Placing the remaining bags on the island, he gestured to the deck. “Smoked turkey? Nice.”
“Nah,” Oscar said, pulling out the pies and placing them on the side counter. “None of us really like turkey?—”
“More like none of us can cook one to save our lives,” Jasper interrupted.
Oscar shrugged. “Fair. So instead of turkey, we do baby back ribs.”
“Sorry.” Freya grimaced as she moved to stand beside him. “I think I may have forgotten to mention we don’t do a traditional Thanksgiving. I hope that’s okay. I mean, we still have all the traditional... well, mostly traditional sides.”
He wrapped his arm around her waist and dropped a kiss to the top of her hair. “Uh, ribs and pie? You won’t hear me complaining, baby.”
Finn gagged. “Today’s about food and ribs. No PDA. And for the love of God, please don’t call her baby or anything like that within earshot.” He made another gagging sound before winking at his sister.
“You’re an idiot,” she grumbled, but Xander heard the humor in her tone.
“If anything, it’s payback,” Jasper said, slapping Finn on the shoulder. “How many times have we been out to the bars while you suck face with some random chick.”
“At least he just kissed her head,” Oscar said and then met his gaze. “But please keep it to the top of her head. She’s still our baby sister, and that’s just... gross.”
Xander held up his hands in innocence.
“Knock it off, you guys,” she murmured, leaning into his side.
The sliding door opened, and Axel peeked in. “Ribs are coming off. Jas, grab me that sheet pan.”
As Jasper did his brother’s bidding, Oscar checked the dishes warming in the oven. Finn stepped into the hallway and shouted up the stairs, “Girls! Food will be ready soon. Wash up.”
“Auntie Freya, we need you!” a muffled voice called out.
“Josie, you’re gonna spill the makeup!” another little voice cried out.
“That sounds like my cue.” Freya chuckled, making her way to the stairs. She glanced over her shoulder. “Ax is letting them play with makeup?”
Finn snorted. “That’d be a big fat no. And probably one of the reasons the girls no longer have a nanny.”
“Yikes,” Freya said with a wince before heading up the stairs and calling out, “What trouble are you girls getting into up here?”
“Holy shit,” Oscar said, placing trivets and hot pads on the island. “For once, we may get all the food out at once.”
“Don’t fucking jinx it, dude,” Finn mumbled, pulling open the sliding door for his brothers.
The smoky, sweet aroma of the ribs had Xander’s mouth watering.
“Ax can’t cook a turkey for shit,” Jasper said, grabbing the foil and handing it to his brother. “But he’s a damn magician with ribs.”
“It smells great,” Xander said. From the glare Axel was sending his way, he wouldn’t be surprised if the guy had poisoned his portion.
Finn grabbed two beers from the fridge and handed one to Xander. “So how long have you been seeing Frey?”
“Thanks.” He twisted the cap off his beer. “For a few weeks.”
“Funny,” Axel said, putting some foil over the ribs to let them rest. “She’s never mentioned you.”
He shrugged, taking a pull of his beer. “Doesn’t negate the fact that she and I are together.” Probably wouldn’t be the best time to mention she’d been living with him for the last two weeks, but holy shit, did he want to.
Axel shot a glare his way, but he was going to give the guy some leeway. Freyawashis little sister, after all. “And what is it you do for a living, Xander?”
“I work in security.”
