Free On the Edge by Mari Brown

brother’s shin.
    I lose it. Laughter bubbles out of me as Cole grabs his leg and hollers. “You little shit.”
    “Run Seth,” I grab him up and take off out of the office. Bruce’s laughter rumbles behind us. Justin is standing in the hall talking with Rocco, and Seth and I almost take them out. Thankfully, Justin is quick on his feet and steadies me so I don’t fall. By this time, Seth and I are both laughing hysterically.
    “What the hell, Kat? What is wrong with you two?” Justin asks.
    “Seth may have just kicked Cole in the shin for being mean to me,” I say between laughs.
    “Did you do that, buddy?” Justin asks his little brother.
    Seth nods his head in the affirmative.
    “Give me a high five,” Justin says, and Seth does.
    “Are you ready to head out?” I ask Rocco.
    “Yes, I was just waiting for you two.” His smile says that he clearly enjoys Seth and me ganging up on Cole.
    “Seth,” Cole hollers.
    “Oh shit,” I grab Seth back up, and place him in Rocco’s arms. “Take him out to the car. I’ll be right there.”
    “Katarina, if you help that little shit get away, I’m going to spank your ass,” Cole yells to me.
    “Go! Go, Rocco, don’t just stand there.”
    With Seth secured in his arms, Rocco finally moves out towards the car.
    I turn to face my unhappy boyfriend, which just makes me laugh some more.
    “Are you fucking kidding me, Kat?” he asks.
    “Cole, he’s 4! He didn’t like you being mean to me,” I say, snickering.
    At this point, Justin is doubled over laughing.
    ‘Fuck off,” Cole says to his brother.
    “Damn, Cole, you’re so mean to your brothers. No wonder they hate you,” I say, still laughing. I should have taken my opportunity to escape, because the next thing I know, Cole has me thrown over his shoulder, and is smacking my ass for the second time today as he carries me out the front door to the car where Rocco waits with Seth.
    When we reach the SUV, Cole sets me down and gives me one last smack on the butt. He snakes an arm around me, pulls me against him, and kisses me senseless. “Have a good time and be careful,” he says as I get in the car.
    “I’ll be fine. I have Rocco and Seth both to protect me,” I say.
    “Yes, Seth will definitely protect you.” Cole chuckles.
    He shuts the door and we’re off to the zoo. Rocco finds a place to park fairly close to the entrance. As I get Seth out of the backseat, I explain the rules of our outing and make him agree not to run off from me at any time. Rocco leads us to the gate and pays for our tickets into the zoo. That’s one thing about being Cole’s girlfriend, I never want for anything. I’m just now getting used to this part of being with him. It makes me uncomfortable that he or Bruce pays for everything I have now. Bruce even gives me a fucking allowance, not that I spend much of it. Most of the money is locked up in a box in my room.
    ‘So, where we going first, lil man?” I ask Seth.
    “Lions!” he shouts with pure excitement.
    I consult the map we got at the gate, take his little hand in mine, and we head off to the lions. It takes us about five minutes to reach the exhibit. Seth is super excited, jumping in circles and chattering a mile a minute. His shrill scream lets me know that we’ve arrived. A male lion is standing on a rock and smaller lions are on the ground below him. I can’t help but think it reminds me of Bruce or Cole when they meet with the guys.
    I notice Rocco standing nearby, but he’s doing his best to give Seth time alone with me. I appreciate the effort he puts into protecting us, yet giving us privacy. This is so important to little Seth who, like me, has a shitty mother. The one advantage he has over me is his father adores him, as do his three older siblings. Seth will make it in life because he has an awesome support system.
    I have always been lucky to have Drew. We’ve tried hard to be there for each other, but we never had a positive example in our