AllFreeNovel
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She’s not telling me who it is. And she’s going to have to file a police report if she wants insurance to cover it, but she’s so fucking stubborn that she probably won’t.
I grab the casserole from the passenger seat and head inside Ganny’s house, stifling a yawn.
The minute I open the door, I’m surrounded by happy, familiar noises.
Alex, my niece, laughs as she speeds past, gangly now that she’s in her teens. Fireball, my grandmother’s Chihuahua is on her tail, barking like mad.
“Hey, Uncle Jesse!”
She spares me a quick kiss on the cheek before racing off again, her phone in hand.
I laugh at her antics. The rumble of voices penetrates the lower floor of my granny’s old wooden house, and I walk past the pictures that line the hallway.
Most of them are of us as kids, playing, unwrapping Christmas gifts, or eating sundaes out back. There’s even a picture of the first-ever Taylor family water wrestling event in action. I’m twelve years old, and I’ve got Cash in a headlock in a kiddie pool full of water while Hannah screams on the sidelines in diapers. She must be about two. Leo’s beating on his chest like a silverback even though he’s only eight. Lily’s just a baby on my mother’s hip. Mom is smiling like an angel.
My gaze moves away from the happy memory to a more somber picture.
My grandfather, his lips turned down at the corners, standing on his own. His bright blue eyes penetrate through time and fucking space, carrying unspoken judgment.
“You lost?” Cash asks, poking his head around the archway that leads into Ganny’s living room.
I stroll into the living room and find Ganny on her favorite floral-print sofa, her knitting supplies in the basket beside her. She smiles up at me, and I plant a kiss on her delicate cheek. She pats me on the back and then pinches my cheek.
“’Bout time you got here. We’re going to wrestle soon.”
“First round is me and Ganny,” Hannah says.
“Oh, you.”
Ganny pats the air at my little sister. I sweep her into a hug as well and squeeze her tight. My sister always smells like flowers and books, which is hilarious because those are her two favorite things.
“Ready for another ass whooping?” Cash points at me.
I glance over both shoulders.
“Just looking for who the fuck you’re talking to. I’ve beat you every single year, right?”
“Except for last year,” Hannah says, rubbing one eye.
She looks tired, and I frown.
“Last year was a fluke. I was injured, and Cash didn’t participate because he was touring,” I say.
“Bless your heart.” Hannah pats my shoulder. “You believe that, don’t you? Marci’s got freak strength. You’ll see. She could beat you in an arm wrestling contest.”
I snort.
But there’s anticipation there. Marci and I might wind up wrestling today, depending on the bracket. Yeah, we take this shit way too seriously.
“Now that you mention tours,” Cash says. “I’m leaving again in a couple of weeks.”
“You’re kidding,” I say. “You? Mr. Celebrity Star, apple of our family’s eye?”
And I don’t mean it in a malicious way.
“I want to take Alex and June with me, but I can’t. You’ll keep an eye on them?”
I pat him on the shoulder. “Of course, brother.”
