Pepper’s laughter filled the air as Ian leapt out of his truck and ran over to her, scooping her up for a twirl before he set her down and hugged her close. She returned the hug, smiling wide through her giggles as Jack came up behind her and squished her in a hug between him and Ian. “Oh Gods, I’ve missed you guys!” She exclaimed as she was let go so she could turn and let Jack envelope her in a proper hug. “When the Hell did you bleach your hair Jackie!?”
“I did it the other day, Peppy, with Ian’s help,” Jack answered as he let go of his sister, pushing her back at arm’s length to look at her with scrutinizing brown eyes. “You’re overly happy…”
“Don’t question it,” Autumn said with a reprimanding tone as she slapped her baby brother on the back of his bleach blonde head before she turned a smile to Pepper, who was watching them and shaking her head. “I missed you sis,” she said as she moved to Pepper and the two hugged.
“I missed you too, Autumn,” Pepper replied as she hugged her little sister closer before she let go. “As see you guys, why don’t we take this inside so that none of us have to go back to work with some virus?”
Ian looked at Jack with a confused expression, his brow knitting together. “I thought we came here to see Pepper, not Mom,” he said, and then yelped when Pepper struck the back of his head. He rubbed the wounded area and gave her what would be called a “Smart Ass’s Smile”. “I love you too sis.”
Pepper led her two brothers and her sister inside the warm house that she had finished cleaning up not one hour ago, making sure there was no trace whatsoever that Nick and the other Backstreet Boys had been visiting. She went into the kitchen and started making some drinks for everyone as they all brought in their luggage and got situated in the living room. When she came back out, they were all seated in their preferred spots and making small talk until she came back in. Ian got up and helped her serve out the drinks before he sat in his recliner and she sat in hers, while Autumn and Jack curled their legs under themselves in their corners of the long couch.
Pepper took a moment to look at her siblings and couldn’t help but smile at her family. She looked to Jack and took a sip of her drink. “So, what did the boss say about you bleaching your hair?” She questioned, knowing that Mr. Tanner could be quite the ass when he wanted to be; which seemed to be more often than not.
“He just rolled his eyes and stalked off, muttering something about gay boys and blonde hair,” he replied, his Jersey accent heavy as he spoke. He chuckled and shook his head. “He can shove it up his ass for all I care.”
Ian smiled with older brother pride at his little brother’s words before he looked to Pepper. “Still working at that shit hole?” He questioned, his eyebrow raising as he drank some of the water she gave him.
Pepper leveled a look at her younger brother and gave him a smile. “Yes, I am,” she answered, “and I don’t want to hear it Mister Grease Monkey.”
“Hey, there ain’t nothin’ wrong with busted knuckles and black hands,” Jack and Ian retorted at the same time, laughing afterward as Pepper and Autumn shared a look and rolled their eyes, mouthing to each other, “boys.”
“I’m still a manager, nothing new over here,” Autumn piped up when the others turned her eyes on her with curious looks. She gave a dismissing wave and turned her attention to Pepper with a grin that full of pure mischief. “So, Spring, what’s new with you?” She questioned, her eyes boring into Pepper, who knew something was up by the fact her sister called her by her season name.
Pepper shook her head and gave a slight shrug as she took a sip of her drink. “Nothing really… I’m cross-breeding a couple of plants to see how it goes, and we fired someone at work for stealing, but that’s all,” she answered, knowing she was lying through her teeth.
“Really? That’s all?” She questioned, narrowing her eyes at her sister a little.
By now both Ian and Jack were looking at each other and then at the two girls, watching the scene unfold. Ian was completely ensnared in the mystery of Autumn’s sudden digging, but Jack was looking Pepper over to see if there was something he hadn’t noticed about the oldest sibling.
Pepper nodded and gave her sister a confused look. “Did you smoke something on the way over Autumn?” She questioned, knowing there was no way in Hell her siblings, any of them, could know about what had been going on this past month.
“No, but I think we should smoke,” Autumn answered, deciding to try a different tactic to dig into what she was trying to find out. “Want me to run out to the shed and get some?” She questioned as she stood up.
