Red tinted his neck and face. “Don’t talk like that, Liz.”
“Okay. Here’s the thing. He didn’t want to lose your friendship over a nothing fling. And when I came home and that chemistry was still there, it was kind of too late for him to tell you, so he’s been trying to keep his distance from me. With varying degrees of success, of course, but some of that’s on me. And this happy family camping trip didn’t help. But he did try to walk away from me.”
“It’s weird.”
It was a funny word to use, but at least they were working their way down from bluster to real feelings. “Why?”
His scowl grew more intense with each passing second, until he shrugged. “I can’t explain it. It’s just weird.”
“If we were still teenagers and all of a sudden you had to be the third wheel to the two of us, I can see why it would be weird. But we’re not. You’re married and you own a business that keeps you busy and you’re going to be a dad. You guys aren’t running buddies anymore.”
“There’s still a code.”
She wanted to shake him until his teeth rattled. “Fine. There’s some stupid code left over from high school I’m sick of hearing about. And, yes, he broke it.”
“He disrespected you.”
“Oh, hell no. He didn’t disrespect me. He disrespected you and he owns that, Mitch. He knows it and, whether you believe it or not, he’s suffered for it.”
Mitch propped his elbow on the back of the dinette bench and rested his head against his hand. “You guys never messed around when we were kids?”
“No. I don’t think we even noticed each other that way. But at your wedding, at that point in our lives, it was just...it happened.”
“And what’s happening now? You guys weren’t keeping your distance from each other in the bathhouse.”
“That was the buildup of weeks of trying to keep a distance neither of us really wanted. That I’m sorry for. Not being with him, but that you had to find out that way.”
“Do you love him?”
Whoa. “That’s a little premature, I think. I mean, I like him. I like being with him. But it’s hard to see what’s going on in a relationship when you’re spending the entire time trying not to have one.”
He was quiet for a few minutes, staring off into space. She let him have the time to think rather than poking at him some more. At least the anger vibe had stopped emanating from him in waves.
“You should know,” he said quietly, “that when he was talking about not wanting to choose between us and I asked him which of us he’d choose, he said me.”
That hurt. Probably more than Mitch intended it to. Rather than let him see it, she swallowed hard and thought about what she wanted to say. “He’s your best friend, Mitch. If he chose you, he could avoid me and eventually you guys would be okay again. If he chose me, you guys wouldn’t be friends anymore and that would put a strain on my relationship with him and with you. It would come between you and me. The whole thing would be doomed anyway, but a lot more painful in the end.”
“Is it, I don’t know...casual? Is it serious? You know he wants to get married and have kids, right? Like, yesterday.”
“I know that.” She just wasn’t sure how she felt about it yet. “Our relationships with you have been in the middle of anything we might have since the beginning. We need the time and space to see if we have something real or if we’re just burning off residual chemistry.”
He shifted his leg so it pressed against hers. She leaned her head against the back of the couch and smiled at him. “Just try to be okay with us dating. Please?”
“I’ve never been able to refuse you, imp.”
“You refused to let me drive your Camaro.”
“And now you’re stuck driving a second-rate Mustang.”
She laughed and slapped his knee. “It beat you in the—”
“Don’t.” His smile was reluctant, but he couldn’t hold it back. “He’s letting you drive that car just to piss me off. You know that, right?”
“Why do you think I agreed to borrow it?”
His chuckle was like a healing balm to her shredded nerves. “I love you, Liz. I promise I’ll try to be okay.”
And that was enough. “Aunt Mary made blond brownies.”
“Those will help.” He looked at her and narrowed his eyes. “Or did you eat them all?”
“I only had three.”
“Speaking of baked goods, that freakin’ wooden spoon hurts.” He rubbed the spot on the back of his head where she’d whacked him.
“I know.” She gave him a sweet smile. “I’m going to buy one of my own as soon as we get home.”
Chapter Thirteen
It was almost two more hours before Drew got to see Liz again. And, unbelievably, he got to see her alone. Or as alone as they could be in a campground surrounded by her entire extended family.
Rose and Mary had finally gotten tired of fussing over him and stuffing him full of brownies, so he was on his way back to his tent. He wasn’t sure what to do with himself or where he was welcome, so his intent was to go stretch out in his tent, close his eyes and relax.
Liz was carrying her laundry bag from the bathhouse to her tent and he changed course to intercept her. She smiled when she saw him and, though she looked as beat as he felt, it was warm and genuine.
“You doing okay?” he asked, taking the bag from her.
“Yeah. Mitch and I are okay, so...yeah. How about you?”
“I wasn’t tarred, feathered and ridden out of town on a rail, so I’ll count it as a win.” He set the bag down at his feet. “I could use a hug, though.”
She didn’t hesitate before stepping into his embrace. He wrapped his arms around her and rested the unbruised side of his face against her hair, breathing in the scent of her shampoo. Her arms looped around his waist, so her hands were pressed against his back.
“I’m sorry this blew up,” he said. “The last thing I want to do is cause friction between you and your family.”
