"Hey, kiddo." Kai smiled when she found Kie and her friends off to the side. "Hey, boys." She smiled at them.
"Hey, K." Kie smiled a bit.
"Nice... Nice, uh, party, Kai." JJ smiled, looking at the long, dark-haired girl in the white sundress.
"Thanks, JJ." Kai smiled at him before reaching Kie with her glass. "It's white wine. And your mom's not looking." Kai whispered as Kie took the glass.
"Thank you." Kie chuckled a bit, taking a sip of the drink.
"How'd you score that?" John B asked with a chuckle. "You're not even legal yet."
"Mom thinks it's champagne..." Kai shrugged, being on the lookout for her mother or sister. "Figured you'd want something stronger than sparkling apple cider." She added, looking at Kie, who reached her the glass back.
"Very appreciated." Kie chuckled, smiling at Kai.
"Avoiding my mom or yours?" she asked as the boys got distracted by a servant walking over with a tray of appetizers.
"Both." Kie sighed.
"Me too..." Kai sighed, looking around the party.
"Oh, Kalani! Come meet Brenda! She's the chair of the Island Club..."
"Duty calls," Kai said to her niece, raising her glass when Kie chuckled.
"Good luck," Kie smirked at her.
After the very long day, the Pogues all gathered at the beach. It was chilly since it was later, so the Pogues wore long sleeves and hoodies. John B sat off to the side, thinking about his DCS meeting. They threatened to proceed with foster care. Pope and JJ were telling a story about this guy who used to go to their high school before dropping out to go surfing and live the van life. Kie was laughing as she sat between the boys.
*
"They actually thought I was gonna be happy to hear that. And that's where this story starts: My dad missing, my uncle MIA, and the Bride of Frankenstein threatening foster care.
But then I caught a break. Hurricane Agatha... coming in the same day DCS was supposed to do my assessment."
*
Later that night.
John B and Pope ran out to the beach. JJ had a shift at the local hotel in "No-Man's Land." It was the middle of the island, where people were between the two social classes. It was mainly for the rentals and hotels for the tourists, or as the locals called them, "Tourons." Kie was not allowed to go out since she had to help secure everything at her parents' restaurant.
"It's a double overhead out there, bro." John B said that evening when the storm picked up.
"Double overhead?" Pope asked, following John B out with their surfboards.
The two boys stopped, looking at the worsening storm. The waves were crazy, and there was a "beach closed" sign out front.
"Those aren't surfable waves, bro," Pope said, looking at John B in concern.
"Says who?" John B smirked when the two boys ran out to catch the waves.
They tried, but it was nearly impossible to stay on your board. John B stopped when he noticed a white boat going towards the storm.
Who was that?
They were crazy to go out into the storm.
Meanwhile, on the Figure Eight.
"Oh, look at all of this. We will have to add all of this money to your shared bank account. Do you want it in your savings?" Delilah asked as she was counting the money from the cards that her rich friends had given Kai and Rafe.
"Yeah... Rafe and I were talking about getting a pool." Kai smiled, reading through the cards that were written nearly identically. No sympathetic words. All of them almost said the same thing. Congratulations. Here's some cash.
"A pool? Oh, Ward was talking to his workers about adding one. Rose said the property value will go up way more with a poolhouse, too." Delilah said, still sitting at the table as she tried to band up the money.
"How much did you score, kiddo?" Paul, Kai's father, smiled as he walked over to sit beside his daughter with his cup of bourbon.
"Ask Mom... She's collected them all." Kai chuckled, smiling at her dad.
"I can't believe my baby is going to be married in a few weeks. Makes me feel old." Paul pouted a bit, making Kai chuckle at him.
"Well, you still have Kie's wedding to look forward to." Kai smiled.
"Oh, don't remind me... I have talked, and talked, to Anna about getting that girl back to the Academy... How is she going to have a good education going to that... poor school?" Delilah ranted, moving to put the money into an envelope to take to the bank after the storm that was making the lights flicker.
"She likes it, Mom... And her friends seem nice." Kai tried to say, reaching to grab her mother's puppy, Sweetie, who was whimpering on the couch next to her as the storm picked up outside.
"Oh, don't start that, Kalani Harper. I don't see how hanging out with trailer trash can--" Delilah began to rant.
"Mother!" Kai stood up, scoffing as she continued to hold her dog.
"What?" Delilah asked, turning to look at Kai, hands on her hips.
"Just because they're Pogues does not mean you should insult them. You don't know what they're going through." Kai sighed, walking over to her mom.
"I know what they do... They knock up a good girl. Force her to marry him. And then, make her work her life away when she could have had a better one by marrying a good, hardworking man." Delilah ranted when Kai sighed, moving her hand to reach for her mother's.
"You can't take out all of your frustrations about what Anna did on all Pogues. All that matters is that my sister is happy. And Kie seems to be happy, too." Kai tried to say it as Delilah nodded slowly. "Okay? Great... I'm gonna go on up to bed." She smiled, moving to kiss her mom's cheek. "Night, Dad." She smiled, blowing a kiss to her dad as she headed toward the staircase.
"Night, sweetpea." Paul smiled at her. "You just nodded so she wouldn't be upset with you?" He asked, looking at his wife as soon as Kai walked out of the formal living room.
"She has a wedding to think of. Not about the disgrace her sister ruined this family." Delilah spat, taking the envelope over to her purse.
"You're an open book, my dear," Paul said with a slight chuckle, looking up as the lights flickered again. "Guess I'll have to call Julian. He'll have to get that generator out and running tomorrow." He said, taking another sip of his bourbon.
"And you'll have to get someone to clean up the yard again. Hopefully, there is no damage to the house." Delilah said, walking down the hall.
~season 1, episode 1: "Pilot"~
~1105 words~
YOU ARE READING
Family Business:
Fanfiction*Takes place during season 1 of OBX* Paul and Delilah Richards were some of the Kookiest Kooks. They were successful in life. Paul owed several condo rentals and a boat rental on the island. Delilah was born into a wealthy family in Charleston and m...
