“Come on, Finn, I showed you my family,” shewhined.
“Because they’re literally kick-ass awesome!” I said, my voice an octave higher just from the memory of their splendor. Emma’s pedigree was something to be proud of, and although I wasn’t entirely embarrassed by my family, I certainly wasn’t going to parade them around normal people either. “Besides, the house is reallyrundown.”
“I don’t care about stufflikethat.”
“No? Well, it’s messy, too… we’re talking dirt, grease, trash… all the stuff you love. Plus there are animals and kids all over the damn place. Are you ready to drop me off at thecurbnow?”
“Strangely enough,” she said, grinning, “you’ve only intrigued me more. And I really hate to be so petty, but you’re forcing my hand here… you owe me, Finn. I saved your ass on multiple occasions this weekend, and all I ask in return is to pull up that driveway and meet the woman who birthed you. Is that so muchtoask?”
I’d only known Emma for two days, but that sassy-ass attitude lit a fire in me that I struggled to control. Grabbing her arm, I pulled her to me. The determination on her face melted almost immediately when she caught the meaning of my sudden aggressiveness. My lips crushed into hers, and in a tangle of arms and legs and steering wheel, the two of us were again locked in a smoldering kiss. My fingers slid up her shirt as her arms gripped my shoulders tight. Her moaning, my groaning… then a hand on my chest pushingmeaway.
“What was that?” she asked, startled by something out thewindow.
I turned but saw nothing, so I shrugged my response and went back toherlips.
Again she pushed me back. “It was like a helmet. Camouflage, in the bushes over there?” She pointed to our property behind thefence.
I squinted into the bright sunlight. “Do you stillseeit?”
“No. But I promise you, something wasthere.”
“It’s probably one of the kids. I told you, at least twenty family members live here. There’s no doubt in my mind you saw one of them. These people aren’t real good about respecting personal space. I’ve been trying to distance myself from them for years, but they won’t letmego.”
“That’s family… they’re sticky, likesyrup.”
“See, your type of sticky is sweet. My type of sticky is like a stubborn Band-Aid that adheres to every tiny little hair and stings like a bitch when you pull it off. And not only that, but while you’re rubbing out the ache, they hit you up formoney.”
“Do yougiveit?”
“You meanmoney?”
“Yeah, do you give themmoney?”
“Yes.”
“That’s why they’re extrasticky.”
“Yeah, well, it’s not easy to say no to my mother. She’s like a sucker fish in suggestiveclothing.”
“Do you always talk about herlikethat?”
“No, usually I’m notasnice.”
Emma laughed. “Stop stalling. Let’s go. Rip off the damn Band-Aid and introduce me toyourmom.”
“Fine. But I’m warning you now, if my cousin Bucky is around, you need to hold onto yourpurse.”
* * *
Isteppedout of the car to open the gate and waved Emma through before jumping back in to make the drive up the crumblingconcretepath.
“Huh, where is everyone?” I asked, looking around the empty front yard. Something wasn’t right. It was too quiet. “They usually scatter likeashes.”
“Who?”
“The kids.Whereare…”
The first popping sound startled us both, and a yellow splat appeared on the car window. Suddenly the camouflage helmet she’d seen made perfect sense. An explosion of color accompanied by a series of loud cracks followed. We looked at each other in confusion as a group of heavily armed toddlers swarmed out of the bushes. Emma slammed on thebrakes.
