R.L. Mathewson's Blog, page 4

And So It Begins…. Part 17

And So It Begins…Part XVIIAn R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

 

“Where were we?” Uncle Jared asked as he dropped down across the table and helped himself to one of his fries while Trevor sat there, savoring the moment as he watched his son narrow his eyes dangerously on him.

He shouldn’t have overplayed his hand, Trevor mused with a heartfelt sigh as he finished off his burger and focused his attention on the plate piled high with fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and cornbread. He’d learn, Trevor thought as he watched Sebastian take everything in, the way that his eyes narrowed as his jaw clenched as that insanely large brain of his worked double-time trying to figure out a way to fix this.

“We weren’t anywhere,” Trevor said, taking a bite of chicken.

“Do you really think that was a good idea?” Uncle Jared asked, gesturing lazily over his shoulder towards Mikey and Sebastian, who were currently being shown to the door by management.

“I think it was a great idea,” Trevor said, grabbing a slice of cornbread as he shifted his attention back to his food.

“Reese isn’t going to be happy to find out that you got his little girl banned,” Uncle Trevor pointed out, helping himself to a piece of chicken.

“It’s for her own good,” Trevor pointed out since they all knew that they were going to have to get her out of here before things went south anyway. This way, they had one less thing to worry about, Trevor thought as he pulled his phone out and sent a text to Reese to let him know that Mikey was ready to go home.

“True,” Uncle Jared murmured in agreement, “but Sebastian isn’t going to see it that way.”

“He knew better,” Trevor said only to add, “At least, he knows better now.”

“It was a good idea to bring Mikey along,” Uncle Trevor said, shifting his attention to the plate of baked goods that Trevor hadn’t had a chance to devour yet.

“Yes, it was,” Trevor murmured in agreement as he shifted his attention to Mikey to find her standing in the foyer with the saddest little pout that he ever saw as her shoulders dropped in defeat.

He’d have to remember to bring her along the next time he found a buffet, Trevor thought, shifting his attention back to his food. She definitely made it easier to load up on food without drawing unwanted attention from the staff. For a moment, he wondered if his baby girl Jessica could pull it off, but then he remembered the incident last year when her twin brother decided to help himself to her fries and decided against it. No, this plan definitely worked better with someone without a drop of Bradford blood, Trevor decided as he was forced to pull his plate of chicken out of his uncle’s reach.

“You should have got Sebastian banned too,” his uncle pointed out, helping himself to Trevor’s drink.

Shaking his head, Trevor admitted, “I thought about it, but it was easier this way.”

“Remember the time when you came between Sebastian and his teddy bear?” Uncle Jared asked as he helped himself to a cupcake.

“He was three and the teddy bear fell in the toilet,” Trevor pointed out.

“True,” Uncle Jared murmured, nodding in agreement, “but he didn’t care and if memory serves me correctly, it didn’t end well.”

No, it didn’t.

Sometimes late at night, Trevor found himself thinking about that day and-

He wasn’t ready to think about what happened, Trevor reminded himself as he took a deep breath like the doctor at the emergency room showed him. One day, he’d be able to think about what happened when Sebastian found out that he threw his teddy bear away without panicking, but today wasn’t that day. Slowly exhaling, he shifted his attention back to his chicken.

“He’ll get over it,” Trevor pointed out, reaching for his drink only to realize that it was empty.

“You involved Mikey,” Uncle Jared pointed out. “He’s not going to forget.”

Trevor opened his mouth only to frown when the manager that he’d been forced to involve in this came to a stop in front of their table. “I’m afraid that you’re going to have to leave,” she announced, making them both bite back a curse only to make them frown in confusion when she added, “Your daughter has been asked to leave,” as she looked directly at Uncle Jared.

“My daughter?” Uncle Jared asked, frowning in confusion as she followed the manager’s glare to find her looking at Mikey, who was waving at them with a huge smile on her face.

“She was bullying other customers,” the manager said with a sympathetic smile for Trevor as he sat there, realizing what just happened right around the time that Uncle Jared’s eyes narrowed on him.

Oh, hell no…

“You got me banned?” Uncle Jared demanded through clenched teeth as Trevor sat there, knowing that things were about to get a lot worse.

Copyright © 2021 

And So It Begins…Part 16

And So It Begins…

Part 16

She really was too adorable for words, Sebastian thought while he stood there, watching as Mikey tried to glare him down. They both knew that she was going back in there, the question was, what was it going to cost him?

“I’ll do your homework for the rest of the year,” Sebastian said, deciding to test the waters.

