Page 45 of Not Part of the Plan
“Played by a first grader,” Franklin shook his head in disbelief. “You promised you’d only cheat for Grampa!”
Aurora giggled. “Next hand,” she said in a loud whisper. “Bucket?”
“Yeah, Shortcake?” Beckett ruffled her hair.
“Can we play makeover?”
The collective fear around the table was palpable, and Niko got the feeling this wasn’t the first time a game of makeover had been suggested.
“We’ll play next weekend,” Beckett promised.
Franklin saved them all. “Why don’t you come help me play poker?” he suggested. They all sighed with relief when Aurora climbed into his lap and started counting his chips.
The action around the table continued. Jax kept up a running commentary on all the joys of life in Blue Moon, which seemed to amuse everyone else at the table for reasons Niko couldn’t quite understand.
Beckett dropped a steady stream of chips and snacks on Lydia’s head until Carter covered her cute, bald head with a napkin.
“Nice beard, by the way,” Carter snarked at his brother.
Beckett rubbed a hand over the early stages of a full beard. “Thanks. I think I’m going to keep it, let it get a little fuller.”
Niko picked up on the twitch of Jax’s shoulders as he picked up his cards. “You definitely have the face for a beard,” the youngest Pierce said amicably.
“It looks good on you,” Evan chimed in with an evil smile. “Don’t you think so, Niko?”
Niko felt the need to play along just to see how it all shook out. “It’s a great beard.”
“Thanks,” Beckett beamed.
Carter glared at him and stroked a hand through his own beard. “I thought you hated facial hair.”
“Where did you ever get that idea?” Beckett asked innocently.
Carter threw his cards down on the table. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because of every snide comment you’ve ever made about my beard in the past five years?”
“What are you talking about?” Beckett feigned confusion. “I’ve said nothing but nice things about your beard.”
“Bullshit!” Carter shouted, pointing at his brother. “Bull. Shit. ‘Don’t get beard hair in my food, Carter.’ ‘You look like a wookie, Carter,’” he mimicked in a falsetto voice. “Bull fucking shit.”
Aurora giggled into her fingers, and Franklin put his hands over her ears.
“What’s gotten into you, man?” Beckett asked, not even bothering to hide his shit-eating grin. “You’re gonna wake up Lydia. I’ve never said anything derogatory about your face.”
“Can we get back to telling Niko how great Blue Moon is?” Evan asked.
“Why is everyone educating me on Blue Moon?” Niko demanded.
“Grampa! All your cards are red,” Aurora announced.
Cards were slammed down all around the table, and Lydia woke up with a wail. While Carter and Beckett continued to bicker, Niko got up to help himself to the stuffed mushrooms Franklin had brought with him. Jax grabbed a fresh round of beers from the fridge.
“What’s with the beard wars?” Niko asked.
“Last week, Beckett bet me I couldn’t eat two dozen deviled eggs without puking. He completely underestimated my gastronomic prowess.”
“So you made him grow a beard?”
Jax grinned. “I’ve been trying to make this gag happen for years. Beckett hates not shaving. He’s been busting on Carter for his since he grew it when he got out of the Army.”
