Finn Read online

  “Your father was my uncle. I won’t talk about him because I don’t see a point in dredging up the past. He took you away, and we weren’t able to find you. Your mother called me on her deathbed, apologizing and explaining it all to me. That means . . .”

  There was another long pause as Joseph looked at each of them again. Finn was in total and utter shock. He couldn’t have said anything even if a 9 mm was pointed at his head.

  “You’re my family. Technically we’d be cousins, but you’re the age of my kids and nephews, so feel free to think of me as your uncle.” He smiled as if he was bestowing a blessing on them. Some people would think that was exactly what he was doing.

  He continued talking. “And as such, I have an inheritance for you. I know your mother didn’t have a lot, but her wishes were for you to have family and have a true start in life. I don’t believe in just handing something over. It’s not how I was brought up, and it’s not how I raised my kids. Money, just like everything else in life, has to be earned. Money comes and goes, as well. But at the end of the day, family is what matters—family is our legacy.”

  There was another pause. No one said anything.

  “You’re my family, and I want to know you. So I’ve come up with a project that we can work on together. That means we can get to know each other, and I get five new additions to my already beautiful family. I know you might need some time to think about this, and I’m okay with that as well. You’re Andersons, which means you’re stubborn as hell, but it also means I know you’ll make the right decision.”

  Still no one said a word. A storm could’ve ripped through the room, and none of them would’ve moved. Yes, they had the last name Anderson, but that was a common name. Lots of people had that name and weren’t related to the one and only Joseph Anderson.

  “I’m not going to pry right now. We’ll meet at my place in three days, once you’ve had time to process all of this. Once the shock wears off, I’m confident you’ll be excited to not be alone. Here’s the project we’ll be doing together, and here’s my home address. I look forward to speaking more with you.”

  With that a man stepped forward and passed out a folder to each of the boys. Then both Joseph and the man left the room. No one spoke for a very, very long time.

  Finn was in utter shock. He’d thought they were alone in the world. Losing their mother had been one of the hardest things he’d ever experienced, and that was saying a lot, considering he’d been shot at nearly daily at some points in his career.

  But to find out he had a huge family out there threw him for a loop. He wasn’t sure what to think of it all. Family hadn’t been something he’d thought much about. He’d had a terrible father, a wonderful mother, and pretty decent siblings. But discovering there was a massive number of family members who shared his blood was overwhelming—and not necessarily a welcome gift. And he couldn’t care less about the inheritance Joseph had briefly mentioned. He’d been smart with his money in life. He wasn’t a billionaire, but he could hold his own.

  He knew how his brothers’ minds worked and knew they were having similar thoughts as him. Even though their father had been a monster, their mother had been Mother Teresa. She’d raised them with values, integrity, and morality. They didn’t always follow her advice, but they could consider themselves assets to society.

  “What does this mean?” Crew finally asked after a long, long silence.

  “I have no idea,” Finn said. “But we won’t find out unless we read what’s in here.”

  “Do you trust him?” Noah asked.

  “No,” Finn said. Then he shook his head. “I don’t think he’s a man to lie, not with his business ethics, but he can’t just be told we’re family and automatically want to take us under his wing. Who in the hell does that?”

  “We know his business practices, but we know nothing about the man himself,” Crew pointed out.

  “How much do we want to know?” Finn asked.

  “If he’s family, we should want to know a lot,” Hudson said.

  “He doesn’t need us in his life, since the man is basically God, so maybe he does want to know us if he’s putting in this much effort to come up with a project,” Noah said.

  “He’s just a person,” Brandon pointed out. “Definitely a powerful person, but still just a man—definitely not God.”

  “Keep on saying that a few more times,” Hudson said. “Maybe we’ll actually believe it eventually.”

  The room went silent again as the brothers reached for the files and opened them. They had no idea what was about to happen in their lives. If they had known the storm that was descending upon them, they might’ve run from that room without ever laying a finger on the folders Joseph had given them as casually as a mother giving a piece of chocolate to her child.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Finn didn’t know what to think as the large Hummer limo pulled up the long driveway lined with giant oak trees. They turned a corner, and the famous Anderson mansion rose high in the sky in front of them.

  Finn wasn’t that guy to be awed by much, but it was impossible not to be impressed or in shock at the massive building before them. Yes, he knew how wealthy Joseph was, but seeing his property brought that into clear perspective. It also brought home the fact that he shared the same blood with the man who’d built such an impressive empire.

  But what in the hell did that matter? Finn was the oldest of the five siblings; therefore, he had the most memories of his deadbeat, alcoholic, selfish father. The man had been a monster. He’d abused his wife and children and hadn’t known the meaning of the word love.

  The Andersons had a hell of a lot of wealth, but what did that matter if they didn’t give a damn about the people who should mean the most to them in this world? It wasn’t the Anderson blood that flowed through his veins that made him who he was. No, that was from his sweet mother’s side.

  Finn wasn’t sure he wanted to know this family. He’d heard good things about Joseph, but everyone was capable of slipping on a mask, then hiding their true selves in the darkness behind closed doors.