“There’s only a month left in school. Besides, I don’t need you to do my homework,” Mikey said as she turned around and-

“I’ll play catch with you so that you can test out your new pitch,” Sebastian said, reaching over and plucked the baseball cap off her head before she could leave.

“You’ll do that anyway,” she said, gesturing for him to hand the hat back over.

“True,” Sebastian murmured as he turned her hat over in his hands as he considered her and-

He really didn’t have a choice. At least, that’s what he was going to tell himself, Sebastian decided as he placed her hat on his head even as he hoped that she forgave him for this one day.

“Then I guess you’ve left me with no choice but to make your life a living hell,” he said with a shrug and a heartfelt sigh that had her eyes narrowing dangerously on him.

“Oh, and how do you plan on doing that?” Mikey demanded, narrowing her eyes even further to a dangerous degree as she folded her arms over her chest so that she could properly glare at him.

He didn’t say anything, but then again, he didn’t need to, not when she knew exactly what he was capable of doing. He simply stood there, waiting for her to give up trying to get out of this and give into his demands and he knew that it was just a matter of time now before she saw things his way.

“This isn’t going to work,” Mikey pointed out.

Nothing.

“I’m not afraid of you,” she reminded him, shifting nervously.

Nothing.

“You’re bluffing,” Mikey said a few minutes later when he didn’t say anything.

For several more minutes, they simply stood there, trying to glare each other down until finally, she released what could only be described as the cutest freaking growl that Sebastian had ever heard as she dropped her arms away so that she could shove him out of her way, throw the door open and storm back inside, leaving him to follow her at a leisurely pace.

She really was the best, Sebastian decided as he headed inside and-

“You’re banned,” came the two magical words that he could honestly say that he hadn’t expected to hear when he walked back inside.

It took him a moment before he realized that those words that changed everything hadn’t been directed at him, but the little pain in the ass standing next to him, looking stunned.

“Wait. Why is she banned?” Sebastian asked, unable to help but notice the sigh of satisfaction that came from the little brat as she nodded solemnly, as she murmured, “Understandable,” and turned around to leave.

“We’ve gotten a lot of complaints about her,” the woman that he was assuming was the manager said as Sebastian was forced to reach over and grab hold of Mikey’s arm before she could escape.

“About me?” Mikey asked, looking stunned.

“Cutting in line, stealing food from other customers, bullying people into giving her their food, and making one poor man cry,” the manager bit out, shaking her head in disgust as Sebastian turned his head, having a pretty good idea who this “poor man” was.

When he spotted his father watching them from the across the restaurant, enjoying a burger, Sebastian realized that he’d underestimated him. A mistake that he wouldn’t be making again, he absently thought as his father shot him a wink.

Biting back a sigh, Sebastian returned his attention back the problem at hand as he tried to figure out a way to get Mikey out of this only to end up sighing when he found her nodding as she said, “That does sound like something that I would do.”

“Which is why I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” the manager said with a firm nod and a gesture to the door.

“Understandable,” Mikey murmured absently as she released a shuddering sigh and let her shoulders drop in defeat. “Can I please get my dad first?”

The manager looked like she was about to argue, but one look at the hopeful look on Mikey’s face had her saying, “Sure. Where is he, sweetie?” as Sebastian stood there, trying to figure out what Mikey was talking about since Reese left over an hour ago.

“He’s right there,” Mikey said, raising her hand to point somewhere past Sebastian. Unable to help but frown, he followed that finger and-

Found himself grinning hugely when he saw who she was pointing to.

 

 

Copyright © 2021 

And So It Begins… Part 15

And So It Begins…

Part XV

She wasn’t going back in there, Mikey told herself with a firm nod as she stood there, arms crossed over her chest as she continued to glare at the front door, determined to wait him out.

That was quickly followed by jumping out of the way when Cole shoved the door open a few seconds later so that he could drag Chloe out of the restaurant as he struggled to keep Katie from diving off his shoulder and making a run for it. For a moment, Mikey considered asking him what was going on, but…

It didn’t matter because she was not going back in there no matter how curious she was to finally find out what Bradfords did to get banned. Okay, so that wasn’t entirely true. She was curious, very curious, but she also wanted to live and since her parents had made it painfully obvious that they would wring her neck if she ever willingly came between a Bradford and food, she was staying right where she was.

