Page 24 of From That Moment
“I made way too much food already, and you guys are seriously packing. What did you guys bring?” I asked, licking my lips.
“I made this bean dip thing that I think you’re going to like, and brought some chips. I don’t know how to make chips, but I bet Dakota does.”
“True. Though I could probably eat that whole bag of chips on my own.”
“We brought four bags,” Cross said, and I snorted.
“Okay, then. Good to know.”
“We also brought fixings for a salad,” Cross said. He sighed. “I don’t know when we started letting salads into our barbecue, but that’s what happens when I bring women.”
“You’re fortunate that your hands are full because I would hit you right now,” Hazel said with a laugh.
“Sorry, babe.” He leaned down and kissed her hard on the mouth, and I just shook my head and took everything from Hazel’s hands.
“Arden likes salads, too. It’s like Cross forgets we grew up with a little sister.”
“Believe me, no one can ever forget Arden, but we never used to have salads this big.”
“Well, now that I know we have salad, I guess somebody will have to eat these vegetables,” Dakota said from the door, her son Joshua at her side.
“Not vegetables,” Joshua pouted, his hands full.
“Yes, vegetables. However, we brought dessert, too,” Dakota said, and I pumped my fists in the air.
“Yes, now that’s what I’m talking about.”
“You’re going to have to eat your vegetables, too,” she said, going up on her tiptoes to kiss me on the cheek. I grinned, fist-bumped Joshua, and then took some of the trays from her hand.
“How much food did you bring?” I asked, straining a bit from the load. The woman wasstrong.
“There’re four of you, four of us, plus Joshua here is going through a growth spurt.”
“I’m getting big,” Joshua said, puffing out his chest a bit.
Nate reached out and took the plate from Joshua’s hand so the boy could flex a bit, and we all grinned, making sure that he knew that yes, he was getting big.
“Nice muscles, big man,” I said appreciatively.
“Thanks. Macon taught me how to do pull-ups on the bar at the park.”
My gaze met my brother’s as we both turned to see Macon standing behind them, his hands full of bakery trays, as well.
“I was at the park jogging, saw them, figured I could teach the kid a thing or two about pull-ups.”
“I would’ve gotten to it eventually,” Dakota said through gritted teeth.
Well, that was interesting.
“Come on in, let’s bring everything in and see what we have.”
“Are we late?” Myra asked, her arms full of a case—an actualcase—of wine. Paris was behind her, two big trays in her hands. “I have yummy little canape appetizers, but Myra has the important stuff. Let her through. She has the wine!”
Everyone laughed and helped each other, and then soon, the food was out, with the doors open so people could easily move from the kitchen and staging area to the outdoor deck that I had built a couple of years ago. Even with all the space available, we had way too much fucking food.
“We’re never going to even come close to finishing all of this,” I said with a laugh, my arm around Hazel’s shoulders. She hugged me tightly before pulling away so she could reach out for a little canape.
“I don’t know. Look at the way Nate and Joshua and Macon are diving into my bean dip.”