Page 24

Chapter 23

Tenley

"L eave it to Ten to trip ass-backward into a meaningful relationship," Harlow says with a roll of her eyes.

“Meanwhile I can’t find one to save my life,” Shelby mutters.

“Can both of you shut up?” I request of my cousins who I normally adore.

“We need to keep our mind off things,” Liv says and waves her hand in the air. “I’ll allow it.”

We’re all sitting on the back porch of my house, watching the sunrise. We hadn’t planned on doing this together. We all arrived yesterday—every single cousin—in order to be here for Aunt Callie’s biopsy tomorrow. She didn’t know we were all coming so we decided to hide out here, at the old farmhouse I used to share with Tate before he built his own place for him, Dylan, and Mallory. The guys are all staying at Tate’s.

Last night we made a big meal and all hung out until almost midnight when the guys headed back to Tate’s. Theo, Conner, and Grady all have their own homes in Silver Bay but they wanted to be together, just like the girls did, I guess, because other than Mayhem and Liv, Mac and Shelby and Harlow all have their own places too.

“I can tell you that it makes Crew ridiculously happy to see Nash fall in love,” Liv announces. “I think he thought Nash would never.”

“He hasn’t,” I argue softly and watch the sun breach the horizon just down the field. “We are enemies-with-benefits. Nothing more.”

“Bullshit,” Mayhem says firmly. Her eyes are red and she’s not even trying to hide it. I think she was up crying all night. Mae, who we all affectionately call Mayhem, is Callie’s youngest. She’s a junior in college now and she’s taking it worse than all of us. She took a leave of absence from her college hockey team and her studies the minute she found out about her mom. “That boy fought a dude for your honor. That’s classic romance shit. He is into you. And judging by the way your eyes light up when his name is mentioned, you like him too.”

“He’s growing on me,” I say but I cover my smile with my coffee mug because I’m not willing to reveal more—to my relatives or myself. And honestly, I don’t know exactly what to do about my new, rapidly deepening feelings for Nash.

"I can't believe you kept that Bryce secret for all this time," Harlow says. "I wish you'd confided in one of us or all of us."

“I just couldn’t deal with it,” I reply and turn to look at Harlow who still has a pillow crease on her cheek. The red tint to her brown hair, a sleeper gene courtesy of the Caplan side of the family, is glowing as the rising sun paints the sky orange. “And I knew it would be rehashed over and over like we’re doing right now. It’s done. I’m fine. Let’s concentrate on Callie.”

“Or go back to talking about Nash while we can,” Shelby suggests. Her hair is undeniably red, not auburn, and since she doesn’t have the Caplan genetics it didn’t come from that. Not having the Caplan genetics also means that she doesn’t have to worry about the hereditary aspects of ovarian cancer. She’s the only female in our generation who can claim that luck. “Is he good in bed? Because those ones tied tighter than a pair of figure skates are usually beasts in bed.”

My brain is willingly accosted with several images of a naked Nash doing incredible things to my body. “He’s a goddamn sex god.”

The whole porch erupts in hoots of approval and laughter.

Harlow gives me a side hug. “This is so messy, with the fake, accidental marriage thing that I almost don’t envy you.”

“Almost,” Shelby repeats. “I would take messy over my vibrator, which I swear is about to explode from overuse.”

We all groan and Mayhem covers her ears and calls out, “TMI!”

I stand up as the colors in the sky are slowly fading. “Okay. Let’s get ready to rumble.”

We head back into the house, piling the coffee mugs on the piece of old Formica countertop which for some reason my parents have never updated like the rest of the kitchen counters. We head upstairs to the rooms we all slept in and wash up and change. I check my text messages while I wait for Liv to finish up in my bathroom. Still nothing from Nash.

He had just gotten back from meeting with his coach when I was outside waiting for my Uber to go to the airport. He seemed… off? Distant and stressed, even though he said everything went okay with Coach Braddock. He shocked me by explaining Bryce had confessed to the truth already, on his own, which was mind-blowing. Maybe the guy was telling me the truth and what he did to me was a drunken mistake. Then again, even those deserve consequences when they scare a child for life.

