The children all sat downstairs and looked through the pictures after their parents went to bed. They wanted to see all of the pictures and to know who was in each and every one of them. “What do you think Uncle Ira would have been like had he lived past the age of three?” James asked his siblings.
“I really couldn’t say, Jay”, Jake answered.
“What I want to know”, Malachai started, “is who this mystery guy Maddie’s been seeing is and when we’re going to get to meet him.”
Jake looked up. “Mystery guy?” He eyed his little sister. “Spill it, Jade.”
“Why do either of you want to know or CARE?” Maddie asked.
“I want to know seeing as I’m going to be acting as head of the family after Dad’s gone, Madison. Plus, we’re your brothers. We want to know.”
“His name is Colton GreyEagle. He’s was a student at UNC while I was at the Academy. We’ve been on again, off again for a year now, seeing as I’ve been home for about 6 months. There has one other than him and Kendal.”
“Kendal had better never show his face here again”, Jeremiah said. “I owe that piece of shit for a broken nose.”
“You’re not the only one that owes that fucker for an injury, ‘Miah”, Jake reassured him. He turned back to Maddie. “When did you plan on telling the rest of us about him?”
“Soon”, she said, looking down at the stack of pictures in her hand.
“Bull shit, Maddie”, Malachai said. “Were you just going to spring him on us like you did Kendal?”
“I wasn’t planning on it, no.”
“Were you planning on telling Dad?” Jake asked. Maddie had the decency to look embarrassed. “You weren’t going to, were you?”
“No.”
“Oh, you had better believe I’m telling him first thing in the morning, Madison.”
“No, Jake”, Maddie said. “He’s my boyfriend. I should tell Dad.”
“Then you had better jump on it, Maddie, before I take care of it for you and I mean that. You can’t just spring these guys on us anymore, Maddie. Not after what happened with Kendal.”
“I know, Jake. I should have said something sooner; given you guys a little bit of a heads up. You’re right.”
“And if I know Dad, he’ll want to meet Mr. GreyEagle soon.”
“And he’ll want to know something about him too”, Malachai said.
“I’ll take care of all of that in the morning”, Maddie said. “Please, boys, let me set this right. I know I fucked up.”
“Make it first thing in the morning, Maddie. We mean it”, Jake said. The tone in his voice said that he was not to be questioned. Maddie knew that tone. It was the same tone that their father got when he meant business. She would be sure to tell their father in the morning or Jake would do it for her and she knew it.
---------------
When Jake got up the next morning, he sat at the table on his phone setting up the interviews as he waited on his mother to finish breakfast. His first one was going to be that afternoon. Thankfully, it was a phone interview for one of the medical journals. He’d accepted several of the journal interviews because it was something to do and he bored easily.
His first television interview would be the following week in Chicago. He would be doing “The Drs.” He couldn’t wait. It was fellow medical minds talking about medicine. So exciting.
Maddie was up not long after Jake and Delilah were. Jake could tell that Maddie was dreading telling their father about her beau. He found it funny.
When Maddie sat at the table, she looked at their father. “Daddy, I need to talk to you about something real fast.”
Their father looked at her. “What do you need, Maddie girl?”
“Do you know how much I hate it when you call me that?”
“I’ve always called you that and I’m not going to stop. Now, what do you want, Madison?”
“I wanted to just let you know that I’m seeing someone.”
He looked at her in shock. “Oh? And just when were you planning on telling your mother and me this?”
“When I brought him over to meet everyone”, she said, her hand hanging.
“OH? After that whole debacle with Kendal, you were only going to tell us once you brought him over? Have you lost your mind, Madison Jade?”
“I know, Daddy. I’m sorry. Malachai made me tell the boys last night. Then Jake told me that I had to tell you myself of he’d tell you for me.”
David looked at Jake. “Did you really threaten that, Jake?”
“Sure did, Dad”, Jake said with a nod as she dialed the number to talk to the person that set up the interviews for Good Morning America.
“You’re taking that whole thing of stepping into the mantle of patriarch pretty seriously, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am. I take care of my responsibilities and stepping up into that role is a responsibility on my shoulders. I take that seriously.” He had to hold up a hand to speak to the person that coordinated the guest appearances.
