A Greene Family Vacation Read online

  Greene Family Vacation

  Piper Rayne

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  © 2022 by Piper Rayne

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

  Cover Design: By Hang Le

  1st Line Editor: Joy Editing

  2nd Line Editor: My Brother’s Editor

  Proofreader: My Brother’s Editor

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  * * *

  About Greene Family Vacation

  Greene Family Vacation Itinerary

  Ticket holders:

  17 adults. 5 children.

  Departs from Anchorage, Alaska

  Arrives in Maui, Hawaii

  Reports of arguing with the TSA’s at the airport, three drunk grandmas, siblings fighting, a tooth fairy, two celebrities, one sunburned redhead, a wild blonde running the halls and one unexpected layover in San Francisco.

  Enjoy your trip!

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Cockamamie Unicorn Ramblings

  About Piper & Rayne

  Also by Piper Rayne

  “Sorry, we can’t swing it. You’ll have to enjoy paradise without us,” I tell my siblings at my dad and Marla’s house before our Sunday dinner, while we’re all sitting around the living room. “We just had Leighton and there’s no way we’re gonna leave her.”

  Our family is leaving for Hawaii next month for a much-needed family vacation. When everyone booked the trip, we opted out since Presley was pregnant, but Marla and Hank were supposed to go. After his diagnosis, they offered their tickets to Presley and me. We discussed it but decided to pass. We just had our daughter a couple weeks ago, and we’re still settling into parenthood.

  “Hank needs to stay put for his treatments.” Marla pats my dad’s knee.

  He gives her the look he’s giving everyone these days. Like he’s thinking, Stop talking about me, I’m fine. I do not have prostate cancer. I guess it’s good he’s positive though. “I told you I’d delay the treatments.”

  “NO!” half the room shouts.

  Dad shakes his head, continuing to put together a bouncy seat for Leighton.

  “But you and Presley go. Leighton will have some quality grandparent time.” Marla reaches into the carrier and tickles her.

  “I appreciate that, Marla, but I’m nursing and—”

  Nikki cuts off Presley. “I have a pump you can borrow. I’m sure you can get enough to leave for Mom. It’s a short trip. Only five days.”

  Presley and I have already talked about this. We both agreed not to go, but Presley wants me to do most of the talking because she loves my family and hates to be the reason any of them are disappointed. I say screw them, they should understand.

  “We’re taking the twins,” Fisher says.

  A few of my siblings pretend that’s welcome news, but who really wants to travel with two seven-month-olds? Not me.

  “More power to you and Allie, but Leighton is a newborn.”

  Unfortunately, Marla is probably taking it as an insult that we won’t leave Leighton in her care, and my dad is so hell-bent on acting as though he doesn’t have cancer he’s just as miffed. But they have enough on their plate. After a long nine months of pregnancy, I’d love to spend time with my wife on a Hawaiian beach. What moron wouldn’t? But even if Presley wanted to go, I would have been apprehensive. I want to spend time with the baby.

  “Plus, this way, I’m here for Truth or Dare,” I add.

  Jed shoots me a look. One that suggests we’ve both agreed to let our new manager run the place in our absence. We’re supposed to be looking to expand our distribution, open another location while the new manager runs Truth or Dare, but it’s only been a few weeks since we brought on Caz. He needs more training, and I need more time to trust him.

  “Well, that means we have two extra tickets. Who should we offer them to?” Marla continues being the planner in our family.

  Fisher raises his hand. “Cam.”

  Chevelle groans. “Cam? Why? So we can watch him flirt with half-naked women the whole time?”

  “Careful there, you sound jealous.” Fisher’s voice is low and stern.

  Chevelle whips her head around toward him. “You’re crazy.”

  “I better be.”

  Allie puts her hand on Fisher’s knee while bouncing Axel. Something flashes between them that I can’t decipher. Do they know something I don’t?

  “Not to mention Cam can afford his own vacation,” Mandi says. “I say we bring Clara.”

  “I second Clara.” Nikki raises her hand.

  Presley tentatively raises her hand. “Not sure if I get a vote, but of course, I’d pick my sister. She’s had a rough go of it lately.”

  “Yeah, and mostly due to my moronic brother. We owe her one just for whatever it is he’s done.” Chevelle eyes Presley. “Even though no one will tell us.”

  I put my hand around Presley’s shoulders. “I’m sure you have secrets we don’t know.” I point at all the Greene women, and they look down at their laps.

  There’s been some conflict in the family lately because my stupid-ass brother, Xavier, somehow did something to ruin his friendship of over twenty-five years with Clara Harrison, our town librarian and Presley’s sister. Presley knows what went down and she’s only shared snippets with me. But what she didn’t have to tell me is my brother’s rise to stardom from being the starting quarterback for the San Francisco Kingsmen has gone to his head.

