Page 114 of Flaunt
Ashley claps, grabbing his shoulders and giving them a shake. “You can do this. Run fast!”
Maddox stands at the line. “I got this, Ash. No worries.”
“I hope no one breaks a leg,” Paige says, sounding a lot like our mother.
I stand in the middle of my family and look around. We might be here for a pretty ridiculous reason—who races each other at our age? Foxx probably has brittle bones by now—but everyone is having fun.
Especially me when I win.
I glance at Foxx.I should have Mom make sure he’s taking calcium supplements.
“Whenever you're ready, Mad,” Dad says, stepping out of his way.
Maddox squats, rolling his neck back and forth. Then he puts his toe at the line and launches at full speed. His sneakers slide across the asphalt. His arms pump at his sides.
“Go, Maddox!” Ashley cheers.
We all watch the sign as it starts to blink numbers. It ends with a flashing twenty-two.
“Not bad,” I say, trading an impressed nod with Moss.
Pippa draws another name. “It’s you, Chicken Daddy.”
Everyone laughs, the sound filling the evening air.
Jess points at Pippa. “You’ll pay for that one later.”
“Can’t wait,” she says, winking at him.
He lines up on the mark and takes off. His face turns cherry red as he bounds down the highway.
“I can’t believe we haven’t seen any cars yet,” Mom says.
An eighteen flashes as Jess passes the sign.
Maddox flicks his shirt. “First place, right here.”
“Moss, you’re next,” Pippa says.
As Moss goes to the line, Jess makes his way back to the family.
“What happened?” I ask him. “Too many late nights with the chicks?”
Maddox snorts, turning his back to Jess so he doesn’t see his amusement.
Pippa kisses his cheek. “You did great.”
“I would’ve had you,” Jess says, planting his hands on his knees and heaving a breath. “I got a bad start.”
“That’s what they all say,” Maddox says.
Moss gets in position. Paige has Sara adjust the camera so she can see better. I stand behind my girl and hold her waist.
It’s not lost on me that Sara has fit into our family so perfectly. When my brothers brought home Brooke and Ashley, it was the smoothest process ever. It’s as if they were both supposed to be in our family the whole time. Like there were roles for both of them, and we were just waiting for them to come fill them.
Sara listens to something Brooke says and laughs.
And it’s like that with Sara too.
