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)
“What does that mean?” I asked her.
“It means my uncle Brad is going to drive us out to an old rickety dock and make someone admit that they were the asshole who started the trouble. And the asshole has to walk the plank straight into the water,” she stated with a little smile. “He’s been doing this with my brothers since they were young, and somehow, even though we’re all grown up, it’s still a thing.”
“All grown up?” I teased. “I must have missed the part where food fights are part of adulthood.”
“Shut up.” She snickered and shoved a playful hand in my chest. “And come on,” she added and grabbed my hand. “We better get on the boat, or else Uncle Brad will start bitching.”
“So, Jude was the instigator of this mess?” I questioned quietly as we stepped out onto the deck, but Winnie bit down on her bottom lip in a way that made me laugh. “Wait…was it you that started all this?”
She nodded but then immediately tapped me in the chest with her finger. “But that stays between you and me.”
“And what do I get for keeping your dirty food-fight secrets?”
She stopped, stood on her tippy-toes, and whispered directly into my ear, “My mouth around your cock.”
Well, okay then. Looks like Winnie’s secret is safe with me.
I smirked and kissed her hard on the lips. “I’m holding you to that.”
“Good.” She winked at me. “Now, let’s go grab Lexi so we can get on the boat and watch Jude get in trouble for something that I did.”
I chortled at that.
But also, at the mere vision of my wife looking so fucking delighted, my heart felt like it tripled in size inside my chest.
Yeah, this vacation was exactly what we all needed.
This afternoon, I’d managed to successfully fly under the radar and watch Jude get declared “the asshole of the day” and walk the plank—aka jump into the water off an old, abandoned dock on the lake.
Technically, I was the one who started the food fight in my aunt and uncle’s kitchen, but everyone knew that Jude was the biggest troublemaker out of my siblings and me. Though, when we were kids, he was also the one brother who had taken the fall for me more times than I could count.
That was probably one of the things that made him so lovable.
Jude may have talked a lot of shit and stirred up lots of trouble, but he never hesitated to sacrifice himself in the name of protecting his baby sister.
As an adult, I probably shouldn’t have been so willing to let him do that, but old habits died hard, I guessed. Plus, I couldn’t ruin the “good Winslow sibling” reputation I had with my aunt and uncle. I mean, I was their favorite. Always had been. Always would be.
It might not have seemed fair on the surface, but I was also the one Winslow sibling who made sure Aunt Paula’s kitchen got cleaned up and scrubbed down after the food-fight disaster. Trust me, I’d paid my dues.
I smiled to myself as I watched the guys prepare for the big Fourth of July show that Thatch hadn’t stopped talking about since they’d come home this afternoon with enough fireworks to raise some concerns.
All of us ladies—Georgia, Cassie, Aunt Paula, and I—were on the deck with the kids, and Uncle Brad, Wes, and Kline were down on the dock setting something up.
Remy, Flynn, and Ty appeared to be busy with the music setup. Which was basically just the speakers of Rem’s Jeep hooked up to Bluetooth.
And Thatch and Jude were also on the deck, carefully putting noise-canceling headphones on Ace, Julia, and Lexi.
“What do I need this for?” Lexi asked, and Jude patted the top of her head.
“To protect your ears from all the noise.”
“Should we be worried right now?” Aunt Paula questioned, glancing around at all the kids with their new headphones in place. “We’re going to live through this, right?”
Thatch smirked. “Paula, the only thing you need to do right now is get ready to see the best fluffing fireworks show you’ve ever witnessed.”
“That’s right, Aunt Paula,” Jude added with the kind of mischievous smirk that made me question if we should watch the show from inside the house instead of on the deck. “You’re going to be happy you ended your Caribbean trip early.”
“Now, if you beautiful ladies don’t mind, we have to go get dressed so we can get this show on the road.”
“Get dressed?” Cassie questioned. “You’re already dressed.”
“Honey, do you really think these clothes are going to cut it?” Thatch retorted on a scoff and glanced down at the white T-shirt, khaki shorts, and sandals on his body. “It’s the Fourth of fluffing July.”
“Don’t tell me you brought that god-awful eagle shirt with you.” Cassie stared at her husband, while Ace bounced in her lap and babbled, “Boom! Boom!”