“When you do, can I come watch?”Raina asked.
I gave her a soft glare as I set the kettle back down on the counter and hit the “on” button.
“What?”she asked, flicking her dark-red hair over her shoulder.“You’re the most mild-mannered out of all of us.I’d love to see Danica St.Claire rip someone a new asshole.”
Naomi snorted and then reached for the Tupperware container on the island and opened it.“Gingersnap?”
“Yeah, Laurel and Maverick made them,” Gabrielle said.
Naomi took a bite of the cookie.“Speaking of your sexy baby hockey player—”
Gabrielle cringed.“Gross.”
“Speaking of the younger man, who is a famous hockey player, where is he today?”
“He’s over at Bonn Remmen’s land with Jagger and the rest of the McEvoys talking about plans,” Gabrielle said.“He offered to go as our proxy since we were busy helping you.”She gave me a wink.“First dates—ever—are a big deal.”
Well, that made me more emotional than I was expecting but also instantly made me think about the date again, and all the nervousness I felt about it.“What if he’s expecting sex?”I asked.
“Then you can kick him in the olives and tell him to fuck off.”Raina reached for a cookie.“Nobody shouldexpectsex.Have we not learned anything from our pasts?”
I rolled my eyes.“You know what I mean.”
“If you’re not ready, don’t do it.But do you honestly think that he will, A.pressure you?B.expect it on the first date?Or C.toss you out on your juicy ass if you turn him down?”Gabrielle grabbed a cookie too, so not to be left out.I grabbed one as well and let the ginger and cinnamon work like a magical potion to ease my mounting worry.
“I don’t think any of those things—really,” I finally said, cupping my hand under my chin to catch some crumbs.“But I can’t stop my brain from chucking them at me anyway.Tom is so respectful.So kind.And I’m not sure he’s been on a date, or with anyone, since his wife passed away.”
“There you go.”Raina went to Gabrielle’s tea cupboard and pulled down the box of various teas.“No more caffeine for you,” she said to me, tossing me a peppermint and chamomile blend.“You’re both going to go into this date total noobs, probably knock teeth when you kiss, and it’ll be gloriously awkward and wonderful at the same time.You’ll only be able to improve from there.”
“That doesn’t give me much reassurance.”
The front door opened and in poured the children.Damon—Gabrielle’s fourteen-year-old son—was homeschooled now, so he spent a lot of time in his room doing his homework, or editing Maverick’s podcasts for him.The rest of the children though, all went to the same school, where Otto Pickford was of course, principal.They took the bus home together.Unless, of course, Marco wanted to hang out with the McEvoy kids, then he got off the bus with them at their place.
But all the kids were home today, and they quickly zeroed in on the open container of cookies.Austin, Naomi’s twelve-year-old son—who was slightly feral, but in all the best possible ways—smacked his lips together playfully.“I see cookies.”
His mother rolled her eyes and slid the container closer to him and the rest of the kids.“How was your day?”
Laurel shook her head in disgust.“Principal Pickford took us all into a room together and—”
“Wait, what?”my cousins and I all said at the same time.
Laurel glanced at Sam, who inched her way closer to me, then met my gaze.“He kicked sand into my eyes on the playground,” Sam said, blinking and then rubbing at her eyes—which, now that I noticed, were very red.“Then he did it to Honor and Laurel too.”
Gabrielle and Naomi each grabbed their daughters by the face to inspect their eyes.
“So, I said that the only reason he can get away with anything at the school is because his grandpa is the principal.That he’s a bully, his grandpa is a bully, and his whole family is made up of bullies.”Tears welled up in her irritated eyes.“He’s just so awful.I know what I did was wrong—”
“Like fuck it was,” Raina said.“You did nothing wrong.You called a spade a spade.About damn time.”
I nodded and cupped Sam’s face too.“What did Principal Pickford say to you guys?”
“He called us a family of unruly heathens.That the reason we all behave this way is because we don’t have fathers.That our mothers should be doing a better job to teach us discipline and that if he ever hears any of us say a mean thing about his family again, we’ll be expelled.”Laurel exhaled deeply through her nose.“He can’t actually do that, can he?”
“Not without a fight,” Gabrielle said, her voice taking on a deep, angry growl.
“Did you guys rinse out your eyes?”Naomi asked.
The girls nodded.
