After the Climb (River Rain #1) - Kristen Ashley Page 0,81
I get this, Sash, you and your sister couldn’t be more different, in looks and like, everything,” Gage noted.
Before Sasha could answer, Chloe said in a dangerous tone, “Sash?”
My youngest looked to my oldest and crowed, “You got Duncan and the Bowie story. But I got the boys and the Bitchface Wheeler drama.”
Chloe’s eyes narrowed.
“Oh dear,” I whispered.
Duncan chuckled.
Harvey had all daughters, so he knew precisely what to do.
“I could use me a jalape?o popper. What about you all? Could anyone use a popper?” Harvey asked.
“I can always use a popper,” Gage stated.
“I’m guessing that’s my cue,” Beth said, also having all daughters, she didn’t hesitate rising from the couch.
“I’ll help!” Sasha cried, jumping to her feet.
“No offense, lovely lady who’s about to feed me, but I’m enjoying my martini. Bowie makes me the best martinis I’ve had in my life. I’ll help with dinner,” Chloe chimed in.
Sasha threw her sister a look.
I sucked back more gimlet.
Duncan again chuckled.
Tuck followed Sasha to the kitchen.
“Et tu, Tuck?” Chloe asked the cat.
Tuck ignored her.
I grinned.
Duncan chuckled more.
“Babe,” Heddy called.
I looked to my friend.
“I love your family,” she declared.
“I do too, Heddy,” I replied. “I totally do.”
Chapter Fourteen
The Day
Duncan
Duncan put the mug of coffee on Genny’s nightstand, but he did it watching her face.
She pried her eyes open and aimed her eyeballs at him but otherwise didn’t move.
So he was chuckling when he seated himself in the crook of her body.
“Mornin’,” he greeted.
“Bluh,” she moaned, rolling to her back with her forearm over her eyes.
He leaned over her, both hands in the bed at her sides.
“I think you’re feelin’ that fifteenth gimlet,” he teased.
“Bluh,” she repeated, blanching.
“Advice, honey, don’t try to keep up with twenty-year-olds.”
Shamelessly, she shifted blame. “Your boys are enablers.”
“My boys? Your girls were with you drink for drink and eggin’ that shit on.”
“Don’t say ‘egg,’” she groaned.
He grinned. “As always, you’re a cute drunk, but favor next time, baby. Put the kibosh on it before you get so hammered we can’t have wild drunk sex because you’ve passed out.”
She tossed her arm out to the side away from him and turned her head that direction. “Ulk, I missed wild drunk sex with Duncan.”
“We’ll reenact that scene without the celebrity drama and gimlet thirteen, fourteen and definitely fifteen, but probably eleven and twelve too.”
“Ugh.”
He started chuckling.
Then he kept giving her shit.
“Love your girls but you need to have a sit down with them.”
She turned her head back his way and caught his eyes. “Why?”
“I like my house the way it is. I don’t need them tearing it apart on a fight of whose name is attached to my guest room.”
Her lips curved up.
“Though,” he went on, “good to see they could make up and end up sharing it.”
“Daughter lesson number one, Bowie,” she started. “When they fight, you let them fight, because they always make up and do it by sharing a bed, talking and giggling all night, which was what they did last night. Or braiding each other’s hair. Though Chloe has never allowed a braid to be plaited into her hair. She taught Sasha to use the straighteners when Sasha was seven, much to her mother’s consternation, considering Sasha burned her fingers. But I think this time in your house is the longest I’ve known where Sasha didn’t have braids in her hair somewhere.”
He grinned and asked, “Can I kiss you?”
“My mouth feels like a cesspool so, absolutely not.”
He grinned bigger and said, “Since their bodies can process alcohol seventy times faster than a mature adult, they’re all downstairs, being bossed by Chloe who’s making crêpes to order.”
“You’re talking about food again, Bowie.”
He ignored her. “And they wanna head over to Goldwater Lake and dink around. I take it you’re not up for that?”
“I am not missing a second of family time when we have both your boys and two of my three children in this house.”
God, he loved this woman.
“However,” she continued, “if I should need to take a personal break in order to vacate my stomach in a bush, none of you are allowed to share Imogen Swan does something as base as vomiting. I’ll text Mary to have your NDAs sent to your phones. You can sign them online.”
He burst out laughing.
But she was correct.
They had the kids, including the boys, for another two days.
Sul and Gage had fixed it with their professors to miss class on Monday (this meant Sully actually fixed it, and Gage was probably going to ditch) and neither had class until