5. Rebel

I couldn"t believethey brought along a pig, a French Bulldog notorious for its farts, a cat the size of a mountain lion, and a ferret that resembled a rat. However, aside from that, Evie was perfect—well, almost perfect, except for her penchant for starting arguments.

The dog had been relegated to the back because we were all sick of the stench. Naturally, Evie contested this, concerned that it might hurt his feelings. From the moment we put him in the back, he hadn"t stopped crying. I was piloting the plane, and even from the cockpit, I could hear him clearly; he must have been very loud for the others.

"Evie, you can get Tater and let him sit where you are if that will shut him up," I suggested on the loudspeaker. I noticed the barking stopped a moment later, so she must have put his carrier closer to them.

"They are all sleeping, even the animals," Viper said, "I thought for sure the cat and the pig would kill each other if they could have gotten out of their pens."

"What an assortment of animals! I guess Kylie brings home the rejects from the veterinary hospital." I joked, but it didn't sound nice, so I shut up.

"What the fuck is that smell," I exclaimed, covering my nose. "Evie," I announced over the intercom, "get this dog out of here. You are supposed to keep him in the carrier."

Here she came running into the cockpit. She bent down to pick him up, "Sorry, I fell asleep."

"Why is he out of the carrier?"

"You said he could sit with me. Are you always this grumpy? I'm sure you have no steady girlfriend. Maybe if you did, you wouldn't be so grumpy."

"Is this your subtle way of asking if I'm seeing anyone?" Her face turned beet red as she walked away with that stinky dog in her arms.

"Only in your dreams," Evie muttered.

"I wouldn't mind having you in my dreams. The things I would do to you," I murmured under my breath. Her face flamed, indicating she had heard. It was good; I had made my intentions clear about what I wanted. But only for a brief time; I don't believe in everlasting love.

"Reaper met us when we landed. And then I saw Bailey and the little ones were here to pick up Viper. I introduced Reaper to the family, and his eyes widened when he met the animals. First, we put Alpo the pig into the back of the SUV, and then Reaper picked up Tater.

"He is so cute. What's his name?"

"His name is Tater," I replied, smiling.

"Hello, Tater. Is he a Brindle French bulldog?"

"Yes," Evie answered.

"What the hell is that?" Reaper exclaimed, pointing at the ferret sitting on Evie's shoulder. "Is that a fucking rat?"

"It's not a rat. It's a ferret," Evie clarified, brushing past us and making her way to the back seat. She stopped and turned to us. "I can't believe none of you know what a damn ferret is," she scoffed before getting into the vehicle.

We were almost home when Tater did his thing. "What the fuck is that smell?" Reaper shouted.

Everyone covered their noses while I burst out laughing. Reaper pulled over and stepped out. "I am not getting back in there until that smell is gone," he said, glaring at the pig.

"It wasn't Alpo. It was the sweet, cute Tater. That's why Kylie took him home with her; nobody else wanted him," I explained, still chuckling.

"That poor dog, he must have a gassy stomach issue," Reaper said, climbing back into the SUV before turning and looking at the three people sitting there. "Allison is a doctor, not a vet, but she might be able to give him something for his little tummy."

"This is what you are supposed to say about poor Tater, Rebel. You don't criticize him while he's down," Evie said, smiling at Reaper.

"Evie, what kind of work do you do."

"Evie's a singer and a music teacher," I blurted out before catching myself.

Reaper raised an eyebrow and smirked. "My, what a deep voice you have, Evie," My smartass brother said, and Evie chuckled. "So you sing?"

"I'm a music teacher, and I only sing occasionally. I'm not professionally a singer," Evie clarified.

"She should be a singer. She has a beautiful voice," I interjected, surprising myself with my own candor. Reaper looked at me, probably thinking I was out of my fucking mind, and I felt it too—I just couldn"t keep quiet.

"Do you enjoy singing to people, Evie?" Reaper inquired, glancing at her through his rearview mirror.

"I don't mind if I'm with my friends. We've sung at a few places and recorded a couple of songs," she said.

I turned my head to look at her. "You never told me you recorded a record," I said, frowning.

"What? Why would I have told you? We just met, and you haven't been that friendly if you remember," Evie said, "it's not like we got off on the right foot. You've been grumpy since the moment I met you."

"I'm sure that's not true," I said, grinning. We pulled into the driveway, and I saw Benni and Allison walking out the front door toward our vehicle.