The Alpha’s Surgeon

19

Momma Anna leaned back in her chair, a mischievous twinkle lighting her eyes as the last plates were pushed aside. “Now, y’all think these girls are somethin’ now,” she began, voice full of mock authority, “but you should’ve seen ’em as teenagers. I still got gray hair from that summer they thought they were invincible.”

Rae froze mid-sip of coffee. “Oh, no. Don’t—”

Papi Sam grinned, cutting her off. “Ah, you mean the firecracker incident.”

Del immediately choked on her drink, laughing. “Oh, this one’s good.”

Trey leaned forward, eyes wide with interest. “Firecrackers?”

“Oh yeah,” Papi Sam said, his deep laugh rumbling through the shack. “Fifteen-year-old Rae decided she was gonna ‘celebrate freedom’ early that summer. Bought herself a whole box of fireworks from that sketchy fella off Route 7.”

“I did not buy them,” Rae said quickly. “They were… a gift.”

Remi arched a brow. “A gift from who?”

Rae mumbled, “A guy who wanted to impress me.”

Momma Anna slapped the table, laughing. “And it worked for all of five minutes before she nearly lit the dock and half the bayou on fire! I come runnin’ out hearin’ pop-pop-pop—look out and there’s Rae, hair wild, eyes big as saucers, yellin’ ‘I got it under control!’ while the dock’s smokin’ like a chimney.”

Will covered his mouth, trying not to laugh. “Oh, I wish I’d seen that.”

“Oh, it gets better,” Papi Sam said, leaning forward. “Del’s over there with a bucket, tossin’ water on the dock, and Rae—bless her heart—is still tryin’ to light more, sayin’, ‘If we stop now, it’s a waste of a show!’”

Del was already wheezing with laughter. “She burned her eyebrow clean off that day!”

“I did not!” Rae protested, but her ears turned red.

Momma Anna cackled. “You absolutely did, cher. Had one eyebrow for a month. I told you, next time you wanna make fireworks, I’ll just give you my skillet and some oil. Same result.”

Elijah leaned his head on his hand, grinning wide. “You mean to tell me Rae—tech genius, security mastermind, Miss Professional—almost burned down a dock?”

“Almost?” Papi Sam echoed. “If the wind had been any worse, she’d’ve taken out the bait shop, too.”

Rae groaned, covering her face. “You’re all terrible.”

Trey snorted. “You’re the one who plays with drones and motion sensors for fun. I’m starting to see a pattern.”

Remi laughed softly. “Chaos seems to follow her.”

Momma Anna waved her towel like a flag of victory. “Oh, that ain’t even the worst one. Tell ’em about the kayak race, Sam.”

Del perked up. “No! No, no, we don’t tell that one!”

Rae peeked over her hands. “The one where she flipped three times before the start horn?”

“FOUR!” Momma Anna shouted. “Four times, bless her. I thought she was tryin’ to baptize herself!”

The shack erupted with laughter—Remi giggling against Will’s shoulder, Trey nearly falling out of his chair, and Elijah gasping for air.

Aspen barked loudly, tail wagging as if joining the fun. Rae pointed down at him. “See? Even Aspen’s laughin’ at me.”

Momma Anna smiled fondly through her laughter, reaching across the table to pat Rae’s hand. “You were a wild one, baby. Still are, just a little smarter about it now.”

Rae’s mock pout softened into a grin. “Yeah, well, someone had to keep Del from drowning and setting the forest on fire at the same time.”

Del tossed a napkin at her. “I only set one thing on fire.”

“Uh-huh,” Papi Sam said, chuckling. “And it was my fishing chair.”

Everyone burst out laughing again, the air warm with nostalgia and love.

Momma Anna finally stood, shaking her head. “Lord, y’all are a mess. But you turned out alright. Smart, brave, a little scarred—but alright.”

Papi Sam added with a grin, “And we wouldn’t trade any of those stories for the world.”

Rae leaned back, a small, genuine smile tugging at her lips. “Yeah… me neither.”

The laughter died down into that comfortable, easy silence—the kind that only came with people who’d seen each other through storms and still chose to stay.