Page 8 of Not Part of the Plan
Joey bared her teeth at her husband, and Niko sat back to enjoy the show. He knew from past visits that Joey ran the stable operations and new breeding program for Pierce Acres. She tended to be more than a little territorial about it.
“You think I’m not doing my job?” she demanded, daring someone to drop the accusation.
Jax wasn’t one to back down from a fight. “I think mucking stalls is a waste of your god damn time,” he snapped back.
“So you think that because Calypso, one of the finest pieces of horse flesh in the country, is ready to foal at any damn moment that I should cut back on my time in the stables?”
Carter waded bravely, or stupidly, into the fray. “Look, Joey.” His tone was calm, even. “You are the most valuable piece of the stables operation, and if you’re going to insist on spending your time dabbling in basic tasks, we’ll bring someone in to help you run it. We’d all prefer for you to hire help, but if you want a manager, we’ll bring in a manager. It’s up to you.”
For a second, Niko thought there might be bloodshed. But then Beckett put down a beer in front of Joey.
She hefted the glass and Niko knew women well enough to know she was contemplating dumping it on one of the Pierces. The table breathed a sigh of relief when she sipped instead. “If you have a problem with my performance—”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Jax threw up his hands. “Do you see what I deal with?”
“Joey,” Carter sighed. “You’re wasting your time handling all of the shit that we could be paying someone else to do. And to get it all done, you’re pulling twelve-hour days.”
“I want things done right,” she snarled, clenching her jaw.
Jax yanked her chair around so she was forced to face him. “Then train someone to do it exactly how you want it done. Be a god damn barn Nazi, and stop wasting your own time.”
It felt like an old argument to Niko with lots of history on both sides. Summer and Gianna wisely pretended they were deaf to the discussion and focused on entertaining the kids with their grandparents.
“I’ll help, Jo!” Aurora, Gianna’s firecracker of a daughter with her halo of red curls, piped up. When he had arrived for dinner, she had proudly announced to Niko that she was almost a second grader.
“Thanks, Roar,” Joey acknowledged the little redhead, some of her temper disappearing.
“She can shovel sh—”
Evan’s comment was cut off when Beckett cuffed him affectionately in the back of the head.
“Ow!”
“Language,” Gia said mildly.
“But Uncle Jax said f—” Aurora’s defense of her brother was cut off when Evan clamped a hand over his sister’s mouth.
“I’ll explain double standards to you later,” he hissed.
Franklin’s laugh boomed out, and the tension that had settled over the table fizzled out.
Jax leaned in and whispered something in Joey’s ear, and while the stiffness in her shoulders remained, Niko saw the corner of her mouth lift.
Emma returned with pitchers of water to top off the glasses. “See how we rate? Service from the manager. How’s the crowd, Emmaline, my lovely?” Franklin said with a fatherly smile. Emma gave him a smacking kiss on the cheek and did the same to Phoebe.
“Under control, at least downstairs,” she said, pointedly eyeing Joey. “How are my two favorite soon-to-be-newlyweds?”
Niko had learned that Franklin and Phoebe were finally tying the knot in a week, and he was invited. Their engagement had stretched out first to accommodate the weddings of each Pierce brother and then the building of their dream home on the farm. Now that construction was complete and four of their six combined children had been married off, it was time for them to tie the knot.
“We’re thankful you let us crash your restaurant tonight so none of us had to cook.” Phoebe’s eyes twinkled behind her dark rimmed glasses.
“Happy to accommodate,” Emma said, topping off their glasses and moving around the table. “Everyone having a good time?” she asked, her gaze landing on Nikolai before flitting away again.
They all answered in the affirmative.
“Good. Because I could have sworn I heard shouting, and I know you wouldn’t want to ruin a paying customer’s night with a family squabble,” she said as she skillfully juggled water glasses and doled out guilt.
“Emma, you’re still new here. A family feud in Blue Moon draws a crowd,” Phoebe teased.
