Blue Ribbon Summer (The Baltimore Banners Book 3) (13 page)

No matter what Ian said, Jake countered with a valid argument and solid reason. Ian understood his concern, he did. But he sure as hell didn't agree with the idea, and he couldn't come up with a better idea that would satisfy Jake. If he had more time, maybe. But he didn't have more time.

And neither did Jake.

So the only two things he could do was agree to the asinine plan, or say no and walk away.

He felt a nudge on his arm and opened his eyes to see Jake leaning closer to him. He had a thick fold of papers in his hand and was holding them out to Ian.

With a heavy sigh and a feeling of impending doom, Ian reached out and took them, then shoved them in his back pocket.

The time for saying no and walking away was gone.

And Ian knew it had never really been an option to begin with.

The screen door closed quietly behind her, and Kayli knew that Jake had held it so it didn't slam shut and disturb the quiet of the night around them. His footsteps moved toward the swing then paused. Several seconds went by before she felt the swing move, felt it shift under his weight as he eased himself onto it. She brushed her cheek against her shoulder, erasing any tell-tale signs of her tears before she opened her eyes and looked over at her brother.

Not that her efforts did any good. She knew from the look on his face that he could tell she had been crying. But he didn't say anything, just offered her one of the bottles in his hand. She took it but didn't sip, just held the cold glass between her hands and watched as Jake gazed out at the dark yard, the silence broken only by the sound of crickets and the squeak of the swing as it drifted forward and back under their weight.

"Lori's finally asleep." His words rang too loud in the night and she watched him grimace as his voice echoed around them. She offered him a small smile then took a sip of her beer.

"She'll be fine."

"Yeah." He took a long swallow then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. She didn't bother telling him that he didn't sound like he believed it.

The silence stretched around them, speaking volumes without either one of them needing to say anything. Kayli swallowed against the build-up of emotion that grew in her chest, telling herself that she would not, could not, get emotional. Not now, not tonight. This was hard enough on them as it was. So they both sat there, drinking their beers, ignoring the fact that this was Jake's last night home. That he was leaving in the morning.

"So how come Ian hasn't been here?" The sudden question caught her off-guard and she nearly choked mid-swallow. She finished her sip then looked off to the side, afraid Jake would see too much if he could see her face.

"He had to pack the twins up and get them home since Bonnie's back now. That, and he, um, thought we might want some family time before you left." Kayli hoped she sounded more convincing than she felt when Ian had told her that yesterday morning, after he left here with the twins in the recently cleaned and detailed BMW.

But he had left his pick-up behind. Surely that had to mean something.

And even though he had been acting strange since the fair, she had no reason to believe he wasn't telling the truth and no reason to think he was avoiding her. Especially since he had called several times already, just to talk, to see how she was doing.

Yes, he was giving them some family time before Jake left. But she couldn't help but think that this would be easier if he was here instead, even though she knew the distance was probably better for her, anyway.

There were too many new emotions, too many raw emotions, to deal with all at once right now.

"He's a nice guy, I like him."

Kayli smiled and nodded, grateful for the darkness that hid the blush coloring her cheeks. "So do I."

Jake nudged her shoulder playfully. "Yeah? More than like?"

"What? No. I don't know. I haven't known him long enough...no. You're crazy." She quickly took another swallow of beer to stop her rambling, her face heating even more as Jake laughed.

"Hm. I think you might. I'm pretty sure he does."

"Geez Jake, what are you, twelve? Don't be ridiculous." But she was helpless to stop the little thrill that shot through her with his words. Helpless, but not naïve enough to believe them, no matter how much she hoped it was true.

Jake playfully nudged her once more then shrugged, a smile on his face. "I'm just saying." The minutes stretched around them, and Kayli looked over, saw that he was no longer smiling. He was staring down into his beer, a pensive look on his face. He shook his head and brought the bottle to his lips, draining it, then looked over at her.

