Page 16 of The Summer Plans

I don’t recognize it in the slightest. “I don’t know what this is.”

Lucas leans over and pulls the ribbon, opening the box with a grin. “Cookies!”

Logan leans over and frowns. “They’re all broken.”

“Those look weird.” Lana pushes the box toward me.

“What do you mean?” I peer inside. Fucking Bella. I slam the top shut. “These aren’t any good. They’ve got egg in them.”

RJ’s head pokes over my shoulder. He’s so close, too close. I can feel the heat of him near my shoulders, under my skin. Or it could be my sunburn.

“Then how come that says, ‘no eggs’ in tiny writing?” He points to Bella’s handwriting on the top corner of the box.

I whip my head in his direction, ready to tell him to shut up, but he grabs it out of my hands and opens the lid as Sophie peers over his shoulder. It’s comical watching his eyebrows pinch. Then one lifts in curiosity before they shoot to his hairline in surprise. He’s obviously never seen Bella’s cockies before, which is surprising. Surely, she would’ve sent some with Hardy to the fire house at some point? “Your mom’s right. These have poison.”

Lana puts her hands on her hips. She’s my no-nonsense kid—she has to be to put up with her brothers—and she can spot bullshit from a mile away. “Poison? Why would Mom have poison cookies in her suitcase that she didn’t remember putting there?”

Smiling, I study his face for a response. He fumbles for a second, opening and shutting his mouth. Then he looks at Logan. “Because they clearly have eggs which means they’re poison.”

Lana narrows her eyes. “But it says ‘no eggs’ on it.”

“They must’ve made a mistake. These definitely have eggs in them. I can tell by looking at them. I’ll just throw them out so no one gets sick.”

Luckily Lana decides to let it go. “I’m gonna watch YouTube on my tablet.” She slides off the stool and climbs the stairs, her brothers hot on her heels.

“So now that the kids are gone, are you going to divvy up the dick cookies?” Sophie thrusts out her hand.

“You coulda backed me up so I didn’t have to go on and on about poison.” RJ slides the box across the island.

Sophie laughs. “You’ve always been a terrible liar. Ooh! A beach ball.” She sets a broken piece of cookie on the granite countertop as she searches through the box. “Here’s another one. I think those are the balls. And this surfboard is the penis!” She takes a bite of the cookie. “These balls are cute, but this dick tastes amazing.”

RJ scrubs a hand down his face. “I could die happy never hearing those words come out of your mouth again.”

Sophie rolls her eyes. “It’s just a dick, Dad.”

“This is what I was talking about when we got here. I know you and your mom joke like this, but I don’t know if I’m comfortable with this kind of talk.”

“So guys can talk about women in the locker room and it’s okay, but girls can’t make dick jokes? It’s giving misogyny.”

“I didn’t say locker room talk was okay.” RJ holds his palms up in defense as she points the shaft at him.

I grab a cookie, shoving it in my mouth to stifle my giggle.

“And we’re talking about cookies, not actual dicks. Besides, the more we normalize talking about it, the less power the patriarchy has over us.” She takes a bite off the tip of the surfboard to make her point. I like this girl.

I reach for another beach ball. “That’s something Raven would say.”

“Who do you think taught me?”

“Look, I get it. I’m a feminist and I support you having the same rights as anyone else, but I don’t need to hear about your extra-curriculars. That’s what your mom and aunt are for. No dad wants to talk to his daughter about this stuff.”

I look between them as Sophie pieces cookies together while RJ shifts uncomfortably. It’s surreal seeing him as a dad. I mean, I knew he was one, but I could never picture it. He seems at ease in the role, comfortable, nothing like the aimless little brother Raven describes. Maybe having Sophie has given him a sense of purpose? It’s also satisfying knowing there’s someone in his life, other than Raven, giving him hell.

Sophie pops a broken cookie into her mouth and groans.

“Please don’t make noises like that when you’re eating something shaped like that. My dad heart can’t take it.”

“Such a prude.” She rolls her eyes.