Smiley and Sunshine

13.

The tissue paper crinkled as Emerson dug his hand into the extra-large gift bag fishing around for the present. It was a gift from Francis so anything was to be expected. Emerson pulled his hand out, holding a regular-sized jar filled with, Hayes leaned forward to get a better look, money? She didn't get it. But apparently her brothers did as laughter broke out amongst the guys as they pieced together the present. "Wow, thanks Fran." Emerson chuckled, shaking the jar a little.

"Happy birthday! You are now 21 dollars richer!" Francis exclaimed with excessive enthusiasm.

"Not even an extra dollar for good luck?"

"Sorry, the Bank of Austin doesn't work that way." Francis grinned, making Austin roll his eyes.

"Look at all those dolla dolla bills," Drew teased. "You're going to be the catch of the night."

"They'll be looking at you like fresh meat." Francis added.

"Can I come?" Glen asked semi-jokingly.

"No way, you look like a fucking baby," Dakota said.

"Yeah, no one will let you even get close to the door." Colton added.

"Fake ID?" Francis casually suggested, making Dakota scoff. Speaking as if the toddler himself would be allowed to get pass the bouncer.

"Don't even think about it," Austin warned. He knew it was all fun and games, but every now and then his younger brothers liked to keep life interesting by doing stupid stuff so he had to make sure to lay down the law. It kept Austin and Baker on their toes.

As the brothers continued to tease Emerson, the room became muffled when hands covered Hayes' ears. Completely lost on what was happening, she tilted her head back to look up at Baker. She had been sitting on the floor using his legs as a backrest this whole time so she could pet Chubba. He winked at her and leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead, while offering no explanation for his actions.

"I'll go get the cake out," Peyton excused herself, getting off the rocking chair she claimed. It was slowly getting late and she knew the brothers tended to lose the concept of time when they all were together. It wasn't a bad thing, in fact she wished her own siblings had as close a relationship as this family. She was glad the Powers brothers had welcomed her with open arms. But tomorrow was Monday, a big day for the littlest Powers siblings and a work-day for the eldest siblings. Someone had to be sensible.

"Thanks Peyton," Austin appreciated her. He had to commend Baker for picking such a priceless addition to their family. It often seemed that they were the only responsible ones in the family, though Baker was known to have his moments.

"Oh hey, Peyton" Dakota called her over to where he was sitting and whispered something into her ear. It was imperative she did as he requested otherwise the birthday would be ruined. Laughter threatened to escape her but nonetheless, she nodded and went to fulfil the task.

Hayes pouted and tried to remove Baker's hands but she was nothing against his strength. Even if she didn't understand what they were talking about, she still wanted to hear! Baker chuckled at her attempts, refusing to let her innocent ears listen in to the boys' R-rated banter. But with Hayes distracted for the time being, that meant Chubba wasn't getting any attention and he was a very needy dog. So to fix that, Chubba got up, did a big stretch, and proceeded to wiggle his way in between Baker and Hayes, positioning himself so his tail kept wacking Hayes in the face while he attacked Baker's face with kisses. "Chubba, stop!" Baker laughed, trying to block his face. In the effort to protect himself from the onslaught of dog slobber, Hayes' ears were released so she caught the last bits of the conversation.