“Thank you for inviting my family. This is like a real Sunday dinner,” Payden goes on.
“Well of course, the more the merrier,” Mom says, clapping her hands together. She’s in her element, and now that I’ve settled down, she’s loving having two girls to shop with and talk to. Casey and Nova adore her, and Willow and Erica have been tagging along too.
I let her know a little about what had been going on lately, it wasn’t like it was a secret being on the news every night for a week. I told her I had gone after the trafficker who kidnapped me, and that he’d killed himself before we could get to him. I’d never confess to my own mother what really happened, so it’s a version of the truth, but not the whole truth. She cried, of course, and Chris hugged me like he really meant it. He’s a great guy and he adores my mom. They’re perfect for one another. He told me I was the strongest man he’s ever met. That meant a lot.
“Ooh,” Erica says, shifting in her seat, pressing a hand to her swollen stomach.
“What’s wrong?” Brew immediately asks, diverting his gaze to her as he stops chewing.
“Just a little kick,” she says, rubbing her hand over her bump. “I’m fine.”
Brew isn’t convinced, he drops his cutlery unceremoniously, a crease forming between his eyebrows. “I mean, are you sure? What if it’s a contraction or somethin’?”
I never thought we’d see Brew at birthing classes, but apparently he’s a natural.
She smiles at him, resting a hand over his. “It isn’t. I’ve had a baby before, and while it was a little while ago, you don’t forget what contractions feel like. He or she is just being rowdy.”
“Was I a good baby?” Olive asks, loading up her plate with more chicken as she passes the dish to Payden.
“You were an angel,” Erica tells her. “A blessing sent from Heaven.”
“Like you’re gonna tell her she wasn’t,” Logan mutters.
“Grump,” Olive fires back.
A few chuckles ring out because Olive somehow didn’t inherit her mother’s tact. She just says it like it is, which is more like Brew, even though he’s only been her step-dad for a little while. At least his grouchiness hasn’t rubbed off on her, so that’s something.
“He’s just sassy because of work, don’t mind him,” Pipes says. “Right, old boy?”
Logan looks over at my brother. “Watch it.”
“What are you pushin’ now, bro? Like fifty?”
He flips Haze the bird even though Olive is in the room. Erica isn’t one for swearing and uncouthness, neither is my mom for that matter, so we tone it down in their presence, and when kids are around, but Olive is a teenager, so I’m sure she’s seen and heard worse.
“If Olive weren’t here, I’d take you outside and show you how a forty-five year old breaks bones, jerkface,” Logan says, earning him a few chuckles.
“What side of the bed did you wake up on?” Brew asks, shaking his head.
Weirdly, he and Payden both still at the same time. Nothing suspicious there… I smell a fucking rat.
“Be nice,” Casey laughs. “We know if we poke the bear too much he’ll get mad and leave.”
Logan is in a mood and I’ve no idea why or what’s going on with him. He recently got the loan approved, and renovations are underway for the bar. I get he’s got a lot on his shoulders right now, but would it kill him to play nice?
“People are allowed to be quiet and eat,” Chris agrees. “Just because we’re not all neanderthals like my boys here, doesn’t mean there’s something wrong.”
I like the way Chris treats us like his own sons. He’s been more of a father figure in the short time I’ve known him than my own before he died. My real Dad was always around, but never really there.
“Hey!” Me and Pipes say at the same time.
I point to my brother. “He’s way more caveman than I am.”
“Thanks, Chris,” Logan says, then to my mom. “Really nice meal, Rose, I appreciate it.”
She smiles kindly. “Of course, honey, you know any excuse to get my hands dirty in my new kitchen is a good one.” She turns to look at Chris who is staring at her adoringly. He installed a new cooktop and oven, made a walk-in pantry with lots of storage, and redid all the benchtops in their home with the help from me and Pipes. Now she has the kitchen she’s always wanted.
“I don’t like to bring up shop talk at the table,” Chris says out of nowhere. “But you must all be happy about the recent arrests, it’s been all over the news.”