I push Bryce, and even Nash, from my brain so that I can concentrate on my family and this horrible day. Please may she be alright , I think as I get ready? Liv and Mayhem head home to drive to the hospital with their dad and mom, since Callie knows they're here. Shelby, Mac, Mallory, Harlow, and I drive straight to the hospital. Grady, Tate, and Conner are already there. Theo shows up shortly after. He looks rough, to say the least.

Harlow leans into her brother’s personal space as we walk into the hospital. “Is that… blood?”

She points to a couple of spots on his shirt and he pushes her hand away. “I don’t know. Maybe. I just grabbed crap that was in a laundry pile. My alarm didn’t go off.”

“How do you almost fuck this up?” Conner growls at him.

“Fuck off. I’m here, alright?” Theo replies and storms ahead of us. When he passes me I swear I smell booze, but I don’t say a thing because now is not the time.

My mom and dad, Aunt Rose, and Uncle Luc are already waiting by the elevators in the oncology wing. I hug them all. Aunt Rose, who is the biggest softy in the family, is already weepy. Uncle Luc pulls her into him and kisses her temple. “Fleur. Be strong.”

The idea for what we’re going to do is Mayhem’s. She saw it on Grey’s Anatomy . Callie, we all found out a couple of nights ago on a family Zoom, is not just having a biopsy. She's opted the have the entire ovary removed immediately and it will be biopsied later. She would rather be safe than sorry and her ovaries have been out of commission for a year and a half now anyway. That's how she worded it, talking about menopause.

So Callie was having surgery, and they'd be wheeling her down this hall and we intend to line it so we are the last thing she sees, cheering her on. Shelby goes to the nurses' station. She works here so she can get the scoop. She finds out what room Callie is in and leads us down the hall. We follow her instructions as she tells us where to stand, and that she'll be rolled down to a large elevator in the left wing. Grandma and Grandpa show up last. They're moving slower these days and Grandpa has a cane that folds into a seat, which he immediately sets up. Grandma brought flowers she's holding and will put them in Callie's room when she's done with the procedure.

Callie's room door opens and her bed starts being wheeled down the hall. Her eyes widen at the sight of us all and she begins to cry. "What are you all doing here? Tate, you have hockey! Conner, you have hockey! Grady, you are on fire. Go back to Cali and be on fire. You guys! I shouldn't be ruining your lives."

“Baby, they love you,” Uncle Devin reminds her as he walks beside her.

“And besides, you ruin their lives in so many other ways, this isn’t even on the list,” Dad quips. Mom smacks him hard in the chest.

Callie flips him the middle finger. “I’m going to be fine.”

“We know,” Theo calls. “Which is why I’m adding vodka to your recovery Jell-O. Party time in room three-twenty-six!”

Everyone laughs but I notice Harlow glare at him.

We take over an entire waiting area, but no one minds. After all our family donates buckets of money to this place every year, and we even have a wing named after us in the pediatric department. We all make small talk but it’s painful and I can’t stop glancing over at Uncle Devin. I’ve never seen him so grim or so pale. My mom doesn’t stop holding Aunt Rose’s hand.

“Okay, new game,” Shelby announces. “Everyone has to tell the rest of us one positive thing.”

“I’m not getting traded,” Theo blurts out. “I know the rumors are rampant but the coach called yesterday and he assures me I’m sticking around.”

“Good,” Luc says and smiles at his son as others clap him on the shoulder or say words of congratulations.

“I’m going back to school. To become a doctor,” Shelby announces. “I’m sick of taking orders from these dudes and quite frankly, I can do more and I want to do more. Oh and U Maine offered me a scholarship.”

Everyone lets out shocked sounds. Aunt Leah jumps to her feet and hugs her daughter while Uncle Cole beams. “That’s my girl. Kick the patriarchy’s ass and save lives doing it.”

“I asked Mac to marry me,” Conner blurts out.

“And I said yes!” Mac adds gleefully.

And now we’re cheering so loud that a nurse has to come by and shush us. After a round of hugs and tears from Aunt Rose who is a hopeless romantic, we settle down and keep going to keep the mood light. Harlow tells us she’s skating again, which blows my mind. She used to be an incredible competitive ice dancer and I never understood why she gave it up. “I have a competition in a couple of months.”

