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CHAPTER
TEN
Declan
“Daddy’s grumpy,” Blakely announces as we walk into my parents’ house for Sunday dinner.
“He is?” Dad lifts her into his arms and places a loud smacking kiss on her cheek.
“Yep. He said I couldn’t wear my flipper-floppers,” she tells him.
“Blake.” I sigh. “It’s the middle of winter. We save flip-flops for the summer.”
“See,” she tells my dad.
“Sorry, princess, I think your dad’s right with this one. What would you do if your toes froze off?”
She gasps. “I thought Daddy was joking me.”
The room erupts with laughter, and the little ham that she is, my daughter grins and soaks up the attention. “Still grumpy,” she says, smiling over Dad’s shoulder at me. I blow her a kiss, and she catches it and holds it next to her heart.
“Are Brooks and Palmer home yet?” I ask.
“Yeah,” Sterling answers. “They’re on their way.”
“Newlyweds,” Archer jokes.
“Just wait, son.” Dad points at him.
“Not for a long time, old man,” Archer replies.
Archer is twenty-three and is in no hurry to settle down. None of us have been in any kind of hurry. Well, besides Orrin. I’m still shocked he hasn’t proposed to Jade yet. We all know he’s crazy about her. I’m sure he’s just giving Brooks and Palmer their time in the spotlight.
“Where are the twins?” I ask Rushton.
“They went to some kind of indoor swim park or something.” He shrugs. “They’re not going to be home until late. Apparently, it’s the best place to pick up girls.” I can hear the sarcasm in his voice. At twenty-five, Rushton has had his fill of chasing women. We all grow out of it at some point in our lives.
“That explains why the house is so quiet.” Rushton chuckles, as do Sterling and Archer.
“That smells amazing, Mom,” Ryder says, stepping into the kitchen. “Can we eat now?” He sticks his bottom lip out in a pout. That would have worked for him fifteen years ago. He’s all grown up now, and Mom stopped giving into us years ago. Well, unless we’re with her on our own or just with a few of us. Never when we’re all together. She thinks she’s being sly, but we all know she’s a sucker for her boys.
“We have to wait on your brothers and their wives.”
“Did Orrin and Jade get married, and I wasn’t invited?” I tease.
“Oh, hush.” She waves me off. “We all know it’s going to happen. It’s easier to bundle her in with Palmer.” Mom grins. She can’t hide the fact that she’s thrilled that her sons are settling down and finding the loves of their lives.
“Ramsey and Deacon will be here soon too. So no, you can’t eat now.” She gives Ryder a pointed look, and he carries on with the pout, knowing it’s not doing him a damn bit of good.
The front door opens, and I hear my daughter yell, “My girls,” and I laugh. The house gets louder as Ramsey, Deacon, Brooks, Palmer, Orrin, and Jade all filter into the room.
“Did you all carpool or something?” Sterling asks them.
“No, but we couldn’t do that again if we tried,” Orrin comments.
“Come eat.” Mom waves to the Crock-Pot of baked steak and the counter full of fixings to go with it.
“Ladies first,” Dad says as if we need a reminder.
We all hang back while Mom, Jade, Ramsey, and Palmer make their plates. I’m right behind them with a plate for Blakely, carrying it to the table so she can sit beside my mom as she requested.
The rest of us make our plates, and we spread them out all over the house. Brooks, Declan, and Orrin are all sitting at the table with the women, while Dad and the rest of us sit at the island and the couch, basically anywhere we can find a seat. Our parents have a dining table that seats twelve, but we’ve long since outgrown that. I heard Mom talking to Dad a few weeks ago that their next project might be adding on a larger dining room so that everyone can sit together. I hate to break it to her, but with nine boys, potentially nine wives, and future kids, that’s gonna have to be a big-ass table.
Conversation and laughter fill the house just as it always does when we all get together. For such a big family, we are all getting along really well. Sure, there were arguments between us growing up, but no matter what, we’ve always got each other’s back.
“That was delicious, Momma,” Ryder says, stopping by the table to drop a kiss on her cheek.
“What about me, Uncle Ryder? Don’t I get a kiss?”
“Blake, you’re going to be a high-maintenance girlfriend one day,” he teases.
She nods and smiles like he just gave her the best compliment of her life. “And a wife too. Like Palmer and Ramsey.” She turns and looks over at Jade. “Are you gonna be a wife? I told Daddy we need one of those,” she rambles on.
