by L. J. Evans
“She’s right,” Mayson said with a sigh. “There isn’t anything else if we want to keep Edie’s surprise a real surprise.”
Everybody kind of stood there waiting for someone to take charge and make a final decision. It was obvious the missing Edie was whose opinion they needed most.
“We’re taking it, then,” Ginny said firmly.
Nobody argued, but some moans and groans went through the group.
“We’ll meet back here in the morning,” she added on, staring everyone down. “Nine?”
More groans, but nobody said no. They were all just agreeing to roll up their sleeves for their parents and aunts and uncles. For their cousin who was having a baby. In L.A., we had a tight-knit group with Uncle Seth, Aunt PJ, my parents, Keith, and Locke. We would do anything for each other, but the normal L.A. attitude I experienced was more along the lines of What’s in it for me? This group had nothing in it for them except a place to party on New Year’s Eve and the love of their family. It was pretty incredible.
“I’m starving,” Mayson said. “Who’s in for pizza?”
Ginny shook her head. “I promised I’d help Eliza with the packing.”
“Stephen and I have to help Dalton with a situation,” Ty announced.
Mayson frowned. “Please don’t tell me he has an angry husband after him again.”
Ty chuckled. “It wasn’t Dalton’s fault! The chick wasn’t wearing a wedding ring, didn’t tell him she was married, and then called her husband to pick her up from the hotel. But no, there’s a situation with Reese and her ex.”
“Is Reese okay?” Ginny asked.
Ty nodded. “Yeah.”
“Who’s Reese?” Maleena asked.
“She’s our horse trainer,” Khiley responded. “Her dad was the trainer before her, and she grew up with all of us. She’s Dalton’s best friend.”
Ty snorted.
Every single one of the women in the room narrowed their eyes, but Ty wasn’t even looking at them. He was busy with his thumbs on his phone. The silence eventually drew his eyes up. “What?”
“Tell me you aren’t using your fists?” Maleena crossed her arms over her chest, ready for battle.
Ty glanced at Stephen who looked away. The two men had shit going down that they definitely didn’t want the women involved in. It was so categorically chauvinistic that it made me want to laugh. A macho male exhibit that Grace would normally rant about for hours.
The women in the group seemed to be of Grace’s mind on the subject.
“Getting arrested for assault and battery isn’t going to win you a spot on the draft list,” Maleena argued.
“Look,” Ty said, shoving his phone in his pocket, eyeing all the women. “I can’t say what it’s about because I can keep my trap shut, not like some of you. But this can’t just be let go. It’s not that kind of situation.”
“Do you need help?” Mayson suddenly offered, and Grace and I both dropped our jaws in shock. Not only did Mayson avoid male stereotypes, he also hated being pulled into the dramas of his Tennessee family.
“Nah. I think Dalton, Stephen, and I have it covered, but we’ll call you if anything changes. Lord knows you won’t answer a text.”
“I’d say don’t do anything stupid, but it’s wasted breath,” Khiley said. “Just be careful.”
As we made our way to the door to leave, I wished Ginny was coming with Mayson, Grace, and me to get pizza. I wasn’t ready for the time I’d spent with her that afternoon to end. Especially not when I knew for a fact I’d almost gotten the kiss I’d dared her to give me. If the others hadn’t shown up, her lips would have been mine.
For now, I’d have to accept the fact I wouldn’t see her until I showed up with Mayson and Grace in the morning. It meant the script for Dylan wouldn’t get worked on as much as we’d planned, but the truth was, Mayson and Grace could handle it alone, if needed, while I was in Ireland. The changes could be done later, while this―the things happening right now―had to be experienced and lived in the moment.
And that was exactly what I intended to do.
♫ ♫ ♫
When I opened the curtains on the hotel windows the next morning, a bright glare from the sun bouncing off the snowy crystals blinded me. I put a hand up and scanned the parking lot. It must have snowed a good foot or more. It wasn’t going to be impossible to navigate a car in, but to a born-and-raised Southern Californian, it was more snow than I knew how to deal with.