We all make note of it in our calendars immediately. “That explains why you’re so toned and lean. Training.”

She nods. Grandma nudges me gently. “And what about you Tenley, love? Anything happy to share?”

I smile.

“Tenley has a boyfriend,” Liv announces. “She’s dating her husband.”

Grandma laughs and shakes her head. “I don’t fully understand but if you’re happy, I’m happy.”

“So is the divorce off?” Mom asks, her green eyes wide. “Do I actually have a son-in-law?”

"I'm happy," I say firmly. "But I can't guarantee we'll stay married."

Grady takes the floor, telling people he was offered a contract extension, and I'm happy the conversation has turned away from me. I don't like being the center of it. Talking about Nash and me feels like I'm jinxing it. Probably because Nash hasn't responded to any of my texts since I left Los Angeles.

The wait feels like days but in reality, Callie is back in her room in under two hours.

You can feel the relief in the air as soon as she's wheeled by the waiting room and she flashes us one of her trademark grins. We take turns flooding her room. Conner, Mac, Liv, and Mayhem go first, with Uncle Devin of course. Devin never leaves Callie's room or her side as the rest of us take turns visiting her. After her kids, it's my mom and dad, Aunt Rose and Uncle Luc, and then Grandma and Grandpa. When it's finally my turn I go in with Shelby and Grady. I log everything I see in my brain for any future panic attacks. That she has color in her cheeks, that she's in great spirits even though she's groggy from the anesthetic, that the doctor told her that it went without a hitch, and that he has to wait for the results but he isn't leaning toward cancer.

Callie yawns. Devin kisses her forehead. “I think you need sleep now.”

“I was just in a forced sleep for two hours,” Callie complains. She turns her head to me, at the foot of her bed. “You’re falling for that Westwood, aren’t you?”

“A little.”

She smiles and I feel relief that she seems to approve. Callie’s opinion matters greatly to me. “I knew you had a little of Rosie in you and a lot more of your mom than me.”

"I'd argue that," I counter because everyone has always said I'm Callie's personality through and through. Callie has never argued that until today. "I mean you have my mouth and my snark but you're a softy when it comes to love, like Rosie, and you definitely have your mother’s fierce loyalty. Once she gave her heart to Big Bird it was all over, even if it took her years to realize it. Don’t take years, Ten. If he’s the one, let him know and fight for him.”

"Like I had to fight for Callie," Devin announces and she rolls her eyes. "She's softer than she thinks too, by the way. Showed up at my house with this big declaration of love like a dude in an 80s rom-com. It was epic."

“He exaggerates,” Callie says but she’s blushing and beaming at him, albeit sleepily.

I walk to the side of the bed and lean down to give her a gentle hug. “We are going to let you sleep.”

Shelby and Grady hug her too. She whispers something in Grady’s ear and ruffles his wild red hair, which is only eclipsed by his unbelievably wild red playoff beard.

We make our way out to the parking lot, leaving Aunt Callie with Uncle Devin who we know wouldn’t leave her side even if we demanded it. The late afternoon air in Maine is damp and heavy because it rained on and off all day. I stupidly forgot to grab a jacket when we left earlier today because I’m so used to Southern California weather I never think about layers anymore.

Shelby glances up from her phone. “Barbecue at Liv’s.”

My stomach rumbles at the mere mention of food. I was too nervous to eat anything all day. I’m also sleepy, but food will win for now. The drive to Aunt Callie and Uncle Devin’s lakeside house is one I could do with my eyes closed because my parents’ home is right next door and that’s where I grew up. Their long drive is lined with trees just starting to finally get their green leaves back after a long winter. The house looks like it always does, welcoming and breathtaking with its mix of river rock and stained wood. Behind one of the two towering fir trees, I catch a glimpse of the lake churning gently behind it.

