Page 69 of Hideaway Heart

“Yes!” Ari jumped up and down excitedly.

“What?” Devlin stared at the dry erase board. “Ari literally drew a bunch of lines and you guessed bunk beds? You guys are cheating!”

“We are not,” said Mabel, pushing her glasses up her nose. She had Devlin’s coloring—the dark hair and blue eyes. “We’re just more talented. You’re lucky there’s no singing and dancing involved.” She gestured toward Veronica and Kelly. “This team is stacked.”

“That’s the game,” my dad said, checking the score sheet. “Women, ten. Men, five.”

My brothers grumbled as Veronica, Kelly, Mabel, Ari, and Adelaide all exchanged high fives.

“I want to be on the women’s team next time,” Owen said.

“Me too,” Devlin chimed in, shoving my shoulder. “Or maybe just whatever team Xander isn’t on. So who’s up for hitting The Broken Spoke?”

“Tonight?” I asked.

“Yeah, why not?”

Because I want to go home and get laid again, that’s why.“It’s kind of late, isn’t it?”

“It’s only nine, Grandpa.”

“It’s Sunday.”

“But it’s a holiday weekend, so it’ll be open late tonight, right?”

“Should be,” said Austin. “Kids are gonna sleep here tonight, so we can go.” He looked at Veronica. “If you want to.”

“Sure!” She looked at Kelly. “What do you think? Too risky for you?”

Kelly looked at me before answering. “Maybe? I don’t know.”

“It’s gonna be packed for sure.” And I honestly didn’t feel like sharing her.

“We can all go in together.” Devlin sounded confident. “Keep her surrounded. It’ll be like she has three bodyguards.”

“Six,” Mabel pointed out. “Ari and I and Veronica can help guard her too.”

“What if you called ahead?” Austin suggested. “Maybe they’d let us reserve that table in the corner.”

“They might have, if I’d done it earlier,” I said. “At this point, I doubt they’d even answer the phone.”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine.” Kelly smiled. “I’ll wear a hat and keep my head down.”

“I’ve got a hat I can lend you.” My dad stood up, excited to help out. “Let me find it.”

She came over and sat next to me, put a hand on my leg. “Is it okay? I don’t have to go if you think it’s a bad idea.”

I liked that she trusted me to make the call. “It’s okay. Let’s head over there, and I’ll assess the situation,” I said. “If I go in and get a bad feeling, we’ll go home.”

“Okay.” She smiled. “Home is fun too.”

“I found one!” My dad shuffled over to us, proudly offering a Two Buckleys Home Improvement cap, much like the one I’d loaned her two nights before, only his was navy.

“Thanks.” Kelly flashed him a grin and pulled the cap onto her head.

My father nodded his approval. “Looks good on you.”

“All that red hair might be kind of recognizable,” said Ari. “Maybe a ponytail?”