“Me and my family will be fine. We always are.” She squeezed him. “And, even though it wasn’t the best way, I’m kind of glad it’s out there now.”
He guessed he was, too. It would have been better to sit down with Mitch and yell it out in the privacy of his home, but at least now he could look his friend in the eye again without feeling like an ulcer was eating him from the inside out. And he could hold Liz in his arms without looking over his shoulder like he was committing some kind of crime.
“I promised Joey I’d go for a walk with him,” she said, backing out of his arms. “He’s looking at colleges and he wants to ask me about the west coast. I can’t tell him much about colleges, but he has a lot of questions about the climate and the whole art thing.”
“He wants to be a writer, like Joe, right?”
She laughed. “I guess he’s more of a literary book club kind of writer, though he’s admitted making millions of dollars writing horror novels like his uncle isn’t a bad plan B.”
“I was going to go lay down for a little bit. Decompress and get my head on straight.”
She kissed him quick on the mouth, then picked up her laundry bag. “I’ll see you later, then.”
Drew’s step was a little lighter as he continued the rest of the way to his tent. Despite the drama of the day, it was nice not feeling as if his feelings for Liz were some dirty, shameful secret.
After straightening up around the tent for a while, he flopped down on the air mattress and closed his eyes. He was still too wound up to actually nap, but he tried to let the tension flow out of his body.
“How the hell do you knock on a tent door?”
It was Mitch’s voice, which kicked up the tension again. He got up and undid the zipper, intending to step outside.
; Mitch took the flap and blocked his exit. “I’ll come in.”
Drew sat carefully on the plastic bin he’d packed his clothes in and gestured for Mitch to sit on the cooler. Mitch opened it first, pulling out two cans of beer. After tossing one to Drew, he popped his open and had a seat.
“Everybody’s unanimous in wanting you to stay the rest of the week,” he said after taking a drink. “Let me rephrase that. Everybody else is unanimous.”
“If you want me to leave, I’m gone. But that won’t be the end of it. I’ll call you when you get home and I’ll keep calling you until you talk to me because I’m not sweeping almost forty years of friendship under the rug.”
“You’ll leave if I tell you to? Sure. Run away and leave Liz to take all the crap and teasing the family’s going to dish out.”
Drew held up his hands, careful not to spill his beer. “You want me gone, but you’re giving me shit about going?”
“Because I don’t want to see your face right now, but running out on Liz is a dick move,” Mitch growled, yanking off his hat so he could push back his hair. “See? This is why you’re not supposed to sleep with my sister. It puts me in the middle.”
“Bullshit. This isn’t about you, and you put yourself in the middle.” Drew felt his temper rising and it was mirrored on Mitch’s face, so he took a deep breath and tried to dial it down a notch. “I’m sorry I’m falling for your sister. It would be better if she was anybody else, but if she was anybody else, she probably wouldn’t make me feel the way she does.”
“So you are falling for her?”
“I think so. I don’t know how she feels. I know she feels like she’s still looking for what she wants out of life, but I can’t walk away from her if there’s a chance it’s me.”
“I can’t control what’s between you two. But between you and me? You lied to me.” Mitch shook his head, staring down at the can in his hand. “I always trusted you to have my back.”
“And I still have your back. You can call me every name but nice and throw me out of here, but if you call me next week and have a problem, I’ll still be there. Always. I did you wrong, but for just one second try to put yourself in my shoes. I don’t remember a time we weren’t friends and that matters to me. But on the other hand there’s this amazing, vibrant, sexy-as-hell woman I can’t stop thinking about. And she’s your sister. If you think this has been easy for me or just some stupid lark, you are dead wrong.”
Mitch stared into his eyes for a long time, looking for who knew what, and then he nodded. “I promised my sister I’d try to be okay with you guys...dating or whatever.”
When he stood and set his can down on the cooler, Drew stood, too. The conversation felt unfinished and he didn’t want Mitch to walk out without feeling as if they’d resolved anything. He wanted to work toward them being okay.
Then Mitch put out his hand. Drew recognized the gesture for the huge step it was in the right direction and clasped hands with his friend.
Mitch squeezed, looking Drew dead in the eye. “I don’t care how long we’ve been friends. If you break my sister’s heart, they’ll never find your body.”
“If that happens, and I pray it doesn’t, act fast or you’ll have to wait your turn in line. Probably behind Mary and that damn spoon.”
Mitch actually barked out a laugh as he released Drew’s hand. “Liz said she’s buying her own as soon as she gets home. Good luck with that.”
After Mitch left the tent, Drew inhaled the first easy breath he’d had since the bathhouse incident. Everything might be okay, after all.
* * *
“She looks cute. Like a little blue-eyed hedgehog in a pink sundress.”
Keri looked up from her daughter to glare at Liz. “Yes. So cute.”
The toddler had inhaled her pancakes, managing to smear maple syrup all over her face, hair and arms while she ate. Then, in the process of going to throw her plate away, she’d tripped over her uncle Mike’s foot and went sliding through the fallen pine needles like a runner stealing third base. She came up screeching and looking like a porcupine, though Liz said hedgehog because it sounded nicer.
