Jerry Takes Charge: An Aisling Grimlock Short Read online

  Jerry Takes Charge

  An Aisling Grimlock Short

  Amanda M. Lee

  WinchesterShaw Publications

  Copyright © 2019 by Amanda M. Lee

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  1. One

  2. Two

  3. Three

  4. Four

  5. Five

  6. Six

  7. Seven

  8. Eight

  9. Nine

  10. Ten

  Mailing List

  About the Author

  Books by Amanda M. Lee

  One

  There’s nothing worse than the sound of a crying baby.

  Literally.

  Nothing worse.

  The baby sharing the wall with my fiancé Aidan Grimlock and me was especially loud. I blamed her mother. Of course, I’d been blaming her mother for myriad complaints since I was five years old. It had never done me any good.

  “Why is she torturing us?” I jerked my pillow over my face and tried to drown out the shrieking. “I think she knows that we’re over here judging her mother and she’s decided to make us pay.”

  Aidan appeared calmer than me. He merely smiled and kept flipping through his magazine.

  “I’m serious,” I pressed, refusing to let it go. “That can’t be normal. That baby is not a baby. Have you considered that all the dark magic that was floating around your family when she was conceived turned her into a devil or something? I think that’s entirely possible.”

  “That sounds fine,” Aidan replied, his smile never wavering. “Whatever you think is best.”

  I narrowed my eyes, instantly suspicious. I wasn’t an idiot, no matter what he thought, and I knew when I was being bamboozled. Jeremiah “Jerry” Collins was smarter than all the rest of them combined. I simply let them think they were intellectually superior when it came to certain things because it meant I wouldn’t be tapped for action.

  “Aidan?”

  He continued to smile. He was criminally handsome. He looked like a male model. Heck, all the Grimlocks looked as if they could strut a catwalk. Even my best friend Aisling, Aidan’s twin and the mother of the wailing infant next door, had a certain look about her. Sure, the only reason she would want to walk a catwalk was so she could trip the other models — she never appreciated fashion despite the many lessons I tried to drill into her head — but the point was no one would question her presence if she appeared backstage. Aidan relied on his looks far too often when it came to winning fights. Yes, I turned into a puddle of goo when he flashed his best smile. I simply didn’t give in to the gooeyness. That’s simply not who I am.

  “Aidan?” I repeated.

  “I think that’s a great idea,” he replied absently. “You always have the best ideas.” His smile widened as he beamed at me and then turned back to his magazine.

  Oh, well, something was definitely going on here. I leaned closer to study his ear, frowning when I saw something white and waxy protruding. “Cheater!” I led with my outrage and grabbed the item in question, removing what looked to be a small ball of goo. “I can’t believe you had earplugs and let me sit here and suffer.” I was outraged. Of course, that was my perpetual state, and Aidan was used to it.

  He looked momentarily sheepish and then straightened. “I only have one pair and I need them. I have to be up early for work tomorrow.”

  “And I don’t?”

  “I’m collecting souls,” he pointed out, adopting his most pragmatic tone. I absolutely hated it, to the point I wanted to shake him whenever he tried running that con on me. “I could run into a wraith. I obviously need my sleep. Reaping is dangerous business.”

  Oh, I should’ve seen this coming. The entire Grimlock family works as reapers, even Aisling, although she was on a part-time schedule now after giving birth months ago to the world’s loudest baby. They act as if reaping souls is the most important job in the world.

  Sure, I knew that if they didn’t do their jobs then people would suffer forever because they wouldn’t arrive in their final resting place and they would be separated from their loved ones forever, but nobody’s life was perfect. My job is important and fulfilling, too. I run a bakery, make wedding cakes for the local rich and famous (although, to be fair, Michigan has very few famous) and I am becoming the go-to caterer for the hoitiest and toitiest of the state’s elite. That might not sound like a great thing, but it totally is.

  “You could’ve at least shared them,” I said finally. “That’s only fair.”

  Aidan didn’t look convinced. “What good would that do? I would still be able to hear her with one ear.”

  “It would cut down on the noise.”

  “I would prefer eradicating the noise completely. Seriously, though, how can she still be crying? She’s been at it for hours.”

  “I gave my opinion on her rather dubious beginnings five minutes ago,” I pointed out. “If you’d been listening, you would already know that all the dark magic Aisling potentially absorbed during the time Lily was conceived means that she’s actually the spawn of Satan.”

  Instead of laughing, as I expected, Aidan shook his head. “Don’t say stuff like that in front of Aisling.” He shifted his eyes to the wall when the crying suddenly ceased. “Is that it? Did she cry herself out?”

  “Or they smothered her with a pillow,” I muttered.

  Aidan smacked my arm. “That is not funny. I know you’re tired — who wouldn’t be sharing a wall with that little ... girl? But she’s still your niece. She won’t always be like this.”

  “No, she’ll get worse,” I supplied. “What do you think is going to happen when she starts talking? I can already hear it now. ‘Grampy, buy me a pony. Uncle Redmond, beat up Uncle Jerry because he called me names. Uncle Braden, Uncle Jerry is being mean to me. Make him pay.’ And you know what? She’ll be spoiled rotten because that’s what the Grimlock family does. They’ll all do exactly what she wants. She’s going to be like a two-foot-tall queen who controls my entire world.”

