Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31869 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31869 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
“Aw, thank you, but just know, you all are welcome here anytime,” Paula said, and Thatch immediately flashed a knowing smile in my direction.
His eyes said, “See? I fluffing told you I was invited here.”
I refused to acknowledge it.
We all made quick work of getting their luggage inside by taking a bag each and carrying it straight to their room. And then, as Brad and Paula closed the door to settle in, Thatch took Ace upstairs to change his diaper, and Kline went into his bedroom to check on Georgia and Julia.
In search of my gorgeous wife, I headed toward the kitchen. But the closer I got, the louder the sounds of laughter and shouting became, making me double the speed of my step to a jog.
What the hell?
When I rounded the corner into the kitchen and got a load of the source, my heart damn near arrested.
Food. Fucking everywhere. All over the counters, the walls, and most importantly, my wife and her four brothers.
When Jude grabbed a handful of pancakes and launched it at Ty, I realized the five of them were literally in the middle of a food fight, and any second, Brad and Paula would be down from their bedroom to witness the chaos that was occurring inside their very own kitchen.
Shit.
Two fingers to my lips, I let out a loud whistle, and the five of them stopped on a dime, turning to face me.
Winnie had syrup smeared across her face and pancakes in her hair, and her brothers were worse off than she was. But unfortunately for them, I had only given them about a five-second notice before the surprise guests and actual owners of this house stepped into the kitchen.
“What the…?” Brad muttered as he looked around the mess with big, shocked eyes. “What the hell is going on here?”
Oh shit. I probably should’ve been concerned, but I mostly just wanted to laugh.
And all I could do was stand there, staring at my wife, who looked so damn adorable and carefree and just…happy. I mean, she was a fucking mess, with breakfast foods smashed all over her face and clothes, but she was gorgeous.
“Paula, I think we made a big mistake,” Brad stated on a sigh. “We need to leave right now and try to get back on our cruise, tropical depression or not.”
Winnie’s aunt burst into laughter. “What on earth are you kids doing?”
In perfect synchrony, everyone but Jude shouted, “It was Jude!” and pointed toward him.
“What?” Jude snapped, glancing around at his siblings. “I am not the one who started this!”
“Are you sure about that?” Ty questioned on a smirk. “Because I feel like you’re the one who started it.”
“Me too,” Winnie added, but she had to put a hand over her mouth to stop her giggles.
“Everyone knows when Winnie starts giggling that she’s lying!” Jude called her out, but Remy was there for the rescue.
“Just like everyone knows that Jude is the biggest troublemaker out of all the Winslows.”
“That’s not true,” Jude countered and turned to his uncle, and then back to his siblings, bouncing back and forth like a pinball at the mouth of the trough. “No, no, this wasn’t me!”
Instead of being convinced, Uncle Brad shook his head on another sigh. “And here I thought I was going to get to relax in front of the TV after a long flight.”
“I can honestly say that I didn’t expect to come home to my kitchen looking like an elementary school cafeteria,” Paula stated, and her husband looked over at her.
“Seriously, Paula, take me back to the death ship.”
“I swear, Uncle Brad, we’ll clean up Jude’s mess,” Winnie promised, and Jude glared at her.
“You mean, your mess, sis.”
Winnie just smiled sweetly. “Nope. Pretty sure I meant your mess.”
All five siblings dove straight into another bickering argument, mostly revolving around everyone ganging up on Jude, but it all came to a halting stop when Brad stepped into the middle of the ring.
“Let’s go!” he shouted. “Everyone on the boat.”
Flynn and Remy grinned.
Winnie looked at her brothers with big, amused eyes.
And Ty shouted, “Ohhhhhh! Looks like someone is going to walk the plank! And I’d say that someone is Jude!”
Jude started to shout his disagreement, but Uncle Brad was quick to redirect.
“Save the argument for the boat. That’s where we’ll find out who the asshole really is,” he stated and grabbed his boat keys from the key hook near the light switch. “Although, I can’t deny, from where I’m standing, it’s looking like all five of you are the assholes.”
I tilted my head to the side and met Winnie’s eyes. “Walk the plank?” I mouthed toward her, and she strolled over to me with a secret grin on her lips.
Everyone else, though, started grabbing their shit and heading to the dock like this was a normal routine.