Players of Marycliff University Box Set, Books 1–3

by Jerica MacMillan

  “I knew it! You were dating someone!” At Charlie's triumphant declaration, Megan turned her anger on him.

  “Can it, Chuck. This is why I don't tell you things. This is why we don't talk anymore. Every word gets relayed back to Mom and Dad. If I wanted them to know, I'd tell them myself.”

  “Hey, hey, let's all calm down.” Logan, ever the peacemaker, put a hand on her shoulder, but she brushed him off. “We care about you, Megan. We're on your side.”

  She snorted. “Please, Logan. I know you all think I'm some rebel who needs to be brought back into the fold, or at least some frail waif who needs to be taken care of.”

  “I don't think that at all. The only reason I've ever pushed for you to change your major is because I want you to be able to support yourself. Art isn’t—”

  “Realistic,” she finished for her oldest brother. “Yeah, I know. I've heard it all before. But you haven't even seen my work since you graduated from high school. I was still in middle school then. News flash—I’ve improved a lot since then. You've never bothered to come to any of my shows. You have no idea that I've actually started to sell my paintings. For good money. And that I'm taking marketing and business classes so I can learn how to compete and find an audience. You know nothing about any of that.” Megan was spitting mad now, but kept her voice low so their parents wouldn't come in and see what was wrong. “You know nothing about my life, so just stay out of it. I can take care of myself just fine.”

  Logan opened his mouth to say something, but she held up her hand, palm out, and he stopped. “Just do me a favor, okay? When this stuff comes up at dinner, and we all know it will, just stay out of it.” She let her gaze encompass Charlie as well. “Both of you. If you're not going to support me, fine. But at least don't help them tear me down.”

  His brows drawing down, Logan glowered at her for a moment, but whatever he was about to say was interrupted by their mother's voice from the kitchen. “Dinner's ready!”

  The three of them filed into the dining room in silence and took their usual places—Charlie and Megan on the side by the wall and Logan at the foot, leaving the head of the table for their dad and the other side for their mom.

  Her mom brought a basket of rolls into the dining room followed by her dad carrying a platter of sliced turkey. They both set their burdens in the places reserved for them on the table and were about to take their seats when the doorbell rang.

  Her dad's head popped up. “Karen, did you invite someone and forget to tell us?”

  Shaking her head, her mom’s forehead wrinkled. “No. Obviously you didn't either. Kids?” They all stared blankly at each other, Megan and her brothers shaking their heads.

  “Well, I guess I'll go see who it is.” Her dad made his way to the front door. They could hear low voices, but couldn't make out what was being said.

  “Megan! Could you come out here, please?” Her dad's voice was laced with barely restrained irritation. What could possibly be going on now?

  Megan stood, squeezed behind Charlie's chair, and went out to the foyer through the living room. “What is it, Dad?”

  He stepped out of the way, revealing Chris in the open doorway, backlit by the sun lowering on the horizon, even though it wasn't even three in the afternoon. It was one of those rare clear and sunny days in November, but twilight came early this time of year. Megan stopped in her tracks, not sure what was going on.

  Chris hunched his shoulders, his hands in his pockets, looking more uncomfortable than she'd ever seen him. He usually had an easy manner and got along with most people. Never awkward or uncomfortable. “Hey, Megan.”

  Her dad stood with his arms crossed, staring at her. She looked back and forth between him and Chris before settling on Chris. “Hey, Chris. What are you doing here?”

  “Uh, I needed to talk to you.” He shifted his feet, but held her gaze.

  “You couldn't use a phone?” Her dad's arch tone sliced through the tension stringing between them, and Chris's eyes cut sideways. He shrugged, but didn't answer. Megan was kind of glad that he didn't bring up that she'd been ignoring his calls and texts, because that would've opened up another line of questioning that she didn't want to deal with right now.

  “Richard, Megan, invite the boy in for dinner.” Her mom's voice carried from the living room, where she peered through the doorway to see what was going on.

