6. Stupid Party Beads
STUPID PARTY BEADS
Oliver
Rowan
Reminder to the fam! Drinks tonight at The Raven. No backing out, and yes Oliver, I’m lookin at you.
I’m not backing out, I’m just thinking of excuses not to attend.
Payton
Nope. Mom said Hudson could hang out there tonight, so excuses are few and far between big brother!
Wyatt
Ayyyy that’s what I like to hear. Let’s get Oliiii boiii wasted!
Absolutely not happening. I’ll see y’all there, but I’m not staying all night, so don’t give me shit when I disappear.
I slid my phone back into my jeans and shook my head. I loved my family dearly. I’d kill for them—fuck, I had killed for them. But sometimes, they had not a single ounce of chill left in their bodies, and I found them to be exhausting.
Buttoning up my dark, forest-green flannel, I ran my hand over my beard. It was getting long, and I’d need to trim it soon. Unless I wanted to hear Mom’s comments about her oldest looking like a Viking.
It was solid in theory, but when she went into the salon to get her hair done and some new young girl was there, they heard ‘big’ and ‘Viking’, and for some reason that had them flocking to her, begging for photos and my number.
Not that she ever handed it out, but I knew by the longing in her eyes, she was tempted to try to set me up.
Payton had finally given up, but I knew her.
She hadn’t really. She was hopeful that since two out of the four Carragan men had found the ‘light of their lives’, I’d feel that longing and follow suit.
The joke was on her. The only longing I felt was to provide for my son and ensure he had a happy childhood.
Anything beyond that? Ignored—fully and completely.
Walking out of the bedroom, I found Hudson sitting at the island with his sketch pad set out in front of him, his little hand working out a new shading technique Aspen had shown him recently.
“You ready to go, bud?”
His green eyes shot up at me, and he nodded. I handed him his backpack to slide his sketch book into as we headed out of the house.
Hudson and I lived in the main house on the Carragan Ranch, and Mom lived a few miles from us. Convenient when you needed help, unfortunate when you needed time and space to be alone.
“You can stay out and have fun tonight, Dad. You don’t have to come rushing home to rescue me or whatever,” Hudson said, his voice quiet from the back seat. “Grandma and I have fun, and honestly, I wouldn’t be mad about a sleepover.”
I glanced back at him as we pulled up to my mom’s A-frame. “Where is this coming from?”
He glanced up at me before looking back out the window. “I just want you to be happy.”
“Hey, kid, look at me,” I muttered, reaching back to tap his thigh as his eyes turned back up at me. “I am happy. I love our life exactly the way it is. Stop worrying about me. If you want to stay at Grandma’s though, just say so.”
He smiled, the seriousness melting from his expression. “I’m staying with Grandma. She said I could already and told me to tell you to have fun, old man.”
Hudson opened his door and waved back at me before running up the step to Mom’s house, a smile on his face the whole way.
Fuck, I loved this kid.
The Raven wasn’t particularly crowded when I arrived. My siblings were already here in our normal corner, sipping on drinks and talking.
We tried to make this a weekly thing, the seven of us getting together to hang out, and I did my utmost to make it, but sometimes I just didn’t have it in me to socialize.
I was the oldest of us. Wyatt and Rowan, the twins, were born a few years after me.
Then it was Theo, our resident troublemaker.
And last, but never least, was our baby sister Payton.
Rowan ran the ranch with me, while Wyatt owned his own cyber security business.
Payton was a nurse at the local hospital, and Theo was doing some sort of security job now.
Then, Aspen, Rowan’s fiancée, and Ember, Wyatt’s fiancée, rounded out our little group for bar night.
Well, at least the family portion. There was always one extra add-on when we did this, but I was doing my utmost to securely lock her from my mind unless absolutely necessary.
Standing at the wooden bar, my eyes scanned the choices of the evening, and I contemplated just how deep I wanted to go.
The answer was, as usual, I didn’t.
“Hey dude,” Damien said as he walked over towards me.
Damien was the owner of The Raven, as well as my best friend.
We’d been in the army together from basic training, until we left.
He was originally from Florida but decided to follow me home when I chose to stay in Raven Creek and marry Emily.
He wasn’t crazy close with his family anymore, having lost his mother a few years ago, and his sister wasn’t the easiest to keep track of, from what he’d explained.
“Hey, man. How’s tonight been?”
Damien shrugged as he started rolling up the sleeves of his midnight-blue button-up, his dark brown eyes studying me intently in a way that only Damien seemed to do.
While my brothers knew a great deal about me, Damien was the one who knew it all.
All the dark secrets. All the sordid details of how we’d gotten here.
“It’s been fine. Bit of drama over on the dance floor a little bit ago, but thankfully the fucker left, and she seems to be leveling herself out. Though I’ll have to cut her off soon. Watering down her drinks isn’t working,” he finally said as his head tilted slightly towards the dance floor.
I followed his gaze, only to find the one woman I couldn’t escape—so much for securely locking her out.
She was in a pair of tight blue jeans with rips down the thighs, a thick white belt around her waist, and a pink sleeveless top that was simply sent from hell to tempt a man like me.
It was the equivalent of backless; the only thing holding it together was a two-inch strap across her back.
The front was an upside-down triangle, and with every twirl she made, it flowed with her.
Her arms were thrown in the air as she spun to the music, a drink in her hand. Two thick braids swirled with her, and it took all of my self-control to turn back to Damien.
“I’m glad she’s okay,” I muttered as I took my beer from him, suddenly wishing I hadn’t nodded for my normal, and instead ordered something stronger. He eyed me suspiciously but thankfully let it go. “I’m going to go say hi to the family, but I’m sure I’ll be back soon.”
“Sounds good. Oh, and Oliver!” Damien hollered before I left, and I raised a brow at him. “I have a match next week. You should come. It’s over in Sapphire Cove.”