  We tried to talk some sense into him when he returned earlier this summer to help our dad. I give him props for rising to the occasion, but most of what we said seemed to fall on deaf ears. I think his new and definitely not improved attitude even put his relationship with his model girlfriend at risk. Rumor on the gossip sites is that they broke up, or so my sisters tell me. Now that he’s back in San Francisco for training camp, I don’t expect to hear much from him and that’s just not the Xavier I grew up with.

  “Okay, I think we can all agree on Clara.” Marla raises her hand, and no one argues. “As for the other ticket, we could offer it to one of Ethel’s friends.”

  “She already has Dori and Midge coming,” Posey says. “And who’s going to be responsible for those three now that you and Hank aren’t going?”

  Marla looks at my dad. “Well, one of you will have to.”

  Mandi quickly raises her hand. “Not me. I know I’m the easy choice since I’m usually the responsible one out of us, but I am not going to spend my week away from the inn babysitting three elderly women who will badger me about being single, embarrass me by trying to fix me up, or having to talk the police out of arresting Midge for theft.”

  No one says anything because we all assumed it would be Mandi, and let’s face it, it’ll probably still be her because no one else will step up.

  “Maybe we can make up a schedule. Each of us takes a day or something,” Allie offers, and Fisher snorts.

  “We have our hands full,” he says, staring at Axel on her lap. Laurie is currently propped up with two pillows because she’s already sitting up and poor Axel isn’
t. I can already see that the comparisons those two will have to endure their whole lives will be insane. “There is no one else. Cam is practically family.”

  “But he’s not,” Chevelle says, and the way she keeps fighting this has my senses tingling that maybe there’s more going on I don’t know about. “Rylan can bring another friend. I’ll even watch them.”

  “One is enough, and the only friend who was even allowed to go is Declan.” Marla shakes her head. “Maybe Cam wouldn’t be a bad choice. He could help watch the boys.”

  Everyone laughs. Cam in charge of the boys? What planet did she just arrive from?

  “Calista,” Nikki says and eyes Rylan across the room.

  He only gives her a disgusted look.

  “No girls,” Marla says and pats Rylan’s knee as though he wanted Calista to come. “I think Hank and I will just make the decision.” She looks at my dad, who is busy on his phone. Probably playing Words With Friends, as he seems to do that a lot these days. “Hank?”

  “Cam,” he answers without looking up from his phone. “He’s like family.”

  “He is family,” Fisher says and eyes Chevelle.

  She throws herself back in her chair and blows out a breath. She’s always hated losing, but I can’t decide if there’s more to it than that.

  This feels like a family vacation that’ll go down in the books. I’m kind of relieved I’ll be missing it.

  We’re at the airport, standing in line to check in, when my phone dings with a text message.

  Grandma Ethel: Be a dear and meet us at Departure.

  I groan and look at my siblings—none of whom have reached for their phone. Of course she would only message me.

  “Grandma Ethel needs help unloading all their stuff. I think one of the guys should go.”

  No one even glances my way.

  Who am I kidding?

  Adam and Lucy have their foster child, Trey, who they had to get special permission to bring. He’s never flown before and is freaking out.

  Jed and Molly have Emelia, who’s upset about a stuffed animal she forgot.

  Fisher and Allie have the twins. Enough said.

  And Gavin is on the phone, talking to a Sunrise Bay resident about a complaint regarding something going down at City Hall.

  “I’ll go with you,” Clara says from beside me.

  We tell my siblings to watch our bags. Chevelle gives a nod as she’s posting on social media, and Nikki assures us we’re good.

  “I knew I’d be stuck on grandma duty,” I grumble.

  “They aren’t that bad. They can be kind of sweet. Ethel asked me to take some books over to the retirement community, so I picked a variety I thought would interest them.”

  “And?” I raise my eyebrows as we exit the airport onto the crowded sidewalk at departures.

  “She put an anonymous complaint box out and three people complained that they wanted dirtier stuff. One specifically asked for the book with the red room.”

  I shake my head. “Is that going to happen to us when we get old?”

  “That we become hornier than we were as teenagers?” Clara asks. “If we go off of that retirement home, then yes.”

  We both laugh and look around, but as soon as we hear their voices, our laughter abruptly stops.

  “I told you, I got it.” Midge is tearing a bag away from one of the skycaps.

  “Midge, he’s just trying to help,” my grandma says.

  “This has all my medicine in it.”

  The skycap puts up both hands and another guy steps in. He has his back to me, but looks familiar nonetheless.

  “Who is that?” Clara whispers while we approach the Bronco the ladies are gathered around.

  “I don’t know, but that ass.”

  Clara makes a noise of agreement.

  The guy is all muscle. Well over six foot three, broad shoulders that stretch the fabric of his T-shirt. He has longer dark hair that’s pulled back from his face and he’s wearing pants, though I have no idea how in August. Sure, it’s Alaska, but if you’re a true Alaskanite, then no way can you stand jeans in the hottest month of summer. This is what we wait for all year. So it stands out to me that he’d be wearing pants. Maybe he cranks the air conditioning in the car all day for his passengers?

