Scattered Dreams (Book 4 of the Blue Moon Series)

THREE | UNCLE WIO

Gio POV 

“I think we should go out tonight, man. It’s Friday night, and we’re both single, good looking guys. Plus, I’ve been researching, and I found a few promising looking bars and lounges in the area that are basically guaranteed to get us laid,” Demetrius advised. What was with everyone trying to get me to have s*x? Couldn’t a man be celibate for a while if he wanted to?

“As amazing as that plan sounds, I have a couple of problems with it. Number one, I’m not looking for random s*x right now, and number two, we’re on babysitting duty this weekend. Matt is dropping the kids off to me any minute now.”

“Whoa. The kids? As in all of them? But can they even walk? How can we keep up with a bunch of babies?” he nervously asked. 

“Yeah, all five of them. And they aren’t all babies. Genesis is three, Julian and Jaylon are two, and Joselyn and Autumn are three months old. We’ve just got to keep the princess entertained, the younger four have their own permanent playmates, so they are pretty chill.”

“What kind of stuff do kids their age like? I’m out of my element here, dude. Can I just go get drunk?” Demetrius asked. 

“No, you can’t. They like coloring and songs and s**t. We’ll figure it out; as my best friend, you’re in this with me.”

Right on queue, Matt pulled up to the cottage, hopped out, then walked around the car to open the door for Taylor. “Gio, your sister-in-law is sexy as hell, how do you manage not to get a boner every time you see her?” Demetrius asked. 

“Because my brother would kill me, or any other man for looking at his wife like that. And if he didn’t, Tyson gladly would, so get your s**t together if you want to keep breathing,” I warned. 

“But those eyes, and that smile, and sweet Moon Goddess, that skin! Does she have a sister?”

“For f**k’s sake,” I sighed as I opened the door and walked outside. 

“Hey, Gio! I love the cottage; it fits you. Very masculine, but doesn’t outright scream ‘bachelor pad.’ You did good kid,” Taylor smiled at me and said. 

“Sis, you’re two years younger than me, who are you calling kid?” I replied as I scooped her up into a tight hug. I hadn’t seen much of her since she had the twins a few months ago; I’d been so focused on getting things going up here. 

“Who’s the perv staring at me from the front door?” she asked while still having her arms wrapped around my shoulders. 

“I swear he’s not a creep, sweetheart. He just becomes an i***t whenever he sees a beautiful woman,” I replied. 

“Demetrius! If you look at my wife’s ass one more time, I’ll snatch your damn eyes out. Do we understand each other?” Matt yelled from his spot next to the truck. 

“Yes, Gamma. I apologize,” Demetrius stated. 

Taylor looked up at me and frowned. “You trust me, don’t you? I wouldn’t have him here if he were a problem, I promise you,” I assured her. 

“Okay. I trust you, Matt knows him, and Tyson damn near knows the details of every crap the dude’s ever taken, so I’m not too worried. I’ll just keep my distance so he can keep his eyes.”

I walked over to Matt, who was still scowling in Demetrius’s direction. “Hey, big bro, what’s the plan for the weekend?” I asked, trying to distract him. 

“Taylor’s been going nonstop with the kids and work, so we’re taking her to a resort in Cancun for the weekend to recharge. We’re leaving tonight and coming back Monday morning. When you start your rotations on Monday, take the kids to the packhouse; Michelle will be there to take over for you until I get back here to pick them up Monday night,” he replied, never once taking his eyes off the now empty front door. 

“You know how he is, and you know how gorgeous Taylor is. You can’t be surprised; he’s been this way since we were kids,” I said. 

“I know all of those things, and I also know that it’s disrespectful. Taylor is his Gamma, not some chick in a bar. If he weren’t your best friend, he’d be a bloody heap right now.”

“Thank you for sparing him, I appreciate it,” I replied. 

“Uncle Wio! Uncle Wio!” Genesis yelled from the back seat

“She still can’t pronounce the letter G, huh?” I asked with a laugh. 

“There are a few letters that her little mouth can’t quite figure out, but she’s working on it,” Matt proudly replied. I opened the door, and Genesis immediately reached out for me and smiled. She was good for a guy's ego, no doubt about that. 

“Hi princess, are you ready to spend some time with your favorite uncle?” I asked. She flailed her arms around and laughed. “Uncle Wio! Hi!”

“Oh, my god, you guys. She gets sweeter and sweeter every time I see her. I love this little girl,” I told Matt and Taylor as I unhooked Gigi’s car seat and hugged her. She placed a wet kiss on my cheek that smelled oddly of peanut butter, making me smile.

“It’s obvious she loves you too. But I can’t say which uncle is her favorite. She’s spoiled rotten at home by Xander and Alexi, Kade is always on the floor with her playing tea party, and Luca is crazy, which Genesis finds hilarious. I’m so happy she has so many positive male influences in her life,” Taylor replied with a chuckle. 

“She’s our future Luna, we can’t help but love her,” I said. I tossed Gigi’s tiny body into the air, making her scream with laughter while Matt, Taylor, and a very embarrassed Demetrius, unloaded the other kids and their things. Jocelyn and Autumn were both asleep, so Matt took them into my room and placed them in their bassinets. As soon as the boy's feet touched the ground, they began running around in circles, chasing each other, but never going too far, thankfully. 

Matt passed a giant suitcase to Demetrius and smiled at him. “I want you to be prepared, Demetrius. When you get back home, you’re on three-a-day training sessions for an entire month. Aires will be very excited to welcome you back.”

“Aires? Gamma, please, just kill me now! I didn’t mean to be disrespectful, I promise!” Demetrius pleaded. 

Matt took Taylor’s hand and helped her back into the truck, then went around to the driver's seat. “You boys have a good weekend. If anything happens to any one of my kids, it will be two months.” Matt then pulled out of the driveway, leaving Demetrius staring at his disappearing taillights. 