He’d have to come out sooner or later, and when he did, Mikey fully planned on making him pay for dragging her into this mess. Once that was done, she would get a ride home with Uncle Trevor, grab her glove and practice this new pitch that she couldn’t quite get the hang of yet and then-

“What are you doing?” Sebastian asked as he opened the door.

“Waiting for revenge,” Mikey bit out with a glare that let him know exactly who she planned on making pay.

“That sounds exciting,” he drawled, sounding bored as he pulled his phone out of his back pocket and began scrolling while she stood there, narrowing her eyes on the boy that had betrayed her for his own entertainment.

“We,” Mikey bit out, “are no longer speaking.”

“That sounds great, but I’m going to need you to come in now,” Sebastian said, gesturing lazily for her to come back inside.

Shaking her head, she said, “Not happening.”

“It really is though,” he murmured absently, finishing whatever he was doing to send her a look that would have probably scared her if she wasn’t his best friend.

“I’m really not,” Mikey said and before he could try to scare her into going, she added, “And we both know that you won’t tell on me.”

“This is true,” he murmured in agreement, not really looking all that concerned for someone trying to coerce her into going back inside.

Nodded firmly, Mikey said, “Good. Now, come out here and make it easier for me to exact my revenge.”

“I tell you what,” Sebastian said as he slid his phone back in his pocket. “I’ll come out there so that you can continue glaring adorably or you can come in here and enjoy the show.”

“First off,” she bit out, “my glaring is not adorable, it’s terrifying. Some might even call it soul crushing. Secondly, there is no way in hell that I’m going back in there. Not when I know what you’re up to.”

“And what am I up to?” he asked mockingly with a teasing smile that was going to get something thrown at his head.

“Besides trying to see how far you can push me before I snap and throw something at your head? You’re tormenting your family for your own entertainment.”

“That’s what we do,” Sebastian pointed out as he stood there waiting for something that wasn’t going to happen.

 

 

Copyright © 2021 

And So It Begins…Part XIV and A Sneak Peek at Unstoppable

And So It Begins…

Part XIV

An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

“What’s the plan?” Uncle Jared asked as they stood there, taking in the trio sitting on the other side of the restaurant, watching their every move.

To be honest, Trevor wasn’t really that worried about Abbi, not when he knew just how easily he could distract her with a promise to bring her to look at puppies, but he knew that if her brother was able to get to her first that they were all screwed. It didn’t help that his son was involved in this.

Dustin was bad enough, but Sebastian?

No, this wouldn’t end well for anyone, Trevor thought as he slowly took in the trio across from him, noting the bored look on Abbi’s face, the devious smile on Dustin’s, and-

Where the hell did Sebastian go?

“So, I’m just gonna go now,” Uncle Jared said, clearing his throat awkwardly as Trevor told himself not to panic as he glanced around the restaurant, looking for his son, absently noting that he wasn’t the only one that had noticed that the trio had formed an alliance and that one of them had-

“Ready to negotiate?” came the softly murmured question that took ten years off his life as Trevor glanced to his left to find Sebastian standing next to him, looking bored as he glanced down at something on his phone.

“You have nothing that I want,” Trevor reminded him.

“Are you sure about that?” Sebastian asked, not bothering to look up from his phone.

“Absolutely,” Trevor said, glancing down at his son’s phone only to bite back a sigh when all the words became jumbled, making it impossible for him to figure out what his son was up to. Then again, he really didn’t need to know what his son was up to in order to put an end to this.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” Trevor said, glancing back just as Cole walked in with two girls only to watch him come to a halt when he saw the smile on Dustin’s face.

He watched as Cole swallowed hard as his gaze shifted to Sebastian and whatever he saw there had him grabbing the smaller of the two girls, throwing her over his shoulder before grabbing the other one’s hand and pulling her back toward the front door. Keeping his eyes locked on Sebastian, Cole dragged his friend to the door and-

“What’s that?” Sebastian asked, drawing his attention back to find his son looking bored as he slid his phone into his back pocket.

“Who that boy was that walked Mikey home last week from the park,” Trevor drawled, watching as his son went still before he glanced up with a calculating look in his eye.

“What boy?” Sebastian asked, his voice breaking at the end there as he swallowed hard and made Trevor feel like a complete jerk for bringing up Mikey, knowing just how much she meant to his son.

“Never mind,” Trevor said, sighing heavily as he glanced back over at the twins to find Uncle Jared coloring placemats with Abbi and Dustin, giving them the distraction they needed.

“Mikey didn’t mention any boys,” Sebastian said, worrying his bottom lip as his shoulders dropped in defeat.

