Page 73 of Grump Hard
Except Bran, who Ashton has to nudge in the ribs again to startle him out of nodding and chuckling.
“Sorry,” he hisses as he spins around. “I’ve been up all night. You know I need coffee and ADHD meds to follow directions.”
“I’ll hold up a quilt while you dress,” I whisper to Holly. “Just in case.”
With a grateful sigh, she nods. “Thank you. You’re a prince. I’ll be fast.”
Pressing a kiss to my cheek, she slips from beneath the covers.
I stand, holding one of the larger quilts up as a shield until she’s back in her underwear, jeans, and sweater. I then quickly pull on my boxers and tee shirt, while she fetches the rest of my things from the racks in the other room.
Soon, we’re both as close to decent as we’re going to get without a shower.
Holly pulls in a breath, catching my gaze as she extends a hand my way.
I take it with a nod, silently assuring her that we can do this.
After all, there are worse things than being caught naked by your entire family, the mayor, and several old men concerned about your odds of conception.
Probably. I would imagine.
She turns back to our audience with a tight smile. “Okay, we’re good. Except that we want to apologize, of course. We would have called to let you all know that we were okay, but the power went off and our cell phones didn’t have service.”
“Oh, it’s okay, honey, we know!” Holly’s mother spins around, rushing toward her daughter with outstretched arms. “We’re just so glad everyone is all right!”
Holly’s parents sweep her into a fierce hug, both of them trembling with relief. Behind them, my siblings rush in, pulling me into an equally tight embrace. I grunt as three pairs of arms wrap around me, my chest beginning to ache with wonder as I pat what parts of them I can reach.
They really were worried.
And they really love me as much as I’ve always loved them.
“Sorry to scare you,” I mutter gruffly. “I love you. Very much.”
Ashton nuzzles closer to my chest. “You’d better. You’re pretty much the best, you know. Not to mention the closest thing we have to a parent around here. We’d be lost and sad without you.”
“Very sad,” Elliot seconds, his voice nearly as rough as mine. “Call us next time, okay? Before you run out into the woods to slay dragons? We’ll help you. We want to help.”
“We do,” Bran adds. “And we want coffee. We all really want coffee. Right? It’s not just me?”
“Dying for coffee,” I agree.
“We’re taking everyone to breakfast,” George announces as we emerge from our hug circles, beaming as he claps me on the back. “And don’t feel nervous or embarrassed, son. Holly’s thirty years old. I’ve suspected she was sexually active for a long time.”
“Dad!” Holly says with a burst of shocked laughter. Her hands fly to her cheeks as she continues to giggle. “Oh my God, what a morning. I love all of you so much, but let’s get out of here. The sooner we get pancakes, the sooner we can pretend this part never happened. I’ll come back and clean up later. Let’s just…go. Now. Please.”
Cheeks barks his agreement as he bounds from Willow’s shoulder to Elliot’s to Ashton’s to mine, where he proceeds to insist that we go to The White Out Diner instead of Kit’s. Because they have carrot shavings in their Fall Fest pancakes at The White Out, and he could really go for some carrot shavings.
“Carrots in pancakes?” I mutter, shooting him some serious side eye. “Sounds repulsive if you ask me.”
Willow gasps loud enough to make us all flinch. I glance over to see her jaw drop and her eyes round. She flutters her hands my way, boots dancing on the hardwood for a beat, before she manages, “You heard him! You can hear him! Oh, Luke! This is fantastic.” I blink, having no clue what she’s talking about until she clarifies, “The carrots! You heard Cheeks say how much he likes the carrots in the pancakes at The White Out diner!”
I blink again, realizing she’s right.
But she can’t be right.
That would be crazy.
Nearly as crazy as everything else that’s happened since I returned to this very special, very odd little town.
