Uncle Julian takes a sip of whiskey, then states, “Then it’s solved. I’ll have Stephanie advise him to back down.”
Uncle Julian heads back inside, and when I look at Dad, I see the pride shining from his eyes. “I’m glad to hear you stood up for her. She’s a dear family friend.”
“It’s the least I could do.” Throwing my arm around his shoulders, I joke, “But not half as badass as what you would’ve done.”
Dad lets out a chuckle, then says, “Let’s get this fire started before your Uncle Lake starts complaining that he’s starving.”
Dad’s way of getting the fire going is to pour us each some whiskey while I light the wood. He pulls two chairs closer, and as we take a seat with our tumblers, the rest of the gang joins us outside.
Laughter continually fills the air, and it acts as a soothing balm to my battered heart after all the conflict I had to face this past week.
“Let’s play a game,” Jase says as he jumps up from his chair.
“My fucking heart,” Dad yells, almost dropping his whiskey.
“He has a bad habit of doing that,” I mutter.
Uncle Lake chuckles, then asks, “Which game did you have in mind?”
“Volleyball?” Jase asks. “We can play parents against the kids?”
“I’ve already used all my energy to fight off, Mason,” Uncle Lake complains.
“Chicken,” Jase mumbles under his breath, and it has Uncle Falcon and my Dad looking at him with raised eyebrows.
“Is that a dare?” Dad asks.
“Yep.” Jase looks way too confident for my liking. My dad and his friends grew up on the beach, surfing and being more active than we’ve ever been.
“Let’s do this.” Uncle Falcon gets up and rolls up the sleeves of his dress shirt.
“You’re going to play in a suit?” I ask, hoping for an excuse to get out of the game.
I’m not afraid to admit my father is stronger than me, and he’ll probably wipe the floor with me.
“Yeah, come on, little Chargill,” Uncle Falcon taunts.
“Oh, I see how it is,” I grin as I get up. I shrug out of my jacket and drop it on the vacated chair.
Our parents only outnumber us with one person. The girls stand close to the net while the guys form a half-circle around them.
“Remember the rules,” Uncle Julian calls out.
“Yeah, there are no rules,” Jase chuckles as he sends the ball flying into the air towards his father.
But Uncle Lake jumps high, blocking the ball before he smacks it so hard it flies right over our heads. “Scooooorrrre!!!!!” He jumps on Dad and Uncle Falcon, who gives my team smug grins.
“Just a lucky shot,” Forest grumbles as he tosses the ball to Jase, who immediately serves before the other team is ready.
I let out a bark of laughter as Aunty Lee starts shouting in Korean, “Omeo! Omeo!” She ducks just as my mom dives forward, managing to hit the ball.
“Badass, Mom,” I call out. My little sister hits the ball back, and soon we might as well be watching a tennis match between Mom and Aria.
“I’m hungry,” Uncle Lake complains, and then he walks toward the grill.
“Yeah, me too,” Jase agrees, following right behind him.
We all head back to the veranda, leaving Aria and Mom to battle it out.
It’s only when I glance back that I notice Forest standing on the sidelines, his eyes not leaving Aria.
“He keeps saying they’re just best friends,” Fallon suddenly talks from next to me.
“Yeah?” Aria sneaks a look at Forest and her already flushed face, reddens more. “You think our siblings are more than friends?”
“It would be awesome, don’t you think?” Fallon wraps her arm around my waist. “That way, we’ll be in-laws.”
“Only time will tell,” I muse. My gaze goes back to Forest, and seeing the affectionate expression on his face makes me smile.
I’d thank my lucky stars if I can get Forest for a brother-in-law. Then I won’t have to worry about my little sister and all the perverts out there when she starts at Trinity next year.
Fallon turns to face me, then says, “I managed to talk to Colton. He said he’d be in town soon, then he’ll talk with Jade.”
I tilt my head and give Fallon an apprehensive look. “I still don’t think that’s a good idea. Sometimes it’s best to leave sleeping dogs lie.”
“This war between you and Jade is the furthest thing from a sleeping dog.”
“What about a sleeping dog?” Uncle Lake suddenly asks.
“Oh, nothing,” Fallon says quickly, then she grins at Uncle Lake. “Nice goal.”
I go take my seat next to Dad, and while my family and friends make jokes and their laughter form a protective bubble around me, I can’t help but feel there’s a storm coming.JADEAfter the hectic weekend, I spend my Monday afternoon working on my assignments, so I don’t fall behind.