We all walk around the side of the house instead of entering through the double front doors. We’re led by our noses because someone has already started grilling and the smell of charring meat is strong and delicious. Tate is bickering with Conner at the grill on the edge of the back porch. Mac is inside the house setting the long dining table just inside the French doors. Mayhem is curled up on the porch swing asleep. Liv raises a finger to her lips as she emerges from the house onto the porch with skewers of vegetables. “She hasn’t slept in days. No joke. I’ve heard her wandering around the house at all hours since she left school.”

I glance down at her. “I can’t say I fault her.”

Liv smiles. “I don’t either, but Dad is kind of freaking out that she took a break, especially from the team. She was supposed to enter the draft this summer, but now… well she’s going to have to finish her senior year and try after.”

“Why?”

“She bailed on her team during playoffs,” Tate says to me. “It’s not favorable for her odds and those were already stacked against her because?—”

“Because of the ridiculous misogyny that runs deep in the veins of the league but no one will ever dare admit out loud,” Grady announces and his jaw is tight. “She’s a girl so she needs to make it impossible to not draft her.”

“And leaving the team because of a family matter is…” I exhale, shaking my head. “Not something that a dude would do.”

“We all did it,” Conner says as he flips a steak. “And I could have rushed back tonight and made it for the game, maybe. But then it makes it seem like it’s okay to neglect my mother and makes Mae seem weak for not blowing this off.”

Conner has always called Callie his mom even though, biologically, she isn’t. His own mother is alive and well, but Conner insists on giving them both the moniker, although publicly he refers to Callie as Mama C. I like how blended we are that way. All my aunts and uncles have always parented their nieces and nephews, which is why this health scare with Callie hits us all enough to come home.

“Our sport sucks sometimes,” Tate mutters.

"And how come no one has come out?" Harlow adds as she drops into the rocking chair next to the one I'm occupying. "Like come on, that many dudes in one sport and only one is gay? My ass."

Grady gets up and walks over to the grill as Conner shrugs, as it’s his captain, Abbott Barlowe who is the out player. “Yeah. I’m sure there are others. Abbott says that there’s a shit ton of homophobia on the Riptide’s social media and he doesn’t blame other players for keeping quiet.”

“Why should they have to put their sex life on display?” Grady mutters. He looks at Theo. “Want a beer?”

“Theo isn’t drinking tonight,” Harlow interrupts and her brother rolls his eyes but doesn’t object. He looks better than he did at the hospital. He seems to have showered and is in fresh clothes.

“Hey! Can you spare some extra barbecue for a weary traveler?”

We all turn to the voice coming from the same side of the house where I just came from. Crew is standing there with an overnight bag on his shoulder and a smile on his face. Everyone yells out greetings, but they’re overpowered by Liv’s shriek as she steps onto the porch and sees him. She blows right by me, across the porch, and launches herself off the first step and right at him. Crew drops his bag and manages to catch her in a bear hug.

He holds her tight, feet dangling, and whispers something in her ear. “Of course it’s okay. I’m so happy you’re here. I love you.”

“Love you too, Olivia,” Crew tells her. “That’s why I couldn’t stay away any longer.”

I feel… disappointment. My eyes move to the side of the house, but no one else emerges. Nash didn’t come with his brother. It makes sense. I mean, we’re not actually dating. We aren’t really married, in the emotional sense. We’re not really anything and this show of support and love from Crew really drives that home. Thank God they aren’t identical twins or this would sting a hell of a lot more.

I force myself to smile at the show of affection because Liv deserves it. She’s my best friend, not just my cousin, and I’m happy she found such a solid guy. Crew glances at me, then his hazel eyes dart around the porch. “Nash isn’t here?”

I shake my head. “No, of course not.”

“Well…” Crew looks at me again, his brow wrinkled with concern. “He’s not in L.A. either.”

“Are you sure?” I say because it makes no sense that he wouldn’t be.

Crew nods. “Yeah.”

We both pull out our phones. Nash finally responded to my last message.

Tenley: Callie is doing great after surgery. Won’t have biopsy results for at least a week though.

Nash's response? A thumbs up. That's it.

I stand up. “Well, maybe he bored himself into a coma.”

There are a few snickers from my male cousins. The females all look at me with confusion because just last night I admitted I had feelings for him. But it’s beginning to look like that was a giant mistake.