“Nah.” Kane’s dad waved a thick, freckled hand as if he were swatting a fly. “Drew already did most of the cooking, anyway. Lacey and Carmen are just hiding out in there because these two little hustlers here beat them double or nothing, and nobody else is willing to give these young pups a real run for their money. I need a teammate with a solid background in military subterfuge.”
“And I don’t have a solid military background, Coach?” Luke said from across the room. “You do know that I was team leader of my SEAL unit, and I’m currently the commanding officer of recruiting for the Western Idaho district, right?”
Bobby Chatterson rolled his eyes. “We’ve been over this, Luke. I don’t care how many push-ups you can do or how many airplanes you’ve jumped out of. Your poker face is a worse giveaway than that nervous tic of Kane’s when he rubs his chin. The boys can read a play from you two from a mile away. So what do you say, Captain? We allies or what?”
Julia looked at the older Gregson twins, her fellow Navy brethren who were probably much better equipped to handle an intense strategist like Kane’s father, yet seemed equally reluctant to do so. “I’ve never played Battleship,” she began. “Besides, I’m mostly trained for what happens inside the infirmary, not for complete naval warfare.”
“Good point,” Mr. Chatterson said, then turned to his daughter, who was nursing one of the babies. “Hey, Kylie, do you guys have that game Operation? Julia’s on my team.”
“Sorry, Dad. We just have that one and chess.”
“Yeah, figures your shrink of a husband would only prefer the head games.”
Julia sucked in a startled gasp at the insult, but the rest of the adults laughed.
“You’re just jealous that you’ve been on a sound losing streak since your granddaughters were born,” Drew shot back at his father-in-law.
“I have a feeling my luck’s about to change with this one.” Mr. Chatterson used a tree-branch-size thumb to gesture in her direction.
“Dad, leave Julia alone.” Kane spoke from behind the U-shaped sofa. “If she doesn’t want to play a board game with you guys, she doesn’t have to.”
Julia squared her shoulders, not needing Kane to protect her. She wanted to fit in with this fun-loving and quick-bantering family. “I’d be honored to be your teammate,” she said, sitting on the plush wool rug beside the older man and folding her legs under the dark pine coffee table, which served as the command post.
Apparently Julia was in fact good luck for Mr. Chatterson, as they won the next two games against the Gregson boys, who were surprisingly cutthroat in their precision and execution of moves. She knew her upbringing had been unique, but how many families got to sit around playing games and watching football on television during the holidays? Maybe it was routine for the Chatterson gang, but this was a first for her.
When the kids ran off to play outside, Julia stayed where she was, comfortable but out of the way. Kane had stopped pacing long enough to sit on the sofa behind her. She could feel his restless leg brush against her back every time one of the sportscasters on television made a reference to some exclusive baseball interview coming up after the game. While the occasional contact was seemingly inadvertent on his part, Julia found herself leaning back slightly to put pressure against his jostling knee, which would cause him to pause, even if only momentarily.
She was well-versed in neurobehavioral disorders as well as neurological matters, and it wasn’t the first time she’d suspected that Kane Chatterson’s many nervous gestures and his inability to sit still or stay focused were ongoing issues for him. But because he never talked about himself—or about anything, really—she didn’t want to diagnose him so readily.
What she wasn’t well-versed in, however, was family dynamics. Despite the easy camaraderie between the seemingly tight-knit group, Julia immediately sensed that there was something about Bobby Chatterson that had his son on edge. Of course, Kane often seemed on edge to her anyway, so maybe she was overthinking things. But while all the other men seemed comfortable teasing each other and talking about people Julia didn’t really know, the elder Chatterson kept giving his son pointed looks, and the knee behind her back would spring into action again and again.
Trying to solve the riddle kept Julia’s brain from contemplating her physical reaction to Kane’s continued closeness and accidental touch. But no matter how much she was conditioned to think logically, she was having difficulty commanding her body to remain neutral. Being this close to him alternated between a pleasant fluttering feeling in her lower extremities and involuntarily being stuck in one of those vibrating massage chairs at the mall.
