In a Badger Way (Honey Badger Chronicles #2) - Shelly Laurenston Page 0,37
to take me to the Sports Center tomorrow morning,” she said, appearing completely innocent when she was not innocent at all! “Didn’t you?”
“Yes. I guess I did.”
“The Sports Center, huh?” Max glanced at her sister, then asked, “You think she’s kind of fat? She needs to lose a few pounds?”
Shen frowned. “What? No! Of course not.”
Stevie put her hand on his shoulder. “He said if I wanted to be his girlfriend, I’d have to be a certain weight. I have to lose at least another twenty.”
He started to argue, but quickly realized they were just messing with his head. Which Shen did not appreciate. He already had sisters who used to torture him like this while he was growing up; he didn’t need to experience that again.
“I’m going inside.”
“No kiss good-bye?”
He growled and started toward the front door, but an SUV pulled up at the curb and one of Kyle’s sisters came storming out from the driver’s side.
Kyle came running out after her, but she was fast. Not surprising. She was the dancer.
She came up the stairs and went right to Stevie.
“Give me my jeans,” she ordered.
“Pardon?”
“You heard me.”
“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” Kyle chanted, going around his sister and standing by Stevie’s side. “Stevie, you remember my sister.”
“Oh.” Stevie smiled. “Hi. Nice to meet you.”
“We’ve met. Now give me my jeans.”
“Your jeans?”
“The ones you took from the house earlier today.”
“Ohhhh.” She nodded. “Right. I borrowed them.”
“Right. Now give them back.”
Berg and Dag came from around the side of the house; Berg’s gaze on Shen’s, the pair cringing at the same moment.
“Well,” Stevie glanced down at herself, “I’m still wearing them.”
“Take them off.”
“You may want me to wash them.”
“She’s not wearing panties,” Max explained, clearly enjoying herself. “She’s gettin’ pussy juice all up in your jeans!”
“Max!” Stevie barked.
“Ewwwww!” Kyle’s sister whined. “Get them off! Get them off! Get them off!”
“Look, my idiot sister is right. I’m going commando here. Let me throw them in the wash first. I’ll get them to you tomorrow.”
“But I want them now.”
Stevie looked at Kyle.
“O-C-D,” he replied.
“O-C-D?” she clarified. “Or O-C-D personality disorder? Because those are two different things and—”
“I know what the differences are.”
“And? Which is it?”
He shrugged. “Let’s put it this way. She’s one good trauma away from full-blown O-C-D.”
“Oh. I see.”
“You two do know I can hear you, right?”
“But do we care that you can hear us?” Kyle asked. “That is the true question.”
“I hate you.”
“Look,” Stevie interrupted, “I hate to do this, but you’ll get the jeans tomorrow.”
“Why tomorrow and not now?”
“Do you want them washed first?”
“Yes.”
“Then tomorrow.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m about to fall asleep and I’m going to be out for a few hours.”
“What are you talking about?”
But Stevie didn’t answer Kyle’s sister. Instead, she held up one finger and called out, “Shen?”
That’s when Shen jumped forward, his arms out, and like a freshly cut tree, Stevie just went down.
When he caught her in his outstretched arms, she was already snoring.
“Is she okay?” Kyle’s sister asked, actually showing concern.
“She does this sometimes,” Max said, going back to her phone. “After one of her . . .”—she briefly glanced around—“. . . episodes. Just drop her in bed, Shen. She’ll be fine.”
Shen picked her up in his arms, glaring at Max. “She needs to lose a few pounds? What’s wrong with you?”
“I was joking! God!”
“No wonder that cat hates you.”
“That cat is trying to kill me!”
“I don’t blame her!” Shen barked before he went into the house.
As he headed into the dining room from the living room and moving toward the stairs, Charlie came out from the kitchen.
She smiled when she saw her sister. “I’m surprised she lasted this long.”
“Does this happen often?”
“No. But she had a full day in a few hours. That’s exhausting and she ends up sleeping like a male lion.”
“Look, Kyle’s sister is here. She wants her jeans back.”
“Okay.”
“The jeans your sister is wearing. I’m not taking them off her.”
“I thought you two were dating.”
“Wait . . . what . . . I . . . huh . . . I don’t . . . wait . . . what?”
Charlie laughed. “Calm down. I heard you guys talking when I was in the living room.” She held out a plate for him filled with some of her freshly baked pastries. “Here. Take this. And I’ll take this.”
Reaching over, Charlie easily lifted her sister out of his arms and unceremoniously dumped her over her shoulder. The eldest MacKilligan sister might only be half She-wolf, but she’d definitely gotten that canine strength.