AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She laughs, and that hurts. “I know. I have a brain, my own boobs and nose, and this is . . .” She looks around as if someone might overhear her revealing a deep secret. “My natural hair color.”
She flips her brown curls over her shoulder dramatically, and Kyle’s deep chuckle pisses me off, but not nearly as much as Luna talking shit about who I typically date. “It’s not like I only date blonde bimbos.”
“Of course not, dear,” Luna says in a patronizing tone, patting my arm before she flashes a conspiring look to Kyle.
Kyle grins. “Ooh, I like this one, Carter. Are you sure you can handle her? If not, I could take her off your hands and show her a good time.” He licks his lips, running his thumb over his bottom one as he leers at Luna.
Luna turns her fire on Kyle, rolling her eyes as she says, “For all his audacity, you’re an arrogant asshole. Neither are exactly sexy. To me, at least.”
Wisely, I choose not to remind her that she was drooling over him mere moments ago.
Kyle shrugs off the dismissal. “I wasn’t expecting you to hop on my dick. I just like giving my brother a hard time, especially when it seems like he’s crashing and burning already. Can’t say I’m disappointed to see the show. It’s some pretty entertaining shit.”
I’ve had enough of this. We have places to be. Returning to the issue at hand, I demand, “What do you want?”
Kyle lets out an ear-piercing whistle, and the storm door swings open so hard that it hits the porch wall. “Uncle CJ! You’re finally here! I’ve been waiting forever and ever!”
My niece, Grace, is running at me full-force, and I brace for impact instinctually. “Hey there, Gracie girl! How’s my sweetheart?” I pick her up and spin her around, her legs flying out behind her in a move we’ve done since she was little bitty.
“Good!” she shouts as she laughs. Putting her down, she informs me, “Uncle Kyle says you’re taking me home because he has work to do.”
Shooting a deadly glare at Kyle, I answer Grace, “Oh, he did, did he?”
“Yeah, you can drop her off at Mom’s. Cameron’s gonna grab her from there after dinner, but I can’t put her on the bike yet. Cam’s orders.”
Kyle seems to think I’m going to drop everything and handle this.
Of course he does. The selfish prick. At least he followed Cam’s rule on the bike.
Admittedly, we all help take care of Grace. She’s like the family mascot, always hanging out with one of us. It started when Cameron lost his wife and Grace was just a baby. He understandably needed time and couldn’t handle everything amid his grief, so we all stepped in to help, and as much as Cameron annoys me by being the golden child at work, I would never take it out on Grace. She’s blameless for her dad’s assholery.
But not today.
“Kyle, I can’t. This dinner is important. Call Mom and have her come pick up Grace,” I suggest reasonably.
“Gotta go, man. See ya later, and” —he shoots a wink at Luna— “hopefully, I’ll see you sooner.” Somehow, without my noticing, Kyle has already straddled his motorcycle, and he starts the engine, drowning out my arguments with the roar as he revs the throttle. He pulls off, shouting loudly, “Bye, Gracie-Face-y!”
“Bye, Uncle Kyle! Be safe!” she yells, her hands cupped around her mouth needlessly because this little girl has lungs so big the neighbors two streets over probably heard her, even over Kyle’s bike. “Ready, Uncle CJ?” Seeming to only now notice Luna, she holds out her hand. “I’m Grace Harrington, nice to meet you.”
Cameron’s taught her well, especially for an eight-year-old. Luna, charmed it seems, shakes her hand politely. “Luna Starr, nice to meet you too.”
Grace looks gobsmacked. “Is your name really Luna Starr? Like moon and star? That’s cool. I wish my name was cool like that.”
Luna bends down, getting on Grace’s level. “Your name is pretty cool too. Are you graceful, by any chance?”
Grace shakes her head so wildly that her blonde curls fly back and forth. “Nope, Mee-Maw H says my name is ironic because I never met a piece of furniture I don’t walk straight into.”
“Well, that only makes it better. Keeps people guessing,” Luna says, making Grace beam with pride. “We should probably go if we’re adding another stop,” she tells me.
I plaster a smile on my face, never wanting Grace to feel as though she’s a bother. “Yeah, let’s go, Gracie. It’s a drive, so hop in.”
But someone else hears me say ‘drive’ and also hops in the car. “Nutbuster, get out of my car!” I shout at Kyle’s dog, who’s climbed in Luna’s open door and is sitting happily in the backseat, ready to go for a ride.
