Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 91461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“He does come to conclusions quickly,” I agreed.
“Yeah, so…that was that.”
“I bet it hurt,” Sam commented, sounding not the least bit sorry.
“It always hurts when George makes you stop doing something he’s not crazy about.”
“Moments later, when Christine and Gabby came over to defend Conor, George explained that Kola was not to be touched, and he, of course, should not in any way be annoyed.”
I smiled.
“Kola said everyone took a big step back at the same time. He didn’t hate that,” Jake told us. “He made it sound funny on the phone.”
“Then afterwards, Grady told everyone that Kola’s father is the chief deputy of the marshals’ office here in Chicago,” Hannah went on. “Of course he didn’t give your title exactly how it goes with the Northern District and everything, but they got the gist and left Kola alone. About fifteen minutes after that, Conor and Lucas woke up just as two CPD officers rolled up.”
“What did the cops do?”
“Nothing. Nothing to do. Everything was over at that point. And knowing that Kola had everything on video, Conor and Lucas more or less slunk away.”
“I bet Finn was upset that he left Kola alone.”
“Finn is more than upset. He’s furious with his uncle, and Kola had to keep him from going after Lucas, who he doesn’t even know, but was there about to attack his boyfriend. He’s absolutely mortified at what Conor said about Kola, and then about how he treated him.”
“I hope Kola told him that we have freaks in our family as well.”
Sam nodded in vigorous agreement.
“And, I mean, we’re going to have Jake someday.”
“Pa!”
“Hey,” Jake said defensively.
“So,” I said, turning to my husband, “who’s going to jail in the group?”
“I can tell you that both Christine and Lucy are in trouble for destruction of property, but it all depends on what Gabby wants to do about her front lawn, and what Caden wants to do about his truck. The good news is, neither one of them actually hurt anyone.” He was quiet a moment. “Wait, what happened with Róisín and Christine?”
Hannah showed us the two women rolling around in the dirt and flowers in the front yard. They both looked terrible.
“You said Anne cooked?”
“Yep. That’s her food flying around all over,” Hannah told us.
“That’s horrible,” I said, unable not to chuckle.
“Pa!” Hannah sounded scandalized.
“Pie now,” Sam demanded.
“So where is Kola?” I asked.
“Kola is here,” he called out from the back door where he and Finn were.
“Oh,” I cooed, rushing over to my son first, and then to Finn. He seemed surprised when I wrapped him in my arms. “Love, we all have crazy family gatherings.”
“I got punched at one,” Hannah told Finn as I put my arm through his and walked him into the kitchen. “And Kola got hit on by an older woman.”
Finn turned to him.
“I told you; family gatherings are freaky.”
“Is your mother all right?” I asked him, having him take a seat at the table.
“No. She cooked for two days and fed no one. If she ever invites my father’s family over for anything again, it will be a cold day in hell.”
“She’ll forgive them,” I promised him. “It might take a minute, though.”
“May I spend Easter with you all instead?”
“Of course you can,” Hannah told him. “And really, sacrificing the rabbit and drinking its blood is not at all mandatory. Only the ceremonial lamb hunt.”
He smirked at her, since he knew her better now. “Like you would ever hurt a bunny or a lamb,” he said, slipping his hand up under the hem of Kola’s T-shirt since he was standing close.
“She wouldn’t, you know she wouldn’t,” Kola agreed, taking a seat on Finn’s lap instead of in the chair.
Finn wrapped his arms around Kola’s waist and pressed his face into his back. “I need a break from my family as well. Everyone but my folks.”
“They can come for Easter too,” Sam said, and I turned to him, surprised.
“What? They should meet my parents so they know what they’re getting into.”
Finn narrowed his eyes so he didn’t cry, squeezing Kola just a bit tighter. “I would love that, sir, thank you so much.”
“It’s a done deal,” Sam said, reaching out to cup my chin.
“Yes, it is,” I said, feeling in my chest how much I loved him.
After a moment Kola said, “Where are the perogies?”
That’s it, all. I will see you in May. Stay safe and be well.
MAY 2025
Welcome to He Said, he said for May 2025.
I hope all you mothers out there, whoever you mother—people who you’re related to or not, people of fur, feathers, and plants—had a wonderful day. Aja’s family took her out for a Mother’s Day brunch that was apparently very fancy. Lots of frou-frou clothes for eleven in the morning. She loved whenever her men planned things for her, but sometimes she wished they were a bit more low-key.