Of course, in her full-blown state of drama, the sticky hedgehog wrapped herself around her mother. Then Liz tried to help and now all three of them were sticky.
“Joe, come help me with Brianna,” Keri called to her husband, who was deep in conversation with Joey.
“Hold on. Joey’s helping me with a plot problem.”
“If you don’t come get your daughter, you won’t have to plot your next horror novel because it will be your autobiography.”
“We need hot water,” Liz said when Joe had taken one of Brianna’s hands to detach her from Keri.
“We’ll go to the bathhouse. Less fabric and more easily washable surfaces than the camper.”
Since Joe had Brianna’s hand, Keri and Liz followed along behind on the trek to the hot water. Liz didn’t have a lot on her, but when it came to maple syrup and pine needles, it didn’t take a lot.
“So,” Keri said when they’d left the breakfast circle. “You and Drew are a thing, huh? I can’t believe I didn’t see it. That nobody did.”
“We were trying not to be a thing.”
“It’s a little weird,” Joe said over his shoulder. “He’s been a friend of the family for, like, ever.”
“Oh please.” Weird seemed to be the word of the week. “Nobody has a problem with Josh and Katie being together and she’s Rose’s daughter. She practically grew up in our house with us.”
“That’s different. Katie always loved Josh and everybody knew he’d catch up eventually.”
“I think it’s great,” Keri said. “I like Drew and he fits right in with the family.”
“Because he’s practically one of us,” Joe muttered.
“Heard that.” Liz rolled her eyes at Keri. “Somehow I suspect the divide on the me and Drew issue will run pretty evenly down gender lines.”
She wasn’t far off. As the day went on, it was obvious that the men who were willing to pick a side were siding with Mitch—cautiously accepting—while the women were probably planning her bridal shower already.
Leo decided they all needed another family ride after lunch, and this time Liz didn’t feel awkward about riding double with Drew. She climbed behind him and let her legs surround him without worrying about bracing herself. He rubbed her knee, then pulled into line with the others.
Talking wasn’t easy with the helmets and engine noise, but at least there was a little privacy. “How’s today going?”
He shrugged. “A little awkward and I’m getting a lot of the side-eye from your brothers, but better than I thought it would be.”
She rubbed her hands over his shoulders before grabbing for the handholds so he didn’t buck her off on a waterbar. “Well, the women are all rooting for you, if that helps.”
“I guess. It’s a little uncomfortable being the center of attention, though.”
“I know what you mean.” And she did, which was why there had been small touches, like a hug or holding hands or a quick kiss good-night, but that was it.
Her brother was trying his best to accept this change in the natural order of his life, so Liz was trying not to make it any more traumatic than necessary. She had really, really wanted to crawl into Drew’s tent last night, but she figured Mitch had been traumatized enough by her sex life.
The irony, of course, was that now that she was free to openly be with Drew, they still weren’t having sex. But she could wait. They’d go home soon and then they could maybe have a normal relationship.
At about the halfway point of the loop they were riding, they pulled into what passed for a rest area on the ATV trails. A swampy pond to look at, one ancient picnic table to sit on and lots of trees to pee on.
Wit
hin seconds, there was riding gear littering the entire area, which seemed overrun with kids. Liz set her helmet on the back of the machine next to Drew’s, and then slipped her hand into his. His fingers locked with hers and he gave her a little squeeze.
“So much dust today,” Beth said to her husband, slapping her clothes so big puffs of dust drifted into the breeze. “I’m glad we left Lily with your parents.”
Liz pulled Drew back as the boys ran between them and her cousin, with Steph in hot pursuit, screaming about giving back her hair elastic.
Kevin looked at Drew and shook his head. “I know what you must be thinking. Camping with this crew is a great advertisement for birth control.”
Drew’s gaze swept over the horde of shouting, laughing kids and he shook his head. “I was thinking that you’re all really lucky guys.”
Liz felt a pang deep inside. He probably wasn’t aware of how much longing he let slip into his voice and his expression. And it was a poignant reminder that, even though they’d somewhat managed to clear the hurdle of Mitch, he’d never been the only stumbling block in their path.
“Yeah, we are pretty lucky,” Kevin agreed. “Now that my business partner and his wife have the new pub running smoothly and Jasper’s Bar & Grille is as strong as ever, Beth and I are thinking about adding another to the horde.”
“Boy or girl, I hope the addition’s got a strong constitution,” Drew said. “Lily’s one fierce little girl.”
“Yeah.” Kevin’s dimples popped into view when he thought about his daughter. “Maybe a little less time in a sports bar for that one. She likes to sneak out of the office and help Paulie sometimes and she fits right in. But hanging out with the whole family, what with Emma having a new baby and Paige being pregnant—um, you guys knew that, right?—and Katie thinking about it has Beth determined to get pregnant now, too.”
Liz was keenly aware Drew had let go of her hand and shoved his hands in his pockets while Kevin was talking. Maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe there was a reason he’d pulled away from her while there was talk of having babies.
Love a Little Sideways Page 15