Summer Breeze Kisses - Addison Moore Page 0,100

give the arrows slung over my shoulder a slight tap. “And two, never and I mean never—for the safety of your balls—do not and I repeat do not call me Agent Orange again.”

That cocky grin rides low on his lips. “I just thought—”

“That’s where you got into trouble,” I say, bypassing him on the way back to the cabin. “Do us both a favor and don’t do any more thinking.” Good thing for Briggs, chasing after pigskin doesn’t require much cerebral activity.

The cabin is lit up inside with a happy, peachy glow. Lawson and Knox are back at the pool table having a good time. Secretly, I hate how easily my brother has struck up a friendship with both Knox and Rex. Why can’t he be like Sabrina and me and give everyone who bears the Toberman moniker the cold shoulder? I spot Trixie and Sabrina huddled in the corner, staring solemnly down at something in my sister’s hand, and my stomach turns. I guess I’m the only one interested in staving off the Toberman virus. I can see it’s spreading quickly, catching like wildfire as one by one my family falls prey to them.

“Batter Bits!” Dad beams as I step inside, and beckons me over with a nod toward the balcony.

“Batter Bits?” Rex mouths, and I turn an icy shoulder to him.

Yes, Batter Bits. One day out of the blue my father called Sabrina Pumpkin, and I mistakenly thought a permanent, yet clever, name change had taken place. Naturally, I wanted a far better tasting name myself, so I asked him to call me Cake Batter, not the slimy batter on the side of the bowl, but the yummy batter bits. He and my mother got quite the laugh. He didn’t think Cake Batter quite fit, so it eventually morphed to Batter Bits, and that’s how I’ve affectionately been known to my father all these years.

He offers that well-worn smile of his. Dad is tan year round, not pink in the cheeks, but deep sable brown, a glow he’s toiled for by way of spending the last solid decade on the golf greens. He owns and operates one of the biggest private shipping industries on the East Coast and does most of his best corporate maneuvers while holding a nine iron in his hands. Dad grimaces, and his teeth glow in the defused late afternoon light. Rex’s mother, Lynette, has insisted they go on “bleaching” dates. They’ve gone on so many of these illuminating expeditions their teeth have a slight bluish cast to them. I’d bet ten bucks they glow neon under a black light.

“What’s going on?” I pull him further out into the baking afternoon sun as it roasts us one last time for punishment before sinking behind the tree line. For the past two weeks, my father has hinted at some big revelation, one which I’m assuming is about to fall right into our unassuming laps. Ever since that fateful day he and my mother sat us down to let us know they were driving a stake through the heart of our family, I haven’t really been too keen on surprises. “Does this have to do with Kent?” Kent Shipping has been in the family longer than I have.

“No.” He twists his lips as if he’s enjoying this on some level, those pale green eyes of his glint with delight at the deception. “If I tell you, it won’t be much of a surprise, now, will it?”

A horrible groan expels from me at the sound of that word, and I spot Rex spying on us from inside. I’ve never met a more annoying gnat of a person—with the exception of Duncan, and perhaps Sabrina.

“It is Kent,” I whimper mostly to myself. “You want to retire, and you’re going to sell it. You want someone knowledgeable to run it, but you don’t have faith in your children to do so.”

“Whoa!” He laughs, pulling me into a warm embrace, and my body conforms to his wide girth. I’ve always felt most protected from this cruel world when I’m in my father’s arms. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I promise you, this is the best possible means to an end.”

“Snookums!” Lynette’s witch-like cackle of a voice demands we come inside. “Oh, Bradley Poo! It’s time to gather ’round the sofa!”

“Bradley Poo?” The bile rises to the back of my throat, and I desperately want to vomit.

“Come on, sweetheart.” Dad drops a sweet kiss to the top of my head.