Page 78 of Full Moon Frenzy

He could have sworn the goblin shivered under the blinding light of his smile. “Perfect. Sign me up. I’ll be there.”

He had walked out of the community center whistling. Trapp Hemming, work in progress. It was the best he could do.

“Okay, wait a minute.” Trapp held his temples, shaking off his brother’s insane paranoia. “I don’t have to care about this. I don’t aspire to be dad’s favorite. That’s your game. I’m secure with mom.”

At that, Adriana almost choked, her face going red, recovering after a moment and hiding her laughter in the crook of her arm.

“And how long do you think that’s going to last?” Grayson asked far too seriously for the subject matter. “How long do you think you’ll be the favorite? You’re a single forty-year-old man with no kids. You’re a step away from eating Thanksgiving dinner at the diner, Trapp.”

Adriana was wheezing.

“Okay, now I know you two have been leaving your tightening clay masks on too long. Owen will never supplant me as Mom’s favorite.”

Grayson leaned in with a terrifying smile, Vanessa right there beside him. “You can’t compete with grandkids, Trapp. Have you seen Cecily? That kid is fucking adorable. And she’s a girl, so,” Grayson made another gesture as if his meaning was obvious.

“Not to mention,” Vanessa added, “we think it’s really shitty they used Cecily. That’s our name.”

“Are you having a baby?” Adriana gasped, excitement coloring her words, ready to offer her congratulations. “And they stole your name?!”

Vanessa wrinkled her nose. “Ew, no. But yes, they did steal our name!”

Trapp shook his head, pinching his nose. They were ridiculous. “If you’re not planning on having kids, which I know you’re not—”

“That’s a Grayson family name, Trapp!” Vanessa shot back, her long nail tapping on the glass table again. “And you know it. Why didn’t they take one of the Jackson family names, hmm? Where’s little Miranda?”

“I see what’s going on here. Did you go to the heritage museum, or something? Did Tris send you his project? You’re buying into the Henry hype. I’ve got terrible news for you, Nessa. You might be marrying a Grayson Henry Hemming, but you are not getting a Henry out of this deal.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Adriana poked him.

“Let’s cut the bullshit,” Grayson interrupted. “The two of you need to have a kid. That’s the bottom line. I guarantee you Owen and Tabitha are going to have a big announcement in the next few months, and ‘Oh, hey, by the fucking way, we got married a year ago.’ We can’t let the two of them gain that much ground.”

“This is like teams, then,” Adriana put in, finally understanding the level of ridiculousness that encapsulated his family. “Is that what this is? You’re on two different teams? You and your brothers? What about the one who stole all my suckers? Which team is he on?”

“Oh, Lowell belongs to us.”

“Yeah, why can’t Lowell and Moriah take one for the team? Why is this falling on our shoulders? I’m a firefighter. I’m a hero. You have high blood pressure from two decades of cocaine and a sixty-two year-old mistress. You don’t get to shoot orders at anyone.”

“Trapp.” Grayson dragged his hands down his face, rubbing his temples, as if Trapp were the one too foolish for comprehension. “Be serious. A Lowell baby will only count for half points. First, it has a fifty percent chance of being a clown. Second, it will live on the other side of the fucking world. How is Mom going to hold that?”

“I hate to say that this is all on the two of you,” Vanessa went on. “But it’s all on the two of you. Until Gray is ready to run, you have to pick up the slack. We need a kid. Expeditiously.”

“Do we win something?” Adriana demanded, her competitive streak flaring to life. “What does the winning team get?”

“Do we at least get a Grayson family name? There’s no Trapp in the history books; I’m one of a kind.”

Grayson raised his hand magnanimously. “You can have any name you want.”

“That’s real fucking generous of you, thank you so much. I sure hope you’re picking up the tab tonight. You know, the two of you are going to have the happiest marriage in history, because you’re marrying yourselves.” He turned to Adriana. “What did I tell you? You fit right in with this bunch.”

“I mean, we did say we were both okay with the idea of having kids,” Adriana pointed out. “Can we win something good? I’m okay if it’s just influence.”

“Yeah, she’s great. I like her. Best thing you’ve ever done in a lifetime of terrible decisions. You’ve got a fitting at the tailor this week. Do not be late. Do not sleep through it. I will punch you again, Trapp. And make sure you accept the calendar invite that went out today and clear your fucking schedule. I’m tired of hearing you cry that you can’t make it to something for the wedding because you were too busy judging Gorsha-Jean’s peach pie recipe for the county fair.” Grayson turned to Adriana. “If I come into your germ-covered clinic, can you give me an occipital nerve block? If you say yes, we will be unstoppable. You’ll just have to drag him along.”

You’re surrounded by schemers. This is your life, one scheme after the next.

Hours later, back in his bed, Adriana stretched across him, sweat cooling on their skin, and propped her head up.

“I didn’t understand half of what they were saying, but I am obsessed with learning. I've never been in a family with lore. Also, your family kind of makes me feel better about being poor.”