  Chris held up his hands, palms out. “Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were about to eat. I'll—I'll go.” His eyes flicked to her dad and mom, but settled again on Megan.

  Without a word, Megan stood there, unsure how she was supposed to respond to this. Her mom didn't have any such qualm. “Nonsense. We have plenty of food. You're obviously a friend of Megan's and you're not home with your own family. Come in. Richard, grab the extra chair.”

  Megan turned and followed her mom back to the dining room, acutely aware of Chris trailing behind her.

  “Charlie, get up. Your dad's getting another chair. Megan and her friend will sit over there, and you can sit on this side by me.”

  Standing from his seat, Charlie moved around the head of the table, his eyes flicking between Megan and Chris the whole time. Megan could feel the weight of Logan's gaze on her as well, but she kept her focus on her chair until she sat down and stared at her empty plate.

  Her dad came in a moment later with a folding chair for Charlie. Once he was seated and had said the obligatory prayer, they passed around the food in silence. Megan tried to avoid Chris's eyes, but couldn't stop her fingers from brushing his as they passed bowls and serving dishes back and forth.

  No one said anything for several minutes, the tension mounting with each passing second. Unasked questions about Chris and why he was there dominated the room. Her parents and brothers kept looking at them, watching their interactions or lack thereof. Add that to the underlying tension already present between her and her family, and this was the most uncomfortable Thanksgiving on record.

  Finally, her mom broke the silence. She cleared her throat. “I’d like it if we all went around and said something we’re thankful for. Richard, would you start?”

  Dad nodded. “I’m thankful that business has been going well this year.”

  Mom pursed her lips in slight disappointment at such a generic statement, but let it go. “I’m thankful to have all of our kids home for Thanksgiving this year for the first time since Logan graduated from college.”

  “I’m thankful for all this delicious food.” Charlie shoveled a huge bite of mashed potatoes into his mouth.

  Their mom playfully smacked his arm. “Be serious.”

  “I am!” he protested. At least, that's what Megan thought he said. It was hard to tell with his mouth half full. She couldn't help smiling and heard Chris chuckle quietly beside her.

  Logan cleared his throat and shot a quelling glance at his younger brother. “I’m thankful that my internship turned into me getting hired at my firm.” Their dad nodded his approval, his pride in his oldest son's career and accomplishments evident from his demeanor.

  Great, now it was Megan's turn. She finished chewing slowly, casting about for something to say. She didn't feel all that thankful for anything on that particular day, or even that week. “I’m thankful for good friends.” There, that seemed general enough to not give anything away to her family about what was going on in her life, but specific enough to make her mom happy. Her parents had no idea she hadn't been living with Abby since August, much less that she'd been seeing Chris. And she had no desire for that to change.

  All eyes turned to Chris, who shifted in his seat. “Um, I'm thankful for good friends too.” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye before he returned his attention to his plate, now only half full of food.

  “Nuh-uh,” Charlie protested. “That's cheating. You have to say something no one else has said.”

  Megan glared at her brother. “Shut up, Charlie. He's a guest. He doesn't even have to participate if he doesn't want to.”r />
  Charlie made a derisive noise. “Your boyfriend can come to his own defense. Come on. What else are you thankful for?”

  With a suppressed groan, Megan wished she could maim her brother with her eyes. She didn't want to kill him, just incapacitate him enough that he couldn't talk anymore today.

  But before she could say anything, Chris spoke up. “I’m thankful for Megan. She's helping me pass several of my classes, and I wouldn't have managed to without her.”

  Megan covered her face with her hands in dismay. That was not what she was hoping for.

  “Really, Megan?” Her mom's voice was filled with interest.

  Forcing her hands down from her face, Megan gave a short nod. “I told you that I work in the tutoring center. I’m tutoring him.” It was technically true, even if she didn’t meet with him in the tutoring center.