“I’m sure that it was nothing,” Trevor said, trying to give his son a reassuring smile.

“Why would you bring it up then?” Sebastian asked, ramming his fingers through his hair, looking completely lost.

“I…” Trevor said at an absolute loss of words.

There was a shuddering sigh as his son covered his face with his hands and mumbled, “Why would she do this to me?”

“Hey,” Trevor said, wrapping his arm around his son’s trembling shoulders and pulled him closer, “it’s nothing. We both know that Mikey adores you.”

There was a sniffle and then a sadly mumbled, “No, she doesn’t.”

“Of course, she does,” Trevor said, trying to reassure his son that everything was going to be okay even as he had to wonder how he was going to fix this.

Zoe was going to kill him, Trevor thought, trying not to wince as he thought about how his wife was going to react when she found out that he’d screwed this up. Sebastian’s relationship with Mikey was off-limits and he knew that, but he hadn’t been able to resist screwing with his son’s head with the hopes that it would be enough to get his son to put a stop to whatever devious plan he had up his sleeves.

He’d really screwed this one up and now, his son was the one to pay the price, Trevor thought, feeling horrible as he was forced to stand there and watch as his son’s heart broke and-

“That was really all you had?” Sebastian asked, dropping his hands away with a sigh and a sad shake of his head as he pulled his phone back out of his pocket. “I really expected better,” Sebastian mumbled absently as he began texting while Trevor tried to figure out what just happened when his phone rang.

Frowning, Trevor pulled his phone out and-

Oh, hell…

To be continued…

An Excerpt from Unstoppable

The Next Pyte/Sentinel Novel

Release Date to Be Announced

She didn’t like him.

Not. At. All, Ashley decided as she found herself taking in the man glaring at her. Then again, the feeling seemed to be mutual, Ashley noted as she watched green eyes darker than hers narrow on her as they turned silver. The only question was, why did he hate her? For a moment, she wondered if he knew, but…

He would have already turned her over if he did, right?

God, she hated not knowing what was going on and how they’d found her. She’d considered asking Jacob over the past week, but she’d been too afraid to say something that would give her away.

“You’re not going to escape,” Kale said with a dismissive shake of his head, making her frown.

“And why’s that?” Ashley asked, already knowing that she’d be an idiot to try to escape.

Right now, no one knew where she was and since that worked for her, she was going to stay right where she was. At least, until they gave her a reason to leave and considering what was waiting for her out there, she didn’t think being an asshole was enough to make her do something incredibly stupid.

“Besides the fact that you would have already tried?” Kale drawled before saying, “Because you’re afraid.”

“I want answers,” she said, knowing better than to admit that she was terrified and give him something that he could use against her.

She’d learned that lesson pretty early in life thanks to her mother’s Pack.

“Then why didn’t you ask Jacob?” Kale asked, sounding bored as he considered her.

“Because he’s not the one that was hired to kidnap me,” Ashley pointed out even as she told herself that she needed to suck it up and get the hell out of here before it was too late, but…

She couldn’t stomach the idea of hurting someone.

“True,” he murmured, sounding thoughtful before adding, “but then again, since you have no idea what Jacob knows, you would have at least tried to get information from him.”

“And waste my time?” Ashley said, pursing her lips up as she made a show of thinking it over.

“You have nothing but time,” Kale said, sighing heavily as he pushed away from the wall.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Ashley asked, unable to help but frown as she watched him make his way toward her.

“Exactly what it sounds like,” he murmured absently as he raised his wrist to his mouth.

“You’re planning on keeping me here forever,” Ashley said hollowly as she watched his fangs slide down seconds before he bit into his wrist.

“Until I come up with a better plan,” Kale said, gesturing with his other hand for her to get on the bed as the tantalizing scent that she’d been trying to ignore suddenly permeated the air, making her lick her lips as she struggled to look away from the blood dripping down his forearm.

“You can’t keep me here and we both know it,” Ashley mumbled weakly even though she already knew that she might not have a choice.

Not if she wanted to live.

“I really can though,” Kale said, coming closer.

“I can walk through that door anytime I want and we both know that you won’t be able to stop me,” she rushed to remind him as she stumbled back only to hit the bed with the back of her legs.

“Then leave,” Kale said, shrugging it off like it was no big deal.

“You’re not going to try to stop me?” Ashley asked, frowning in confusion as she glanced at her bedroom door before looking back at him.

“I won’t have to,” Kale said, not really sounding all that concerned for someone who’d been hired to kidnap her.

