And now I was in the kitchen surrounded by all four of my sisters. I sat on a high stool at the peninsula part of the counter, three of them on one side, one on the other. It wasn’t a sneak attack, but darn close. And the questions…gah. All four of them were eyeing me, waiting for my answer to Penny’s very direct and personal question.
While Penny had a baby on her shoulder and she was patting his little butt in a blue striped onesie, she had the look of a woman out to get the 411.
At least the men weren’t in the kitchen. In the great room, the TV was on some sport and they were talking, although I couldn’t hear—or process—what they were saying. Kady, Penny, Cricket and Sarah were all staring at me, waiting.
Oh yeah, Penny’s question. “The scoop?”
While we all shared the same father, none of them looked the same, just as Kady had said, but they rolled their eyes in sync.
“No husband,” Penny said.
“No.”
“No boyfriend,” Sarah added.
“No.”
“Yes to Ashe and Sam,” Kady tossed out.
“What?” Cricket said, her voice almost gleeful. “They are gorgeous and need a woman.”
Kady leaned on the counter so she was closer to me, the others leaning in as well. “She slept with them. And by slept, I mean they didn’t sleep at all. Right?”
6
NATALIE
* * *
I felt my cheeks heat as I stood up and went to the fridge with my empty glass. I knew I was a guest, but I wasn’t going to just sit there and be interrogated, especially on such a touchy subject. Why they were so eager to learn about my night with Ashe and Sam was surprising. I was a brand-new sister. Didn’t they want to know about my bra size and the type of shampoo I used? I found the pitcher of iced tea and refilled my glass.
“I bet they were good.?
?
“Are you a thing now?”
“Where are they? They must be so glad you’re here.”
After shutting the fridge door, I turned to face them. They leaned against the counter, wide- eyed, waiting for answers to their peppered questions. “Do you only do this to the new sister? Hazing?”
Kady put her hand on her chest. “I was first. I had to deal with Cord and Riley all on my own. Then there was the bad guy and the murder and my other half-sister and—”
My mouth fell open as I listened to her.
“I was second,” Penny said, cutting her off. “Kady wasn’t much help because when I showed up, she wasn’t even in town. I had to deal with the whole losing-my-virginity thing on my own.”
“Jamison and Boone certainly helped,” Sarah countered, reaching out and patting baby Locke on the back.
“You’re one to talk,” Penny countered. “Wilder and King refused to even take off their pants until you married them.”
Sarah bit her lip to keep from replying, but from the bright color of her cheeks, Penny wasn’t tossing out wild accusations.
“Which took what, two days from when you guys finally got your heads out of your asses after a decade and got together?” Cricket asked. She turned to me. “I’m the slut of the group. I had a one-night-stand with Sutton at a rodeo and he pulled in Archer and Lee. Let’s just say it was a weekend-long one-night-stand with three guys. Then I left them.”
“But you’re here,” I replied, knowing there was a lot unsaid. Their stories were interesting, and hilarious.
“Long story short, I was put in sheriff department handcuffs, brought to Steele Ranch and fucked,” Cricket added.