Six
Annabeth
My car door slams behind me louder than I expected as I knock it shut with my butt.
I can see the flickering neon sign of the bar across from me – as if the idea of going out this weekend isn’t enough, now the bar is actually taunting me.
Okay, so it probably isn’t, but in my mind it is, and the mind is a powerful bitch.
I have barely taken a step when I hear, “Hey, Annabeth!” I’d know those voices anywhere, and before I even have a chance to turn around, the girls pounce on me.
“Where have you been woman?” The melodic symphony of Hannah’s southern drawl and now not-so-polished Aussie accent rings through my ears.
As one of the only Americans in town, Hannah’s accent definitely stands out.
“Adjusting to a new class has been more draining than I thought. Sorry I keep missing karaoke night,” I say, shrugging off the explanation.
“Babe, you’ve missed two. And I’ve missed you and your angelic vocal cords. It’s been the equivalent of cats drowning over there with this one,” River says, bumping her hip into Hannah before pulling me in for a hug.
“Don’t you have enough spouses?” Hannah quips, wiggling her eyebrows cheekily.
River ignores her, turning her attention back to me. “Ella said you recently had the pleasure of meeting Dallas.” It may have come out as a statement, but it’s phrased more like a question that I don’t know how to answer. Hannah slaps her arm, scowling.
“Good news travels fast then,” I say, shrugging sheepishly, as if that’s gonna subdue further inquiry.
“At least we know you have good taste,” River chuckles, her smirk saying everything as she cocks a brow in my direction.
“Woman, you have two husbands,” Hannah reminds her.
“I’ll have a third if you don’t fuck off.”
“Hey, you leave my Link out of your shenanigans.”
I can’t help but laugh. Knowing that Link and one of River’s husbands, Teddy, had a fling way before either of them met the girls makes this entire debate far more ridiculous than it needs to be.
“Hang on a second. If Teddy was with Hannah and Link, does that make you sister wives by extension?” I ask, unable to hide my grin.
They think for a moment before bursting into laughter and squealing, “Sister wives!” Pair of lunatics these two.
I’m about to think of a witty comeback when all three of the men in question stroll aimlessly out of the liquor store, all wearing matching shirts… yes, you heard me. Matching. Shirts. As if this day couldn’t get any weirder. I stifle back a laugh, watching as the girls swoon over their partners.
Link is first in line. His shaggy hair is swept back off his face in an effortlessly sexy way.
Nice going, Hannah. His smile greets me, meeting his eyes as he flashes Hannah a cheeky smirk.
Teddy and Jonas, River’s husbands, are two steps behind, hand in hand.
I’ve only seen them all together a few times, since they’re more Ella’s friends than mine, but the way they all love each other makes me wish I was part of their crew.
I mean, I guess I am, but I feel more like the weird cousin that’s invited by default.
Teddy and Jonas wrap their linked hands around River, pulling her in for a three-way kiss. She pulls back in curiosity before demanding, “Where the hell is Frank?”
“Frank? Never heard of him,” Teddy quips. Jonas huffs a laugh which only makes River more annoyed.
“Theodore James Carter, where is our son?”
A hysterical giggle rings out from somewhere behind us, as a gangly toddler bursts from behind the post-office box outside the store.
His eyes are just as wild as his hair, which rivals that of The Fonz himself.
Dimples plunge into his cheeks as he stomps toward us, arms flailing as he impersonates what I can only assume is a T-Rex.
“Stomp, stomp, I eat you Mummy. I big dinoo!” Frank roars, edging closer to his mother.
“Your kid,” Jonas smirks, elbowing Teddy in the ribs.
Teddy shakes his head. “Then why does he have your eyes, darling?” We all erupt into laughter, watching the little dude pretend to eat River’s arm in a violent display of dominance.
River affectionately runs her fingers through Frank’s hair, leaning down to whisper in his ear so soft only he can hear.
His eyes light up as she straightens, clearly pleased with whatever she said to him.
Immediately, he’s off, running away from the group.
