“Ruby’s not boring,” I argue back while Kane splutters through his laugh. Ruby smiles over her shoulder at me. The smile soon drops when the dumbass puffs his chest out.
I never saw her cook when we were kids, yet it brings her peace. It doesn’t take long for her husband to walk into the kitchen with their son on his hip. He smoothly sets the boy onthe table on his way to Ruby’s side, then wraps his arm around her waist.
I can’t help my smile at the joy on her face. She deserves this, her own family our parents can’t touch. Micah isn’t as shy as he crawls over the table to sit himself in my lap. Looking up at me with huge eyes just like his mom’s, he smiles. “Morning.”
“Good morning.” I kiss his cheek. “Did you have good dreams?”
He nods as Scarlet drags herself to the table, yawning. “I hate staying with you. You’re like an army commander, making me wake up on a schedule.”
Seraphim slips out of her seat and walks on her tiptoes to steal her dad’s phone. Without turning from the stove, he warns, “Careful, little demon.”
“I only want to call Amy. He’ll be missing me, and he’ll be worried about me because I’m his favorite.”
Ruby changes her strict schedule as she softly says, “Let him know you’re okay. But you’re eating your breakfast straight after.” She skips away as her mom calls out, “Let Micah talk to him.”
Seraphim turns, opening her arms. “Come on. We’ll bully Amy into buying us things.”
“No bullying, little madam,” Ruby says over her children’s giggles as I place Micah on his feet. This is what family is supposed to be. I can’t recall a time we ever laughed around the dinner table growing up or had a parent serve our food. They left it to the staff while they watched our plates to make sure we didn’t eat too much. Lizbeth’s worst fear was having a fat child. God forbid, we wanted to break the restrictive mold she made for us.
I look at my smiling sisters like they know where my thoughts have gone. Ruby hands her husband the plates and this huge man dutifully obeys. She’s tiny compared to his near sevenfeet, but he silently sets the plates on the table. When he takes his seat, he pulls her down to sit on his thigh, making Scarlet grimace. “You can put her down for five seconds or there’ll be another kid running around.”
“Scarlet?” He smiles. “Why don’t you play in traffic?”
Kane’s eyes widen as he stares at the table like he’s trying to disappear. Ruby gently scolds her husband. But Scarlet looks at him like they have their own secrets then flips her hair over her shoulder. “I’m hard to kill, so you’rebothstuck with me.”
No one says anything when Ruby gives us all a look like we’re children. The sounds of everyone fearfully filling their plates are the only ones in the room before Seraphim cackles further away. Ruby and Daigon share a plate, which is kind of cute and weird when they’re already in the same chair.
Scar tilts her head to hide behind her hair as she whispers, “They do it all the time. Codependent as fuck.”
“I can hear you,” Ruby interrupts. “Remember what I said to you both last night.” She looks at Kane and me. “There are children here. They don’t need to see certain things.”
“Or hear them,” her husband adds.
“Sorry,” I mumble as my cheeks flame.
Why is this so embarrassing? It’s not like my sisters are going to be unaware of what sex is, but I feel like a child. Thankfully, Kane changes the topic before Scarlet can fully wake up to quiz us. “My stitches have healed. Do you know where they are?”
Everyone other than me seems to know what he’s talking about as Daigon nods. “We’ll leave after dinner.”
Seraphim walks out, carrying Micah, whose feet dangle above her knees as she holds her dad’s phone between her teeth. The little boy giggles despite his sister nearly dropping him as she spits the phone on the table. “Amy said he wants to talk to you.”
I look at Daigon, expecting him to take the phone but my teenage niece is staring at Kane. Who says, “I don’t know who that is.”
She shrugs as she sits her brother down then takes the seat next to him. “I don’t know. He asked if you’re here then said give you the phone. Did you mess shit up?”
“Don’t curse,” Ruby says while we all stare at Kane.
“He’s waiting for you.” Seraphim fills her brother’s plate then her own. “Be quick, so he doesn’t get angry.”
I push my seat back at the same time as he takes the phone, walking onto the balcony where I have to lean up on my toes to hear what’s being said.
“Who are you?” Kane asks.
The deep raspy voice isn’t what I was expecting as the man says, “I understand my hard work got you into the auction. While you were there, did you learn any of their names?”
“No,” he answers as I tug on his arm.
“I did.” I try to snatch his phone. “Who are you looking for?”