“Here,” Bobby Chatterson said to Kylie when one of the babies started crying. “Let me take her.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Kylie said. “Carmen said dinner’s ready, so let’s make our way to the dining room.”
After a minor argument between the boys over whose turn it was to sit by Coach and three rounds of rock-paper-scissors, Carmen and Luke put one son on each side of the patriarch and newly crowned Battleship champ.
“Divide and conquer,” Carmen whispered to her, and Julia was again flattered that this group had welcomed her so willingly into their personal lives.
The large family sat down at the even larger table, which was decorated just as stunningly as the rest of the house. They might have openly teased Kylie about not being a good cook, but Julia had to admit that Kane’s sister was at the top of her class when it came to decorating skills. In fact, Julia was tempted to ask for the new mom’s input when it came time to furnish her own house.
She’d gathered that the Gregsons had just moved here after renting out Kylie’s much smaller condo. The sizable home was done mostly in neutrals of beige and stone with strategically placed green shades throughout to liven things up. The food was perfect, and the wine flowed along with lighthearted conversation and slightly competitive banter. Kane even made a couple of jokes about his father, who apparently had recently added some poundage to what was already a thick frame.
Kane had taken the seat next to Julia and passed her only the dishes that he knew were vegetarian-friendly. She was touched by his consideration and the fact that nobody had treated her like an outsider for eating differently.
“So, you still happy living out here in Idaho and just being a contractor?” Bobby Chatterson asked his son, and Julia looked around the room to see if she was the only one who’d heard the emphasis on the word just.
Kane leaned behind her back to send the gravy boat to Luke. “As happy as I could expect.”
That was an odd answer, but Bobby simply nodded before reaching across one of the boys to fork a piece of white meat onto Lacey’s plate, then taking a few slices of turkey for himself. Julia noticed that with each dish coming his way, the man served his wife first—just like his son was doing for her. She shifted in her seat, not wanting to dwell on the similarity.
Kane’s dad stared across the table at him. “You know what I want to say, right?”
Apparently the entire table—including the nine-month-old girls, who both looked up from the mashed potatoes and peas they were exchanging across their high chair trays—knew what the elder Chatterson wanted to say. Julia took a sip of her wine, wishing she could be clued in.
“Yes, Dad. We talk about wasting talents and meeting my potential every time you call me. You aren’t telling me anything new.”
“Then I won’t push you, son.”
“You won’t push me?” Kane asked, his eyes narrowing. “What’s the catch?”
“No catch. I just want my kids happy. Even you, sourpuss.”
“But...?” Kane took a sip of his pale ale. Julia’s calf muscles clenched, reminding her she was practically sitting on the edge of her chair.
“But your mom would like to know when you’re going to settle down and give us some more grandkids.”
Julia heard several snorts, along with a chorus of snickering coming from the end of the table near Luke Gregson and her own Aunt Freckles.
“Bobby Chatterson, don’t you go putting words in my mouth,” Lacey said before spearing a bite of green beans her husband had just spooned onto her plate.
“Okay, so I’d like to know when you’re giving us some more grandkids. Your mom’s not getting any younger, you know.”
Mrs. Chatterson responded with a sharp elbow to her husband’s rib cage. Either Aiden or Caden asked if this time they could have a boy cousin.
“I don’t know, Dad.” Kane replied, shrugging one shoulder as if he didn’t intend to give the subject any thought. “Why don’t you ask Kaleb when he plans to settle down and give you grandkids?”
“Oh, you know your brother Kaleb. I think he relishes being the black sheep of the family. He marches to the beat of his own drum, that one.”
“If by that you mean he runs a successful multimillion dollar gaming company, then beat away,” Drew said. “Actually, Julia, you’d probably like Kaleb. He’s very intelligent, very well-read. Do you know if he’s dating anyone right now, Kane?”
