Well, damn! Apparently, he now had Nathan’s ability and for Oren, there didn’t seem to be a learning curve. As much as I wanted to be in Nathan’s arms, part of me was glad for Oren’s interruption. My parents were right outside and we had lots ofthings to talk about. I knew once we started, neither of us would be satisfied with a quickie.
I wanted hours to worship my psycho.
Jet approached but halted when Rubbish ran up his leg and perched on his massive shoulder. He looked at me in panic as the large raccoon began to run his little paws all over Jet’s face. I couldn’t stop my laughter when Rubbish stuck one of his tiny fingers in Jet’s nose. He jerked his head back, and Rubbish chittered in laughter. He climbed down Jet and sat on a hay bale, waiting for the food to arrive.
“What the fuck?” Jet growled, glaring at Rubbish.
“He was just inspecting you. He’s usually not fond of strangers. You should be happy he likes you.” I was trying to keep the smile off my face.
Jet was still wiping at his nose as he glared at me, “I don’t mind him inspecting my face, but he can keep his fingers out of my nose. Now all I can smell is shit!” I lost it.
Tears were running down my face, and I couldn’t catch my breath. Rubbish had been known to prank new people. Lucky for Jet, it was probably just chicken shit…probably.
Chloe walked over and glanced at us both in confusion. “What’s so funny?”
Her question only made me laugh harder. Seeing I was in no shape to answer, she looked at Jet for an explanation.
“That raccoon stuck his finger up my nose, and now all I can smell is shit.” He gestured to me in aggravation, “Apparently, she finds that hilarious.” Jet grabbed a paper towel off the table and vigorously blew his nose.
I decided to cut the big guy a break. “It’s probably just a little chicken shit.” He narrowed his eyes at me and I couldn’t resist messing with him a little further. Trying my best to keep a straight face, “But on the other hand he has been known toscavenge dirty diapers from our neighbors down the road.” I lost it again.
Jet looked at me in horror and started gagging. Seems our giant had a bit of a weak stomach.
Chloe looked at him in wide-eyed disbelief, then back at me, still trying to catch my breath.
She started laughing harder than I’d ever seen, and the sound out of her mouth stunned me so much that my laughter abruptly stopped.
She sounded like a braying jackass.
Jet and I stared at her in stunned disbelief. We’d laughed together often, but she’d never sounded like this.
Zane and Zeke walked over, and Zane threw his arm around my shoulders. “What did you do to make Chloe break into her jackass laugh?”
I squinted at him, “Her what?”
Zeke grabbed my hand and threaded our fingers together.
“Her jackass laugh.” He grinned, repeating what his brother said, “When Chloe finds something really, really funny, that’s how she sounds. When we were younger, we would do all kinds of crazy things to get her to laugh like that.”
Chloe was still laughing when, out of nowhere, we heard a real donkey start braying. Looking over, I saw that Jack had stuck his head out of his stall and was giving Chloe heart eyes.
“I think she just found her first Faction member,” Zane smirked in mischief.
That set us all off, and this time even Jet laughed.
By the time Nathan and Oren returned with the food, my parents and Damien had made their way inside, everyone taking a seat. My dad had pulled mom down onto his lap and didn’t look like he had any intention of letting her go anytime soon.
The guys had brought a variety of things back and we all dug in. It was so sweet seeing Dad feed Mom before feeding himself. Grumpy and Pop looked at them in wonder, not showing the least jealousy.
Nathan had likewise pulled me into his lap, nipping at my neck and nuzzling my head while feeding his face.
Dad didn’t seem too excited about his actions. He was dividing his attention between Mom and me. Looking slightly dazed, I was sure, at the shock of finding out he had a daughter and reuniting with his family.
When Zane walked over and attempted to take me from Nathan, he growled at him menacingly and squeezed me tighter. Zane raised both hands in surrender and sat on the ground in front of us.
When everyone was finished eating, Pop walked behind Dad and squeezed his shoulders. I noticed Dad flinch slightly. “I think it’s time we all caught up on everything that’s been happening.” He glanced around the room until his gaze rested on Nathan, “Do you want to start?”
“I have a question first. Why have you been using the name Hayes all this time?” Nathan was looking at Dad in confusion.