  I expected Aidan to admonish me — or maybe even agree — but when I turned he was simply watching me with an expectant expression.

  “What?” I barked. “It’s true. She’ll be horrible and you know it.” I momentarily turned thoughtful. “She’ll probably be good for smiting my enemies, though. She’ll be little and cute and strangers won’t see her coming. Anyone who has ever met her mother will understand she’s a terror on two legs, of course, but the largest portion of the population won’t suspect her. Wait ... this might not be so bad after all.”

  When I glanced back at Aidan, I found he was getting out of bed. “What are you doing? You’re not moving out, are you? I’ve been considering that, too. We could move to your father’s house on the nights she’s here and back home on the nights she’s there. It’s not ideal, but until she shakes this evil thing she’s doing, it might be the best option.”

  “I’m going over to help,” Aidan replied darkly.

  “Help with what? She’s finally quiet.” As if on cue, Lily started screaming again. “Ugh.” I dropped my head in my hands. “I just jinxed myself, didn’t I?”

  “You really did,” Aidan agreed. “But it doesn’t matter. We told Aisling when she first got pregnant that we would help her We didn’t know Lily was going to be this ... vocal ... at the time, but that doesn’t change anything.
We need to offer our help.”

  “That’s pretty rich coming from the guy who was happily ignoring the noise thanks to earplugs five minutes ago,” I argued.

  “Yes, well, you ruined my utopia. Now I have no choice but to head over there. Aisling needs me. I’m her twin. We have the strongest bond imaginable.”

  Now it was my turn to be agitated. Aisling might’ve been his sister, but she was my best friend. We’d lived together for years until adulthood beckoned – a good ten years after actual adulthood, mind you – and forced us to move in with our significant others. I still missed her being in the next room, although we were technically still on top of each other, and I resented the fact that Aisling’s husband Griffin Taylor (as well as Aidan, quite frankly) refused to find a way for all four of us to move in together. Of course, I had that grand idea before Lily became a reality. Maybe they knew something I didn’t.

  Wait ... what were we talking about again? Oh, right. He was baiting me.

  “I know what you’re doing,” I said, folding my arms over my chest. “I’m not going to fall for it. You’re trying to sucker me into running over to help Aisling because I don’t like it when anyone insinuates that they have a better relationship with her than I do. Then you’ll crawl back into bed, put in your earplugs and get a full eight hours of sleep. I know your game.”

  Aidan’s lips quirked but he managed to hold off a smile. It looked like a monumental effort. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Aisling and I shared a womb. There is no relationship stronger than that.” Wearing only a pair of boxer shorts and a fitted T-shirt that showed off his ridiculous muscles, he strode toward the door. “I’m going to help my sister. I don’t know what you’re going to do, but I’m going to be her hero because that’s who I am.”

  I made an indignant sound deep in my throat as he disappeared from the room. If he thought that was going to work on me, he had another think coming. It wouldn’t work.

  Most definitely.

  Never.

  Ever.

  Oh, man. “Wait for me,” I called out as I tossed off the covers. He really did know how to play me. I needed to figure out a way to stop leaving my emotional buttons on display. That was the only way stuff like this was going to stop. “But if that baby does turn out to be Satan in human form don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  WE LET OURSELVES INTO THE TOWNHOUSE Aisling and Griffin shared with the screamer without knocking. There didn’t seem to be a point. It was obvious they were still up and not doing anything romantic. Heck, if I were in their position I might not ever do anything romantic again because that’s how they got into this predicament.

  Griffin was in the living room pacing the floor, the baby cradled against his chest. His brown hair stood up at odd angles, as if he’d been swiping his hands through it endlessly. Even though I blamed him for stealing my best friend from me — damn his muscles and good looks; she was a goner as soon as she stared into his ridiculous eyes — I felt sorry for him. The baby was taking it out of everyone. He only got six weeks of paternity leave, so he was back working as a detective with the Detroit Police Department a good forty to fifty hours a week. Still, he tried to put in as much time with Lily as possible to give Aisling a break. Even though it was difficult to admit, he was a good father and a great husband. But he was still a dirty best friend thief, though.

  My best friend sat on the couch in the middle of the room, looking forlorn as she watched Griffin walk the baby. Her eyes immediately traveled to us when we entered and I swear I saw her back go up one vertebra at a time. “Don’t give us grief,” she warned, her voice low. “We’re doing the best that we can.”

  Aisling is one of those women who is effortlessly beautiful. She has long black hair, streaked through with white, which was a deliberate and bold choice on her part, and high cheekbones she inherited from her father. All the Grimlocks look alike. They reminded me of a breeding experiment when I was in my early teens and reading science fiction novels. That made me afraid to go to their house for a few weeks, but I got over it quickly. Grimlock Manor was a castle more than a house, and I absolutely loved it. Nothing could keep me away long.

