The Harper Brothers: You Can't Hurry Love (Wattpad Version)

Second chances

Valentine

After packing our belongings, we headed home. We celebrated Rafe's birthday before the graduation party and Marty's twenty-first birthday party. We arrived home in record time, thanks to Ma.

Dad emerged from his car and looked at Ma. "Was it necessary to yell at me on the drive home?"

"It doesn't matter since you like to turn off your hearing aids." Ma shrugged.

"Tori, I don't want to spend time in the clink and explain why I'm there."

"At least the cop let you off with a warning."

Our parents argued as my brothers, and I grabbed boxes.

"You would think Ma would risk our lives," Pat said.

"You weren't in the car while Ma yelled at Dad the entire way home. Sometimes, I wish I was deaf," Rafe said.

"That could be arranged," Pat said.

"Can we wait until we unpack to duke it out?" Romeo asked.

"That would be too easy," Marty said.

"How about you move your asses before I beat the hell out of you?" I asked my brothers.

"Damn, someone is cranky," Romeo said, walking away.

"Val needs to get laid," Rafe said.

I shook my head and carried a box into the house. After years of living with my brothers, I'm ready to move into my own place.

******
Elias

I helped the boys unload the cars so they could get settled, and Tori would quit her bitching. After unloading the last time, I grabbed a pop and sat at the kitchen island.

Then the yelling started with the boys. Ah, it's good to have the hellraisers return.

Tori came down the stairs, stopped, and turned to face the steps. "I don't care who started it! You're grown-ass men! Start acting like it!"

I chuckled.

Tori turned around, shook her head, and rolled her eyes before joining me at the kitchen island. "You would think the boys would have matured since being away at college. They haven't."

"What were they yelling about?"

"It started with Marty's prank and escalated from there?"

"Who got their head shaved?"

"No one except Marty replaced Romeo's body wash with Nair."

I laughed.

"Of course, Rafe laughed, so Romeo jumped on him. Pat tried to break it up. Rafe elbowed Pat in the nose. Then Val broke it up."

"Some things will never change, which makes me glad."

Tori rested her chin in her palm and looked at me. The boys had endured difficult times while away at school. They had to rely on each other since we weren't there. If they acted like hellraisers when they came home, we didn't completely lose them. I'll take it.

"Owen and I spoke to Grayson and Nash," I mentioned.

"How did that go?"

We agreed to give Dexter and Keaton a chance. Depending on how they do, we'll offer them a full-time position. Most people have reservations about providing people with issues an option, but you influenced my decision."

"How so?"

"You took a chance with me when you didn't need to."

Tori tilted her head and gazed at me. "Yeah, I did."