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“It’s Sunday,” Drew says. “Where do you have to be?”
“Dinner at my parents’ place. It’s Haley’s birthday. And, yeah, we’ll be celebrating all this month’s birthdays at Sam and Leo’s party, but Mom insists that we still do a little party with the immediate family. So, I’m going over there. She’s turning twenty-four this week.”
“We don’t have any cousins under eighteen anymore, since Emma and Finn both just turned eighteen,” Drew replies. “Crazy, huh?”
“I think Uncle Dom might lock Emma in a tower at the vineyard. She’s gorgeous, and he’s a little overprotective.”
“We all are,” I remind Liam. “Now, get the hell out of my garage so I’m not late. Haley will never let me forget it if I show up late to her birthday party.”
“Tell them all hi,” Drew says as the three of them walk out ahead of me, and I lock up behind us. “See you next weekend.”
“See you.”
They all pile into Ike’s new Toyota 4Runner. Because he has a nationwide endorsement contract with the auto company, he gets a new vehicle yearly. I offered to find him a classic 4Runner and restore it for him, but he passed. Said it would be a waste because he’s supposed to drive around in the new one.
Ike honks the horn and waves his hand out the window as they drive down my driveway toward the main road.
My house is bigger than necessary, but I wanted this shop. It has all the space I need to have up to three projects going at a time, which is about all I can handle by myself.
My dad suggested that I hire help so I can turn out more projects, but for now, I rejected the idea. I have subcontractors I use for the parts that I can’t do myself, and I do the rest. It could be pride, or it could be ego.
Mostly, it feels like therapy.
The drive to my parents’ place doesn’t take long. I key my way through the gate and then drive up to the house. I see that Haley’s already here. She’s been living at the Cousin Compound, as we call it, for a while now, and she loves it. Most of us grew up in chaotic households, so to have the compound available to all the cousins, for as long as they need it, is pretty great.
I couldn’t do it. I like my solitude, my alone time. But I know that I’m the odd man out when it comes to that opinion.
As soon as I walk into the house that my parents have owned since long before I was born, I feel like I’m home. Sure, Mom’s changed things over the years, but it’s still home.
“You’re here,” Mom says with that happy smile she always has whenever her kids come home. “Liv and Vaughn should be here any minute. We’re going to eat in the outdoor kitchen. Here, take these plates out.”
She kisses my cheek before she passes me two heaping plates of appetizers, and I follow orders, heading outside where Dad’s manning the grill and Haley and Chelsea are arguing over…well, I have no idea what they’re bickering about.
“Mom sent me out here with these.” I set the plates on the table and smile at Haley. “Happy Birthday, kiddo.”
“Thanks. Where’s my present?”
“Maybe I didn’t get you one.”
She just watches me with cool blue eyes, just like our father’s, and waits.
Finally, I pull a box out of my back pocket and pass it over. It’s blue with a white bow and comes from her favorite store.
“Oh my gosh, you shouldn’t have!”
I roll my eyes and walk over to Dad. “Those burgers smell good.”
He grins, then gestures with his chin to where Haley and Chelsea are oohing and aahing over the silver earrings I got her. “Good job there.”
“The girls in this family are too easy. Just buy jewelry that comes in the blue box, and everyone is happy.”
He laughs and pats my shoulder before returning to the grill. “Just so you know, this half is beef, and this half is…plant-based.”
I wrinkle my nose at him. “What?”
“Don’t make fun of my impossible burgers,” Haley calls out. “They’re better for you than red meat. You should try them.”
“Sure. As soon as the sun sets in the east and pigs fly out of my ass.”
She just rolls her eyes and fastens the second earring to her ear.
“Gotta keep the girls happy,” is all that Dad says as he lowers the lid on the grill so the burgers can cook. For as long as I can remember, it’s been Dad’s mission in life to keep the women in his life happy. He could give a flying fuck about Hollywood, but the family? He’d die for any of us. “What did you do today?”
“Worked. A few of the guys came over to hang out for a while.”