David turned back to Maddie. “When do you see this young man next?”
“This afternoon. We’re going to have lunch.”
He nodded. “I want to meet him when you come back from lunch. Am I understood, Madison Jade?”
She nodded. “Yes, sir. You’ve got it, Daddy.”
Brie set a plate in front of David and went back to cooking. She knew that David had the situation under control. David took a sip of his coffee before continuing. “You WILL bring him here, Madison. I mean that.”
“Yes, Daddy. I will bring him directly here after we eat lunch. He’s going to pick me up. He’s a bit old school like that.”
“I like him already. Has he ever raised a hand to you?”
“No. If he ever did that he’s got older brothers that would beat the hell out of him.”
“And his name is?”
“Colton GreyEagle.”
“Sounds Native American.”
“He’s Navajo, actually. One of the few full bloods left in the tribe, let alone in the country.”
David nodded as he cut a bite of turkey sausage off of one of the links on his plate. “As long as he respects you and doesn’t hurt you, I’m ok with him. If he ever does that, his brothers are going to have to wait in line until after your brothers and I dismantle him.”
---------------
When Maddie arrived home from her lunch date with her boyfriend, they were greeted by a wall of the Draiman boys from Malachai to Marc. Colton stopped the car and let Maddie out of the vehicle. She leaned into him and kissed his cheek. “Show no fear, honey. They can smell it; especially Jake. Show fear and they eat you alive.” She smiled at her brothers. “Hi, boys”, she said with a smile as she walked past.
Jake nodded to his sister in greeting. “Hi Maddie.” Then he turned to the young man in the driver’s seat of the classic Chevy. “You… don’t move.” The look he gave young Colton shot daggers. Once Maddie was in the house, the boys surrounded the car and Jake leaned in the driver’s side window. “Hi”, he said cordially. “I’m sure you know who we are, right?”
“Yes”, Colton said with a nod. “You’re Maddie older brother Jacob. The one in front of my car is Malachai. On the passenger side is James. To the rear of the car is Marc. The one beside you is Jeremiah.”
“Good. Now, here’s what’s GOING to happen; just a few really simple rules. You WILL shake our father’s hand when he greets you. You WILL look him in the eyes when he speaks to you and address him as ‘sir’ or ‘Mr. Draiman’. You WILL NOT touch anything on the shelves and/or wall. You WILL NEVER lay your hands on our sister Maddie. If you break ANY of these rules, you WILL get your ass kicked. Do I make myself perfectly clear?”
“Perfectly crystal clear”, Colton said with a nod.
Jake backed up and let him out of the car. Colton sat in the seat for a few moments and tried to relearn how to breathe. He’d managed not to show his girl’s brothers any fear. Now to see if her could get past her father. From what rumor said, she was the second daughter of rock legend David Draiman. Proof of that had just been standing in front of his face with Malachai, the guitarist of Reckless Disregard. He took a deep breath and got out of the car. Don’t show fear, Colton. The Draiman men can all smell it and they’ll eat me alive, the young Navajo man thought to himself. I do NOT want to be a light snack before dinner for these boys. I’ll just have to follow those rules and show Mr. Draiman the respect the last bozo didn’t because eventually I want to marry Madison and something tells me that I’m going to have to ask her father for her hand before I even consider that. He shrugged. Better get this done so that I can start charming David Draiman. And with another heavy sigh, he got out of his car and headed toward the house.
---------------
“They didn’t scare you off, did they?” Maddie asked when she let Colt into the house.
“No. They just made it clear that if I do like Ken did that my ass is grass.”
Maddie smiled. “Good, no that you’re braved the gauntlet of my brothers, you have the Boss Battle- my parents. I’ll help where I can, but we’re already in the dog house because neither of us took the initiative to talk to my father.”
“When did he find out about me, Maddie?” His eyes doubled in size.
“Just this morning”, she said with a blush.
He chuckled and brushed the back of his finger down her cheek. “You should have let me come in and introduce myself the first time I picked you up here, but better late than never I suppose.” He placed a kiss on her nose.