“Have you ever trained with Aires? It’s like training with the devil; how Henry keeps up with her, I have no idea,” he finally turned to me and said. 

“Look, man, I warned you. I don’t know if you thought I was kidding around or what, but you’re lucky that’s all you got. And please believe the next time you see Tyson, it’s going to be pretty uncomfortable. This is the path you chose, so grab the boys and let’s go,” I replied. “Do you want to watch Mickey Mouse with Uncle Gio?” I asked Genesis as we headed inside. 

“Ohh, Nickey Nouse. I love Nickey Nouse,” she replied. 

“Well, Nickey Nouse, it is then.”

***

For all of his complaining, it didn’t take Demetrius long to get into nanny duties, especially when he realized that having five insanely cute kids at the park made him an instant chick magnet. Women were swarming around us in droves, at times making the kids uncomfortable. I had to finally tell them to back off and give us some space to breathe after Genesis, who was usually a social butterfly, refused to let me sit her down and clung to my side like a baby koala. My little princess was traumatized by all the attention, and I understood how she felt entirely.

“They are so adorable, Captain, are they yours?” I turned my head to see the Hispanic girl from the other night, standing a few feet away, smiling in my direction. “I’m Jenna, by the way. Sorry for that insane first impression I probably left with you. I swear I’m usually much more articulate and respectful when I meet someone,” she said.

“It’s nice to meet you, Jenna, and no, these little rug rats aren’t mine; well not directly. They’re my brother’s kids,” I replied.

“That makes sense then. The little angel on your hip looks a lot like you, and I’ve seen you and your brother, and you’re almost identical, so I understand the resemblance. Hi sweetheart, I love your unicorn shoes,” she gently leaned towards Genesis and said.

She was still a little weary, but after looking up at me for a small confidence boost, Genesis turned back towards Jenna and gave a small smile. “Unicorns sparkly. I love sparkly.”

“Oh, me too. Look!” Jenna leaned a little closer and pulled her thick brown hair back to reveal her silver unicorn earrings that were dangling and shining in the sun.

“Ohh, so pretty.” Genesis quickly forgot all her fears and reached out to Jenna, who happily took her from my arms. I stood close by and watched them play with all of Jenna’s jewelry on her ears, neck, and wrists.

“You’re great with her. Do you have kids?” I asked.

“No, not yet. I just have a bunch of younger siblings, I’ve also babysat and worked in daycare facilities for as long as I can remember. Kids and I just understand each other, probably because we’re about the same size,” she said with a giggle.

Looking her up and down, I noticed for the first time that Jenna couldn’t be more than 5’0, I’d say that 4’10 would be more accurate, and a good breeze could probably give her a run for her money. Yeah, I could see how kids could easily vibe with her.

“Hey, you sexy little thing! I remember you from the other night. Have you come back to finish what we should have gotten started?” Demetrius walked over to Jenna and asked with a sly smirk on his face.

“Uhh, no, I haven’t. And nothing was going to get ‘started’ with you just FYI; I was only there to meet the Captain,” she replied.

“Right. All the chicks are always after the Captian. I’ll just go away since I see I’m not wanted over here. Have fun Stone,” Demetrius replied. I could tell that his feelings were hurt, but as soon as another girl gave him the attention he craved, he’d snap back with no issue.

“I didn’t mean to be rude, I should go apologize to him,” Jenna said.

“He’ll be fine, trust me, we’ve been doing this dance for years.”

She passed Genesis back to me, who immediately squirmed out of my arms and ran to the slide. “It looks like you cured her. She was terrified ten minutes ago, but she’s back to her usual fun-loving self now. Thank you for that,” I told Jenna.

“It was my pleasure. She’s a doll; I’d gladly hang out with her anytime. It was nice to meet you, Captain, hopefully, I’ll see you around.”

“I’m sure you will.”

***

“I swear I’m never having kids! I’ve never been so exhausted, and I’m a top warrior!” Demetrius complained. We’d been going nonstop for the past three days, but it was finally Monday morning, and we were almost at the finish line. The kids were pretty well behaved, but they were kids, so they had tons of energy and not very many constructive ways to burn it off. 

“You’re overreacting. This has been fun; I’m kind of looking forward to having a bunch of kids of my own. I love how innocent they are,” I replied. 

“They’re terrorists. The boys drew scribbles on my laptop, and the babies puked on me twice!”

“Those terrorists got you three dates, all scheduled for this week if I remember correctly, so stop bitching and admit that you enjoyed yourself.”

“The word ‘enjoy’ would be a stretch, but the kids are cute; I guess it wasn’t so bad,” Demetrius finally said. “So, are you and the midget going out? You two were looking very cozy together, and you could have a good time with a tiny chick like her.”

“I’m not even going to justify that bullshit with an answer; that was rude on so many levels, man, seriously. Just grab the kid's stuff and come on. Michelle is waiting for us at the packhouse, and the sooner we get them over there to her, the sooner you can relax.” Demetrius made a couple of trips on his own to carry the kid's supplies over, then both of us walked together, herding the little people down the pathway. 

“Good morning, Captain, how was your weekend?” Michelle asked as I passed Joselyn over to her. 

“It was eventful, but I enjoyed myself. How about you?” I asked. We chatted for a few minutes while I helped her get the kids settled into the playroom. When we were finished, I gave out my hugs and kisses then walked with Demetrius back to the cottage to get ready for the day. 

“Are you expecting company?” he asked as we turned the corner. 

“No, Matt shouldn’t be here until late this evening, and no one I know drives such a small car,” I replied, staring at the vehicle parked in my front yard. As I walked closer, the front window rolled down, revealing the driver—f*****g Sasha.