“Guess.” He kissed my forehead. “I need a beer. Want one?”
I shook my head and so did Dutch.
“Suit yourself. Go say hi to your brother.”
“Where’re Lance and Lib?”
“Inside. Liberty found a kitten on the way over.”
“Why am I not surprised?”
“At least it was a kitten, and not a flea-infested opossum this time,”he called on his way over to the tent.
“My sister can’t resist rescuing animals.”
“Yeah, she works at a rescue?”
“Rehab, but close enough. She works with the endangered animals in our area, but ends up taking care of everything with a heartbeat.”
He tucked a curl around my ear. “Guess the Valentine sisters both have big hearts.”
“Maybe.” I looped Mouse’s leash around my hand and we went over to the lion’s den. My brother’s crew were in a circle with an iPad blaring either a game or a highlight reel. They were forever picking apart games whether it was in season or not.
Mouse’s nose was working overtime with the plates of food everywhere.
Jack’s freckled face split into a wide grin when he saw Mouse. “Hey, Phee. Who’s your friend.”
“Jack meet Mouse. He will try to con you out of everything on that plate.”
Jack handed the plate to Cutter. “Hold this.”
“I’m watching the game, man.” Cutter didn’t look away from the screen, but held onto the plate.
I released the leash and Mouse went right to Jack to accept all the love. I made introductions, but Dutch’s eyes started to glaze over when I got to the fourth one. It didn’t really matter, none of them did much more than give him a brief nod before they erupted into yells. A few were pissed, while the others crowed.
My brother, less than enthused with the outcome, pushed himself out of his chair. “Hey, Flower Power. How’s it going?”
I hugged him. “Happy Birthday.”
“Thanks.” He nodded to Dutch. “Who’s this?”
“Keaton, meet Dutch. He’s my boyfriend, be nice.”
“Boyfriend? Since when?” Keaton didn’t offer a hand. His eyes were already unfocused. The beer had definitely been flowing. “You that guy who paid a zillion dollars to live on the lake?”
Dutch shrugged. “My publisher did.”
Keaton snorted. “Must be nice, rich boy. Way to go, Flower. Get your bag.”
“Keaton!”
“What? Good for you. You should get to visit easy street for once. Glad one of us can.” He flicked one of my curls. He narrowed his eyes on Dutch. “Hurt my sister and I’ll make sure no one finds your body.” He gave Dutch’s shoulder a tap as he staggered around him to the tent where the coolers were.
I sighed. I hoped being around his friends would have kept Keaton from being an asshole for one day. “Sorry about him.”
“No need to be sorry. I could have been him.” He lifted our linked hands to his lips. “I’m the lucky one. Does your family have any idea how successful you are on your own?”
I shrugged. “We don’t really discuss it.” I led him away from the rowdy guys. Mouse seemed in his element and I was prettysure he was going to clean up on the unattended plates. “They worry more about Keaton than us.”
