The Sunstone Brooch : Time Travel Romance by Katherine Logan (comprehension books .TXT) 📗

the rim. “Fraser missed the layup, rebounds, and”—he shot again—“scores!”

Austin clapped. “Good job, buddy.”

“We haven’t told anybody our secret that we FaceTime with you every day,” Blane said. “JL complains that you won’t talk to anybody, but we know that’s not true. ’Cause you talk to us.”

“I’ll always talk to you. You’re my guys. But when did you start calling her JL? She’s our mom.”

“Because you call her JL, and you’ve known her for a long time. If it’s good enough for you, it’s good enough for us,” Lance said. “When people ask about my mom, I tell them I don’t have one. I have a JL.”

“I bet she loves that,” Austin said.

“No, she hates it,” Blane said.

The other kids had left the gym, so Austin had his brothers to himself, and for the next hour, he worked with them on their shooting and dribbling skills. And it was a pure pleasure because not only were they both naturally athletic, they were also above average in height.

And right then, Austin pledged to stay involved in their lives. He had so much to teach them, and he refused to let his skills and passion for the game lessen in any way. If he couldn’t play—and he wasn’t ready to concede that—he’d help his brothers become the best ballplayers they could be.

At eleven o’clock, Austin said he had to go to a meeting, and he would catch up with them later. The boys hugged him goodbye and ran off to do whatever little boys eight and eleven did with their excess energy.

Austin took a quick shower and grabbed a protein drink from the break room before looking for Ensley. He figured she’d probably gone back to their suite, but he found her, limp and sweaty, resting on a mat in the yoga studio.

He sat on the floor beside her, leaned against the mirrored wall, and stretched out his legs. “So, how’d it go?”

“I’ve sweated all the toxins out of my body, and my arms are killing me. The last thing we did before my massage and sauna were ten minutes of kettlebells.”

“I didn’t think you were going to lift.”

“I didn’t, either, but you know Ted. I think he was trying to show me how much work I need to do if I wanted to swing that battle-ax. But man, both Ted and Laurence are worth their weight in gold. They’re amazing. They knew exactly how hard to push, what to look for, and ways to relieve the stress on my hip. I got a lecture about wearing high heels and had to promise not to wear them for a while.” She sighed. “So I guess I’ll be stuck hanging out with your navel for a while.”

Austin chuckled. “Sounds like you enjoyed working with them?”

“I wouldn’t go that far. Ted lost favorability points when he recommended I schedule a titanium hip replacement in three months.”

“Why three?”

“Because, he said, ‘you need plenty of time to recover before you go through the stress of planning a wedding.’ I told him our wedding would be a small family affair in Charlotte’s backyard.”

Austin burst out laughing. “Ask JL and Penny how that worked for them.”

“What does that mean?”

“Meredith can be overwhelming at times.”

“You don’t have to tell me that. She kidnapped me, remember? But a wedding isn’t in the mix for right now. We have too much to do. Right?”

“I’ll get married whenever you want, and if you’d like to know what I think of your surgery, I’d say schedule it as soon as possible.”

“Why? Do you know how long I’ll have to rehab?”

“Six weeks post-op, you’ll be able to participate in all regular activities, and it’ll take three months to regain the strength and endurance you have now.”

“Somebody has done their research.”

He grinned. “A lazy man’s research. I asked Charlotte. And besides, I’ve been putting off surgery on my leg. We can get cut on at the same time and rehab together.”

“Oh, doesn’t that sound romantic?”

“It could be,” he said, smiling.

“I don’t like that idea. I wouldn’t be able to take care of you.”

“Trust me. You wouldn’t want to. Ask Remy. I can be an asshole.”

“Sounds like we’ll have to rehab in different places. I don’t take my frustration out on others. I just beat myself up. But what bugged me about the conversation was that I felt Charlotte or Meredith had influenced Ted to tell me I need surgery soon. But I could be wrong.”

“Ted’s pretty independent. He wouldn’t have told you something based on someone else’s opinion, even Charlotte’s. That’s why Elliott has kept him employed for almost thirty years. He’s like JL—one of the few people who can get in Elliott’s face and speak truth to power. You can do that, too.”

“And the rest of you can’t?”

“It’s not that we can’t. It’s that we choose not to. JL and Ted, and to some extent Kenzie and Charlotte, are our designated apple-cart-upsetters. As long as they continue to challenge Elliott, the family stays on an even keel.”

“JC thought he couldn’t challenge his dad,” Ensley said. “That’s why he didn’t tell him about finding my brooch.”

“That’s not why he didn’t tell him. JC thought the knowledge would endanger the family. He didn’t want anyone hurt because of what he’d done in Asia.”

“What’d he do?” she asked.

“I’m not sure. When Elliott wants to tell us, he will.”

“So does that make me an apple-cart-upsetter?”

“’Fraid so. And when Elliott adopts you, you’ll have even more privileges.”

“He’s not legally adopting me.”

“Yes, he is. It’s a gesture of his commitment to the pledge he made to Erik. Kevin and Kenzie are revising his estate plan to include you.”

“Shit! I’m twenty-eight years old. He should have asked me—and besides, I don’t want his money.”

“It’s not like he’s going to stand on a street corner and tell the world he adopted you. If you want anyone to know, you can tell them. Otherwise, it’ll just be a paper deal. But honestly, it’s not just his money, but his protection.”

“Like a mafia don?”

Austin