The men in the family watched with bated breath when Colton’s hand came up. If he hit her, he died. It was as simple as that. They all actually relaxed when his finger brushed gently down her cheek as they whispered to each other. David actually fought off a smile. He needed to be hard for the moment, but the scene reminded him of the relationship he had with his wife. All of his children’s relationships that became something more looked a lot like his with his wife. He pushed the thought from his mind as Maddie and Colton turned toward the family. “You guys didn’t think he was going to hit me, did you?” Maddie asked as she led him by the hand into the living room.
“After the last one you brought home slapped you, do you blame us for overreacting, Maddie?” David asked.
She shrugged. “Very true.” She looked at her father. “Daddy, this is Colton GreyEagle. Colt baby, this is my father- David Draiman.”
Colton extended his hand for a handshake and looked David square in the eyes. “Nice to finally meet you, sir”, he said with a bright smile.
David was impressed. “And you as well”, he said as he took the young man’s hand and shook. When he released Colton’s hand he motioned to Brie. “This is Madison’s mother, Brie”, he said in introduction.
Brie extended her hand demurely. “Charmed”, she said with a smile.
Colton took her hand delicately. “As am I, Mrs. Draiman. I can see where Maddie gets her good looks from.”
Brie laughed. “Kissing my ass won’t win you any brownie points, son. I’m not the one you need to impress.”
Colton laughed as well. “Damn. I figured if I kissed your ass it might get me in good with your husband and get me a little bit of credit for trying.”
“Sorry, no. It doesn’t work like that. Impressing my husband will impress me.”
David gave Colton deadly eyes and pointed to the love seat. I want to give the boy the benefit of the doubt but after Kendal, I can’t. He seems like a decent young man but I can’t help but be skeptical. When’s the other show going to drop?, he thought as he watched his daughter and her boyfriend take a seat. “Now Colton, as my wife said, I’m the one that you need to impress. Impress me and I call the dogs off.” He motioned around the room to his sons, who all sat and tried to look intimidating.
It was working. Colton swallowed hard as his palms started to sweat. Maddie leaned into him and whispered, “Show no fear. My father will exploit it so that the boys can eat you for lunch, dinner, and breakfast tomorrow morning. You can’t be afraid.”
Colt took a quiet deep breath and nodded slightly. “I’ll do my best to do that, Mr. Draiman, sir.”
“Why don’t we start off this attempt to impress me with you telling me a little about yourself?” David said as he settled into the couch next to his wife and draped an arm across her shoulders.
“No problem, sir. I’m full blood Navajo Indian; the youngest of six boys. I was my father’s last ditch effort to father a girl. I come from a long and very proud line of warriors. I was raised to never put my hands on a woman in violence or anger. My father always said, ‘To put your hands on a woman violently will bring shame to our entire family. You do not anger the Great Spirit by injuring the one that he blesses you with as a mate.”
“Good philosophy to have. Are your parents still living, Colton?”
“Yes. They live quietly on the reservation in Arizona.”
“What brought you north to Colorado?”
“An acceptance to the University of Northern Colorado.”
“Your major?”
“I majored in Poly Sci; minored in Philosophy.”
“Graduated?”
“Yes, sir. I have a BA in both.”
“What are your intentions with my daughter?”
“It’s taken me a year to come to terms with the idea, but I’m in love with Madison. She’s my whole world, sir. I love your daughter with every fiber of my being; past my mind and beyond my soul. Eventually, I would like your permission to make her my wife, but I realize that’s a long time coming.”
David nodded solemnly. “I have to say, I’m fairly impressed. You’re both still in hot water for not coming to me sooner.”
“I understand that, sir. Before meeting you, I wanted to handle that nonsense that Kendal pulled a year ago Christmas Eve.”
David looked confused. “What do you mean, you handled it?”
“I beat the living hell out of him for touching my girl like that. She also told me about the injuries he caused her brothers. For every injury her cause a member of this family he bore three at the very least.”
David and Brie exchanged a look. “WOW”, they said together.
“You’re all very important to Maddie so that make you all important to me. Any slight against you is a slight against me. Of course, I took him slapping Maddie out of his candy ass first, but his dislocating Jacob’s jaw, causing her to break Jeremiah’s nose and cut James above his eye- he paid dearly for all of it.”
There wasn’t a Draiman male in the room that wasn’t impressed.
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