Free Full House by Carol Lynne Page B

hearing what you’ve been through, I look up to you. You’ve handled yourself like a man since the age of sixteen. No one could find fault with that.”
    Marco’s body began to relax as Kent settled him against his chest. Kent was pleasantly pleased Marco didn’t protest staying longer. In the coming days, he hoped to show Marco how well he could fit into their lives.

Chapter Six
     
     
     
     
    It was another two days before Marco could finish the brick wall project and start repairing the damage to his house. The day he’d gotten his first look, he’d excused himself and threw up beside the damaged home he’d grown up in.
    As he sat staring out the front windshield of Kent’s truck, he began to wonder if he’d ever again feel safe in the house he’d worked so hard to hang onto. He felt a comforting hand at the back of his neck.
    “You okay?”
    Was he? Marco knew he still couldn’t answer that question. Years earlier when he’d finally gathered the courage to kick Eddy out, Marco thought that was the last of the violence his brothers and sister would have to witness.
    “I’m glad you were able to find a sitter for Maria. I’m not sure she’d be able to handle this.” Marco heard his old pickup pull in behind them and knew his brothers were looking at the damage for the first time. He wondered if they were thinking the same thing he was.
    Kent kissed Marco’s cheek. “I’m going to start unloading the windows. Take as much time as you need.”
    Marco shook his head. “I don’t need time. I just need to see it back to the way it was.”
    He opened his door and carefully jumped down. Although his knee was still swollen, he’d been able to get around with one crutch which would help a lot in the coming days. He wondered how long the project would take. Not only did the windows need replacing, but the woodwork and walls, inside and out, needed patched, sanded and painted.
    As he neared the front door, Marco caught several of his neighbours peering out their windows. He bet they’d be more than happy to see the entire family gone from their street. He flashed his best smile and waved, unsurprised when the curtains immediately closed.
    He heard a horn honk and glanced over his shoulder to see his friends pull in front of the house. Zac, Eric, Trey and Cole piled out of Cole’s truck and headed his way.
    “We heard you could use a hand,” Zac called.
    Marco felt warmed by the gesture. He knew how much weekends meant to his friends, but he also knew they were always there for each other. “I could use more than one. Luckily you brought eight.”
    “And you’ve got more on the way. Jules was called into the hospital, but Bobby, Angelo and Moody will also be here.”
    The group of men immediately began helping unload the supplies out of Kent’s truck. Marco noticed the puzzled expression on his brothers’ faces and called them over. “What’s up?”
    Bruno crossed his muscled arms over his broad chest. “Who’re all these people?”
    “My poker buddies. You’ve heard me talk about them.”
    “Yeah, but you’ve never introduced us,” Nicky grumbled. “Is there a reason for that?”
    Marco didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want his brothers to think he’d been ashamed of them, but he realised that’s exactly the way it appeared. He dug deep to try and come up with an honest explanation.
    “I was embarrassed,” he finally admitted. “Not by you guys, so don’t ever think that. I was ashamed that we had shitty parents. These guys didn’t grow up like we did. I guess I thought they wouldn’t understand.”
    Bruno reached out and punched Marco in the arm, nearly knocking him on his ass. “If we said something like that, you’d tell us they weren’t really friends if they didn’t like us because of our parents.”
    Marco chuckled. “You’re right. Maybe I didn’t give them enough credit.”
    “Doesn’t sound like you gave them any credit at all,” Nicky chimed in.
    “How’d