Page 71 of Forged By Sacrifice

“Sam, Troy, don’t bug Uncle Robbie and his date.”

“Date. Ew. You said she was your friend,” Troy said with a disgusted snarl at us both.

“Troy…” his mother warned. “I’m Gabi, and these two hooligans are my sons. I apologize in advance for everything they say or do.”

“It’s nice to meet you.”

“I thought you weren’t coming till tomorrow,” Mac said to his sister as she sat down with us.

“Vinnie is coming tomorrow, but I decided to come get the guesthouse before Bee decided she was going to take it.”

“Someday, you will not be quick enough.” Another woman came up and flicked the blonde’s shoulder. These two looked as much alike as Dani and Mac did. The only difference was that the shorter one had the blue eyes of the other siblings versus Gabi’s hazel ones.

“I’m Bee,” she said to me.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I responded.

“Moooooooommmmyyyy,” came a high-pitched squeal as a tiny person came running into the room and flung her arms around Bee.

Bee picked her up, and I could tell right away that this must have been Savanna-Rae, and I could see why Mac had said she was the light of everyone’s world. She was like a doll come to life. Maybe Tinker Bell with a sweet side instead of a fiery side. Blue eyes, blonde hair, and skin so pale that she seemed ethereal.

The Whittaker family knew how to make beautiful people. The whole group was stunning. Like an Eddie Bauer ad without the outdoors. Or maybe one of the old family photos of the Kennedys. Glamorous and gorgeous. Not even a crooked nose amongst the bunch.

“Daddy won’t let me have juice,” Savanna-Rae pouted.

A man appeared behind them, slim, narrow, and dark-haired with a goatee that screamed hipster but an outfit that screamed hippie?tie-dye T-shirt and all. His eyes were small and dark. He stood out amongst the beautiful people as being slightly off. Like he didn’t quite fit the mold they’d made. I realized this was the brother-in-law, Thomas, who Mac had said nobody liked. “It’s too late for juice,” he told his daughter.

I had to fight another laugh as I saw Gabi roll her eyes and Bee stick her tongue out. They were definitely siblings.

Bee took Thomas and Savanna-Rae off to the kitchen to get food and drinks.

“Ready to lose your shirt, Robbie?” Gabi asked.

“He goes by Mac full time now.” Dani appeared behind us with a smirk on her face.

“What? Why?”

“I guess it’s less confusing this way,” Dani said as she, too, made her way toward the kitchen and the food.

“Less confusing for who?” Gabi hollered at her.

Dani waved her hand at me.

“But she’s only one person; the rest of us all know him as Robbie,” she said and then turned to look at Mac. “The kids will be thoroughly confused if you change your name now.”

“Can I change my name?” Troy asked.

“No!” everyone hollered.

I smiled. It was light and fun and humorous. It was family in a way that you read about or watched in TV shows but never thought you’d actually see in real life. It filled my heart in a different way than my heart had been filled by Mac lately. I’d never really fit in with any of the cliques in school or college. I’d just done my thing. But this clique. This clan. They made me long to be accepted.

My phone on the table buzzed, but I didn’t pick it up. Mac leaned in and said, “You don’t have to avoid getting it on our account. Nobody will harass you about answering it. There are too many of us with jobs that require us to pay attention for anyone to really put up a fuss.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yep.”

I flipped the phone over and saw it was from Raisa.

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