  But Logan obviously didn’t buy it, his eyes full of speculation. “How interesting that one of your clients would decide to crash our Thanksgiving.” He shifted his gaze to Chris. “What else is going on between you two? Why did you come here today?”

  Megan's mouth fell open in shock. Her family was usually all about proper behavior and politeness. Apparently law school had burned that out of Logan. She turned to Chris. “Ignore him. You don't have to answer that. He thinks he gets to question everyone now because he's a lawyer. He just found out he passed the bar last week, so he's got a fat head.” She glared at Logan and mouthed, “Shut up,” at him behind her hand.

  “No, Megan, he's got a point.” Now it was Charlie's turn to jump in. “I think we all want to know why he's here.”

  Megan looked to her parents for help, but she should've known better than to do that. Her mom's face was impassive, a study in neutrality, looking to her husband for his reaction before she had an opinion of her own.

  Her dad set down his napkin next to his plate and leaned back in his chair. “You know, I think the boys are right. Why are you here, young man?”

  “You don't have to answer that, Chris.” Megan met his eyes, not sure if she wanted him to answer or not. She wanted to know why he'd come, but she didn't want to hash everything out in front of her whole family. They needed to talk for sure, but not here, not like this. Damn, but she wished she'd taken at least one of his calls now.

  He held her gaze. “No, that's alright. I don't mind. I'm surprised it took this long for anyone to ask me.” He turned his head, sweeping his gaze across the table before he looked back at Megan. “I’ve missed you and needed to see you again. Things went …” he trailed off, glancing around the table again before continuing, “strangely on Saturday. And you didn't give me a chance to explain.”

  “So you crashed my house on Thanksgiving?” Megan was trying to keep her voice down, so she practically hissed out her response. “I thought you were going home. Why aren't you there?”

  He shrugged. “I did go home, but I couldn't stay there without seeing you and talking to you. You need to give me a chance to tell you what happened.”

  “I already know what happened. It doesn't matter. You shouldn't have come.”

  “Megan?” Megan turned to face her mom, realizing how intent everyone was on their conversation. “This sounds like a private matter. Would you prefer to go discuss it in your bedroom?”

  “Karen!” Her dad looked scandalized that her mom would suggest she take a boy into her bedroom alone. Megan would've laughed under any other circumstances.

  She shook her head. “No, Mom. We don't need to go in another room. There's nothing more to talk about. Let's just finish eating, okay? Isn't there apple pie for later?”

  Her mom's eyes examined her face for a moment before she nodded gracefully. “Yes, there's apple, pumpkin, and pecan. There's also whipped cream and ice cream to go with them. Of course, we'll wait a bit between dinner and dessert. I think the boys will want to finish watching whatever football game is on.”

  Megan's eyes flicked to her brothers, who both scowled at Chris. Logan opened his mouth, but Megan glared daggers at him, which at least caused him to hesitate. When he looked at their parents, whatever he saw there had him ducking his head and shoveling more food in his mouth. Charlie kept eating regardless of his desire to scowl, but fortunately didn't feel the need to say anything.

  But her dad wasn’t put off by her attempt to change the subject. “Megan, what is the nature of your relationship with this boy?”

  Oh, god. This was getting worse.

  “We're dating.” Chris's voice rang out confidently, causing Megan to cover her face with her hands again. “Oh, god. Just stop. Everybody please stop.” She muttered the words, but her dad heard her.

  “Excuse me?” His rising voice gave away his anger. “We brought you up better than to take the Lord's name in vain. I can't stop you from talking however you like when you're not here, but in my home you will not do that. Do you understand me?” Megan nodded without looking up, and her dad turned his attention back to Chris. “Now, you say you're dating?”

  Megan swore she could hear Chris swallowing. “Yes, sir.” She wasn't sure where his manners had come from, but she didn't think they'd be enough to mollify her dad.

