Page 65 of Enticing Her Love

Sutton proceeded to tell him about how her brothers’ pranks had escalated over the years. She described pranks on friends and family, and their significant others, and went on to tell him all the ways she and her sisters and friends had gotten back at her brothers. Even her parents and grandmother had gotten in on the pranking fun.

“I don’t know if I should be impressed with your family or worried that your brothers take things so far.”

“Probably both, but I’m just glad they’re pranking again. I missed it during those difficult years. Did you guys ever prank each other?”

“Not like that. Remember, there were times when we traveled when we had only each other to play with, but we did a few pranks.”

“Like…?”

“Nothing too bad. We put cellophane over the toilet and soap on the doorknob, so when Noah peed it splashed on him and he couldn’t get out of the bathroom. And Clay pissed me off once, so I put a snake in his bed.”

“How is that any nicer than what my brothers did?”

“It wasn’t poisonous.” He laughed, remembering how angry Clay had gotten. “Besides, I got in so much trouble, I never did it again.”

“Good. What else did you do?”

“When we moved back to Ridgeport full time, Victory had a sleepover with some girlfriends. Clay and I eavesdropped and heard who they had crushes on, so we had our friend call and say he was one of the boys they liked. He asked Vic and her friends to sneak out at midnight to meet them. As soon as the girls started sneaking out, we called the police and said we thought someone was breaking in. Needless to say, Vic didn’t try to sneak out again.”

“That’s so mean. Did they know you did it?”

“No. We told the police we lived next door, and Vic wouldn’t talk to our next-door neighbor for weeks after that. The poor guy had no idea why.”

“I don’t care what you say, Braden. You are every bit as bad as my brothers.”

“No, I’m not. Those are childish pranks compared to the shit your brothers do.”

“I don’t know about that. Does your family have a thing like ours has pranks?”

“Kind of, but you’ll think it’s lame.”

“No, I won’t. Tell me.”

“We sit around the bonfire and make up stories. Everyone takes a turn, building on whatever the person before them said. We’ve been doing it since we were little.”

“That’s not lame. It sounds fun. What kind of stories?”

“They run the gamut. Funny, creepy, mysterious, outrageous. But for some reason, Seth always brings it back to a pig making a ham sandwich in a deli.”

She laughed. “How can that fit into every story?”

“It can’t, but somehow it does. I told you he was a dork.” He heard crickets. “Are you still out walking?”

“No. I got home when I was telling you about the Christmas prank. I’m sitting outside on my deck. I think the rainforest ruined me.”

He didn’t like the sound of that. “Why?”

“Because I grew up in a big, noisy family, and then I went to college and joined the Ladies Who Write sisterhood, which is like a sorority, and I lived with a bunch of girls. So when I first moved into my own place, it was hard to get used to being alone. Eventually I not only got used to it, but I loved my solitude. Then we went to the rainforest, where the noises never stopped, and you were always right there, and now it’s too quiet again,” she said softly. “I think I need to download a rainforest-noise app.”

He felt her absence, too, and it was killing him not to admit it. “I just taped you snoring, and I play that at night.”

“You did not.”

He cracked up.

“I can’t believe how long we’ve been on the phone. It’s almost midnight.”

He didn’t want the call to end. “We’re good at keeping each other up all night.”