“That’s part of your charm,” River said.
“See! Thank you, brother River.” Ronan barked a quick laugh. “I knew I’d be an amazing brother. I’m totally killing it.”
Ten rolled his eyes. “Yes, Ronan. You’re the best brother who ever brothered.” He patted his husband’s shoulders.
“Patronize much?” Ronan snapped back. Not even Ten’s snarky attitude was going to make him cranky today. They were off on a great adventure, no matter what Ten said.
“Daddy, me and Brookie want to meet the baby goats first. They’re so cute!”
“And they wear pajamas!” Brooke and Everly screamed in tandem.
“Oh Lord, that was the scream of budding tweens.” Ronan wasn’t sure he was ready for all that entailed.
“At least they’re screeching over barnyard babies and not some boy-bander with tight abs and no adult supervision.” River crossed his arms over his chest.
Ronan could see the two girls giggling together in the third row. In just a few days, they’d become as close as sisters. He wanted the girls to have as much time together as possible before River’s family went back to Florida.
“What are you guys doing for Thanksgiving?” Ten asked.
“We haven’t made any plans yet,” Barb said. “Baby Delta will be here in September. I can’t imagine we’ll want to travel with the baby being so small.”
“What would you think if we came down?” Ten asked. “Ronan is a turkey master.”
“Fitting,” River chuckled.
Ronan frowned but secretly loved being teased. It was just one of the many things he missed out on growing up as an only child. “We could find out if that house in St. Pete is available for the week, and we could make dinner. Fitz makes amazing potatoes. Kaye is great with pies and cornbread stuffing, and I’m the king of the green bean casserole, made with real French-fried onions.”
“He’s the king of everything, huh?” River asked.
“Self-proclaimed.”
“Uh, wrong! My mother and grandmother were both queens of the casserole. I inherited the title legitimately.” Ronan satup straighter behind the wheel. How dare anyone question his crown?
“That sounds like a plan. Keep in mind we’re going to be so busy with the new baby that we might not be much help.”
“No worries,” Ten said. “That’s what family is for.”
“My sister will be around too,” Deb said.
“Hogging the baby.” River laughed.
“Ten’s the baby hog in our family. I swear, I didn’t get to hold Everly until she was a month old.”
Ten’s mouth dropped open in mock outrage. “That’s not true. I think I handed her off to you around the three-week mark.”
“Here we are!” Ronan flipped the blinker and pulled into the Happy Hooters parking lot. Seconds later, Fitzgibbon parked beside them.
Ten minutes later, the tickets were bought, and they were inside the park. Ronan could smell fresh hay and something a little more aromatic. He’d be on Ezra duty to make sure the little boy didn’t put anything in his mouth that wasn’t edible, including the Cocoa Puffs the bunnies left in their wake.
Ronan was absolutely in love with the park. From where he stood near the ticket counter, he could see the giant bouncy castle and the slide. The animal barns were straight ahead, as were the food booths, where pimpled teenagers were selling cups filled with animal feed.
“What do we want to see first?” Fitzgibbon asked.
“Baby elephant!” Aurora and Wolf shouted.
“Baby goats!” Everly and Brooke added.
“Let’s flip a coin.” Jude pulled a quarter out of his front pocket. “Call it Aurora!” Jude flipped it in the air and caught it before slapping it down on the back of his other hand.
