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“Lucky you with Gabe,” Elise said and stepped back a few feet. Not only couldn’t she get away from him but his name had to come up.
He’d made eye contact with her twice since she’d seen him come in. Both times he smiled. Once he winked. She wanted to grind her teeth. She knew he was doing it on purpose.
She nodded back because it was polite. She wouldn’t be rude with so many witnesses.
“Did I miss something there?” Roni asked.
Chloe laughed. “They rub each other the wrong way it seems.”
“Elise can be outspoken.” She turned to see her father moving over. She’d seen him talking to Jim McCarthy over by the food. Jim was a good guy but where there was Jim, there would be Gabe. Seemed like Gabe and his father were close like her father and brother. “My daughter is the one that probably rubs people the wrong way more than anything.”
She shut one eye at her father to give him the look that would tell him she was kidding but then not really. “You never had a problem with it, Dad. I believe you and Royce are the ones that taught me to stand up for myself. It’s a male-dominated field too.”
“We did,” her father said. “And you can be respected and be a little softer too.”
Elise laughed, her face relaxed and she winked at Roni. Just because she was annoyed Gabe was here didn’t mean she was going to be a bitch to anyone else. It wasn’t who she was. Or tried not to be.
“I’ve never been soft a day in my life and you know it. I’ll take my niece now and walk her over to bond with the other children.”
She snatched Willow out of her brother’s arms and left after that.
“She seemssoft with a baby in her arms,” Roni said. Richard watched his daughter leave cradling her niece and rubbing her nose softly against the baby’s cheek.
“My father likes to pick on her,” Royce said. “And here comes the cavalry. Good luck.”
He turned his head and saw Grant and Garrett making their way over too. There was a lot of laughter at his son’s statement. He knew Roni and Trent were the big targets right now and he’d get to witness some of the work in person.
“Roni,” Grant said. “We are so glad you could make it. I’m sure you know most of the people here. We’d be happy to introduce you around.”
“I was doing it,” Megan said. “You know, trying to be a friendly face. But she got sidetracked here.”
Grant looked at Megan and Jonah and then over to Garrett. “That’s great, Megan. Such a good girl stepping up like that. Did you know Megan’s fiancé is Trent’s brother?”
That wasn’t smooth at all, Richard thought. Elise would see that coming a mile away. “I do know that,” Roni said. “It’s all in my flowchart.”
Garrett elbowed Grant. “We told her that back in July when Trent was moving in. Remember?”
“Oh yeah,” Grant said. “I forgot.”
Wow. Now these two guys were playing up the bad memory card. How the heck did anyone fall for this? Elise was going to have a field day with this.
Then he realized he tried the same tactics with Royce and he didn’t get anywhere. Royce caught on faster than his daughter did.
“Looks like age is catching up with you, Uncle Grant,” Drake said, moving over. “Why don’t you two go bother someone else? I think Roni is in good hands here. It’s not as if she’s a stranger to the name Fierce at this point.”
Roni grinned at Drake, who smirked at her. Something was going on here and Grant and Garrett didn’t seem to catch it, but Richard did.
“If you say so,” Garrett said.
Grant and Garrett moved away and he followed them.
“Guys,” he said. “I could see that coming. Is that how you get it to work? Playing dumb?”
Grant laughed. “Of course. They think we are old and forgetful.”
“No, they don’t,” he said. “I tried that, remember? My kids didn’t fall for it.”
“They aren’t supposed to fall for it,” Garrett said. “They know what we are doing as much as we do. It’s all part of it.”
