Page 30 of Stolen Holidays
“It’s an emu!” Rhys jumps up and down, clapping.
Lucky likes Rhys’s reaction and bleats, bouncing on its skinny legs. Jace takes a protective stance, stepping between Rhys and the flightless bird. Lucky takes offense and snaps the s’more out of Jace’s hand.
“Whoa there, big fella.” Jace rubs the bird’s head. Lucky purrs like a cat and preens at the attention.
I make my way over to the bird and pet its head. His fine feathers are downy soft. “This is Lucky.”
Lucky squeaks, jumps up and down at hearing his name, and runs around the fire before bumping into Jace again.
“When did this place turn into a damn zoo?” Mason grumps. He’s up and out of his chair, blocking Emery.
“Apparently, the new owner has a love of animals, and her husband doesn’t tell her no,” Eli inserts, patting Lucky on the head.
Over the past few days, Eli and I have gotten to know the crazy bird. Our emu friend is quite mischievous. He likes to pop up out of nowhere, peck at windows and doors, and we’ve seen him chase the goats for sport. Eli noticeably leaves this information out to our recent arrivals.
“That, I can understand.” Jace winks at Ry, who returns his smile. Riah, now quiet and tucked under her momma’s chin, observes everything with wide eyes.
“I like him. Can we get one, Dad?” Lucky bumps Rhys’s shoulder with his head, searching for more attention.
“Sorry, kiddo, but our yard isn’t big enough for an emu.”
While petting the bird, Rhys turns to his uncle. “Uncle Cam, you should get an emu.”
“Why in the fu—” Lucky snaps his beak in Cam’s direction, forcing the big, hunky baseball player back behind his fiancée, who is more than a foot shorter than him. “Fudge,” Cam corrects himself and holds his hands up in surrender. “Why in the fudge would I get an emu?”
Lucky watches Cam as Rhys shrugs. “You live near the beach, so he’d have plenty of space to run around.” He and his answer are so freaking adorable.
“While that makes sense, who would take care of it during baseball season?” Cam asks. He wraps his arms around Talia, no longer fearful of the bird but still maintaining a good amount of space between them.
His nephew scrunches his face in thought. “Grandpa can take care of it while you play.”
Everyone bursts out laughing, and Lucky bleats.
Rhys grins at the bird, which dips down for another head pat. “You’re a good boy, aren’t you, Lucky?” The crazy bird purrs and then takes off into the night, hopefully towards the barn.
“Well, I wasn’t expecting an emu, but I guess surprises are kind of how our family rolls these days.” Cam chuckles.
“What would you know about surprises?” Mason asks.
“Well, I fell for my douche-of-a-teammate’s little sister.”
“Hey!” Talia pinches Cam’s side, and he yelps.
“Don’t act like us falling for each other wasn’t a surprise, Itty Bitty.” He rubs his stomach.
“Pretty sure she pinched you for calling her brother a douche. You really should stop calling him names,” Mason teases.
“Exactly. Thank you, Mason.” Talia crosses her arms and smirks.
“I’ll stop calling him names when he stops giving me the stink eye every time I kiss my fiancée.” He smacks a kiss on her cheek, making us all laugh.
“Well, I like surprises. They make life more exciting,” Jace says as his smoldering gaze catches Rylann’s.
“Me too,” I pipe in. Being with Eli has given me a newfound appreciation for them. Every day with Eli is a beautiful surprise. Like the one I just found out about.
“How about fewer murdery surprises from you?” Cam jokes, and I can’t help but giggle.
Sure, some parts of everything that happened with my half-sister were scary, and sometimes some of the darker moments creep into my dreams, but without her and that path, I wouldn’t be here with my favorite people. I wouldn’t be here with Eli, and for that, I wouldn’t change a thing.
