Page 111 of Loaded

It feels kind of nice to win a round.

“Alright, how’s this for a story? The first time I met Uncle Bentley, I threatened to stab him.”

“You’re kidding.”

She shakes her head. “Nope. I had been at Dave and Seren’s for three days, and he came flying through the door with a gun in his hand.” She’s smiling. “He had found some kind of old gun from the war or something, and Dave knew he was looking for it. Maybe Seren did, too, but to me, he was some strange man barging in with a gun.”

“And you threatened him with a knife?”

“I think what I said was something like, ‘you might shoot me, but I’m a blade master, and I’ll slice your throat before I die.’ Dave and Seren were in the back room, and the way they laughed, you’d think they’d never been amused before in their lives.”

“After that, you’re still invited to the wedding?” I can’t help imagining it, tiny Bea, brandishing a knife when most girls would be screaming and huddling on the floor. It doesn’t even surprise me. She seems small. She seems slight. She hates being the center of attention, but if she’s shoved against a wall, she comes back swinging.

Bea shrugs. “I think they have to invite me.”

“Oh?”

She leans a little closer and drops her voice. “I know all the dirt on them.”

That makes me laugh. But with just one more turn, we’re there, which makes sense. I doubt any of Dave and Seren’s foster kids live too far from them. They may not always call them mom or dad, but they clearly all orient around them like electrons in orbit.

As we pull up outside, a valet’s waiting to take the car. I hate handing off the keys, but I can’t really wrestle them to the ground and insist on parking my own car. I grit my teeth and pass the fob to the twenty-year-old.

I have insurance. I have insurance. This is why I have insurance.

“You okay?”

“Did you do anything stupid when you were twenty?”

“You may need to be more specific,” Bea says. “Most of what I did when I was twenty was stupid.”

“Oh?” I feel like I need to know more about that. “But I mean, when you were driving.”

“Oh.” She frowns. “I mean, maybe. I think I was twenty when I kind of backed into a dumpster.” She scrunches up her nose. “Insurance covered the repairs, but my bumper has been a little crooked ever since.”

“I just handed a twenty-year-old my hundred thousand dollar car. That’s all.”

She bobs her head. “That’s why you shouldn’t ever spend more than twenty grand on a car.”

“I think I’ll take my chances,” I say. “I can’t think of a single car for twenty grand that I would want to drive.”

“Snob.”

But now we’re walking through the front gate, and Dave and Seren are there. Before I can even re-introduce myself, Seren’s hugging me. “Easton.” She releases me, her smile bright. “Welcome. So happy to see you again.”

“Oh.” Before I can really process howniceshe is, Dave’s hugging me too.

“I didn’t use to be a hugger,” he’s saying, “but after long enough with someone, they start to rub off on you, so here we are.”

“It’s fine,” I say. “I don’t mind.”

“I hear our girl Bea is smiling more these days, thanks to you.” Dave bobs his head. “That’s what I like to hear.”

“Me too,” I say.

“Jake doesn’t praise people very often, so that’s a pretty strong recommendation from him.” Dave gestures. “Wedding party’s waiting at our house until they’re ready for us.”

“Oh. Right.” Bea’s already walking that way, but when I start to follow her, Dave grabs my elbow.

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