AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Kitty whines about needing me to work with her at the gym again but doesn’t say why—I figure it’s because of what happened today.
It’s easy and loving and just… life.
Okay, mob life. But life.
When Belle stops hiding in my throat, I don’t acknowledge her reappearance other than to pass her another cookie.
Not putting any pressure on her to get involved, we talk around her until Kitty declares, “Neev, you need to get your hair dyed the same color as Belle’s. If you go brown, it’ll make you look ancient.”
“Thanks,” Neev snipes.
“I don’t dye my hair,” Belle murmurs. “I get streaks but I’m a natural blonde.”
“God, you lucked out in the hair and the tits department, didn’t you?” Róisín complains.
“Róisín!” Ma chides, but it lacks her usual heat.
“What? It’s true. They’re massive. If I were gay, I’d totally try to snag you from Cade, babe,” Raisin jeers, making Belle snicker. But she blushes and I know she accepts the words for what they are—a compliment. Just Raisin-style.
“How’s your head?” I ask Ma, concerned by her limp response.
She grimaces. “It’s fine.”
“Liar.” Lucas grunts. “Come on, Ma, let’s get you up and to bed. Raisin, you can do something useful for once and help me get her ready.”
“Fucking raisin. Call me by my real name or I’ll piss in your coffee the next time you’re over.”
“I don’t want to go to bed,” Ma grumbles, ignoring Raisin’s warning. “The doctor says I need to be checked on every hour anyway. I might as well stay here.”
“How about the sofa, Ma?” Kitty asks gently. “Neev, Róisín, and I will take it in turns to sit up with you.”
“Yeah, that sounds good,” she admits tiredly, and without uttering a word, she tells us how bad she’s feeling by letting Lucas support her as he walks her down the hall to the living room. On her way out, she weakly calls, “I’ll see you later, Belle. French toast tomorrow for breakfast.”
Lucas argues, “No cooking for you for a few days.”
“I’ll direct the girls. You know they burn water.”
“Hey, we didn’t burn the cookies,” Kitty gripes.
“Only because they’re from a package,” I retort.
“They were good cookies,” Belle defends my sister, who shoots me a smug look. “They tasted great, Kitty. Thank you.”
“Because they were Nestle’s finest,” I mock.
“Could you do any better?” Belle asks me.
Kitty scoffs, “He can’t even turn on the toaster oven without setting fire to the building.”
Glaring at her, I mumble, “That was one time.”
“Dipshit put cheese in the toaster to speed up grilled cheese,” Neev said with a chuckle.
“I was twelve!” I bicker. “Fuck, no one lets you forget anything in this house.”
Then, Belle makes it worth being at the center of my sister’s bullshit because she whispers, “That’s the best part about being in a family. No one forgets you. Ever.”
With my siblings, we’re more likely to argue with one another until we’re blue in the face, but I don’t spoil the fantasy and press a kiss to her temple.
