In the end, she’d consoled herself that it would be easier to raise boys without fucking them up. At the least she wouldn’t have to worry about them screwing their high school teachers. But the bond between Sam and Ruby is clear, and for a moment, Bennett feels a sense of loss for something she never had.

Just then the kitchen door swings open and the rest of the kids trample in. They muscle up the to the island and begin shoveling in food, talking and joking with each other. Same is clearly in her element with the five kids around her. She is pouring them all glasses of lemonade from a large pitcher, a different color for each kid, and dropping in mint leaves to the protest of the three littlest ones.

“Who calls you the Kitchen Diva?” Bennett blurts, the alcohol burning a...

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