“How the hell should I know?” Kane took another drink and, seeing the tablecloth rustling, she could only imagine the way his knee was bouncing beneath it. “I’m the only one in this family who seems to mind his own business.”
“Last time I talked to him, he wasn’t seeing anyone special,” Kylie said. “When he comes out for Christmas, we should introduce him to Julia.”
Julia gulped, then gave a noncommittal murmur, unsure of what her response should be. Were they trying to set her up with Kane’s brother? Or were they just being polite and trying to include her in the conversation? These were the kinds of social intricacies she wished she could better navigate.
She remembered auditioning for the District of Columbia’s youth chamber orchestra when she’d been nine years old. She’d practiced the Vivaldi concerto on her cello for hours a day and knew the piece forward and backward. But when she’d gotten on stage, her mother had told the conductor Julia would be performing the Tchaikovsky instead. Later, her mom had explained that it was important for her to learn to be adaptable and to overcome her insecurities, despite being so unprepared.
Sitting around this table reminded Julia of that experience. She had the feeling there was a performance going on, but she’d practiced for one situation and was thrown into another, one she was utterly unprepared for.
“You know who else we should introduce to Julia?” Luke Gregson said, his fork poised in the air as if he was about to start a PowerPoint presentation of eligible bachelors. Julia’s stomach dropped when everyone’s eyes turned his way. “My buddy, Renault. He was on the SEAL team with me and just moved to the area a few months ago, too. He’s supposed to stop by later tonight, after he gets done serving dinner at the homeless veterans’ shelter.”
“You guys are making Julia uncomfortable with all your matchmaking talk,” Kane said. She suddenly realized she was sunk down so low in her seat, her chest was inches away from the marshmallow-covered sweet potatoes on her plate.
“Sorry, Captain,” Bobby Chatterson said. “I only meant to steer my boy into the right direction. We didn’t mean to bring your single status into any of this.”
“Well, Dad,” Kane said defensively, “you shouldn’t be trying to steer anyone.”
Looking down the table at Aunt Freckles, who was on her third glass of cabernet sauvignon—not counting what she might or might not have consumed in the kitchen before the meal started—Julia saw her aunt following the conversation as though she were watching a match at Wimbledon.
“I don’t know, Lace.” Bobby finally said to his wife. “It seems like no matter how hard we try to plan out their lives for them, these kids of ours have their own minds.”
Julia knew firsthand what it was like to have parents pushing you into their idea of perfection. Luckily she’d been able to meet their expectations. But she could practically feel the annoyance in Kane’s tense leg beside her. She wondered if he felt like the failure in the family compared to his recently married CPA sister and an apparently wealthy younger brother. While none of them had come out and criticized Kane directly, the stirring need to defend him and his life choices caused her to speak up.
“Kane is doing a fabulous job remodeling my house,” she said, then wondered if her off-the-cuff pronouncement sounded more like an unexpected toast. “He is extremely skilled and dedicated. Personally, I don’t think he’s wasting his talents at all.”
Nobody made a sound, and Julia felt the weight of everyone’s stares—minus that of one of the babies, who’d fallen asleep with homemade applesauce smeared all over her tiny face. But the only gaze she met was Kane’s. His entire body had shifted so he was facing her, his head tilted to the side as if to ask her to repeat what she’d just said.
“Hey, guys,” Caden said, interrupting the awkward silence. “Now that we’re all done with dinner, who wants to try out the new double bike Uncle Drew bought us?”
“Uncle Drew is going to get payback for that little gift,” Luke Gregson vowed, and the unexplainable tension shifted just like that, returning the conversation back to a playful banter.
“That’s the same thing you said when Uncle Kane bought us that bow-and-arrow set for our birthday,” Aiden said.
She looked at Kane and saw his face slowly relax into a smirk. A bow-and-arrow set for nine-year-olds? Maybe his family was right to question the man’s ability to make good decisions.
