The Summer Home

5. The New Kid

     "That smells great girl." He said with a smile.

     Sonya didn't return the smile. "Ray, we've talk about this before. Please put your gun and stick back into the truck."

     Ray could tell from the scowl on her face that she meant it and he had forgotten all about it.

     "Of course," Ray conceded, "I'll take them out right now."

     Ray left the house and started to walk back to the truck. Sonya turned to face the two men who had entered with Ray.

     "Dinner is ready so wash up," she informed the young man. "Grab whatever sea you like so we can all get started."

     They did as they were told and as Peter came out to take his seat, he realized that Nathan had instinctively taken the head chair, which Peter usually took himself. Nathan was unaware of that so he couldn't be faulted for it, for now. Peter was going to be okay taking one of the side seats and gave one of his daughters seated beside him a kiss on her forehead.

     "Wow that smells great." Peter said, smiling back at his wife.

     Ray returned back into the house, and it only took him a moment to realize what the seating order was. Unlike Peter, he was having none of it.

     "You," Ray called out, pointing to Nathan who looked back up at same tough guy who had been harassing him all day long. "That seat's reserved. Grab that one over there beside Jacob."

     Nathan took a deep breath but said nothing as he got up out of the seat and moved to another spot that Ray had ordered him to occupy. Ray then looked back at Peter and gestured for him to take back his seat. Peter could tell what Ray was doing but he was unsure if it was going to work or not. By being a royal pain in the ass, Ray was content to play the bad cop, trying to make Peter the lesser of two evils. It was Ray's hope that that Nathan would prefer to work with Peter and thus avoid getting Ray's boot firmly planted in his ass.

     "This looks great," He said, sitting down beside Sonya. You've outdone yourself again, little lady."

     "Thank you," Sonya said, "Everyone dig in before it gets cold."

     "You heard her," Ray echoed, "Move it or lose it."

     Everyone dug in and enjoyed their food and chattered about trivial stuff while enjoying every succulent bite. Peter didn't eat very much but managed to finish half his plate before excusing himself and retreating back to his room. The rest of the family was used to this already and didn't say anything as Peter left the room. Before anyone could say anything about it, one of the girls, Fiona said something first.

     "Are you my brother?" she calmly asked.

     Nathan could tell she was talking to him. He took a moment to finish what he had in his mouth before replying. He could also see three pairs of eyes on him as Jacob, Sonya and especially Ray were watching to see what his answer would be.

     "Yes," Nathan replied, "I'm afraid you're stuck with me, squirt."

     The two girls seemed excited to have another brother in the house, since they got along with Jacob most of the time. Nathan was also six years older than the two girls, so they had a new big brother and were still the babies of the family, which suited them both just fine.

     Sonya started to clear the table after everyone had finished. "We'll have dessert later tonight, give your meal a chance to digest."

     With that everyone parted from the table and went their separate ways. She usually left dessert for later if the main course was very filling. Better to use it as a pre-bedtime snack to give their bellies time to make room. Ray helped with the table and stayed in the kitchen to speak with Sonya. As he was helping out, Sonya stopped to ask a question.