“And why’s that?” Ashley asked, licking her lips nervously as she watched him move closer again.

“Because we both know that you won’t risk finding out exactly how dangerous you really are.”

©Rerum Carta Industries, Inc. 2021. All Rights Reserved. 

Copyright © 2021 

And So It Begins… XIII

And So It Begins…

XIII

An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

“I wanna see!” Katie, his next-door neighbor and his personal tormentor, said as she moved to get a closer look only to sigh heavily when Cole picked her up and handed her off to her older sister, who didn’t seem to appreciate what he was trying to do here.

“So, let me get this straight,” Chloe said, pausing to throw her little sister over her shoulder before she continued, “you charged your family to go into a restaurant that you don’t own?”

Sighing heavily, Cole couldn’t help but wonder what was so difficult to understand about this. “No, I charged them a finder’s fee,” he said as he continued counting the money in his hand.

“For a restaurant that you don’t own?” Chloe repeated slowly.

“For a restaurant that I don’t own,” he said, nodding in agreement as he finished counting the money that was going to bring him so much closer to buying his first car.

“And they did this because…”

“They want to make sure that I call them the next time that I find a buffet restaurant that hasn’t banned them,” Cole told her as he folded the money in half and slid it into his pocket.

“But you weren’t the one that found it,” Katie pointed out, drawing his attention to find her big sister pushing her glasses back up her nose as she considered him.

“This is true,” Cole murmured in agreement as he pulled that wad of cash that brought him so much joy back out of his pocket and pulled a five-dollar bill off the top and handed it to Chloe.

“What’s this?” she asked, frowning down at the five-dollar bill that he’d generously bestowed upon her with confusion.

“Your share,” Cole said, shoving the large wad of cash back in his pocket.

“My share?” Chloe repeated back slowly as she blinked down at the money in her hand.

“You’re welcome,” Cole said with a heartfelt sigh, wondering why he was so damn giving sometimes.

“You pulled in over five hundred dollars for a restaurant that I found and you’re giving me five dollars?” Chloe asked, glancing back up at him.

“And I’m going to treat you to ice cream when we get home,” Cole pointed out, wondering if he was overdoing it only to quickly dismiss the idea since she was his best friend and sometimes, you had to spoil them to let them know just how much they meant to you.

“You mean the ice cream that’s in my freezer?” she asked as she placed Katie back on her feet.

“Yes,” Cole said absently as he glanced over his shoulder to make sure that everything was still as it should be at the restaurant before glancing back at the women in his life to find them both glaring at him.

“I thought you learned your lesson with the lemonade,” Katie said, reaching over and plucked the five-dollar bill out of her sister’s hand and shoved it in her front pocket.

“And I thought you learned never to bring that up again,” Cole said, returning her glare.

Worrying her little lip between her teeth, Katie cocked her head to the side as she considered him. “Do you really want to do this?”

Leaning down so that he was eye-to-eye with the little hellion, Cole said, “Absolutely.”

Nodding slowly, Katie said, “Then you really should have seen this coming,” making him frown until he felt the small foot land a solid blow to his instep.

That was followed by the little brat jumping up to put him in a headlock, making him lose his balance while he did his best not to hurt her and falling back on the sidewalk. Before he was forced to throttle the little brat, Chloe was coming to his aid.

She really was a good friend, Cole thought as he watched her reach down to grab her sister only to make him frown when she reached into his pocket and-

“Hey!”

-sighed with satisfaction as she shoved his hard-earned money in her pocket.

“Here,” Katie said, pulling that five-dollar bill out of her pocket and threw it at him before she climbed off him, making sure to step on his stomach as she did, and joined her sister.

“It was a pleasure doing business with you,” the girl that was supposed to worship him said as she took her little sister’s hand in hers.

“This won’t end well for you,” Cole reminded her as he grabbed the five-dollar bill and shoved it in his pocket as he got to his feet.

“Probably not,” Chloe murmured, not really sounding all that concerned as she stepped around him and headed into the restaurant filled with Bradfords, leaving him standing there, watching her go and-

Damn it!

He couldn’t let her go in there alone no matter how much she pissed him off.

Copyright © 2021 

And So It Begins…

And So It Begins…

Chapter XII

An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

This couldn’t be happening.

Not now, not when they were so close to getting through this without anyone getting thrown out and getting them all banned, Trevor thought, trying not to panic but it…

Oh, god, where the hell was he?

Swallowing hard, Trevor glanced back beneath the table to make sure that Dustin hadn’t doubled-back before he glanced up and-

Realized that he’d come between his uncle and food.