"Well, if it means anything, I like him. And I trust him. I think, if anything happens...I mean, you can count on him, Kayli. If it's meant to be, I think...just don't be afraid to let someone take care of you for a change, okay? Ian's good for you. You deserve someone like him."

Now it was her turn to look away. She had no idea what to say in response to that, no idea even what to think. So she said nothing, just pushed her toe against the porch and set the swing in motion, letting the soothing sway lull them into a peaceful quiet.

"Ian's taking me to the airport in the morning."

"What?" Kayli turned at his unexpected words, surprised. And a little hurt. "But I thought Lori and I were taking you, to say goodbye on your big send-off."

Jake turned to face her, and she was surprised at the emotion in his eyes as he shook his head. "No more good-byes, Kayli. It's too hard. Tonight, with Lori...I can't put her through that again. Hell, I can't go through it again myself. I'll be gone by the time you two wake up. I'm hoping it'll be a little easier that way, at least for Lori."

Kayli blinked against the sudden burning in her eyes and nodded. Jake had always made his leaving seem easy, always made sure there was enough laughter and carrying on that the other emotions of good-bye and separation faded into the background. She never stopped to think that they were just as hard on him as they were on everyone else.

It wasn't long before Jake stood up with a sigh and moved over to the porch railing, turning so he was facing her. "Kayli, about Cole. I know you think he's changed, but...I don’t trust him like you do. I can't."

"Jake, don't--"

"No, I need to say this. If...if something happens, just...think before you trust him too much."

"Jake, I don't want to talk about this right now." And she didn't. She had so hoped that Jake and Cole would make amends, that they could both put the past behind them and start over. They were her brothers, and she loved them both, and she wanted everything to go back to the way it was when they were kids.

And yeah, they had both tried. For her. And she had fooled herself into thinking that everything was fine but it wasn't, not really. Yes, it was better than it had been...but not like it used to be. She didn't know if it would ever be like it used to be. And she didn't want to be reminded of the rift in her small family, of the tension and mistrust that still existed between Jake and Cole. Not right now, not the night before Jake was leaving, not after being told that he didn't even want to see her in the morning.

But Jake's expression was fierce and serious, and she knew they were going to have the conversation whether she wanted to or not.

"Kayli, please. Just...don't trust him too much." He paused, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "You need to look out for yourself--for Lori--first. Okay?"

"Jake, don't be ridiculous. Nothing is going to happen. You're only going out to Cali." But even as she said those words, she wasn't sure she believed them. Jake had been quieter than usual at the fair, a little more distant. But surely that was because leaving was getting harder for him, like he just said. There couldn't be another reason. If he was going somewhere else, he would tell her. Jake was going to California, that was all. He would tell her if he wasn't. She had to believe that.

"Promise me, Kayli. Please." Jake's voice was determined, his words pleading. Kayli swallowed and nodded, unable to speak around the lump in her throat. "Thank you."

The quiet night settled around them once more, not quite as peaceful as before. Kayli hated the tension that suddenly hung between them and she struggled to come up with a way to break it.

"Hey." Jake reached out and nudged her foot, and she looked up at him, at the smile on his face and the gleam in his eyes. "Remember when Dad used to take us tadpoling? We used to go up to the pond, betting each other we'd catch dozens?"

"Yeah, and the losers had to do all the chores for the winner for a week."

"Except we never caught any because we were too busy splashing around getting dirty. It drove Dad nuts, because he always used it as an excuse to go fishing so Mom wouldn't yell at him."

"Oh please. Mom knew what he was doing. She was using it as an excuse to get us out of the house so she could have some peace and quiet."

Jake straightened and looked at her with a quizzical expression. "Really? I never knew that."

"Because you men never think. Duh." Kayli laughed, feeling like she was twelve again. Then her laughter faded as the gleam in Jake's eyes brightened. He sat his empty beer bottle on the railing and tossed her a challenging look.

