Page 79 of Ending the Game

But it’s not enough. Yes, it’s helped me work through the PTSD as much as my counselor has, but it’s never going to be something I want to turn into a career.

I’ve been doing research on financial planning and investments. I was working on my business plan before Carys came in earlier. It may be a completely different direction than I originally planned for my life, but it works for Carys and me. And I like the idea of running my own business at some point.

Rook and I have talked about me potentially doing contractor work in some capacity for Phoenix. But Carys and I aren’t ready for that right now, though we haven’t ruled it out completely for the future.

I close the lid of my laptop and push my homework aside, then follow Carys to the kitchen. She’s already pulled the appetizers out of the fridge. “Do we need to bring anything else?”

“Nope. Belles and Sabrina are bringing dessert, and Nattie and I were assigned appetizers.” She grabs a bottle of wine from the counter and hands it to me. “And we’re all bringing wine.”

“Great. Because your brother getting drunk would definitely be a good thing today.” She doesn’t seem to pick up on my sarcasm as we step outside and climb into my new SUV without an eyelash in sight. “Is he making the turkey or is your mom?”

Carys shrugs. “I guess we’ll find out.”

* * *

It’s complete chaos when we step into Dad’s house. Everly and Gracie chase Callen, who’s screaming while he runs away, holding a decapitated Barbie in one hand and swinging her head by the hair in the other. They fly by us, and I pull Carys back, so she isn’t caught in their path of destruction.

Dad and Belles’s brother, Tommy, are sitting on the couch in the family room, watching football on TV, so we stop and say hello before heading into the kitchen, where everyone else is crowded together.

Carys sets out our food and hands the wine over to Declan to open, while Katherine and Murphy argue over something in the oven.

“You’re not twenty-one yet, Carys Murphy,” Katherine scolds.

Carys quickly takes the glass of wine from Declan and scans the room. “Yeah, but I’m also not pregnant like the rest of them, so I think I earned one glass, Mom.”

“Hey, guys.” Nat turns to hug me, and her big belly blows my mind. From behind, my sister still looks like a normal-sized human. But from this angle...

“Nat, are you sure you don’t have triplets in there?” I lean in to kiss her cheek, not realizing what I said until she lunges for me.

Oops.

Brady grabs her by the waist and pulls her back. “No fistfights today, Natalie Grace. Your balance sucks. I don’t need you going into labor two months early because your brother’s a moron.”

“Not a complete moron,” Carys defends me. “But he sure is pretty to look at.”

“Hey...” Yeah. I got nothing else. I’m lucky my sister didn’t kill me.

Carys kisses Nat and Brady’s cheeks, then tugs Nattie over to the table where Sabrina and Annabelle are sitting.

I move behind the island and stand next to Brady and Declan. “It’s like an OB-Gyn office exploded in here.”

“Dude, I don’t know about Belles, but your sister is a fucking psychopath when she’s pregnant. She can cry over a tissue commercial one minute and then be ready to throw a kitchen knife at me the next because I forgot to get her the right soy sauce. It’s fucking scary.” Brady smiles and waves at Nat across the room before she turns her pissed-off glare to me.

“So are you telling me I should hide the knives?” I really don’t feel like getting stabbed today.

“Here.” Declan hands Nixon over to me. “She won’t stab you if you’re holding Nix.”

“He’s a year and a half old. Doesn’t he want to be with the other kids?” Brady plays peek-a-boo with my chubby nephew, just as Callen runs in and hides behind the counter.

He pulls on my pant leg. “If the twins come in here, you didn’t see me.”

I nod. “I gotcha, kid.”

Brady slides over to block Callen from Everly’s view. “Okay, maybe don’t let Nix play with the twins just yet... They’re a little scary.”

“How are Carys and Chloe doing with the shop? Will they be able to open on December first like they want? Chloe hasn’t answered my calls all week, so I figure she’s stressed.” Brady moves to the side so Callen can dart away.

I glance over at Carys, feeling so proud of her. “Yeah. It got a little crazy there last week, but the shop’s scheduled to open its doors in just under two weeks.” They signed the lease for the building six weeks ago, and it’s been full speed ahead since.

---