“You do realize that I have no problem hurting you, right?” Uncle Jared drawled, looking down at the spot where his plate had been only seconds before, before he slowly looked back up to level a glare on Trevor that told him just how badly this was about to end for all of them.

So, he did what he had to do.

He sold out his own son.

“Sebastian is up to something,” Trevor said, watching as understanding slowly took over his uncle’s face and when it did…

Uncle Jared glanced over his shoulder to find Sebastian watching them with an expression that could only be described as “thoughtful.” When Uncle Jared saw that expression, he noticeably swallowed as he quickly got to his feet and stumbled back over the chair.

“Are you okay, sir?” a passing waitress asked as she followed Uncle Jared’s panicked gaze only to frown when she saw Sebastian sitting there, looking innocent.

“I’m fine,” Uncle Jared said, licking his lips nervously as he glanced around the busy restaurant, looking for the six-year-old boy that was about to take them all down.

“Okay, just let me know if you need anything,” the waitress said absently, still frowning as she looked from seemingly innocent teenage boy watching them serenely to the large man wearing a-

“Wait a minute,” she said, licking her lips nervously as she took in Uncle Jared’s Bradford Construction tee-shirt. “You’re not a Bradford, are you?” she asked, already glancing around the restaurant, looking for someone to save her.

Uncle Jared opened his mouth only to close it when his gaze once again landed on Sebastian. When Sebastian winked, Uncle Jared nodded somewhat frantically. “Yes, yes, I am,” he said, licking his lips nervously as he quickly backed away from the table, abandoning his other plate of food, and making sure that he never took his eyes off of Sebastian as he went. “I’ll just show myself to the door.”

“Wait!” Trevor bit out quietly. “Dustin is on the loose.”

At that, Uncle Jared went completely still as he slowly, ever so slowly, looked away from Sebastian, who was watching his every move, to glance over his shoulder to find Charlie frowning as she searched for Dustin and-

Swallowed hard when Abbi, Dustin’s twin, spotted them. She looked from them to Sebastian and back again as a devious smile that terrified him formed and-

“Where did she go?” Uncle Jared, who hadn’t been able to handle babysitting Sebastian and Jonathan once the twins turned two, mumbled weakly as Trevor stood there, looked from the spot where Abbi had been standing only seconds before to glance back over his shoulder and-

“Oh, god…no,” Trevor said when he spotted Dustin and Abbi sitting across the table from Sebastian, watching their every move.

To be continued…

 

For the Naughtier Chronicles, which are published exclusively through the R.L. Mathewson Newsletter, please click here. 

Copyright © 2021 

And So It Begins… Part XI

And So It Begins…

Part XI

An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

“How did you see this playing out?” Trevor asked as he glanced from his son, who hadn’t stopped glaring at him since Mikey made a run for it, to take in the rest of the large restaurant, making sure that the rest of the men in his family were behaving.

He had to admit that this was going a lot better than he thought it would. So far, the rest of the men in his family were keeping their distance, waiting their turns to go up, and restricting themselves to two plates an hour. It had to be a record, Trevor thought absently as he glanced back to find Sebastian watching him as he said, “Just like this.”

“You mean with everyone following the rules and no one banned yet?” Trevor drawled as he once again found himself looking around, making sure that everything was the way that it should be.

“What makes you think that everyone’s following the rules?” Sebastian asked, sounding curious.

“What makes you think that they’re not?” Trevor countered, unable to help but wonder if his son was finally losing his touch.

“Do you remember what used to happen when I got bored?” Sebastian asked conversationally while Trevor sat there, narrowing his eyes on his son, knowing full well what happened when his son used to get bored.

He had the scars and the repressed memories to prove it, but since it had been a long time since Sebastian felt the need to torment someone to pass the time, he wasn’t worried. Sure, his son still enjoyed playing the occasional mind game with someone, but it was nothing compared to the antics that used to keep Trevor up at night.

“You were a handful,” Trevor admitted, shrugging it off because there was nothing that his son could do at this point that would faze him.

“I was, wasn’t I?” Sebastian asked with a nod and a heartfelt sigh.

“Is there a reason why you’re bringing this up?” Trevor asked, glancing around the restaurant again, wondering if it was too soon to get up and grab another plate. Probably, he thought, biting back a sigh and regretting his decision not to grab Mikey when he had the chance. God, she’d been perfect for this, Trevor thought, glancing back at his son to find Sebastian smiling, which normally wouldn’t be a cause for concern, but there was just something about that smile that had the warning bells at the back of his mind going off as he quickly looked around the restaurant again and-

Nothing.

