Craving Rose (The Aces' Sons 5)

“Let’s go get it,” Rebel said, putting her hand in Kara’s.

I smiled as they crossed the yard. Rebel and Kara were only months apart, but their personalities couldn’t be more different. My niece had Down syndrome, which meant she was delayed in some ways, and I swore made her more advanced in other areas. As far as I was concerned, who cared if she ever learned algebra? Reb was the most empathetic, loving, and genuinely happy person I’d ever met, and those traits were far more important in the grander scheme of things.

“If you think I’m done, you’re sadly mistaken,” my brother Tommy said casually as he came up beside me.

Glancing to the side, I burst out laughing. His entire chest was soaked.

“Don’t be a whiner,” I replied, elbowing him as we walked toward the barbeque.

“Me and Heather have plans after this, ass,” he grumbled.

“You’ll dry.”

“What happened to you two?” Kara’s dad Mack asked as we reached him and Will.

“Water balloon war,” we both replied at the same time. “Jinx.”

“Looks like Tommy won,” Will said with a chuckle.

“He used the hose!” I griped.

“Don’t pout because I’m smarter than you,” Tommy replied.

“I’m not a cheater.”

“Who’s a cheater?” my cousin Cam asked as he joined us. His eyes widened as he took us in. “Oh, shit.”

“Should’ve taken your shirt off first,” Will said, pointing to his own bare chest.

“I would’ve, if your kid had given me some warning before she hit me with a water balloon.”

“That’s my girl,” Will said in satisfaction.

“Glad I missed it,” Mack said with a laugh.

“Oh, it’s not over,” I muttered darkly.

He winked at me and I felt my cheeks heat. Jesus. He was the only guy I’d ever met that could make me blush, and he’d never even made a pass at me.

“I’m going to see if Moll needs help,” I said, spinning before my brothers could see my reaction.

“Get me a beer,” Will called out.

“Get your own beer,” I called back, flipping him off over my shoulder.

“Classy, Rose,” my mom called sarcastically.

“I do my best,” I yelled back as I pushed in the back door of my brother’s house. He and Molly had bought a small, two-story house near my parents’ place a few years ago, but it was still a work in progress. With Tommy’s help, they’d refinished the wood floors and replaced all the windows, but they were still gradually working on the smaller things. Currently, none of their kitchen cupboards had doors.

“Need any help?” I asked, Heather and Molly turning toward me in surprise.

Cam’s wife Trix didn’t even bother turning around. “Mack’s out there, isn’t he?” she said, dryly.

“Shut it,” I snapped. Heather laughed.

“I don’t know why you avoid him,” she said. “He’s awesome.”

“I never said he wasn’t.”

“She’s got a crush,” Trix said, laughter in her voice.

“I’m not fourteen,” I replied, moving further into the kitchen.

“Then stop acting like it,” she shot back.

“I’m glad they came,” Molly said, looking out the window. “Reb is probably giddy.”

“She was pretty excited,” I replied, reaching for a bowl covered in tin foil. “She and Kara were going to find the present they brought her.”

“Kara’s a sweetheart,” Molly said, smiling. “Reb says she’s her best friend.”

“Cute,” Heather said, grinning.

“Yeah,” Molly agreed. “She doesn’t have many friends her own age.”

“Charlie and the boys,” Trix pointed out.

“They’re family,” Molly said. “It doesn’t count.”

“Wrong,” I replied. “Lily’s my best friend.”

“You two might as well be twins,” Heather said with a guffaw. “She has to love you.”

“Hey!” I snapped, throwing a cherry tomato at her.

“Not in my kitchen!” Molly yelled, stepping in between us as she threw her arms up in the air.

“Yes, Mother!” Heather sang. “I’m going out to hang with my husband.”

“It’s so weird when you say that,” I said when she bumped into me as she passed.

“You were at the wedding,” she said dryly.

“Yeah, but then you guys did that weird thing where you pretended you weren’t married for like, ever.”

“We started again,” she said dreamily, clasping her hands under her chin. “And kept the magic alive.”

“You’re losers,” I said, throwing another tomato at her.

“Rose Hawthorne!” Molly screeched as Heather hurried out the doorway.

* * *

“Happy Birthday, dear Rebel,” we all sang as the guest of honor bounced in her seat. When she blew out her candles, we cheered.

“I make the first cut,” she reminded Molly. “Because it’s my birthday.”

“I remember,” Molly said, handing Reb a long knife. “Cut wherever you want.”

“Do it across the cake,” Cam and Trix’s son Curtis advised, leaning over the table. “Totally crooked.”

“But then the pieces won’t be the same size,” Rebel pointed out, staring at Curtis like he was crazy.

“So?” he said with a shrug.

“Do you want a smaller piece?” she asked reasonably.

“I see your point,” he replied, deflated.

My lips twitched as Rebel cut a precise line two inches from the edge of the cake.