  “We’re not here to give you grief,” Aidan reassured her, immediately going to Griffin and holding out his arms. “Give her to me. Sit down and take a break.”

  Griffin looked so relieved I internally chastised myself for not being the one to offer. I enjoyed it when he felt beholden to me. I also liked helping because the exhaustion rolling off him and Aisling in waves was enough to soften even my cold heart.

  “Thank you.” He handed over his daughter without a word of complaint and immediately headed toward his wife. Instead of resting, which he obviously needed, he started massaging her back. That was another reason he was a great husband ... and one of the techniques I’m sure he used to steal her away.

  “What’s wrong with her?” I asked, moving closer to Aidan so I could rub Lily’s back. Her screams had dissipated some when Aidan took her. I was guessing that had something to do with the fact that he was nowhere near as agitated as her parents. Izzy Sage, a new member of our little family who dated one of the middle Grimlock brothers, Braden, claimed Lily was empathic and could pick up on the emotions of others. Izzy was a bruja, so I tended to believe her. That still didn’t give the baby the right to be the most annoying person on the planet. Although ... she really was cute. Her lavender eyes moved to me as I stroked her and whispered.

  “It’s okay.” The smile I shot her was genuine. “Life isn’t as bad as you’re making it out to be. You’ve got it good. You’ve got a great mother and father ... and you have the best Uncle Jerry ever. I don’t see why you’re so disgruntled with life.”

  “She hates me,” Aisling muttered. “That’s the only explanation.”

  “She doesn’t hate you,” Griffin argued, digging his fingers into Aisling’s rigid back and causing her to moan. “She’s just .... well, she’s you. She likes to annoy people. I think this is karma.”

  “I was never this bad,” Aisling argued.

  Aidan snorted as he bounced the baby and walked her around the living room. “Your mother is delusional, little one.”

  Lily had stopped crying and was now watching Aidan with adoring eyes. She loved all her uncles — me most of all — and was happy when any of them showed her the devotion she obviously believed she deserved.

  “I don’t understand why she won’t do that for me,” Aisling complained. “I’m telling you that she hates me.”

  “She doesn’t hate you, Bug,” I countered, moving closer to my best friend. “You heard what Izzy said. When you’re frustrated, the baby picks up on it. No one is to blame. It’s simply an added wrinkle we’re going to have to overcome. We’ve been through worse.”

  “Or she just hates me,” Aisling persisted darkly.

  I didn’t know how to respond and looked to Griffin. He looked as perplexed as me.

  “You know what, baby? You need a break,” Griffin started. “I don’t think it’s good for you to be cooped up all day. You can’t take it. You’re the sort of person who needs to roam, enjoy the fresh air, get in the occasional fight with Angelina. You’re chafing under self-imposed house arrest.”

  The look she shot him was withering. “What do you suggest I do? Should I take Lily with me to track down Angelina and let her watch me get in a hair-pulling contest with the town tramp? How will that help the empathic thing?”

  “I think it actually will help. You’re always in a good mood after a run-in with Angelina,” Griffin replied, referring to Aisling’s lifelong nemesis and the individual I was convinced could be a strain of herpes in human form. “Still, I know that’s not an option because you wouldn’t risk Lily getting hurt. But you need some downtime.”

  “And how do you suggest I get that?” Aisling was petulant. “I have a daughter to take care of.”

  “You could get the nanny Dad has been offering,” Aidan suggested, earning a sneer from his twin.
“Oh, don’t even.” His tone darkened. “I know you think it makes you a bad mother to get help, but you’re exhausted, Ais. The longer this goes on, the more tired you’ll get, and you’re cranky when you’re tired.

  “If Izzy is right and Lily is picking up on your emotions, you’re perpetuating the cycle,” he continued. I had to give him credit. He didn’t back down, not even a little. “If you had help and took a break, you would come back reinvigorated and happy. That’s what Lily would pick up on.”

  Aisling was silent as she chewed her bottom lip. I could practically see the gears in her mind working.

  “I think he’s right,” Griffin offered, taking everyone by surprise. He’d been the one firmly against the nanny idea when Cormack, Aisling’s father, suggested it. He didn’t like the idea of a stranger in their home. As it was, they were spending three or four nights a week at Grimlock Manor because Cormack stayed up with the baby and allowed them to get a few uninterrupted hours of sleep. “I don’t think it would hurt to get some help, and if your father is willing to pay for it I think we should take him up on the offer.”

  Aisling balked. “That doesn’t seem right. She’s our responsibility.”

  “Baby, she’s an infant who picks up on the emotions of others and we both work high-stress jobs. I’m man enough to admit when I need help. I think this has to happen.”

  Aisling pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead. “I need to think about it.”

  “Fine. Think about it. The thinking has to be done away from the baby, though. I think you should take tomorrow off.”

  “And do what?” Aisling was positively apoplectic. “Should I just leave Lily here to fend for herself?”

  “I’ll take care of Lily.” He was calm. “I have a mountain of personal days stacked up. I’ll take one tomorrow. I want you out of this house, no matter what you do.” Slowly, his eyes tracked to me. Apparently that was my cue. There was only one little problem.