Nodding, I sipped my beer before speaking. “Text me the details and I’ll be there.”
With a beer in hand, I walked over to our table, grabbing a seat on the other side of Aspen, who already looked exhausted at seven thirty.
“Hey bro, how’s my boy tonight?” she asked.
I chuckled. “Good. Told me to come out and have some fun. But he was practicing that shading stuff you showed him at dinner the other night, so he brought all his art stuff with him to Mom’s.”
She smiled. “Yay! He’s got some serious talent. Especially for someone so young. If he keeps at it, he could do something really special down the road.”
I nodded, because I agreed wholeheartedly, but it was nice hearing it from someone slightly less biased than I was when it came to my son.
Sitting back, we joined into the rest of the conversation with everyone, catching up on how everyone’s weeks had been and what their plans were for next week.
“Ugh, I should go drag Ivy off the floor and get some more water in her,” Aspen muttered to Ember, who was seated on the other side of me.
“Is she waiting for him to come back?” Ember questioned. “I can’t believe he just fucking left her mid-dance to throw a tantrum. Goddamn child.”
“Probably, yeah. She normally does, but she’s a solid six shots deep at this point.”
“What’s going on?” I asked before I could think better on it.
Both women turned to look at me, as if I wasn’t literally sitting in between their conversation.
But Aspen bit her bottom lip before sighing.
“Her and Todd got into it over something stupid, and he left with his friends. So I think she’s just…
in her feelings? I guess. I’m not sure. I just know it’s crazy early for her to be already so… gone.”
I watched as the song ended, and a slower one flipped on. She stumbled slightly with the pace change up, and I was on my feet before I could think better of it. Walking up, I set my hand on the small of her back and took the drink from her hand.
“I got that!” Ember chimed in from next to me as she snatched the glass and walked across the floor to Damien, who was hopefully going to be filling a plastic cup with water for us.
“Hey!” Ivy yelled. “I was drinking that!”
Her bright green eyes turned up to me, and her lips parted slightly.
“Um, Oliver, hi,” she muttered as she tried to step away, but I was having an out-of-body experience as my fingers stuck firmly to her back, keeping her from moving, the heat from her skin burning me to my very core.
“Let’s dance,” I commanded as I held out my other hand for her to take.
Part of me was genuinely shocked when she did so, her small palm slipping into my own calloused hand, her eyes still wide as I did everything in my power to keep her upright.
The problem with drinking was, just like when you stood up after that fifth beer, sometimes the adrenaline from dancing kept you from fully feeling the encompassing effects of the liquor in your body.
I was worried that she may tumble now that she was being forced to slow down.
However, she wasn’t falling in the middle of this dance floor if I had anything to say about it.
“You don’t have to dance with me, ya know,” she muttered as her feet began slowly moving with my own. “I’m totally fine. I don’t need any pity or whatever.”
“I know,” I replied. “No pity here.”
Ivy sighed, her shoulders dropping as her hand squeezed my own and her other hand found its way to my chest. I knew she was trying to steady herself. I wasn’t reading into the movement.
“Do you always give off boss daddy vibes?” she muttered as she started falling toward me, her head finding the spot next to her hand.
Boss daddy vibes?
I wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so I simply didn’t.
We stayed like that, swaying slowly to the music as I did my best to hold her upright. The second she was horizontal, she’d be asleep. Which wouldn’t do well when it came to water intake.
“Ivy?”
“Yes, Daddy?”
Oh fuck me, we needed to get off the floor. I cleared my throat, attempting to ignore the way my mind tumbled into a million inappropriate thoughts when that word fell from her pouty pink lips.
“I’m going to pick you up so we can get some water in you and then get you home, okay?”
She nodded, and both her arms wrapped around my neck. I squatted down enough to slide my hand behind her knees and back and lifted her up.
“Wait,” she muttered as I started walking back towards the table. “No home, no home please. Don’t want to see the other bitches.”
I stopped dead in the middle of the floor, mere feet from the table. “What did you say?”
But she was gone, her head curled up against my chest, one arm around my neck and the other fallen into her lap. Forcing my feet forward, I kicked Rowan’s foot. His eyes met mine, and Aspen jumped to her feet.
“She’s staying the night at your place,” I grumbled.
Rowan nodded before standing. I followed him out the door as he started his truck, opening the back door so I could set her in the back seat.
“Ivy? I’m going to slide you into Rowan’s truck so they can take you home, okay?”
Her arms suddenly tightened around me, her head shaking back and forth. “No. Not home.”
Aspen was suddenly there, her hand grabbing Ivy’s arm until she could pull her hand into hers. “No love, not home. You’re coming home with me, okay? Sleepover night just like we used to. I’ll even wake you up with my famous morning cocktail.”
I tried to blink back the glare for my future sister-in-law. More alcohol was the last thing she needed. But Ivy nodded and released her hold on my neck, letting me help her slide into the back of the truck. I pulled the seatbelt over her and clicked it before I closed the door.
“Make sure she has a trashcan and doesn’t pass out on her back,” I told Aspen.
“Got it, bro,” she said with a nod. “Oh, and Oliver? My morning cocktail is a glass of water with a side of coffee and painkillers. Don’t fret too much. People may get ideas.”
I stared down at her with her raised eyebrow, as if she were telling me nothing escaped her notice.
“What type of car does he drive?” I asked before she could climb in the truck.
At first I thought she wouldn’t answer, but something on my face must’ve convinced her, because she smirked. “Small beige sedan. You’ll know it’s him. He has these stupid party beads around his mirror and his Instagram tag on his back windshield.”
Nodding, I slid my hands in my front pockets as she climbed in the truck.
Maybe I’d take Hudson’s advice after all and have a bit of fun tonight.