  “Relax, Noah, I’m fine.” Midge pushes past him, dodging his shoulder and causing him to spin around.

  “Oh,” I say and stop.

  My eyes lock with his for a moment.

  Clara stops walking and looks between us. “Do you know him?”

  “It’s Noah. He’s a photographer. Sometimes he stays at the inn.”

  “Mandi.” Noah’s smile is immediate, and it warms something inside me as it always does. A spot that’s been cold for a very long time. “What are you doing here?”

  I signal to the grandmas who are still arguing with the skycap. “I’m getting them.”

  Clara rushes over to help clear up whatever the problem is, informing the skycap what flight they’re on. She pretty much handles it like a pro, and I barely have to intervene except to tell Ethel she can’t take her knitting needles in her carry-on.

  “I’m not going to stab someone,” she says.

  Noah clears his throat behind me, and I turn to face him. My neck cranes from looking up. One thing I love about Noah is he makes me feel small.

  “Is this some volunteer thing?” he asks.

  I laugh. “Like I’d voluntarily agree to take three elderly women to Hawaii to be badgered about being—” I’m quick to cut off what I was saying. He probably knows I’m single.

  “Noah, thanks for the ride.” Dori pats his cheek. “Next time though, fifteen minutes before planned. You never know with traffic.”

  Noah halfheartedly smiles at her. “Got it, Bluehaze.”

  Dori laughs and shakes her head. “The nicknames and this guy.” She thumbs in his direction.

  “Hi, I’m Clara.” She extends her hand, but Noah’s eyes only briefly meet hers as they shake hands.

  “You’re a volunteer too?” he asks, then his attention is back on me.

  “Noah thinks we’re chaperoning Ethel and her friends willingly,” I say with a smile.

  Clara giggles. “Sure, I’ve got a suitcase full of Bengay and overnight diapers.”

  “If not just being nice, what gives?” His forehead wrinkles a little.

  “It’s a Greene family vacation and my grandma”—I point in her direction—“invited her two friends to come along. She said she can’t keep up with all our energy, so she needs friends to play cards with.”

  “Which really means to gossip and get into trouble with,” Clara adds.

  “You two both single?” He points his finger between us.

  I groan. “Unfortunately, yes.”

  He touches my arm. “I’m sorry. Every available man will know within five minutes of you arriving at the hotel.”

  “Right?” I cringe. “I could stow you away. We could always pretend.”

  We all laugh.

  “This was one ride you should have declined, right?” Clara says.

  “What do you mean?” Noah asks Clara.

  “You’re their Uber driver, no?”

  “No.” He shakes his head. “I’m Midge’s grandson.”

  “Oh,” Clara says.

  As if Midge heard us, she comes over. “Bend down so I can kiss your cheek.”

  Noah does as his grandma asks, and she leaves her signature berry-pink lipstick on his cheek.

  “Be a good boy while I’m gone. No excursions?”

  Noah looks at me out the corner of his eye then back down at her. “Not until October.”

  “Good. I like you being home.”

  “Where’s home?” I always thought he lived on the road, hence the reason he stays at the inn sometimes for lengthy visits.

  “Greywall of course,” Midge says in a tone that implies I’m stupid.

  Clara and I look at one another and raise our eyebrows.

&
nbsp; “We gotta go,” Ethel says from the entrance of the airport, forcing everyone else trying to enter to walk around her. “Thanks, Noah. See you on the flip side.”

  “Flip side?” I mouth.

  Noah laughs. “Have fun, you two. Too bad there’s not an extra ticket.”

  “Yeah, too bad,” I say more in a whisper.

  “Nice meeting you, Noah. Wish us luck,” Clara says.

  We both raise our hands in a goodbye and turn around.

  “Holy shit, that guy likes you,” Clara whispers, staring over her shoulder one more time as though we’re thirteen.

  “He does not. He just—”

  “Why would he stay at the inn if Greywall is home if he didn’t like you?” Clara asks about the same thing that piqued my interest the minute I heard it.

  When we reach the sliding doors, I turn around one last time. Noah is watching us, and he puts up his hand in a quick wave with a smile that lights up my insides. It’s a magical moment—until the traffic officer yells at him to move his truck.

  “Oh my God, you like him too! You like a guy with the same name as your nephew. This should be fun.”

  I just roll my eyes at her.

  Once inside, we return to the check-in with the family, they’re all at the front desk, and our suitcases are being tagged and taken away by airport security.

  “Whoa!” I yell, and Clara and I rush over to stop them. “These are ours.”

  The security officer takes us aside and makes us show identification, asking us why the bags were left unattended, and I explain that they were left under the care of our family members.

  “Do you not listen to the announcements over the loudspeaker? Do not leave your bag unattended.” The woman pronounces every word as if we’re idiots for entrusting our family with two bags. Which given our current circumstance, maybe we are.