Grace had called and said they were on their way. The room we were supposed to be sharing at the hotel had turned into a bachelor pad. It was probably for the best. I’d come back to the hotel last night after pizza and more beers, feeling more than a buzz. I’d been trying to wash down the sights, smells, and sounds of a short, curvy brunette. It hadn’t worked, and I’d been glad Grace wasn’t in the room while I’d had to manage the situation with a hand and a cold shower.
Instead of Grace’s black rental, the same pickup truck Stephen and Khiley had gotten into outside the grandma’s house the day before pulled into the parking lot. Mayson stepped from the back passenger door. The trucks in Tennessee came in one size: massive. I pulled on my UCLA sweatshirt, grabbed a jacket from the closet, and headed down with my coffee in hand.
My phone buzzed just as Mayson walked into the lobby.
“I saw you drive up. Is Grace driving that huge truck, or did she actually let someone else behind the wheel?” I asked.
Mayson grinned. “I convinced her that now was not the time to learn how to drive in the snow. She happened to agree with me. Without a fight.”
“What have you done with my cousin?” I said, shaking my head.
“I don’t want to tell you. You might end up tossing me into a snow pile.” He smirked and headed back out the door.
“Don’t gross me out, dude. And definitely don’t piss me off. You hurt her again, and you’ll find I really did learn a lot about poisons while researching for our script.”
The air was fucking freezing. I hunched in on myself, pulling up the hood of my sweatshirt and the hood of the coat before shoving my free hand deep into my coat pocket. I didn’t have gloves. I didn’t have snow boots. I wasn’t prepared for the eighteen-degree weather.
When I got in the back, I found Grace buried in layers of coats, gloves, and scarves that didn’t belong to her.
“Hi, again.” Khiley waved from the front.
“Morning,” I said.
“It’s awful nice of you to come and help out. You and Gracie-Lou are at the top of our good karma list,” Khiley said.
Karma shmarma. I was doing this for incredibly selfish reasons, all having to do with a brunette witch who was calling to me.
We headed down the block. It wasn’t far. I could have walked it, but my Chucks were already drenched icicles just from the fifteen feet it had taken to go from the hotel to the back seat. I couldn’t imagine what they would have felt like if I’d walked the entire distance.
When we got to the bar, Stephen pulled into the parking lot out back with his tailgate almost bumping the metal stairs. The only other car in the lot was a bright-red Mazda Miata Grace was already drooling over before we’d even stepped out of the truck.
“Oh my God. Whose is it? I want to drive it. It can go from zero to sixty in, like, six seconds,” she said, forgetting the snow and slipping and sliding over to touch it.
“It’s mine,” Ginny’s voice sounded from the stairs, and I turned to stare at her as she walked down.
“No!” I said, shock and lust hitting me in the pit of my stomach. She was bundled in boots, a jacket, a scarf, and a beanie just like the other women, but her eyes were sparkling with mischief as they landed on mine.
She nodded with a wide smile, knowing she’d surprised me. Knowing the Miata was nothing like the sedate sedan I’d expected her to own.
Grace asked, “Can I drive it?”
“Sure,” Ginny said, right as
Mayson and I both said, “No!”
Grace glared at the two of us.
“Do not let her drive that car in the snow,” I said.
Ginny laughed, and Grace punched me on the shoulder with all her might. Which was goddamn strong because she worked out as much as I did at Dad’s gym.
She turned to Ginny. “I don’t want to drive it now in the snow, but if it dries out, I’d love to see how it handles.”
“He’s a lot of fun,” Ginny replied.
“He?” I couldn’t help belting out. Stephen had opened the tailgate, and Ginny was reaching in to grab some of the cleaning supplies. When I went to help, it put our lips damn near close enough to kiss again. She glanced at my lips before pulling back and responding.
“Yeah. Since guys always name their cars and boats after women, I figured I’d name mine after a guy.”