  His tone deceptively calm, her dad continued to question Chris. “How did the two of you meet? Megan hasn't told us much about you, I'm afraid.” Oh, god. If she didn't know better, she’d think he were being friendly and conversational. She did know better. But Chris didn't.

  He relaxed beside her, his arm resting against hers. “We met over the summer. Her friend Abby started dating Lance, my former roommate.”

  Megan stifled another groan at that.

  “Former roommate? What happened?” Her dad's voice still sounded normal, but Megan could see the shitstorm coming, and she wasn't sure how to stop it. She had to try, though. “Mom, dinner today is really good. Don't you think so, Dad?”

  Her dad's dark eyes flicked to her. “Yes, of course. It's delicious as always. Thank you, dear.” The last part was directed at her mom, before he turned back to Chris. “You were saying?”

  Megan interrupted again. “Did I tell you I'm being featured in a show over Christmas?”

  Her mom's eyebrows went up slightly, betraying her surprise. “No, honey. You didn't say anything. That's wonderful. Where?”

  “There's an artist collective downtown that has shows every couple of weeks. I applied to be featured and just found out I was selected last week.”

  Her dad waved that away. “That's nice. But an artist collective isn't exactly the Guggenheim, now is it?” He turned back to Chris whose mouth had fallen open at that comment. “Now, what happened with your former roommate?”

  "He moved in with his girlfriend." Chris’s response sounded automatic, his focus still on her dad’s previous statement. “I’m sorry, did you just put down your daughter's art show because it's local?”

  Lips compressed in disapproval, her dad waved that question away as well. “He moved in with his girlfriend?” His eyes flicked to Megan. “But he just said Abby is his friend's girlfriend. Isn't Abby your roommate? So does he live with you too?”

  With another groan, Megan brought her hands back to her face, wishing she had a more effective barrier to hide behind. This just kept getting worse.

  “No, Megan took over Lance's place in our house.” Chris threw out the words distractedly, but his voice firmed up, his brows low as he said, “Back to her art show.”

  “What?” Her dad shot out of his chair, his face thunderous. He pointed a finger at Megan. “You mean to tell me you've been living with this boy? Since when?”

  Chris opened his mouth and looked between Megan and her dad, obviously realizing his misstep far, far too late. Megan had never seen Chris look at such a loss before. He wasn't sure what to say, and Megan almost felt bad for him. Almost.

  She sighed, straightened her shoulders, and held her head up. It was out now. The only thing for it was to lift her chin and deal with the consequences. Maybe this was a good thing in some way. At
least now she wouldn't have to hide her living situation from her parents anymore. Even if it was changing soon.

  “I moved in at the end of August when Abby and Lance decided to move in together. I needed a place to live, and Chris and Matt had a room they needed filled. It worked out for everyone.”

  Megan heard her mom let out a little gasp, but kept her eyes trained on her father. His face was getting redder by the second. “You live with two boys?”

  “I grew up in a house with two boys,” Megan said calmly. “I fail to see the problem.”

  “They're your brothers! It's completely different!” Her dad was in a towering rage now. He slammed his palm on the table. “You will move home this instant! I'll send your brothers to collect your things. If this is what that college does to you, then you will not be going back!”

  Megan stood up and leaned over the table, forcing herself to remain calm but unwilling to back down. Between her brothers, everything with Chris, and now this? She was so far past her breaking point she couldn’t even see it in her rearview mirror anymore.

  She stared at her father, holding his gaze, her muscles clenched so hard she was almost shaking. “No.” She said it quietly, her voice hard and full of determination.

  Her dad jerked back in shock. “Excuse me? You do not tell me no!”

  “I just did. I pay all my bills. I'm an adult. You can't order me to move back home and expect me to obey anymore. Maybe you should've thought of that before refusing to help me out financially when I didn't do what you wanted the first time.”

  Chris's hand on her back drew her attention to the fact that he was on his feet next to her. He leaned in close to her ear. “Come on, Megan. You don't need this shit. Let's go.”