There was no arguing, no screams for mercy, his cousins and uncles weren’t going for each other’s throats, and no one was racing for the emergency exit, making him frown as he glanced back at his son to find Sebastian gesturing lazy at something on the other side of the restaurant. Frowning, Trevor followed his gaze and-

“He ran out of things to color ten minutes ago,” Sebastian drawled as Trevor spotted his cousin Devin’s son, Dustin, who was barely six years old, crawl beneath their Uncle Jared’s table and-

“Oh, god…no.”

 

 

Copyright © 2021 

And So It Begins X…

And So It Begins X…

An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

 

“I see that you managed to run Jason off,” Trevor murmured as he watched Jason pause by the door, looking torn between staying and making a run for it.

“Mikey has a new fast ball,” Sebastian said, making Trevor wince in sympathy as he glanced from Jason, who was now glaring at Sebastian, to Mikey, who was adding another scoopful of mashed potatoes on a plate with the saddest expression that he’d ever seen.

“And Jason wasn’t willing to be the guinea pig,” Trevor drawled as he sat down across from his son.

“No, he wasn’t,” Sebastian murmured as he shifted his gaze from Jason to Trevor, making him bite back a smile.

His son was just so damn adorable sometimes.

“You have nothing on me,” Trevor pointed out.

“Are you sure about that?” Sebastian murmured, looking thoughtful as he considered him.

“There’s only one way to find out, isn’t there?” Trevor drawled, waiting for his son to take his best shot.

Nodding absently, Sebastian watched as Mikey headed back their way, carrying two plates overflowing with food before he shifted his attention back to Trevor. “Shouldn’t you be home?” Sebastian asked as Mikey placed the plates on the table before dropping down with a heartfelt sigh next to Sebastian.

“No,” Trevor said, biting back a sigh of disappointment as he helped himself to the plate closest to him.

“Are you sure?” Sebastian drawled with a pitying look, making Trevor wonder how his son had managed to scare any of his cousins off.

“And why would I be home?” Trevor asked, chuckling as he grabbed his fork and-

“Isn’t it your anniversary?” Mikey asked, frowning in confusion as Trevor threw his son a questioning look to find Sebastian reaching over with a satisfied sigh and pulled the plate closer.

Swallowing hard, Trevor put his fork down, cleared his throat, mumbled something that even he didn’t understand and after telling himself not to panic, he got to his feet and headed for the door, praying that it wasn’t too late.

*-*-*-*

“You do realize that my parents were married in November, right?” Sebastian asked around a bite of mac and cheese as they watched his father head toward the front door.

“And judging by the way that he’s glaring at us, he just remembered,” Mikey said, not really sounding all that concerned as they watched his father slowly make his way back to their table.

“This probably won’t end well,” Sebastian said, shifting his attention to his right to see what their options were.

“Probably not,” Mikey murmured in agreement as Sebastian shifted his gaze between Uncle Jared and Uncle Lucifer, debating which one they should move onto as he turned his head and-

Uncle Lucifer it was, Sebastian decided, thankful that Mikey had come to that decision as well so that he didn’t have to waste time discussing the situation. With that in mind, Sebastian moved to get up to follow Mikey when his father dropped down with a satisfied sigh in Mikey’s recently vacated seat, effectively trapping him.

“This isn’t going to end well for you,” his father said, shrugging it off as he helped himself to a roll off the plate closest to him as Sebastian shot a panicked look at Mikey and-

“You’re on your own!”

-narrowed his eyes on the little traitor as she suddenly turned to the right and headed for the exit.

Copyright © 2021 

And So It Begins…Part IX

And So It Begins…Part IXAn R.L. Mathewson Chronicle 

“She’s trying to make a run for it,” Jason pointed out as he watched Mikey bypass the fried chicken section and headed for the door.

“She’ll be back,” Sebastian said, not really sounding all that concerned as Jason watched Mikey pick up the pace only to frown and reach into her sweatshirt pocket a few seconds later. Jason watched as she frowned down at whatever she read on her phone, looked up at them, back down at her phone and then, mumbled what looked suspiciously like, “I really hate him,” as she headed back to the fried chicken and grabbed a plate.

“Now, where were we?” Sebastian asked, drawing his attention back as the boy that was full of surprises as he put his phone away.

“You were trying to extort something from me,” Jason drawled as he considered Sebastian.

