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I felt the blood drain from my face.
“It’s like funky town,” Trav explained without missing a beat. “Anyway, I know you have a thing for when Jess takes charge, so, if the shoe fits and all that shi–iiiitzu,” he hastily amended after Mickey gruffly cleared his throat.
Brooklyn held up her hands to call order. “Wait wait wait. Girl, is he for real?”
Jess’s cheeks coloured. “Yeah, he’s for real. I worked my way through Med School, then more recently when my sister got caught up in a not-so-great situation.”
“But, hun, we don’t really talk about it in front of—” I dashed my head sideways at El, and whispered, “These walls have ears.”
Understanding lit in Brooklyn’s expression and she studied my daughter. “I bet if I whispered the wordl.o.l.l.i.e.s,she’d hear straight away.”
“Don’t you dare,” I warned. “With the amount of sugar that one has consumed today, we’re all doomed later.”
“But look how angelic she is.”
My voice turned wry. “Don’t let it fool you, Brooklyn. You haven’t had the pleasure of dealing with the demonic chuckie doll yet.”
She laughed and sipped her drink, then barely held it in when Elodie piped up, “Chuckie! Hey, Trav, can we go to the beach?”
“Sure thing, little miss.”
“Trav! You know she asks you because you always say yes.”
His blue eyes hit mine, filled with mischief and shenanigans. “Can we though? And make a fire and roast marshmallows? Please tell me you have marshmallows, Lil Bean!”
Mickey waved an arm from side to side. “Yo, it’s summer. There’s a fire-ban in place across the entire region.”
“Pffft,” Trav scoffed. “You’re a firefighter: you can put it out if needed. Besides, we’ll literally be right by the water.”
“Nope. Sorry, bro. Ain’t happening.”
Collectively, our eyes pinged back and forth between Mickey and Trav, who pouted, then pouted some more when Mickey’s resolve refused to ease.
The corner of Trav’s mouth twitched. “The old Mickey would have.”
My brother rolled his eyes. “The old Mickey would have done a whole lot of shiz, but this one,” he pointed to himself, “doesn’t want to lose his job over breaking the most important fire rule of summer.”
“Which is?” Trav challenged, crossing his arms over his chest.
“No fires during a fire-ban, Trav!”
He threw his arms wide. “Just pretend you had no idea.”
“How about I fill up your diesel truck with petrol and pretend I had no idea?”
Trav’s face turned ashen. “There’s no pretending with that. It literally fucks the engine.”
“Fucks!” El chirped in the background, sending Mickey’s irritation a notch higher.
“You proved my point; about the fireandthe reason why you need to stop swearing around the kids.”
Trav waved his beer around while we laughed. “Okay, point taken. And El, you can’t be cussing, little miss. Adults only.”
She kept playing with her latest gift—a glitter wand. “But you do.”
Everyone roared with laughter, then harder when indignation hit Trav’s face. “Iaman adult.”
“No, because you’re fun. Not like Mumma.”
