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I grunt in response. Did she expect me to skip out? It’s a family evening. Attendance at family evenings is mandatory.
Although, I wouldn’t blame her for being annoyed with me after I insisted she couldn’t participate in the sit-in since she’s the mayor of Winter Falls. But – guessing by her smile – she doesn’t bear me any ill will.
Good. The last thing I need is Riley mad at me because I hurt his girlfriend’s feelings. My brother’s a charmer until you upset someone he loves. Then, watch out.
Moon grabs my arm and drags me inside. “Come in. Come in.”
The scent of meatloaf hits me as soon as I enter the hallway. My stomach rumbles. “Smells good.”
She beams up at me. “Thanks.”
“Hide the food. Miller’s here,” Elder says when I walk into the living room. I must be the last to arrive since all of my brothers are already here. “Did you know humans eat more bananas than monkeys?”
I roll my eyes. Elder and his silly jokes. If I hadn’t seen the pictures of us as babies in the hospital, I wouldn’t believe we’re related, let alone twins. Although, according to Riley, being fraternal twins doesn’t count as twins. I’m sure our mom disagrees.
“It’s true. When was the last time you ate a monkey?” He bursts into laughter and Brody high-fives him.
People often mistake Brody and Elder for twins – all of us Bragg brothers resemble each other – until they catch sight of Riley. It’s impossible to mistake Riley and Brody as anything other than identical twins.
Peace sighs. “How do you put up with Elder?”
I shrug. I don’t have much choice, do I? Although, I could have chosen to stay in San Diego when Elder moved to Winter Falls to set up the brewery. I often wonder why I didn’t.
Peace’s girlfriend Olivia elbows him. “Stop it. I think he’s funny.”
He sighs. “You would, troublemaker.”
“Don’t be a stick in the mud, Johnny Law.”
I frown when I notice Peace’s parents are here. I thought this was a family thing. Although, Peace’s parents are kind of family. Having a half-brother with a different mother than the rest of the Bragg brothers is complicated.
“What are Eagle and Clementine doing here?”
Peace scowls at me. “Do you have a problem with my parents?”
I raise my hands in surrender and retreat a few steps. My size – I’m six-foot-three – can be intimidating to people, although Peace appears ready to take me on. He can try.
“Tonight is a meatloaf contest,” Olivia explains. “Moon is out to prove her meatloaf is better than Eagle’s once and for all.”
Eagle is the cook at Moon’s dinner. I’m certain they both make an excellent meatloaf. I nearly drool at the idea of trying meatloaf from both of them. This night is turning out better than I expected.
“Didn’t you read my text?” Brody asks as he joins us.
I scoff. Does he think I’m an idiot? I never read his texts. No one with a brain does. Brody is a computer whizz and uses text messages to infect phones with viruses. I learned long ago to ignore him.
The doorbell rings and Moon rushes to answer it. When she returns with Eden, Harmony, and Soleil, I nearly lose it.
“What the hell are they doing here?” I demand.
“Don’t pop the vein in your forehead, grumpykins. Moon asked us over,” Eden says.
“This is bullshit.”
It’s bad enough I have to put up with my entire extended family for the night, but now I have to deal with all of Moon’s friends, too. Although, I do have a few ideas of how I could ‘deal’ with Eden. All of them involve her wearing a lot less clothes than the heavy sweater and jeans she’s now sporting.
“Are you serious? What’s your damage?” Eden asks.
“This is family night.”
