Page 44

Brady drops beside me, looking down at my outfit. “That’s the hoodie I got at camp the summer before we left for Avix. ”

“Mine now.” I lift a shoulder, and he rolls his eyes playfully.

“Course it is. You’re becoming a regular thief over there.”

“Get used to it.”

“Oh, I’m happy to.”

I grin and he grins back. And then I remember there are others in the room and do my damnedest not to blush, but I really feel like I might. It’s ridiculous but it’s true.

I clear my throat. “You know, you guys were gone at camps way too much. You missed weeks of summer every year.”

“Had the boys not gone to that particular camp, you girls never could have gotten away with sneaking off to Tampa that summer without them finding out.” Tisha laughs. “They would have had a massive fit if they knew you girls were out there without them to watch over you.”

“Oh yeah.” Ben looks over. “Didn’t your dad tell me something about a guy you met out there ending up being on the team with Brady?”

A stiffness curls along my shoulders, and for some reason, I peek at Brady.

“Yeah, Trey Donovan.” I nod, unease settling over me, though I’m not sure I understand why.

I’ve never minded talking about him before, so why does it feel sort of wrong to do so right now?

“He’s…gone now, though. Drafted last year, like Noah. ”

“Impressive.” Ben nods, taking the seat across from me, his wife settling beside him.

Brady clears his throat, reaching out to take a drink of water, and I wait to catch his eye.

“Thanks for this. You didn’t have to make a stop just for me.”

He shrugs, looking away as quick as possible. “We passed it on the way home. No big deal.”

His dad laughs loudly, and Brady shoots him a small glare that has both my and his mom’s attention, though neither of us says a word. I certainly don’t point out that Bebe’s Brews is not, in fact, on the way home from where I know they buy their firewood .

“Let’s eat.” Tisha claps.

And so we do.

We pile our plates high, and everyone laughs when I skip over all the protein options and go straight for the giant waffles in the middle.

They ask us about school, and Brady talks about the team’s strategy for next week’s game.

“What a lucky straw you boys drew getting your second bye week Thanksgiving weekend!” Tisha says. “And the fact that Noah’s got a Sunday home game that weekend is like icing on the cake.”

“I know, I can’t wait.” Brady leans back, holding his belly. “I’m beating Noah’s ass at the turkey competition this year,” he says.

His dad laughs. “It’s crazy you guys are already taking over the traditions we had while you were all growing up. Makes me feel a bit sentimental to think about. I missed more than I’d have liked over the years.”

“Good thing you retired this summer, then. There are still so many memories to be made.” Tisha reaches out, squeezing his hand, and he leans her way, kissing her cheek.

“We never felt like you weren’t around, Dad. We were proud of you, and you were always home for the important things.” Brady’s words leave me feeling soft.

I watch the exchange with a smile, catching Brady staring at me from the corner of my eye.

“You know you guys can still change your minds and come out to the beach house.” I say this knowing it’s already a done deal. All the parentals booked a weeklong cruise for the holiday.

“And be the only people there over thirty?” Ben smirks. “I think not.”

“I mean, you really should have said over fifty, but I get it.”

Brady and Tisha laugh, but Ben puts his hand over his chest, feigning hurt. It’s such a Brady response, I can’t help but break the serious facade I was shooting for, my amusement joining in as I look from the man beside me to his dad.

“Man, Brady might not share your features, Ben, but you’re basically twins with all your mannerisms. I swear he’s one hundred percent you while looking nothing like you.” I grin.

Ben nods, a tender smile on his lips as he glances across the table at his son. “He is, isn’t he?” The pride in his voice is evident, and a warmth washes over me.

I turn to Brady. “I wonder if the cycle will repeat itself, and it will be the same way if you have a boy.”

“It will,” Brady says, a sureness in his tone. “He will be exactly the same.”

The expression on Brady’s face is one of pure gratitude, a deep-seated love only the luckiest are blessed with between father and son.

Ben’s smile says the same as he holds his only son’s gaze, his arm now wrapped around Tisha’s shoulders, but there’s a tension around his eyes as they move from Brady to me and back to his son.

There’s a question within them that, at first, I don’t think he’ll ask just as his mouth begins to open. “Brady…have you never told her?”

Brady tenses, and so do I.

“Uh, I mean…no?” His son clears his throat.

His dad’s brow furrows, and Brady pushes on.

“Just another thing that’s never come up,” he mutters, and my head yanks his way.

