“Hi, Mr Maverick,” Ellie gets out, gripping onto my brothers leg tighter as he places his arm around her shoulders.
“Hi, Ellie,” I smile down at her, tightening the cap on the bottle after pouring my poison into theglass. “You’re looking beautiful today,” I smile down at her, and I watch her cheeks turn the brightest shade of pink.
Ellie covers her embarrassed face in my brothers leg even more than she was before I decided to give her such a simple compliment.
My brother looks at me with admiration written over his face before turning his attention back to her. “So, baby girl, heard you met my brother.” Jake holds his grip around her shoulders; eyes still locked on my face never moving them from his gaze.
“Sure have, Uncle Jake!” she squeals out, looking up at my brothers face, releasing herself from her own tight grip around his leg, cheeks still glowing.
I watch my brother, in awe at the man he’s become right before my eyes with this little girl, who anyone could see that captures his world.
"And, what ya’ think?” He asks, looking down at her.
Ellie turns her eye line away from my brother and slightly releases her grip against his leg before turning her gaze and locking her eyes on mine. I’m already looking down at her, smirking ather with amusement ready for her answer.
I watch Ellie’s eyes flicker up and down me before answering him. “Well...” she starts, nervousness in her voice. “He looks a lot like you,” she says, before regaining her grip on his leg.
I let out a laugh at the same time as my brother.
She’s not wrong. However, she’s got it the wrong way around; it’s Jake that looks a lot like me, not the other way round.
Ellie’s eyes stay on my brother, looking at him with the sparkle in her eye; the same one her mama had all those years ago.
“Did you bring your guitar?” she asks sheepishly at my brother. Jake looks down at her and then takes to one knee in front of her, causing Ellie to let go.
“You know I have, girlie.” My brother looks at her with admiration, ruffling her hair as he answered.
“Can you sing, Mr Maverick?” Ellie asks, looking up at me where I stand. Jake snorts at the question which makes my mouth curl upwards.
“I don’t know, Ellie...” I start, taking a sip of my drink. “I guess you’ll have to find out.” I wink down at her and Jake laughs, running a hand through his hair as he stands back to his normal height.
Ellie regains her ability to cling to my brothers thigh before noticing the girls standing in the place that I’d just left them.
“Aunties!” She screams before letting go of my brother and running straight in the direction of Hope and Iris, who have their arms outstretched awaiting the embrace. Jake snickers from the spot he stays in before taking a sip of his beer.
“She’s something, isn’t she?” He sighs, primarily to himself but also to me.
“She certainly is.” I agree with him, shifting myself awkwardly.
I see my brother in the corner of my eye as I watch Ellie jump into Hope and Iris’s arms as Luke ruffles her hair before dropping onto one knee, holding open his arms for an embrace.
“What?” I give my brother a side eye, letting out the breath I was unintentionally holding.
“Nothing,” he says, lips lifting up towards his right eye before bringing his drink to his lips.
I slant my brows at him, looking confused at what he was thinking at this moment. He’s not letting on to whatever it could be as he just grins back at me.
Letting out a scoff, I give up on the conversationand leave him to his thought process.
Mabel comes back into my eye line as she bends over the table, removing the last food coverings.
My eyes divert to her full ass and how well it looks in the denim shorts she’s decided to wear for today’s events; I bite my lower lip in some efforts to restrain the growl I can feel bubbling inside of me.
Wyatt comes into view with my dad trailing along behind him carrying trays of different types of meat. Steak, ribs and brisket fills the air with its aroma and my mouth waters at the scent.
“Grubs up y’all,” Wyatt says as he places a tray down then wraps his arm around his daughter, placing a kiss against her cheek,
I hang back, as I watch everyone at the party line up to dish up their own plates of delicious buffet styled food, only moving from my spot to fill up my glass of whiskey once I empty it.