“Good point,” Luke said, one arm around Carmen’s shoulders. “I’m sure Uncle Kane would like to try out the new tandem bike.”
“What about you, Dr. Julia?” Caden asked. “You wanna take a turn with Uncle Kane?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I’ve never ridden a bike before.”
“Never?” Aiden asked. “Like ever?”
“Well, I’ve used a stationary one at the gym,” she clarified as she squared her shoulders, not willing to admit to the table, or to herself, that she couldn’t do something. “I can’t imagine it’d be much different to ride yours.”
“It’s way different.” Kane shook his head. “This one actually requires balance.”
“I can balance,” she said. She’d practically balanced on the edge of her seat throughout the entire meal.
“You’re saying you could just hop on a bike and start riding it, no problem?” Kane rested his arm on the back of her chair, his chest appearing to be a bit more puffed out than usual—as though he were throwing out a challenge.
“If I wanted to, I could,” she said, almost convincing herself.
“It’s not that hard,” Bobby Chatterson said. “I’ve taught my share of kids, and you look like a sturdy enough gal to me.” Julia wasn’t sure, but she thought that coming from the opinionated man who resembled a lumberjack himself, it was meant as a compliment.
“I don’t know, Sug.” Aunt Freckles suddenly took a break from sipping her wine to speak up. “If you take a nasty fall, you’ll end up in a cast right before the Sugar and Shadow Shindig. Think of how that would look in the evening dress you just ordered.”
“I’m not going to break a limb,” Julia said, rolling her eyes. “How hard can it be to hold on to the handlebar and pedal at the same time?”
“Okay then,” Kane said, his smooth chin lifted in such a way that he had to look down his nose at her even though they were sitting side by side. “Let’s go outside and you can prove it.”
She didn’t want to prove anything. At least, not in front of witnesses. She looked at the ceiling, wondering how she was going to get herself and her pride out of this situation. “I should probably stay here and help clean up the kitchen.”
“So you can’t do it?” The corner of Kane’s mouth was tilted up.
&
nbsp; “Kane, last week I used a robotic arm to conduct a laser ablation of a deep-seated tumor on a patient’s brain. I think I can manage a bicycle,” Julia said.
“Care to make a wager?” he asked, and Lacey Chatterson looked to the ceiling while her husband smacked his palms together.
Oh boy. Betting was another thing Julia had never done. But she wasn’t about to confess that to this group. “What kind of wager?”
“Ooh, I know,” Aiden—or was it Caden?—said. “Whoever loses has to do something embarrassing, like dress up in a pig costume and do a funny dance in the gazebo at Town Square Park.”
“Where are we going to get a pig outfit on Thanksgiving?” his nine-year-old brother responded. “A turkey one would probably be easier to find.”
While Freckles and Kylie chimed in with suggestions about available costumes, Julia looked at Kane and knew exactly what she wanted if she won the bet. “If I prove that I can ride the bike, then you have to go to the Sugar and Shadow Shindig.”
“What about the plus-one?” Kane asked.
“You can bring a date if you want. It’s up to you.”
“No, I meant what about your plus-one?”
“I don’t know who that is yet, remember?”
He slowly smiled. “That’s right. Which means, if you can’t ride the bike, I get to choose your date.”
Chapter Nine
Kane wished he’d never challenged Julia to learn how to ride this blasted tandem bicycle. Then, to make matters worse, he’d popped off and issued the most idiotic wager in the history of all idiotic wagers. If she won, he’d be stuck attending the stupid hospital fund-raiser dance next month. If he won, he would have to sit home alone and wonder about whomever he ended up picking as Julia’s date and whether the jerk was treating her well and keeping his hands to himself.
It was a lose-lose situation.
“Stop leaning to the left,” he called out behind him. “You’re going to make us fall over.”
“But the boys said I need to lean left when I want to go right.”
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