Another thing?

“But the others know.” His mom joins the conversation, and now my stomach twists with a sudden anxiousness.

“The boys, yeah.” Brady stares at his dad a moment before looking to me.

“There’s no reason,” he starts to tell me, a nervousness to him I’m not used to.

“There’s just never been a reason to mention it.

The guys really only know because we went through a box of shit in the garage when Dad paid us to clean it out one summer.

Chase found one of Mom’s memory books and it had a picture of her and dad on their first date. ”

Reluctantly, I sneak a peek at his parents, not really following as I settle my gaze back on Brady. He looks to his dad for help.

But I can’t stand the sight of that helpless expression on his face, not when he’s the surest, most confident man I know. So I take us back to where we’re most comfortable.

“Did Brady tell you he wants to be a Viking when he grows up?”

All eyes snap to me, and while it takes a second, everyone laughs, so I go into a whole explanation that is pretty much nonsense, but it gets the conversation flowing, smoothly shifting things until we’re all laughing.

“Oh, honey, did the flowers arrive okay? You never said anything after you asked me to help you find a place.”

Brady clears his throat and nods, shoving more food in his mouth.

He sent someone flowers?

There’s a little kick in my stomach, but I ignore it.

The doorbell rings, capturing all our attention, and Tisha jumps up. “That’s the contractor coming to take a look at the fence.”

“I thought me and you were taking care of that winter break?” Brady says to his dad.

Ben shrugs, standing and collecting our plates in a pile. “Yeah, well, your mama thinks I’m too old.”

“That is not what I said!” she reprimands.

“I said our warranty would cover it and for you not to feel like your man card was pulled when a crew of twenty-five-year-olds show up to do the job.” She smirks, spinning in her flats and heading for the door.

“Leave the mess, you two. Get out of here and enjoy being in your old stomping grounds!”

I stand and start to pick up the dishes, but Ben takes them from my hands, brow raised .

“You heard the woman. Get out of here. Keys to my truck are hanging up but be careful. It’s supposed to rain tonight.”

“You’re letting us take the hot rod?” A giddiness settles over me. “You never let us take the hot rod.”

“Well, you’re not high school kids anymore, and it’s not five of you trying to squeeze into a three-seater cab.” He chuckles.

I actually squeal, and I look to Brady, waggling my brows.

He smirks, pushing to his feet. “Well, come on then, Cammie Baby. Seems we’ve got some havoc to cause.” He bends, motioning for me to jump on his back, my preferred method of transportation, but I skip around him, putting my lips to his ear.

“Sorry. But if I jump up, your dad is going to get a bigger show than he bargained for.” Brady tenses, and I slide on by, heading for the door. “I’m driving!”

“Oh hell,” both Brady and his dad say at the same time, and I smirk to myself.

See? Same person.

At first, we just cruise around the town, rolling through the high school parking lot, reminiscing. We get some hot chocolate and walk the town’s main strip, full of small businesses.

It’s a little after two when we hop back into the truck. This time, I don’t tell Brady where we’re going, but it doesn’t take too long for it to become obvious, and an hour later, we’re pulling into a familiar gravel driveway.

Brady looks over at me, but I keep my eyes on the road and soon we’re weaving around to the back of the house, parking in the space between the detached garage and the barn.

Unbuckling my seat belt, I climb out and Brady follows, catching the keys when I toss them his way.

“Are the renters not home?” he wonders, glancing toward the back deck of the house.

I sigh, shaking my head as I start down the stone path toward the barn, pushing the long, sliding door open and looking inside. Right now, it’s just a bunch of haystacks lining the walls, waiting to be sold off with the rest of this year’s harvest.

I take a deep breath, a small smile pulling at my lips.

Brady steps up beside me and I look his way, leading us over to the ladder at the far right. He grabs on to stabilize it and swooshes a hand out. “After you, my lady.”

“Uh…no. Get your butt up there unless you want a show.”

His smirk is slow, and a low laugh leaves me.

I roll my eyes at myself. “Okay, I walked right into that one.”

Brady chuckles but doesn’t move. “I need to hold this rickety-ass thing for you if we’re going up there. Promise I won’t look.”

“What if I said I had more body jewelry you haven’t seen yet?”

Rich amber eyes snap to mine, and when he speaks, it’s with a low tone I’ve never heard from him before. “Then I’d remind you that I haven’t seen any of them, so what’s one more?”