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Sloane snorted, low and ugly. “She’s not lying.”

“Asshole,” Shawna shot at him.

“Language,” Ana chided.

“He swears like a sailor, and I get yelled at for calling him what he is?” Shawna complained.

“And you’re a little shit,” Sloane told her.

“And a minor,” Ana added, looking at her youngest through the rearview mirror.

“Oh,” Diana said brightly. “That means I can call him an asshole then.”

“Don’t push it,” Sloane growled at her.

Ana hummed. “No, she has the right of it.”

“Mama!” Sloane protested.

Dean covered his mouth, trying desperately to hide his laughter at his boyfriend’s indignation. While he was more than willing to call Sloane on being a grumpy bastard in private, he didn’t want to do it in front of his family. As much as Sloane let him get away with a great deal, he was sure he would end up in the doghouse if Dean had the gall to agree with his family in front of him.

Ana glanced at him, leaving her children to squabble. “How was the trip?”

Dean grimaced. “It was...fine.”

She laughed softly. “Which is a very polite way of saying it was absolute hell, and you wished you hadn’t gone through with it.”

Dean eyed her. “Is bluntness a family trait or just something you’ve all picked up along the way?”

“Is there a difference?”

No, he supposed there wasn’t.

Dean huffed. “I can’t say traveling during the holidays is my favorite thing. But now we’re here, I don’t regret it for a minute.”

“Excuse me?” Shawna called from the backseat.

Sloane growled at her. “It’s not my fault you have terrible taste in men.”

“And what about you?” Shawna barked at him.

Sloane sounded smug when he responded. “I haveperfecttaste in men, thank you.”

“I’m talking about the girls before Dean,” Shawna shot back.

Ana glanced at him. “Do you have siblings, Dean? Sloane never mentioned any.”

“Only child,” Dean informed her.

“Believe it or not,” Ana said, glaring in the rearview mirror. “This is normal for siblings.”

“I’ve seen enough sibling relationships to know,” Dean told her.

“Mom!” Shawna shouted. “Sloane says I have terrible taste in men.”

“Consider it a family trait, from me to you, mija,” Ana said easily.

Which was lighthearted enough, but Dean caught the shadow that flashed over Sloane’s face. Dean knew that of the three siblings, Sloane bore the greatest grudge against their father for having left. Ironically, from what Dean had learned, it was Sloane who took after their father the most. How much that hung over Sloane, he never said, but Dean guessed it was more than he let on.