"You're coming home, son," Cora says, crossing her arms and glaring at her eldest child. "Because if I let you stay here, you'll drink yourself silly with your cousins and then be useless to me in the morning." "Mom!" Jesse begs, sending an anxious glance towards Daphne, who pretends not to notice the whole conversation.

"Jesse," Roger says, his hands on his hips, his voice low and dangerous. "Get in line. Your mom wants you home, so you're coming home. If it were up to me I'd leave you here, because you always rile the small ones into rebellion, telling them all sorts of nonsense about free will -"

"They deserve to know the truth!" Jesse protests.

"But your mother wants you home. So?" Roger points emphatically to the front of the line.

Daphne, to her credit, does her very best to suppress her smile and pretend that she's incredibly interested in the trim that adorns the bottom of dad's armchair. Ben has no such grace and watches eagerly, laughing. But Jesse, realizing that he's lost this battle, just groans and pushes himself to his feet, slumping to the front of the line.

"Good boy," Roger murmurs, patting Jesse on the head. Jesse just scowls and smacks his dad's hand away.

Then Roger whistles again and each of my six cousins straightens their shoulders, standing at attention, and then - at their father's signal - begin to march out of the room.

kids are swept out into the hall. "Love you,

it is. I burst out laughing myself, because I mean

weird family," Ben sighs, pulling himself up into Roger and Cora's abandoned chair. "I

refill?" Rafe asks, smiling happily and getting to his feet. "Daphne?" He raises an eyebrow at her

nope!" Mom says, getting to her feet herself. "You're

"Mom, it's our first night home, we're not going

she says, giving him a super

Rafe protests, throwing out

am sleepy," mom says, pressing a demure hand to her chest and making dad laugh. "And if I don't stay up to supervise you, Cora is right - you'll drink yourselves silly and be all useless tomorrow. And we have things to do!"

with embarrassment. "You can't just

sigh, getting to his feet. I

here with us?" S~ᴇaʀᴄh the Find_Nøvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of

the gym tomorrow, let my uncle yell at me and beat me

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