Pepper shook her head and set her drink down. “I have some inside, I’ll show you where it is so you don’t have to go outside if you have a bout with your insomnia. Don’t want you tracking through the snow in the dead of night,” she chuckled as she walked over to the linen closet.
She opened the door and stood to the side so Autumn, and their brothers, could see where she was keeping her indoors stash. There were four shelves, and then the floor, in the linen closet, and the top shelf was washcloths and dish towels, the second shelf was towels, and the third was sheets, and the fourth was blankets. She tried not to keep anything on the floor though. Moving her hand to the middle stack of towels, she slid her hand between the one on the bottom and the one above it and pulled out a bag with at least two ounces of marijuana in It. She went back over to her recliner, passing the bag off to Autumn on the way, and sat down, getting comfortable.
Autumn reached into the messenger bag she had set by her corner of the couch and took out the bowl inside. “I swear, sis, with how much you sell, you might as well quit your stupid gas station job and live of the dealing profit. Plus you have your stand, so you don’t really need the dangerous job anyway,” she said as she went to work packing a bowl before she handed it to Jack so she could close up the bag and put her messenger bag on the floor.
Jack, grinning from ear to ear, waited for Autumn to be busy with getting resettled before he slid the lighter from his pocket and lit up, taking a good, deep hit. He shifted his eyes to Ian, who was already laughing as he watched Jack steal the first hit, before he looked back to Autumn, who stared at him in disbelief. He wiggled his eyebrows at her as he let out a slow exhale of blue-ish smoke.
“You little shit!” Autumn exclaimed as Pepper, and Jack, joined in on Ian’s laughter. “I can’t believe you stole my hit! I always get greens!”
Jack laughed as he held the bowl out to her and smiled as sweetly as he could through his giggles at her reaction. “Holder’s fee,” he stated with a shrug before he joined in on the laughter of the other two.
Autumn grumbled as she took the bowl and took her own hit, holding the smoke a little longer than Jack before she leaned over, handed it to Ian, who had stretched out his long arm to reach it. “I can’t believe,” she started, but paused to exhale, “that you actually used ‘holder’s fee’ on family. It’s just not right.”
“Autumn… Didn’t you get the memo about you being adopted? Gods, Ian, you were supposed to tell her!” He smiled, and then laughed, when Autumn flipped him off. “Aw, you know I love you sis.”
“Sometimes, I wonder,” she said as she watched Pepper take her hit. She slid her phone out of her pocket, and sent a quick text to Jack, knowing his phone would be on vibrate since everyone’s was supposed to be.
Jack almost said something about her using her cell phone, which was supposed to be off limits during the family get-togethers, but when the cell disappeared into her pocket and his own phone went off, he shut his mouth. He made sure Ian and Pepper were distracted by their conversation of which two plants Pepper was cross-breeding before he slid out his phone and opened the text. He put away his phone and looked to Autumn, who gave a short nod and a smirk, and then to Pepper, to see just what Autumn was talking about.
Pepper, feeling eyes on her, turned her attention to the two younger siblings, momentarily pausing her talk with Ian. “What?” She questioned as she handed the bowl to Jack, after she had taken her hit.
Jack smiled wide when he saw just what Autumn had been talking about and held up his index finger so that he could take his hit. He drew a couple of puffs through the bowl before handing the blue and silver piece to Autumn who took it and began to take her own hit. He held the smoke in his lungs, imagining it swirling around in his body, before he let out a slow exhale. “So, Pepper… Who gave you the hickey, darlin‘?”
Author's Chapter Notes:
Warning: Drug use is in this chapter, sorry if you don't like it, though I promise it's still a good read =)
Chapter End Notes:
[Author’s Note: So, has anyone seen miss Jen? Lol I think she’s gone MIA. Anyway, sorry to leave you guys on that cliffy, but I thought you would like an update like this =) Thanks to nicksbeautifulwoman for the lovely reviews lately and to all of your readers who have brought my read count to the current 1691 that it’s at. I love you all for it =) I’d love to know what you guys think of it so far. Have a good day! PS- I’M GETTING BETTER!!!]
