Play Fair (The Devil's Share Book 3)(17)
Jacks whirled around, glaring at Luke. “You bite your tongue. The Tesla is the safest car on the market; it has all those sensors and stuff.”
I nodded, hand out. “Which is why you want us in it, right?” Thanks for the setup, Luke.
Jacks hung his head in defeat.
***
He was right; that car was FAST. Driving it was the most fun I’d ever had in a car. And I’d had plenty of fun in cars, if you catch my drift. The three of us had gone from store to store buying everything a kid could ever want or need. We got bags of books, tons of board games, coloring books, paints…you name it? We got it. And on the way home I ran into the grocery store with Landry while Lexi napped in the car. I got all her favorite foods. Which consisted of a lot of canned pasta and macaroni and cheese. Now we were back at the house, and it was just before dinner. Landry was exhausted; she and Lexi were in the living room playing some electronic version of Go Fish on Landry’s new iPad. I was making my favorite childhood meal: crunchy beef tacos.
“That smells amazing, baby doll.” Jacks came up behind me, tugging lightly on my dark hair. He seemed to like touching my hair. Not that I’d noticed or that I’d intentionally worn it down for him or anything. “Where’s Landry?”
“In the living room playing on her new iPad.”
He grabbed a beer out of the fridge and sat down at the island. “How was your day? Is my car okay? Did you get a speeding ticket?” He didn’t ask how much I spent, evidently unconcerned about the money. He didn’t even ask for his card back.
I scoffed, “Of course not.” I actually had been pulled over, but he didn’t ask that and I’d only gotten a warning. So there was no reason to tell him. I really didn’t want to hear an I told you so. “Did you guys get a lot done in the studio?”
He ate a pinch of shredded cheese out of the bowl I’d placed on the counter. “We got started, and that’s always the hardest part.” He took a pull off his bottle. “The label wants more of what we’ve always given them, but we want to try something new. It’s going to be a fight.”
I turned off the burner under the skillet of ground meat. “Will they drop you?”
“Maybe. They’ve mentioned it, but I think it’s more a scare tactic at this point. And it’s not going to work.” He stood. “Do you need help with anything?”
“Nope. All done.” I gestured to the living room. “You can grab Landry and let everyone know it’s ready though.”
Once again we were all gathered around the table. As odd of a family as this was, I was sure it was still good for Landry to experience. People who loved each other, joking and laughing, coming together at the end of a busy day to share a meal. I knew that Jacks worried about normalcy with her, but really, what defined normal these days?
“So, Buttercup, did you have fun with B and Lexi today?”
Landry nodded. “We went shopping and we went to lunch and we met a really nice policeman.”
I wrinkled my nose and held my breath.
Jacks’s eyes got wide. “You met a policeman? Where?”
Landry’s little body was bouncing as she swung her legs back and forth. “In the car on the way home.”
“Oh really?” Jacks sat his fork down and leaned closer, engrossed in her story.
She nodded again, the dark topknot I’d done for her wobbling. “Yeah, he flashed his lights and then came up to the window and asked for B’s number.” I couldn’t help but smile when she called me B; it was sweet. Even though she was ratting me out.
Jacks looked over at me. “I thought you said you didn’t get a ticket.”
“I didn’t.”
Lexi laughed from the other end of the table. “She got a warning and then asked out on a date.”
Jacks’s smile faded as he turned to me. “Did you say yes?”
“No.” I reached across the table and moved Landry’s milk away from the edge; with all the bouncing around she was doing she was bound to spill it. Not that Dagger would mind. I’d seen him camped out under her chair at every meal so far.
Luke leaned back in his seat, stretching his arms overhead. “Thanks for dinner, Bryan. It was delicious.”
“No problem, glad you liked it.” I stood and started gathering dishes, glad the subject of me getting pulled over had been dropped.
Jacks put his hand on my arm, stopping me. “No, you cooked. I’ll do the dishes.”
“I thought you had some errands to run tonight.”
He nodded, grabbing mine and Landry’s plates. “I do. But that’s later.”
“Okay. Well, Landry and I are going to watch The Little Mermaid, can we use your TV?” While we were out that day I realized that Landry had never seen any of the Disney movies. My sisters and I had watched those movies over and over when we were younger. The Little Mermaid was always my favorite, so when I’d seen it at the store, I bought it. Along with The Lion King, Aladdin, Tarzan, and Sleeping Beauty.
Dylan clapped her hands together. “The Little Mermaid?! I want to watch it, put it on down here.”
Fast forward twenty minutes? Everyone in the house was gathered in the living room. There were pillows and blankets and bowls of popcorn everywhere. Jacks was on the couch sitting between Landry and me, with Luke stretched out on the L part of the sectional. Dash and Lexi had made a pallet on the floor with Dagger. And Smith and Dylan were on the recliner. I couldn’t help the contentment I felt. I loved getting to be around my sister. And I had thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Lexi today. I felt very at home here with all these people.