The crunching of tires stops me from taking my first sip of coffee. “What the hell,” I mutter out loud, walking toward the door when a ball of fur barrels past me, running full force ahead.
“Slow down, boy,” I tell him, and he somehow stops before he nose-dives into the sidelight of the door.
I chuckle before moving the curtain to the side to see who pulled up. If it were anyone, I figure it would be Slade or Drake, but when I see that silly Rav 4 pull into the driveway, I know that it carries the Jennings women inside it.
“Fuck,” I grumble, then open the door, paste on a smile when all I really want to do is slam the door shut, slide back into Kellie’s bed, and ignore these crazy-ass women who I call my sisters.
“Don’t you even think about it.” My oldest sister steps out of the car after she abruptly put the vehicle in park.
“Well, don’t come crying to me when your transmission is on the floor,” I tell Peyton. My other two sisters, Aspen and Rowan, slide out of their seats, not nearly as hurried as Peyton. That girl has always been on a war path since the day she started walking, whereas my younger two sisters are way more relaxed and go with the flow.
“Whatever. Why didn’t you tell us what Kellie was going through and that you were staying with her?” She raises her voice.
“I don’t know, Pey. It could be because you’re being a nut job,” my baby sister Rowan says while coming up to me for a hug. She’s only twenty-one, and I have a soft spot for her. She always needed more attention. Our parents worked their asses off, which sometimes meant me pulling some extra brotherly duties.
“How ya doing, kiddo?” I return her hug, kissing the crown of her head.
“Good, you?” she responds with a bright smile.
“Never better, except for this shit,” I respond.
“Stop hogging Bridger for yourself,” Aspen says, moving into my other side. I guess Peyton is just going to stand there huffing and puffing. The two of them leave my side, and then I address the elephant in the room that Peyton wants answered, “It’s not my story to tell, and you damn well know it, and the only reason you have an inkling of what’s going on is because you Jennings women can’t go a day without cackling like hens. Mom was under explicit instructions to leave well enough alone. Now, you turn up here at my woman’s house expecting me to answer twenty-one questions. She’s asleep, Peyton, and if you so much as wake her up or bring up the past, I’ll ask you to leave. I love you, you know you girls have a big place in my heart, but Kellie, she’s firmly entrenched in there as well.”
“Shit, I screwed this up. It’s my fault. I was at Mom and Dad’s when you called to let her know what was going on and why you wouldn’t be there for our family dinner. I’m sorry. I really do want to make sure Kellie is okay and see if there is anything I can do to help. I promise I’m not trying to be cruel.” Peyton looks down at the ground.
“Come here, Pey.” She’s not wrong. There isn’t a mean bone in her body, but her delivery really fucking sucks at times. All four of us huddle together, our foreheads meeting, something we always did in our younger years, and we’ve kept up with this little thing.
“I’m such a dork, you guys know that. I suck today. I’m sorry,” Peyton tells all of us.
Aspen and Rowan laugh because this is just how Peyton rolls. It causes me to chuckle when everyone starts up their own version of giggling and snorting. We slowly pull away from one another, silently accepting Peyton’s apology.
“It looks like I woke up just in time.” That’s how Kellie greets us this morning. She’s back in her pajama shorts, white tank top with a cardigan over it, and Legend at her feet.
“Please tell me you’re making breakfast?” Aspen questions. “Kellie, have you had Bridger’s famous pancakes? I swear they are an inch thick and so fluffy.” Aspen is salivating for them, even if I weren’t going to, which I was, I’d be making them now.
“I can’t say that I have. I’m intrigued now. Please, where are my manners. Come inside. I haven’t seen you all in forever. Why haven’t you come to bust your brother’s balls at Nighthawk? I swear between Bridger, Slade, and Drake, they need it.” Just like that, all the awkwardness that happened when my sisters first got here is gone, and Kellie welcomes them with open arms. Of course, that could be because she’s met them a few times, all of them giving her ammunition to use against me.