“Oh, please. I kinda wish you’d gotten the carnie costumes.” Dani reached for the headband, but Bubba moved her hands away. “Where’s your kids? Are they going to be traumatized by all this?”
“They’re at my folks. Now, I have to do this just right, Aiden said so.” He wiggled his eyebrows up and down. “Flamingo Two has been anxious to meet her owner.” Bubba giggled, and it seemed wrong for such a muscular man to giggle like a schoolgirl. He concentrated next, biting down on his lip. “Fancy Nancy is very happy to make your acquaintance.”
“Fancy Nancy, huh?” Dani reached to touch the flamingo after he put it on her head.
“Fancy Nancy doesn’t like to be touched.”
“She doesn’t? She’s going to bite me or something?”
“Nah.” Bubba was biting his lip down. “We’ll let Flamingo One do that.” He winked at her.
Dani shook her head, grinning stupidly. If this was the start to her evening, she’d come to any party wearing Fancy Nancy. “This is hilarious.” She didn’t comment on Bubba’s other comment.
“This is just the warm-up. We have full costumes still.”
“Jonah has one of these, too?”
Bubba laughed again. “He won’t wear one of our get-ups, but he still gets called Flamingo One.”
“Why do I have to wear this and he doesn’t?”
“Because you’re cool and fun, and he’s not.” Kate clinked her drink to one of Bubba’s.
“Yeah.” Bubba nodded in agreement. “We even bought these two orange hunting pads, you know that you can sit on when you’re hunting and they warm your ass up. Aiden sewed them onto this waistband that she took from my old underwear. We’re going to make Robbie wear them when he gets here.”
Kate’s smile slipped. “Thanks for that.”
Bubba clamped a hand on Kate’s shoulder. “Robbie is a baboon, if you ask me.”
“I know.” And Kate tried for a smile, but the energy was gone.
He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her in the air in a big hug. He whispered something in her ear, and Kate squealed. Her smile wasn’t as forced anymore. Then she stopped, looking inside the doors, and nudged Dani with her arm. She gestured inside.
Jake was right inside with Julia next to him. They were both in the front entryway, and Jake was staring at them. His eyes skimmed over the flamingo with the faintest tease of a grin at his mouth. Then Julia looked up from where she’d been listening to someone else talking. She saw Dani and stiffened immediately.
Dani muttered under her breath, “I don’t want to go in there.”
And just then, the door opened. Jake walked outside with Julia in tow.
“Jake!” Bubba lifted his arms, but couldn’t shake or hug him. He was holding his drink. “You need some coconut juice?” Before Jake could respond, Bubba clamped him on the shoulder with his free hand and moved around. “I’ll get you coconut juice. You, too, Julia. You look like you need to get buzzed.”
Julia opened her mouth, but closed it as Bubba was already through the door.
“He’s on orders to get everyone drunk and to get their car keys.” The ends of Kate’s mouth tugged upward in a grin, but it slipped as she nodded to Julia. “Julia.”
“Kate.”
Dani chuckled. She shouldn’t, but she couldn’t stop herself. She was saying before she completely realized what was going to come out of her mouth, “Man—two people you hate, Julia. You’re stuck out here with us. And you have to play nice.” She whistled. “That’s gotta burn in a special place.”
Jake’s head tipped upwards. “Oh, my God.”
Kate looked away. Her shoulders shook a tiny bit.
Julia sighed. “Nice, Dani. That’s real classy.”
“I’ve already gone three rounds with our grandmother. You remember her? She’s alive, and she hates my guts right now. I can handle going a round with you.”
Julia frowned. “Our grandmother?”
“Sandra O’Hara is alive and kicking, although I guess it could be debated on how ‘alive’ she actually is. She’s not real big on being accountable for anything, but hey. I know where the ‘running’ trait came from. Did you know how fucked up our family is? Some of it came from her. Shocker.”
Julia went unnaturally still. “I don’t believe you. You’re just trying to play games because you’re hoping that I won’t press charges against you for burglary.”
“You already tried.” Dani gestured to Jake and Kate. “But we do have two police officers right here. Feel free to try again.”
“It’s mine, and I want it back.”
Jake cleared his throat. His voice rose in volume. “I thought we were here for poker.” He put his arm around Julia’s shoulder, turning her back inside. “Let’s play some poker.”
“I have as much right to Mother’s picture as you, Dani.”
“No, you don’t!”
“How can you say that?” Julia cried out. “You don’t know anything about our family—”
“Your family!” Dani interrupted, holding on to her drink for dear life. This wasn’t the place, but whom was she kidding? Julia would never meet with her one-on-one. It was here and now. She was tired of avoiding. It was time to fight. “It’s been your family from day one after Mother was buried. Kathryn took you and Erica in and I was pushed out.”