Page 70 of The Wiener Across the Way

I teamed up with Hayes, and we exchanged a competitive grin and fist bumps. “Prepare to lose, ladies and gents. You all don’t stand a chance against the meanest player in the league and the genius.”

Everett grinned like the cat that ate the canary and nodded at Isak. “Don’t count on it, bro. We’ve got the lucky pillow.” He jerked his chin at Isak, who whipped out of thin air the faded green pillow that had been hand stitched with the saying “In this house, we bleed green” on it.

“Lucky pillow?” Kelsey stage whispered to me as we watched Flynn and Gryffen try to tackle Isak for that prized possession.

“Yep. Whoever has the pillow definitely has a distinct advantage over every other team.”

“Huh.” She blinked a few times and watched the boys wrestle like they were four and not adults. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen boys fight over an embroidered pillow before.”

Despite Isak and Everett’s best attempts, Gryff managed to wrestle the pillow away and tried tossing it over everyone’s heads to Chris. Kelsey reached up and snagged it right out of the air and the room went silent in awe.

She shrugged and sat down on the couch next to Jules and shrugged. “What? I was feeling lucky.”

Everett fell to his knees in front of her and clutched his chest. “I think I’m in love.”

Jules smacked him with pillow but so fast that he missed when he tried to snag it from her. “You’re always in love. She’s taken, butt munch.”

“A fact I think at least five out of eight Kingman men are heartbroken over,” my dad said, and gave Kelsey a wink. “Now take a seat and let’s play.”

Kelsey looked up at me and grinned, her cheeks pink with a soft blush. “I like your dad.”

Well, at least he didn’t scare her away.

Kelsey, Jules, and Trixie huddled together, whispering their strategy. I caught Kelsey’s eye, and she narrowed her eyes at me and stuck out her tongue, a clear sign she wasn’t going to go easy on me. Hayes and I were definitely going to lose, mostly becauseI was going to be thinking about what else she could do with that tongue later.

The game kicked off with a roar of laughter and friendly banter. Every draw, skip, and reverse card was met with dramatic groans or triumphant cheers. During one particularly intense round, I played a Draw Four card on Kelsey. She feigned outrage, dramatically throwing those four cards back at me, causing the room to erupt in laughter. “Declan Kingman, how could you?”

“I never knew Kelsey was so competitive,” Jules whispered to me as she watched Kelsey plot her next move with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“Yeah, she fits right in,” I replied, pride swelling in my chest.

As the night wore on, the game became more intense. At one point, Chris tried to sneak a card into the pile, but Trixie caught him and made him draw four cards while Gryff groaned.

“I demand a review of the tapes,” Chris protested in jest, causing more laughter.

Kelsey was a natural. She strategized with Jules and Trixie like a seasoned pro, her laughter and excitement infectious. Watching her interact with my family, I realized how perfectly she meshed with the Kingman clan. She may have grown up as an only child, but she had no trouble diving into the chaos of my big family.

In the end, it was a close game, but Kelsey’s team clinched the victory. She jumped up, high-fiving Jules and Trixie as they did a little victory dance.

“Looks like we have new Uno champions,” Dad announced, clapping his hands. “Next time, boys, you’ll have to step up your game.”

“It was the pillow!” Everett shook his fist at the sky.

Kelsey and I were helping to clean up by putting away the cards in the cabinet where games lived in the kitchen, when hergaze fell on a framed picture on the wall. It was an old photo of my parents, young and radiant, with the unmistakable sparkle of fresh love in their eyes. Beside it, the last all-family portrait caught her attention, showing all of us kids, with baby Jules cradled in my mom’s arms.

She turned to me, her eyes wide with surprise. “Declan, is your mother April De la Reine, the plus-size model?”

I nodded, a hint of pride in my voice. “Yeah, that’s her. She was beautiful, wasn’t she?”

Kelsey’s eyes shone with a mixture of admiration and nostalgia. “I can’t believe this. Your mom… she was a huge influence on me as a teenager. When I first started performing and was struggling with my own body image, I read an article interviewing her. It changed everything for me.”

I leaned in, intrigued and moved by her revelation. “Really?”

She smiled, but it was tinged with a hint of sadness I fully understood. “Yeah. I was a plus-size teen in the public eye, and it was... tough. The music industry can be so fatphobic. But reading about your mom, how she embraced her body and her message of self-acceptance, it gave me the courage I needed.”

Kelsey’s gaze drifted back to the photos as she continued, her voice growing more passionate. “There was this one moment onThe Choicest Voice. One of the judges suggested unless I lost weight to fit the typical beauty standards, I wouldn’t make it in this business. I remember thinking of your mom and what she stood for. It gave me the strength to stand up for myself. I told the judge I wouldn’t change who I was for anyone.”

She laughed, but it was a laugh filled with triumph. “That moment, standing up for myself, it resonated with the audience. It was a turning point. I think it played a big part in why I won.”

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