Chapter 7 #4
“So, what do you have buried out there, Errol?” Ren asked, jutting his jaw.
“That’s Uncle Errol to you, kid. And wouldn’t you like to know?” He grinned.
“You told me once you had a bunker out there.” I stuffed a piece of pork into my mouth as he shifted his attention to me.
“What? I never! How did you know?” He squinted.
Barber kicked him under the table, and Errol grunted. “Hell, you get drunk and tell anyone who’ll listen.”
“Do not!”
Barber flung a spoonful of potato salad at Errol, then snorted out a laugh when it got stuck in his beard.
“Someone hand Dad a paper towel,” Sophie said, pointing to the end of their table at the roll.
Ren’s face was red—he was laughing without letting it burst free—as Errol cleaned up his beard while muttering.
“You know, that’s probably about right, Oli,” Errol finally said, but I didn’t trust the sly look that slid across his face. “Hey, Ren.”
“Hmm?” Ren glanced toward him, happily chewing food.
Errol lifted a mason jar from his side. I wasn’t sure if it had been sitting on the bench or the ground, but it was full of clear liquid. He set it beside Ren. “Want a nip?”
Everyone stopped eating, and Quain slowly shook his head.
I opened my mouth, but KC leaned across the table to cover it, amusement sparkling in his eyes. “Let him learn.”
Ren glanced around but shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”
We all held our breath as he twisted off the lid.
With the courage of a soldier—or maybe a fool—he swallowed a huge slug.
His face turned splotchy pink and he slammed down the jar while he coughed and wheezed.
His eyes watered and he grabbed for his beer to gulp it while Errol almost fell off the bench howling.
“What the fuck?” Ren wheezed out.
Errol’s chest puffed up as he got himself under control. “That one’s called Once in a Blue Moon.”
Barber grinned. “Because you can only drink it once in a blue moon or you die.”
Even KC snickered at the way Ren slapped his chest and wheezed. “Worse than lighter fluid.”
Sophie flipped her blond hair over her shoulder. “Basic rule. Don’t ever take drinks from strangers. It doesn’t get much stranger than this family.”
“Noted,” Ren coughed out.
Someone got Ren a new beer, and we went back to eating while the low hum of conversation filled the air.
I noticed KC was making a face at his plate and eating slowly, but with his dad at my side, I didn’t want to ask what was going on in his head.
When we were done, we burned the paper plates in the fire, and Sophie ran the silverware inside to the sink.
We gathered around the firepit and dropped down into seats.
The heat was nice, but it was making me sleepy.
When Errol clapped his hands, I snapped awake.
“All right. You ready for the winner?” Errol carded his hand through his beard, then tugged when a finger got stuck.
Barber groaned. “You need to come in for a cut.”
“Buzz off.” Errol swatted in his direction like he was a fly.
“Wait!” Ren raised his hand. “I want to change mine.”
“Hey!” Barber leaned forward to glare at him.
Everyone started talking at once, and I chuckled, leaning back in my chair. The last of my bad mood was burned away by the glow of the fire. Yeah, what happened today sucked, but what I had right here was pretty damned good.
“They all have fireworks!” Errol shot to his feet and bounced on his toes. “There you go!”
Everyone groaned.
“Cheater,” Sophie called.
“Go to hell, Uncle Errol,” Barber called.
Errol pulled three small black controls out of his pockets, and they were a lot smaller than the last ones he’d used when I was here.
Quain leaned forward with interest. “You got new toys.”
“Yep! Now, you all get to arm wrestle, you shits.” He chuckled.
I grinned as Barber, Ren, and KC all eyed each other up. “I’ll be on fire extinguisher duty.”
“No, you had a bad day. You get to blow shit up,” Barber said, giving me a hard look that made me feel seen, even though he’d said it in a joking tone. He hopped up and came over to ruffle my curls, and instead of swatting him away, I enjoyed every second of it.
Maybe my real dad fucking sucked, but Barber had stepped in and done all he could to help me out when I was floundering as a teenager.
And I was here with the rest of his family.
I’d never once questioned whether or not he thought I was good enough to be his friend or whatever the hell I happened to be to him.
This was good.
This was real.
When I opened my eyes, I had all three detonators sitting in my lap. It was so stupid to get emotional over this, but tears made my vision watery. “Really, Ren’s never blown anything up. We should let him have a shot.”
Ren snorted. “Says who? Let’s go!”
“Actually, I do want to see Ren and KC arm wrestle. It would make me feel a lot better.” I stuck my tongue out at him.
Quain chuckled. “KC will kill him. No contest.”
“Well, I wouldn’t count Ren out.” Barber huffed in his boyfriend’s direction.
All I could do was grin as I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand.