Free Always You: A Lilac Bay Novel (Friends with Benefits) by Lucy Riot, Rachel Schurig Page A

“Believe me, kid, I lived with your mommy for sixteen years. She definitely gets grumpy.” He still didn’t look up. I wondered what had happened to make him so upset tonight. He was such a sensitive little guy; it didn’t take much to send him off to his room. “Did you know that Andrew came over with me?” I asked. “He gets grumpy a lot.”
    He finally looked up, his eyebrows raised. Jayden adored Andrew and Eddie, ever since the Powell twins had taken him out on their boat the summer before for an all-day fishing trip on Lake Michigan. It wasn’t very often that he got to do grown-up things without his older brother around. He had talked about that day for months. I had already told Andrew that he would be repeating the favor this summer.
    “Oh, yeah,” I said. “You should see him before he has his coffee in the morning. He’s a major grump.”
    “Does he throw temper tantrums?”
    “All the time. Sometimes he even stomps his foot and cries.”
    Finally, Jayden laughed. “I don’t believe you.”
    “Oh, believe it, kid,” Andrew said from the doorway. I looked up to see him leaning against the frame. “One time I even threw myself on the ground and screamed.”
    Jayden giggled.
    “Your mom sent me to see what was taking you so long. Your dad is home.”
    “Daddy!” Jayden cried, all traces of grumpiness sliding form his face. He tossed the coloring book aside and ran from the room. From the living room I heard the cries and laughter that indicated that Jake had arrived.
    “I throw temper tantrums, huh?” Andrew asked as I stood.
    I shrugged as I passed by him on my way to the kitchen. “Hey, someone had to tell the kid the truth.”

    * * *
    D inner at my sister’s house was always a loud affair, particularly when Andrew was present. The boys talked over each other in louder and louder voices, trying to get and keep his attention. I had a headache after ten minutes.
    “It sounds like someone took their hyper pills this afternoon,” Jake said, giving me a sheepish smile. “Sorry, Riley.”
    “What are you sorry for?” Rebecca asked, passing Jayden his refilled glass of milk. “She’s the one that gets them all wound up.”
    “I do not!”
    She raised an eyebrow at me. “So that wasn’t you passing them candy when we were saying grace.”
    Mason pointed at me. “Busted!”
    “I knew I should have kept yours for myself.”
    “So, Riley,” Jake said, passing Andrew another beer. “What’s new at the mayor’s office?”
    “Not much.” I stirred my chili. “Planning the Fish Fry. That’s about it.”
    “I thought the Elks Club did most of the planning,” Rebecca said, somehow managing to grab Aiden’s spoon in midair after he pushed it off the table.
    “They do. That’s why it’s super exciting at work right now. Not much to do.”
    “That would be nice,” Jake said wistfully, and I shot him a dubious glance.
    “Spate of crime on the island, Jake?”
    “’Course not. But that doesn’t mean that we aren’t busy.”
    “Lots of horse and carriage violations to write, huh?” Andrew asked.
    “Ha ha. We do important work on the force everyday.”
    “Of course you do, honey,” Rebecca said, in the same placating voice she used when the kids were being unreasonable. I hid my smirk with a crust of bread.
    “We did have one exciting thing happen at the office today,” Andrew said, and I glared at him in warning. He must have missed it. “Riley and I sent in an application for Lilac Bay to enter a contest.”
    “What kind of contest?” Rebecca asked.
    “Like a race?” Jayden asked, looking at me with excited eyes. “Like the kind you ran in college?”
    “How is an island going to be in a race, moron?” Mason asked. To my delight, Jayden stuck out his tongue at his older brother. It was nice to see him stand up for himself.
    “Not like a race,” Andrew said. “This would actually be for a reality show.”
    “A reality show?” Jake asked, eyebrows raised.