“He isn’t a guy. He’s a legend,” Khiley said, as we all took a load of supplies up the stairs.
I caught Stephen and Mayson rolling their eyes at each other, which only made me more curious.
“Who’d you name him after?” I asked.
“Brady O’Neil,” Stephen said. “Don’t even get them started on Brady.”
I frowned. I knew the name but couldn’t place it.
Ginny was full-out laughing now. “You know. The country singer.”
I raised my eyebrows once more. She’d already shocked me several times in the five minutes we’d been together this morning. Now, I was regretting, even more, the gang showing up at the bar yesterday, because my suspicion about my casual dare turned into fact. She would have kissed me.
When we got inside, it was obvious Ginny had been there for a while, because she had a card table set up in the corner with a carafe of coffee and a couple of boxes of donuts. I was itching to refill my travel mug and eat a whole box myself, but I didn’t. She still saw me eyeing them and smiled.
“Help yourself,” she said. She was in a good mood this morning, shining even brighter than the day before. As if whatever had put her down was now water under the bridge. Like she’d just let it float away so there was only sunshine left behind.
“Do not eat that donut and try to kiss me,” Khiley said, as Stephen grabbed a maple bar from the box. “I will absolutely throw up on you. Just the smell is already getting to me.”
She rushed to the other side of the room, holding her nose.
“But…it’s a maple bar, ‘Ley,” Stephen said, looking at it mournfully.
“Khiley is in the middle of terrible morning sickness because someone doesn’t know how to keep it covered,” Mayson half-growled, half-teased. “I haven’t decided if I’ve forgiven him yet.”
“Oh God, don’t go all protective brother on me now,” Khiley said, words muffled as she wound her scarf around her nose and mouth.
Stephen put the donut down and went to the corner to check on her. I looked over at Mayson. “You do know how to keep it covered, right?”
“You did not just say that!” I got my second punch of the day from Grace. On a normal day, I was lucky if I got away with only four or five.
“I’m going to have to file an abuse report if you keep treating my arm that way,” I told her.
We were halfway through the donuts and coffee while taking boxes down to the truck when the rest of the gang showed up: Ty, Maleena, and the couple who’d been causing a ruckus at the Waters’ house the day before. They were introduced to me as Eliza and Brett, and their elopement seemed to be the hottest topic of the day, even over an unplanned pregnancy and Mayson’s departure from the band.
“What did Edie say about the place when you saw her?” Eliza asked Stephen.
“She was relieved we found something. I didn’t tell her it looked like shit. I just told her not to worry about it, that we had it all under control.”
“She still hasn’t had the baby?” Maleena asked.
“Daddy called me right before I left to get ‘Ley and said it would be soon.”
“How upset is she that Garrett isn’t here?” Eliza asked.
Stephen rubbed his hand over his face again. “Somethin’ has gotta be goin’ on with the two of them. Somethin’ not good. She couldn’t get him on the phone—or at least that’s what she said.”
There was a silence as everyone took in the information. I didn’t know anything about it, but it did seem pretty bad if the father of the baby wasn’t at the delivery. If my wife were pregnant and about ready to burst, it would take hell and fire to keep me from being at her side.
For some damn reason, I was looking over at Ginny again and wondering what she would look like with a belly full of baby. It was like I could actually see her, rubbing the stomach, smiling at me, smiling at the little thing inside. That image scared the shit out of me. Scared me so much I had to walk out of the room and get some air. To put some space between me and the person who was filling my head with wild thoughts. To put some space between me and a life that was most definitely not mine.
Ginny
WINTER DREAMS (BRANDON’S SONG)
“Don't wake me up
If this is love
Please let me be
Swept completely off my feet.”
Performed by Kelly Clarkson
Written by Eubanks / Arrison / Clarkson
The one nice thing about having a big family was that tedious jobs got done quickly. The bad thing about having a big family was that keeping everyone organized and on task took a master’s degree in organizational skills.
