“You do that.” Leaning closer to Maddie, she whispered loud enough for me to hear, “Last time he decided to contribute to our shoe conversation, he proclaimed they all look the same to him.”
Maddie gasped. “He did not.”
As Maddie and Hailey joined the rest of my sisters, I headed to the bonfire to my brothers.
“Landon, you just lost me five bucks,” Jace said, then turned to Will. “He really does like her.”
Will grinned. “I knew it.”
I stared between the two of them. “What’s going on?”
“I had a hunch you liked Maddie. Jace disagreed. Thank you for proving me right.” He turned his attention to Jace again. “He turned green with jealousy, I’d say.”
“He was choking on it,” Jace continued.
“You made a bet?” I asked.
“Gee, you’re slow today,” Will said. “Yep. You do remember what a bet is, right? You used to bet with us all the time.”
I did. It was the most surefire way to motivate him to do something he didn’t want to do, to help him get out of his comfort zone.
Jace took a bite out of his chorizo. “We should fly out to San Jose more often. He’s losing his touch without us around to give him a hard time.”
“All that trouble just to give me shit? You can do that via FaceTime.”
Jace pinched his nose, as if considering it. Will shook his head. “Impact’s better if we do it in person. But seriously, you should listen to our advice from time to time. You raised us to be well-adjusted individuals.”
“It’s like listening to your younger self,” Jace added helpfully.
Hailey walked up to us, rubbing her belly. “Maddie is a deserter. She sided with Val and Lori on the shoe debacle. Mmm, fire looks ready for roasting some goodies. Will any of you tell on me if I start with some marshmallows?”
I pointed to our nephew, who was loading his plate at the buffet table we’d set up a few feet away from the fire. “After Lori gave Milo an earful about doing the exact same thing?”
“You’re right. She’ll scalp me.” Hailey looked at the skewers in my brothers’ hands, then narrowed her eyes as she took in our expressions. “Will, Jace! You’ve been messing with him.”
Jace nodded. “That’s our job.”
“Stop it or he’ll visit us even less.” Hooking an arm around mine, she nudged me. “Do you want to go to the buffet with me?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
We went to the buffet, and I loaded my plate with steak, guacamole, and Val’s famous veggie burger with quinoa buns. There were so many different dishes that the blend of spices caused an aroma overload.
“Let me guess. Tuna salad is your dish?” Hailey asked.
I schooled my features in a serious expression. “Yes. Fish is healthy. Salad’s healthy.”
“Really, Landon?”
I shrugged as we made our way to the plastic chairs, which were far enough from the picnic table that I couldn’t overhear the conversation between Maddie, Val, and Lori. Milo had joined my brothers at the bonfire.
“Your tuna salad is not as bad as I remember. Sad you haven’t expanded your range, though,” Hailey said.
“Cooking’s never been my forte.”
“Oh, you don’t need to remind me. We’d all make contingency plans when it was your turn to cook. They mostly consisted of stuffing our faces with sweets when Val wasn’t looking.”
“Ouch! Some things I don’t need to know, Hailey. I was really making an effort there.”