“Daddy, Daddy, I gonna bite chuu!” he roars between giggles. I can’t help but smile at the way he pronounces ‘you.’
“You’re gonna bite me? Ahhh,” Jonas squeals, well as close to a squeal as a thirty-something-year-old manly cowboy can get.
“I’m safe. Surely he can’t possibly eat two daddies,” Teddy chimes in.
A panicked look rushes across River’s face, like she’s preparing for how she’s going to wrangle the three boys back in line after this. “You’ve done it now,” she groans.
Frank launches at his dad, scrambling up him like a tree.
Honestly, it looks fucking painful. I tip my imaginary hat to Teddy for copping the brunt – not that he looks remotely bothered.
Fatherhood suits him; both of them. Granted, I didn’t know either of them before being parents, but Frank’s probably one of the sweetest kids I’ve ever met, and I put that down to him being raised by love.
He’s surrounded by it, so much so that there’s no possible way he would know any different.
When he isn’t stomping around like a dinosaur, he’s cuddled up to one of his parents, or one of his bonus aunts.
I fondly recall Ella telling me about the first rodeo they attended together.
He would have been about two then. River was telling her that he started to walk so late, they thought he was destined to crawl forever.
I love that he was stomping around like a dinosaur back then as well; the image burns vividly in my mind.
“So, why are we matching?” I ask, gesturing to the group of men. They look like the cowboy equivalent of a boy band.
“Frank wanted us to be Alvin and the Chipmunks,” Teddy offers with a hearty laugh.
“Well, you sure have the name down at least,” I reply through a grin.
Teddy pokes his tongue out at me, a devilish twinkle lingering in his eye. I can see why River and Jonas fell for him, he’s certainly charismatic.
“Alright pumpkins, let’s get you home before you drive me into an institution,” River announces to her trio, rolling her eyes.
“Bye Aunt Hannah, Bye Uncle Link, Bye Abanana,” Frank calls, now flung over Jonas’s shoulder. I will never know how he came up with my name being Abanana, but if that’s what the tiny tyrannosaurus wants me to be, that’s who I’ll be.
Everyone says a quick goodbye, and I find myself walking to the bottle shop, wondering what it’d be like to be loved the way the Carters do. What it would be like to have a family like that. To have a family at all…
“$24.99, thanks, darl,” the cashier tells me, gesturing to the bottle of wine on the counter.
“Throw this one on the tab too would you, Lis,” comes a deep, gravelly voice from behind me. I whirl around, nearly getting whiplash as I strain to look up at the man behind me. Dallas. Fucking. Northlane.
“Stalking me, cowboy?” I question, trying to mask my nerves with unapologetic flirting. Yep, great idea. You’ve already pictured him naked, and now you’re gonna’ start flirting with the man. In public.
“You wish, jellyfish,” he winks, handing a bottle of whiskey and a crisp fifty dollar note over me to Lisa.
“You are not buying my wine,” I scold.
“Too late, darlin,’” he taunts, playfully tipping my hat as he walks out of the bottle shop.
I grab the bottle and scurry after him, but he’s leaning against my car with a wicked smile on his face and a look in his eye that tells me I’m in trouble. Big. Trouble.
“You busy?” he asks.
“Depends whose asking.”
“Me.”
“Figured.”
“Do you make a habit of busting a guy’s balls for trying to be nice?” he asks, cocking a brow.
“I dunno cowboy, do you make a habit of… ummm…”
“Being incredibly charming, wholesome, and handsome? Dashing even?” he gloats.
“Oh, so you’re familiar with Teddy then?” And she’s back.
“Nice try. C’mon, I wanna show you somethin’,” he says, gesturing to his ute. Which I now realise is parked behind me, and likely was when I pulled up. So what we’ve learned is that I do not pay attention to my surroundings, and this unplanned rendezvous with Dallas could have been avoided.
As I climb into the cab of his ute – bottle of wine in hand – and I find myself grateful that I did not, in fact, avoid Dallas Northlane. I couldn’t even if I tried.