We had Phil’s new “event room” cleared out pretty fast. Stephen took one load of boxes over to a storage unit Phil had arranged, and we’d filled the bed of his truck up a second time, which he’d take over when we were done. The dates on some of the boxes had gone back to the thirties, making me curious about what was inside, but we didn’t have time to investigate.
Once the room was emptied, we began dusting, mopping, and cleaning every nook and cranny. The windows were shined, cobwebs shoved aside, and brick walls scrubbed. In no time at all, it was sparkling and almost chic, just as it was. Like an artist’s loft in Tribeca, if I used my imagination enough.
I finished one of the last mullioned squares of the window and tossed the papers in the green trash bag, noticing a stray box we’d forgotten. I grabbed it, headed down the stairs, and had just slid it into the truck bed when I caught the sound of Cole’s voice over the wind. It was still so cold outside that Frosty would have wanted to stay inside, but Cole had been in and out of the room all morning.
I was sure it wasn’t the way he’d imagined spending his vacation, but I’d have been lying if I said I hadn’t been glad to see him when he’d climbed out of Stephen’s truck earlier. My entire body had lit up before he’d even seen me. Plus, the surprise in his eyes when he saw Brady had sent a secret thrill down my spine. Actual proof that I wasn’t dependable… predictable…a grandma. At least, not all the time.
The ebb and flow of Cole’s voice raised my curiosity. I looked around the side of the pickup to see him standing on the curb, attempting to shake off the snow that had caked his Chucks and the hem of his jeans. City boy. California city boy. It made me smile.
“I’m good, Locke. Thanks,” he said. “I’ll talk to you later.”
He put his phone into his jacket pocket and took a deep breath, looking up at the sky, so serious it almost hurt. I much preferred the smiling, teasing Cole I’d seen the day before. The one who’d dared me to kiss him.
I’d wanted to. I might have done it if Ty and the gang hadn’t shown up.
In fact, I’d thought about his dare and what the kiss might have felt like for a long time last night. Long after I should have been asleep.
Without much thought, I scooped up and packed a snowball. My gloveless hands rejected the bite, so it wasn’t the best one I’d ever made, but it would do. I lobbed it with all my might at Cole’s back, and it hit him with a satisfying splat.
&nb
sp; He turned fast, unsure what had hit him, but it didn’t take him long to figure it out with the snow still clinging to his jacket. He looked toward the building, and I was already smiling by the time he found me, but I was also packing another snowball.
This one hit him in the shoulder. I’d been aiming for his chest, but I was not my brother. I wasn’t going to win any football games. My aim might not have been perfect, but I could usually hit somewhere on my mark.
Cole hadn’t moved yet. He was still dazed by the two shots I’d hit him with.
Then, his face broke into a huge smile.
“I can’t believe you did that,” he said, shaking his head.
I bent to scoop up more snow, and he did the same. I flung mine in his direction right as he flung his. I ducked behind the truck, and his barely glanced off my shoulder. Laughter bubbled out of me, a lightness filling my heart that I hadn’t had in a few days…maybe weeks.
I could hear Cole moving. He was chuckling. Once I had another snowball perfectly shaped, I stood up and got hit with snow on the side of my head. I grinned and moved farther around the truck. I made it around the front before turning back and lobbing the snow at him as he came around the tailgate. It hit him in the face.
He blustered with fake annoyance as amusement poured over him, a deep chuckle filling the air and sending my heart into a frantic beat, with my skin tingling more from the laugh than from my frozen fingers.
I kept dancing around the truck, but he was chasing me.
Just as I ended up back where I’d started and stood from my crouched position, he lobbed another ball. I moved to the right, and the snow hit Ty in the chest. I hadn’t even heard him come down the stairs. I’d blocked out everything but Cole and me.
Ty stared at the snow dripping off his jacket for a few seconds before smirking.
“Ginny started this, right?”
I laughed. I hadn’t started a snowball fight in years. In so long it seemed like another person had begun the ones when we were kids.