"Bet I can catch more."

"Cannot."

They stared at each other for a long second, silently challenging each other. Kayli jumped from the porch swing just as Jake moved away from the railing. They bumped into each other, pushing and tugging as they both ran down the porch steps and tore around the side of the house, racing to get to the pond first, their laughter ringing in the night air.

#

Kayli's footfalls were quiet as she slipped into the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee. She took a sip and breathed a sigh of gratification as the hot liquid slipped over her tongue and down her throat. She was thankful that she had thought to program the coffeemaker before finally going to bed last night. If it had been left up to Jake, the coffee would taste like old motor oil.

She wrapped her hands around the mug and made her way through the front room and out to the porch. Jake was standing at the top of the steps, leaning against the post with his back to her. His duffel bag sat off to the side, packed and ready to go.

Kayli swallowed hard, telling herself she would
not
get emotional, then opened the screen door and stepped outside, careful to close it quietly behind her.

"I thought I told you to sleep in."

"Don't be an ass. You're my big brother. I'm not going to let you leave without saying good bye."

He turned to face her, his profile in stark relief against the backdrop of the sunrise. Dressed in his uniform, freshly shaven with his hair trimmed, he already looked different. Serious and battle-ready. The tension that thrummed through him was barely contained under the surface, reminding her that he was so much more than just her big brother. He didn't like to talk about what he did or where he'd been. Seeing him like this reminded her once more that he had seen and done things she couldn't even begin to imagine.

And then a grin broke out on his face and he was her big brother again, dressed and ready to go to work. Except his job was on the other side of the country.

Please God, let it only be on the other side of the country.

"Thanks for the coffee."

"I did it for purely selfish reasons. I can't stand the swill you make."

Jake laughed then turned back around as the sound of a motor broke the morning stillness. Kayli felt a smile break out on her face as she saw the car pull up the drive, and her heart melted when the car came to a stop and Ian got out.

"I'll be damned. He brought the Shelby."

Ian walked toward them, a smile on his face as he looked Jake over then turned to her. He climbed the steps and pulled her into his arms, lowering his head and claiming her mouth in a deep kiss that had her leaning against him.

"Okay, enough already. Save it for when there are no witnesses."

Ian pulled away with a laugh, his right arm still draped around her shoulder. "He gets pretty full of himself when he's all dressed up, doesn't he?"

Kayli laughed and she leaned even closer to Ian, thankful for his presence that was keeping everything light and easy. He still had the keys to the car in his hand, and he tossed them up in the air once, catching them deftly in his palm. Then he shrugged and tossed them at Jake, who nearly dropped them in surprise.

"Well, even if you are full of yourself, I guess I can still let you drive."

"No shit. Seriously?" A boyish gleam lit up Jake's face, and Kayli had to bite back a smile even as she blinked back tears. She looked over at Ian then leaned closer to whisper in his ear.

"Thank you."

He shrugged and dropped a kiss on the top of her head, then moved away and grabbed Jake's duffel bag. He tossed it over his shoulder, pausing long enough to give her another quick kiss and to squeeze her shoulder before making his way down the steps.

Jake turned and faced her, all earlier signs of his boyish charm gone. He looked...older, tired. Resigned. She tried to offer him a smile but it wavered on her face, and she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tight around his waist, as if she could hold him hard enough and long enough to keep him home.

"I love you Jake. Please be careful."

He hugged her back, his hold just as tight, and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "I love you, too, kiddo. Take care of Lori. And I'll be back home before you know it." He muttered something else but she couldn't make out what it was over the sound of the blood thrumming in her ears. She swallowed against the lump in her throat and abruptly pulled away, afraid that if he didn't leave now, she'd never let him.

Jake turned and walked down the steps, his back straight, not looking back at her until he reached the driver's side door. Then he turned, tossed the keys into the air and caught them, and gave her another grin. She smiled, grateful again for Ian's thoughtfulness.