“These look so pretty!” Sadie exclaimed, taking a picture.
I picked up the huge tray of biscuits, biceps bulging under my shirt. I smirked at the glazed look in Sadie’s eyes. I set it down on the buffet in the dining room.
“Line up and don’t crowd,” I barked at my brothers. “I’ll get you guys some orange juice. Hold on.”
“Oof!” Sadie banged into my chest as I turned to go back into the kitchen.
“You know,” I murmured in her ear, “I told you any time, but maybe not right in front of my little brothers.”
“You are insufferable!” She swatted my chest. I smirked.
The kids, salads already eaten, lined up for biscuits.
“I made enough so everyone can have three,” Sadie told them. “Don’t be shy.”
“This is amazing!” Davy exclaimed as he bit into a sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit. It was huge, almost as big as his head. He needed two hands to eat it.
“You should live here.”
“Yeah, Parker, don’t blow this,” Isaac said.
“Ellis and Billy are the ones who are going to blow it,” Otis said. “They played a mean trick on Sadie.”
They squared off against each other. I waded in and separated my brothers before they could start fighting.
“Do you want steamed vegetables for dinner? If you can’t act like civilized people, you don’t get biscuits.”
“They’re hangry,” Sadie told me. “You guys shouldn’t fight! Having a big family is a blessing. You have to be there for each other.” She handed my brothers biscuits.
As soon as they took a bite, the aggression faded. Otis spontaneously hugged his brothers then Sadie.
“Do I smell the famous Between Her Biscuits?” a happy female voice called out. The front door slammed, and Penny McCarthy skipped into the dining room.
“I recognize you fromThe Great Christmas Bake-Off!” Sadie squealed. She hugged Penny then apologized.
Garrett sauntered in after her.
“You’re just now feeding them?” he asked me. I scowled. I was about to start a fight of my own.
“Be nice,” Penny admonished him.
“Sorry to co-opt your space,” Sadie told her.
Penny shrugged. “I don’t live here. And I can’t make biscuits like this.” She snagged one off the tray.
“There’s plenty—take two,” Sadie said.
“Garrett didn’t feed you?” I asked her.
“He did, but these are famous biscuits. I didn’t get one at the maker fair. Garrett, eat this.”
“Maybe it will put him in a better mood,” I muttered.
Garret’s scowl deepened. He seemed slightly more pleasant after Penny force-fed him a bite of biscuit.
“You still shouldn’t have come over here just to help Parker cook,” he told Sadie.
“It was fun,” Sadie said cheerfully. “Better than being stuck inside my apartment. Speaking of which, I was supposed to do some work today.” She took off the apron.
