AllFreeNovel
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“Why are you proud of her?” Xan’s booming voice echoed across the yard.
“Allison is up for an award.”
“Good for you,” he said as he went in for a hug from Sammy. Xan stopped in front of Reid, his dark eyebrows pinched together as he held out his hand not holding a case of beer. “Sheriff.”
“Call me Reid, please. It’s good to see you.”
“You too. There a reason you’re at my family’s barbeque? No offense, but not exactly the person you want to see. Is someone getting arrested?”
“None taken, and no.”
“He and Allison are working on a story together.” Sammy’s eyebrows rose, and Xan nodded like he didn’t buy that for a second. Her brother was always suspicious and especially overprotective of his sisters.
“It’s true,” Allison said. “Barbeque safety. It’s a story I’m putting together and who better than to tell us the dos and don’ts of barbequing than our very own local sheriff?”
“Does Dad know this?” Xan asked.
“Not yet, but Mom does, and she may have told him already.”
“Sure she has.” Xan laughed. “Good luck with that.”
“I’m not following,” Reid said.
“Dad’s been barbequing for forty years. You think you’re going to tell him what not to do?” Xan laughed again. “Sheriff or not, he’ll have your ass out of here before you can blink.”
Reid tugged at his shirt collar, and it was probably the first time in all the years Allison knew him that he looked somewhat uncomfortable. “I’m not going to tell him what not to do.”
Allison punched Xan in the shoulder. “He’s just going to tell me stories about incidents he’s dealt with over the years. I figured an actual barbeque will help jog his memory. Now stop being an ass.”
“I wasn’t being an ass.”
“You were being an ass,” Luna said from behind them.
Xan swung around. “You just got here. How do you even know what we’re talking about?”
“I’m going based on past experiences.”
Xan’s lips parted like he was going to retort, but then his eyes landed on Presley. The ogre had a soft spot for their niece. “P!” He bent down and grabbed Presley in a bear hug, swinging her back and forth.
Presley laughed and swatted at his chest. “Don’t you think I’m too big for this?”
Genuine hurt flashed in Xan’s eyes. “No, you’ll always be my little P.”
“Your little P just went to the school dance.”
Xan straightened. “You didn’t dance with any boys, did you? I want names.”
“Uncle Xan, even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.” Presley skipped away and went right to Grandma.
Allison, Luna, and Sammy all laughed at Xan who pointed at their niece.
“Did you hear that?”
Luna patted his chest. “Welcome to life with a teenager.”
“Who said she could be a teenager?”
Allison laughed as the group moved farther into the yard. Reid stood beside her and nodded toward the crazy bunch she called family.
