holiday celebration and anger at the clueless girl sitting next to him star struck over his every word.
Al eyes focused on him, including his father’s.
“Al right. What am I thankful for? Let’s see. I could say our sold out tour or our platinum album, but no, that’s pretty shalow.” He gave a pointed look at each of his brothers and his parents. He thought of Libby and how alone she must feel. “I’m thankful to have a family I can be mad at. Even though they make my life a living hel, at least they exist.” His words were clipped and short. “Because if I didn’t have a family, I’d be al alone in the world. Can you imagine how lonely and difficult a life would be if I didn’t have Mom always hovering or Dad caring enough to stay on our asses, or brothers to piss off and fight with?”
Peter set a defiant stare at his parents driving home the sad reality of Libby’s life. His mother looked down at her plate.
“That’s enough,” his father said. A silent void filed the room as the relatives shared uncomfortable looks. “Why don’t you make yourself useful. There are a lot of dishes on this table that need washing. Perhaps that’l help clear your head.” The guests watched the awkward battle. His young cousins looked confused.
“Fine with me.” Peter shoved back from the table, grabbed his dishes and went to the kitchen.
“I’l help you.” Carly popped up and chased after him.
# # #
Peter’s waterlogged hands sank deep into their third round of dishes. Now it was the serving pieces. Despite his pleas to be left alone, Carly stuck with him and dried every piece. Stacks of clean, dried china and silverware lay as evidence of their work.
“What did I do to make you hate me?” She leaned against the kitchen counter, an irritated expression on her face.
“Huh?” Peter looked up from the dishwater.
“I’ve been trying to talk to you al day and you treat me like I’m diseased. What’d I ever do to you?” She folded her arms across her chest, the damp dishtowel in hand.
“Nothing. Sorry. I’ve just got a lot on my mind.” He turned back to his sulking and dunked another serving bowl.
“Guys can be such jerks. Steve said you were realy nice, but I think he must have been talking about Garrett.” Peter’s head snapped around, he eyed her closely. “That’s a good one.” He fought the smile that threatened. She’d been trying to crack his defenses al day and had saved him a ton of work by helping out. The least he could do was be nice.
“What’s got you so pissed?”
Peter glanced at her, an eyebrow raised.
“Helo, you’ve been brooding al day and your little speech in there just proves you’ve got major attitude. You mad you got stuck with family al day?”
“I’m stuck with family every day. Today’s better than most.
With more people around, it helps distract them.” He rinsed another platter and placed it with the mounting pile of china stacked in the drainer. “You’re faling behind.” He pointed to the waiting dishes.
Carly glared at him, then resumed her chore. After that Peter finaly alowed himself a smile. He found it easier to be nice to Carly. He joined in the conversation and they talked about their favorite movies, what music they most recently downloaded and their dream cars. As Peter refiled the sink, Carly placed another plate with the huge pile of clean dishes on the island counter.
“God there’s a lot of dishes. Your dad is nasty to make you do al this.”
“Yeah, Jett’s real good at doling out punishment.”
“What do you do for fun around here?” Carly asked.
“Oh, I don’t know.” With the faucet on, Peter grabbed the spray hose and turned it on her. Carly shrieked in surprise and tried to block his water assault with the platter in her hands. He shot the spray across the room as she tried to dodge it. By the time they were done, both were laughing from the water fight and Carly’s skiled towel snapping. He ended up having a good time despite himself.
And after al, Carly was pretty cute.
# # #
Karen Jamieson’s heart warmed as she watched Peter play cards at the table with al the kids. Up until this afternoon he’d been angry and sad. It hurt to see him so heartbroken after Garrett’s little stunt. While she wasn’t exactly proud of what Garrett had done, she wanted the best for Peter and