jackson's...

"I'm Frankie," I told him despite how dry my mouth had gone. This was ridiculous. I wanted to roll my eyes and laugh at myself, but I settled for a half-smile and started to extend my hand. "I mean, yes, I'm Frankie. Would you like to come in Mister—or is it Professor..."

Crap, what was I supposed to call him?

He took my offered hand and his grip was a little sweaty, kind of like mine. When I dug my nails into Jake's hand, he just tightened his hold.

"Hank," the man said slowly, more than a bit of wonder in his voice. "Call me Hank." He stared at me for a moment, then said, "And I can come in or we can go somewhere. I don't want you to feel cornered or ambushed, just… You called and you mentioned graduation and I thought if you were reaching out that maybe you wanted to meet me and I've wanted to meet you."

The words came out of him in a rush and I had to bite my lower lip to keep from laughing a little. He sounded almost as nervous as I felt.

"I did want to—Yeah, it's fine, come in." I gestured him in and he let go of my hand as I started to back up.

"You have company," he said as he stepped in and the lights from the living room revealed a youthful face despite the hint of stubble on his cheeks. He glanced from me to Jake, then behind me. "I'm interrupting."

"It's fine, these are my boyfriends, you'd have to meet them anyway."

Hank paused a beat and raised his eyebrows, but he wasn't alone, Jake wore nearly the same expression as he stared at me over Hank's shoulder while closing the door. "Boyfriends?"

Well, love me, love my guys and all that so… I nodded. "Yeah, that's Jake and..."

"Ian Rhys, sir," Ian offered as he extended his hand. Hank shook it easily and then Coop's when he offered his.

"Coop Brennen," he said, grinning. "Boy next door and resident best friend as well as boyfriend."

I laughed. "Smart ass."

"Benton," Jake said as he took his turn for a handshake.

"And I'm Archie," Archie said as he came to stand next to me, he looped an arm around my waist before he offered his hand. "Standish."

Hank paused, then accepted the handshake. "Eddie Standish's kid."

It wasn't a question.

"Unfortunately," Archie told him with a half-smile. "Hopefully you won't hold that against me."

"Not at all," Hank said with an ease that had me letting out a breath as I leaned into Arch. That hadn't even occurred to me there might be a problem, considering the history. Then again, I didn't expect him to just show up when the guys and I had settled in for the night. "Just surprised," he admitted and then glanced at me where he paused with a small smile. "I'm going to make this weird and keep staring, just ignore me for a bit. I promise I'll get over it."

"It's okay," I said with a laugh. "It is weird. I mean… Are you looking to see how I'm like you or how I'm like her?" Cause, I really had no idea how they left things.

He gritted his teeth and wrinkled his nose like he was bracing for