Page 140 of Dean

“Hey, you okay?” Dean asks, beckoning me over when he realizes I’m just standing in one place.

“I’m fine. Just admiring the new plants.”

He winks at me, and I melt. But I manage to compose myself because my sister is making her way toward me and I don’t want to traumatize her with a boner.

“Hey! Look what I brought,” Amanda shouts, holding up a bottle of wine.

I arch an eyebrow at her.

“You’re not twenty-one.”

“Let a girl live. I’ve been living in a jail for my entire life. I want a glass of alcohol.”

“It’s basically juice,” Ben says, taking a plastic cup from my sister and letting her pour him some. “Moscato doesn’t count.”

I let out a laugh and pull Amanda into a side hug. Her hair is bright pink, a ring in her nose. She went a little wild when she finally moved out from under our parents’ domineering thumb, but she’s a good kid. She’s starting her sophomore year of college in a few months, and I couldn’t be more proud.

“Love the lipstick.”

“It goes well with the hair and the outfit, I think.”

“Yeah, I think so too.”

She hands me a cup of wine, and I take a sip.

“Don’t let him drink too much. He’s a lightweight,” Dean calls out, and I roll my eyes.

“I’m fine!”

“You always say that and it’s never true,” Dean replies, and I take a long gulp just to prove a point.

“So, how’s the new puppy?” I ask Ben, Cash, and Ford, taking a seat next to them.

“Exhausting. It’s like having a kid around,” Cash grumbles.

“But he adores you. And he’s so cute,” Ben says.

“He’s a menace,” Cash replies, and Ben touches his hand gently.

“You love him.” Ben turns toward me. “He loves him. Last night I caught him making baby noises at him.”

“I did not,” Cash grumbles, and Ford snorts.

“Dude, you so did.”

Cash frowns, and I bite back a smile. I mean, the Labrador puppy is super cute. I’d be talking in baby voices as well.

“Is he with Ford’s mom right now?” I ask, and they nod.

“We didn’t want him getting into any of your new plants,” Ben says and then takes another sip of his wine. “He’d gobble them up like they were salad.”

“Well, thank you, but Frank is welcome anytime.”

“When he’s better trained,” Cash replies, and I nod, watching as Amanda leans over, whispering something into Ben’s ear.

“Oh yes. I wanna see. Be right back, guys,” Ben says, standing up and grabbing her hand as they walk off.

“What are they getting up to?” Cash asks, and I shrug.

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