  “Damn, could you imagine growing up in this place?” Brandon asked.

  Finn shrugged. “Just because the house is huge and filled with what I imagine is every luxury known to man doesn’t mean it was a happy home.”

  “You gotta admit it’d be a lot better than the two-bedroom home we all had to crowd into,” Noah said.

  “I disagree,” Crew said with a smile. “Do you have any bad memories of that place?”

  Hudson smiled. “Luckily I was too young to remember the old man, and once Mom moved us back to Seattle, he had nothing to do with our house; so no, I don’t have bad memories there.”

  “See, size really doesn’t matter,” Brandon said with a laugh.

  “Ha ha, not a problem with size in our family,” Finn said, feeling a bit better about having to step into this monstrosity of a house in a couple of minutes.

  “You guys seriously need to grow the hell up,” Crew said with a roll of his eyes.

  “Why is that? We’re just chatting here,” Hudson said with an innocent smile.

  “Mm-hmm,” Crew said as the car stopped.

  “Why does your mind have to immediately go into the gutter? Do you need some counseling?” Hudson asked.

  “You’re such an ass,” Crew told him.

  “Now, now, is that any way to speak to a patient?” Hudson said, not able to keep a straight face.

  “I’d quit my profession for life if you were my patient,” Crew said.

  “I’m crushed. Seriously. Down to my soul,” Hudson told him as he patted his heart.

  The door to the car opened, shutting them all up.

  “Here we go,” Finn said. The smile he’d been wearing fell away as he stepped from the limo, then waited for his brothers to follow. They all got out, almost battle ready as they stood there and looked up and up at the huge mansion. It had to be an optical illusion, but it appeared as if the thing went
up ten stories and stretched out farther than the eye could see.

  “Seriously, who in the hell needs this much space to live?” Finn asked.

  “Apparently Mr. Anderson,” Brandon said with a chuckle.

  “He’s been described as larger than life,” Crew pointed out. “Maybe large men need more room.”

  “We aren’t exactly small,” Finn said with a grimace. “And we’ve been just fine in normal-size homes.”

  “But I can still imagine all the adventures our cousins had growing up here,” Brandon said.

  “You’re referring to them as our cousins already?” Finn asked, feeling a bit of disgust.

  “Hey. When in Rome . . .” He paused for a moment. “I don’t know, wear togas?” he finished with a shrug.

  That had them smiling again.

  “Right this way,” the driver said as he held out a hand toward the huge cement staircase. They could walk side by side up them and still have room for dates on their arms.

  “Here we go,” Finn said as he led the group up the stairs. As they reached the top, the door opened. Was someone just standing there waiting for them to step into the right position? It was such an odd place.

  “Good evening. Mr. Anderson is waiting in the den,” an elderly gentleman in a nice suit said as he held the door wide open.

  Once they were inside, the door shut, and the man led them down massively oversize hallways in a maze that would’ve confused most people. Luckily, Finn was always aware of his surroundings. If there was an emergency, he’d know exactly how to exit this place.

  He tried not to look around too much, not wanting to be impressed with the furniture and artwork that definitely cost more than he’d made in his entire lifetime. But as much as he wanted to fault this huge place, he had to admit it was done tastefully. Yes, there were a lot of expensive pieces, but there were more family portraits than priceless collectables.

  Finn had heard Joseph was a family man, but again, a person could show the world exactly what they wanted the world to see. But it was hard to keep a hard edge when he was walking down hallways lined with family pictures of adventures Finn would’ve loved to have taken when he was a child.

  He wasn’t complaining about the way he’d grown up. His mother had loved them, and that was more important than any amount of money. They’d gone camping and fishing, and she’d taught them how to take care of themselves. No, they hadn’t taken any trips to Disneyland, but he didn’t care all that much. Because she’d tried her best to bring the adventure to them in their own backyard. That spoke a lot of her character and who she was.

  “It’s good to see all of you again!” Joseph’s booming voice pulled Finn from his thoughts as they stepped inside the massive den filled with a fireplace Finn could have walked straight into and several couches and chairs in a circle.

  “Sit, sit,” Joseph continued as he stood in front of a chair that looked like it should be a throne for a king. Of course, Joseph had been described as royalty, so it was actually pretty fitting.

  “Thank you,” Crew said, taking the lead since Finn appeared to have lost his voice. That was something new for him.

  “Did you read over my proposal?” Joseph asked after they were all settled. Finn’s brothers looked to him, and he sighed.

  “I want to know why you’re doing this?” Finn asked instead of answering Joseph.

  “I don’t understand the question,” Joseph said.

  Finn knew Joseph wasn’t a stupid man. He’d had far too much success in his lifetime. So he clearly wanted to know what Finn’s thoughts were before he answered a question like that.

  “You don’t know us. You don’t owe us anything. Why are you creating this massive project that just so happens to fit all of our careers?” Finn said. He couldn’t spell it out any better than that.

  Joseph smiled as he leaned back with a lit cigar in one hand and an amber-filled crystal glass in the other. He took a sip and sighed before setting it down. Then he looked Finn in the eyes.

