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to bridge the gap would be a blessing.
    “I’d really appreciate that,” Keith said. “I know it’d take away from your practice time, but it’d give Mark a break.”
    Corey looked him in the eye and sort of smiled.
    “No problem. I don’t mind.”
    Keith believed he didn’t. Maybe Corey made the offer to impress Heather, and then again, maybe not.
    Whatever the reason, the long overdue behavior settled a few issues in his mind. He figured with Corey being so sullen, next on the agenda would be some sort of trouble with the police. It’d certainly happened with Mark.
    “Better now?” Keith asked Billy.
    The weight of the world had apparently been lifted from the kid and he took his seat. His little blond haired, blue-eyed brother seemed less tough than the other Manchesters. He wondered how much genetics influenced a kid’s development. They shared a common mother, but Billy’s father had always been odd. He wondered how he could love Billy so much while hating the man who’d fathered him. Apple pie melted in his mouth and he forgot about a bastard stepfather. Most pies tasted too sweet. This one didn’t. While consuming the slice, he tasted something complex and rich. What did she use? On the last bite, he figured it out. Honey . He savored every morsel because his diet consisted 29

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    mostly of take-out. Maybe he should consider mouthing off to women more often. If it ever happened again, he knew he’d get a kick in the pants, not a full blown, homemade meal with dessert. Sometimes things worked out.
    With the pies finished, he stood and started gathering dirty dishes. If he didn’t move fast, his work crew would be asleep from a food coma. “Let’s move and get the porch done.”
    “Task master,” Corey mumbled, reluctantly coming to his feet.
    “Slave driver,” Jade said. He stood, stretched and rubbed his stomach.
    “Foreman,” Mark added, before laughing.
    “Supervisor,” Dusty yelled from the living room.
    Chief, manager, commander, general, ruler, supreme leader, captain, followed. He finally cut them off. “Just call me Alpha Manchester .” They laughed as they carried plates to the kitchen. Heather shooed them away and Christy joined her to do dishes. The kids grumbled as they headed out the door and picked up drills, wood and hammers. They took up where they’d left off.
    Through the years, they’d all gotten fairly talented with home repairs. Corey and his friends certainly did grown men’s work for the day.
    As the sun set, they cleaned up tools and debris from the yard. He stood back and looked at the finished project. The old porch lay in pieces in the rented dumpster, ready to be hauled away.
    Corey came up to stand next to him. “Did we do all right?”
    Keith ruffled his brothers long brown hair before patting his shoulder. “You did better than that. Once it’s stained, it’ll be the best in town. You guys did first rate work today.”
    “Thanks.”
    Before Corey left, Keith cleared his throat.
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    “Mark said you guys blew out one of the old amplifiers.”
    “Blew it up is more like it. We hacked it back together though. Why?”
    “Then I don’t suppose you could use that new seven-thousand series amp you’ve been drooling over.”
    His eyes rounded and he looked confused. “Do you know how much that costs?”
    “Yeah, well, the labor today was free, so I figured we could choke something up.”
    “No way!” he said.
    “Sure, but don’t expect payment for every little thing. You live here too, so you help when I need it.
    Get me?”
    “Oh, hell yeah! Holy shit!”
    “Language, Corey,” Keith scolded.
    “Sorry, but, holy shit! Sorry.” Keith laughed and Corey immediately loudly told the guys what they’d earned. They’d done plenty and Keith knew they fixed what they could around the house in his absence. For kids, they weren’t the worst in the world and should get rewarded every once in a while. Besides, they’d need the