Sebastian had always been terrifyingly bright even as a toddler, but it seems that there was another side to him that they’d all missed somehow. He was going to have to remember that in the future, Jason decided as he glanced around the restaurant, taking in the servers going back and forth with trays of food, the customers starting to watch the rest of the men in his family with wary expressions before taking in his cousins and uncles glaring at each other and knew that it wouldn’t be long before one of them finally snapped and ended up getting them all thrown out.

The only question was, who would it be?

Normally, he’d put his money on his father or Trevor, but…

Not today, Jason thought as he glanced back at Sebastian to find the kid watching him with a knowing expression. “What do you want?” Jason asked, knowing better than to play this game, especially with one of his relatives.

Normally, he wouldn’t have to worry about this kind of thing from one of the kids, but that was fine with him. He’d listen to what Sebastian had to say, make it appear as though he was thinking it over, and then, he’d have to show Sebastian that he wasn’t ready to play this game, especially with him.

“Honestly?” Sebastian asked as he leaned back against the bench with a shrug as he added, “Nothing.”

“Then why did you mention the church social?” Jason asked as he leaned back, making sure to keep his gaze locked on the kid that was in way over his head on this one.

“Because I can,” Sebastian with a devious twinkle in his eye that Jason was all-to-familiar with.

Sebastian was about to screw them all over just because he could.

Sighing heavily, because he really hated to do this, Jason pulled his phone out and-

Frowned when he saw the message waiting for him.

I wouldn’t do that if I were you.

Before Jason could respond, his phone chimed, alerting him to another text message. When he saw that it was from his little grasshopper, he couldn’t help but smile as he swiped to the next message and-

Immediately wished that he hadn’t.

Swallowing hard, Jason looked up to find Sebastian watching him with a pitying look that really just said it all.

“Mikey has a new fastball,” came the terrifying words that sent chills down Jason’s spine before Sebastian added, “and she needs someone to practice with,” making what he had to do easier.

Dear Reader,

I hope you enjoyed tonight’s Chronicle I will be posting the naughtier Chronicles that I can’t post here through the newsletter soon. So, if you haven’t signed up and you don’t want to miss a Chronicle, the latest release, giveaways, and news, please sign up for the newsletter, here. 

R.L. 

Copyright © 2021 

And So It Begins… Part VIII

And So it Begins…

Part VIII

An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

“That’s not going to end well,” Sebastian said with a heartfelt sigh and a sad shake of his head as Jason sat there, watching as Reese noticeably struggled to figure out a way to appease his seriously pissed off wife.

“It’s really not,” Jason had to agree as he reached for Mikey’s untouched plate only to find it suddenly gone and-

“I want in,” Jonathan said as he dropped down on the end of the bench seat next to Mikey as he grabbed a fork and dug in as Mikey sat there, her shoulders slumped in defeat as she mumbled, “I’d really like to go home now.”

“Shhhh, not while I’m negotiating,” Jonathan said, absently reaching over to pat her face and earning a killing glare as Mikey reached up and shoved his hand away.

“I see,” Jason murmured as his gaze flickered over to Sebastian to find him narrowing his eyes on his brother before shifting his attention back to Jonathan. He considered Jonathan for a moment while he debated letting Jonathan sit with them, but…

“Not happening,” Jason said, shaking his head as he stole the plate back.

Frowning, Jonathan said, “Why not?”

“Because you’ll get us thrown out,” Sebastian said, narrowing his eyes on his brother.

“He can have my spot,” Mikey said with a hopeful smile that they all ignored.

“I won’t get us thrown out,” Jonathan said, narrowing his eyes back on his brother.

For a moment, Sebastian sat there, considering his brother and then…

“Pancake batter,” Sebastian said, making Jason frown as he glanced back at Jonathan, who was licking his lips nervously as he shot an anxious look over his shoulder at their father who was watching their every move before he shifted his attention back to his brother.

“That was a mistake,” Jonathan blurted out, shifting nervously as he went to say something else, thought better of it, closed his mouth, cleared his throat, and with a muttered, “Excuse me,” he got up and-

Quickly made his way back to Trevor’s table while Jason sat there, admittedly impressed as he watched his father head toward their table only to quickly rethink that decision when Sebastian said, “Church social.” With a wince, Jason watched his father turn around and head back the way that he came.

Wondering what that was about, Jason returned his attention to his food only to find himself looking up in time to watch a strange smile play on Sebastian’s lips as he said, “I think it’s time to renegotiate the terms of our agreement.”

 

 

Copyright © 2021