  “I believe in family. I also believe in hard work. I didn’t just pull this project out of the seat of my pants. It’s something very special to my Katherine. When I discovered I had five nephews, I knew there was no one better for the job,” Joseph told him.

  “I’m sure there are people out there with a lot more experience than us,” Finn pushed.

  Joseph chuckled. “You can check into my many businesses, son, and you’ll see I have a special place in my heart for the underdog. If no one ever gets a chance, then how do they get to prove themselves?” he asked.

  “We prove ourselves with our actions,” Finn told him.

  “And I’ve done my research, boy,” Joseph said with a wink. “You are Andersons, whether you like that or not. Not only have you served in the military, which is noble and honorable, but you’ve worked hard your entire lives. That deserves respect.”

  “This is a big task,” Noah said. “What if we don’t do it justice?”

  “I have no doubt how hard you’ll work on this,” Joseph told him. “But you all have to be in agreement. You all have to be in on it, or no one is. Family should stick together, and I want this to be a family project from beginning to end.”

  Finn looked at each of his brothers. Yes, they were all independent, but he could see they wanted to do this. He also knew that if he walked away, they’d go with him. But was he truly going to let his anger over his father—and his own pride—make him take something this huge from his siblings? No, he’d never do that.

  “Okay, Joseph, I think we’re up for the task,” Finn said. “Tell us more about it.”

  “That’s the attitude I like to hear,” Joseph said with a smile.

  They spent the next several hours going over Joseph’s vision of what he wanted. Finn was surprised by how much he agreed with him. Maybe Finn didn’t want a new father figure in his life. But he definitely had a new direction he was taking, now that he couldn’t finish the career he’d loved.

  Whatever was going to come next might just blow him off his feet again. But this time he was going to be ready for it, and he was definitely going to have his guard up.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Brooke Garrison wasn’t your typical anything. Never in her life had she been described as average. She’d been called many things in her time, but never boring, never ordinary, and never girlie.

  She took pride in who she was, in what she had accomplished, and what she was capable of still achieving.

  She’d grown up tough—had to grow up that way, with an older brother she’d idolized. A pang of sorrow ripped through her at even the thought of her big brother. Three months. It had been three months since she’d lost him, and she still had days she couldn’t breathe she missed him so much.

  But at least she had the knowledge that he’d been proud of her. Just as she’d idolized him, he’d always encouraged her to live her dreams and had never stopped telling her she could be anything she wanted. He’d made her promise to never compromise and never back down and never settle for anything less than she deserved.

  And because of him she hadn’t. The two of them might’ve had a completely worthless father, who’d walked out on them without so much as a glance backward, and a mother who was too busy looking for her next fix to be a good mother, but it hadn’t mattered. Because the two of them had each other, and at the end of the day, that had been all that mattered.

  She was now lost. She wasn’t sure how to survive in a world without her best friend, her coach, her family, her heart and soul. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be happy in a world he didn’t exist in anymore.

  For a month after the soldiers had shown up on her doorstep to tell her Jack was gone, she hadn’t done much of anything. She’d barely survived that horrific visit she’d prayed she’d never get. She’d collapsed in their arms. Then she’d been in denial. She was still in denial. She kept his phone active and called it at least once a day just to hear his cocky greeting. She cried every single time.
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  A tear rolled down Brooke’s face as she moved down the street in her sleepy little town of Cranston, Washington, which was just outside of Seattle. She’d never leave her hometown. Only three thousand people lived there on a good day, but Seattle was less than an hour away if she needed anything from the city, which she rarely did. It was a slice of heaven in an otherwise busy metropolis kind of world.

  But the town boasted three bars (of course), a medical clinic, a small theater, a martial arts studio, several small restaurants, a great grocery store, and a heavenly coffee stand. What more did a person need? Nothing, in her opinion.

  But if the rumors were true, her town was soon going to become a media circus. She had severely mixed feelings on that. It appeared the Andersons had bought the huge parcel of land to the north of town and were beginning a massive project—for veterans.

  This was a two-hundred-acre parcel of land that the rumors were flying around about. The town mill was saying it was going to be several buildings with all sorts of services for current and past veterans. The sky was the limit when Joseph Anderson put his backing behind something.

  She didn’t want the circus, but she was all for doing anything involving veterans. There was no way she couldn’t be involved. Maybe it would help her feel closer to her brother; maybe it would help the pain of his loss dim just a little bit. She didn’t see how that was possible, but miracles did sometimes happen.

  Brooke was a nurse practitioner with a lot of experience under her belt, considering she was only twenty-nine. But she’d grown up quick as a medic for the military, and that was like working three times as many years at a regular facility.

  She’d heard a rumor that a new set of Andersons was heading up this brand-new project, and she was determined to find out exactly what they were doing. If they were building a veterans facility, then she definitely wanted to know everything about it.

  Brooke stopped as she reached the martial arts studio. She could hear a deep male voice from inside and then a round of laughter from what sounded like a lot of females. She smiled, the feeling of her lips turned up almost foreign on her face now.