Blue Ribbon Summer (The Baltimore Banners Book 3) (16 page)

Laughter and music drifted through the open windows of the house. Kayli smiled to herself as she pulled more containers of food from the refrigerator and placed them on the kitchen table, where they could be unwrapped and taken outside. She looked at everything spread out on the table and wondered if it would be enough. Yeah, it was a ton of food. Any other time, she might worry about where she was going to put the leftovers.

But today, she was wondering if it was going to be enough. Kayli had no idea that Ian's teammates could eat so much. Her smile broadened and she shook her head, thinking that this year's bonfire was going to be one to remember.

And not just because she had fallen asleep in Ian's arms last night while he whispered words of love in her ear. No, she told herself, that had nothing to do with it. Nothing at all.

"What's the big grin for?"

Kayli jumped at the voice behind her and whirled around, her smile growing as Ian walked up to her. He pulled her into his arms and lowered his head for a kiss that had her melting against him despite its briefness.

"Hmm. No particular reason. I just felt like smiling."

"Is that so?" An identical smile lit his own face as he stared into her eyes. She leaned up on her toes, ready to kiss him again.

"Ewww. Is that all you two do anymore?" Lori bounded into the kitchen and stepped around them, shaking her head as she opened and closed cabinet doors. Kayli bit her lip to keep from laughing at the disappointment that crossed Ian's face when she stepped out of his arms and turned back toward the table. She grabbed a large bowl of potato salad and another of coleslaw then handed them to Ian.

"Can you take these out for me?" She turned back to her niece. "Lori, what are you looking for?"

"The thing you use for barbecue sauce. The brush thingy." She opened and closed several more drawers before Kayli finally took pity on her and walked over to the counter. She leaned around her niece and grabbed the utensil caddy, whipping out the large sauce brush and handing it to her.

"Why do you need another one? I already had one out there."

"Because Ian's friend dropped it."

"Friend?" Ian adjusted his grip on the two bowls and looked at both of them. "Who?"

"The one who bought the steers. Randy. He took over the grilling." Lori grabbed the brush and skipped out of the kitchen, leaving Ian staring after her.

"He did what?"

"I guess he took over the grilling." Kayli grabbed the pan of baked beans and turned, expecting to follow Ian out of the kitchen. Instead, he was standing there with an odd expression on his face, staring at her.

"No. The steers. He did what?"

"He bought them. He looked them over the other day when he was here, and he made me an offer this afternoon."

"Oh." Ian shifted the bowls again, a crease forming between his brows as he watched her. "How many did he buy?"

"All of them. Well, the ones I didn't have buyers for, anyway."

"But...why did he buy them?"

Kayli shrugged. "I don't know. Something about a restaurant. I don't really care, though. I got more than double what I would have gotten if I had taken them to auction, and I don't have to deal with the headache of getting them there or taking them to slaughter. And we worked out a deal for more down the road when they're ready." She moved past Ian, expecting him to follow her, then stopped when she realized he was still standing in the same spot. She turned to look at him, her smile fading at the blank look on his face. "Ian, what's wrong? It was a great deal. Are you upset your friend bought the steers?"

"What? No. Of course not. That's ridiculous. I just thought...never mind, it's not important."

"Are you sure? You look upset about something."

"No, really. I'm just surprised, that's all. I didn't think Randy was serious."

"Well, he was. So thank you for sending him up the other day to talk to me." Kayli took two steps back to Ian and leaned over to give him a quick kiss. "It's getting harder to get buyers these days, especially around here. And buyers who will actually pay decent money...that's a definite bonus. So, thank you."

"Yeah, no problem. Glad to help." Ian leaned down to accept her kiss, a small grin lifting the corners of his mouth even as a shadow passed through his eyes. Kayli thought about asking again what was wrong, but the shadow quickly disappeared and he nudged her forward. "Let's get these outside before I drop them. I'll never hear the end of it then."

The crowd outside eagerly greeted them, diving into the additional food as quickly as they could place it on the tables. Kayli looked around, surprised to realize there were more than thirty people gathered around.

Surprised, and inwardly pleased that the diverse group seemed to be getting along so well. When she first suggested that Ian invite his teammates to the party, she immediately started worrying about how the mixed crowd would work. Visions of two separate groups huddling at opposite sides of the yard, staring at each other, had plagued her since she asked. But her worries ended up being for nothing, because everyone was getting along great, enjoying themselves.

Hockey players and hicks. She smiled at the thought, knowing that Jake would call her every kind of hypocrite for even thinking it. And he was right, because if Ian or any of his friends said the same thing, she would have become righteously indignant.

Kayli looked around, searching for Lori in the crowd of teenagers playing an impromptu volleyball game. Jake had been gone for over two weeks and Kayli knew his absence still weighed heavily on the girl, especially since they hadn't really heard from him. She was thankful that Lori had her friends to help keep her occupied.

Much like she had Ian. She looked around, not surprised to see him standing by the grill with a few of his teammates. He seemed to be involved in a deep conversation but looked up and gave her a smile.

Heat immediately bloomed through her, and she smiled back. She couldn't believe how much she had come to rely on him, on his steady presence. Just having him near during the last couple of weeks had helped deal with the pain of separation once Jake left.

She loved him. She wasn't sure when it had happened, couldn't remember one defining moment that sent her hurtling head-first into such dangerous territory. She only knew she loved him.

And she couldn't believe he actually loved her. Last night still seemed like a dream. And if it was...well, she didn't want to wake up. She could remain in this dream-state for the rest of her life and be happy.

The hours passed quickly. The back yard was cleaned up, food packed away and stored before the bonfire started. She sent Ian ahead in his truck to get the fire going, a task that had some of his friends laughing even as they piled into the bed of his truck and went with him. Some of the crowd followed, while others went home, smiling their sleepy thanks.

Kayli took a few minutes to enjoy the peace and quiet of the sudden solitude as the night grew darker, then headed for the upper field. Their annual bonfire was generally a quiet party, attended by a dozen neighbors just relaxing and enjoying a few precious minutes without responsibilities before the hectic preparations for Fair started. This year, more than two dozen people gathered around the fire, sharing stories or just talking. She searched the crowd, seeing Lori in deep conversation with Dylan. She smiled when she noticed that one of Ian's teammates sat close by, like a silent sentinel, watching the younger man as if he had been appointed her niece's guardian.

Maybe he had been.

Kayli looked around again, searching for Ian, but didn't see him in the fire-lit crowd. Her gaze drifted further up the hill, to the big barn, and noticed the light spilling from the half-open door. A grin on her face, she headed toward the barn, hoping she would find Ian there...and maybe surprise him.

Angry voices drifted through the open door as she approached, and she slowed her pace, her ears straining to hear the words. She recognized Ian's voice immediately, tight with strain and anger.

"I don't give a shit, Michaels. You should have asked me first."

"Seriously, Donovan, you need to chill. What's the big deal? I bought some cattle. So what?"

"Ian, Randy's right. You're making this into something it's not."

Kayli didn't recognize the third voice, so she stepped closer, peering through the space between the sliding doors. The three men were standing off to the side, near the empty stalls. Ian, Randy, and a third hockey player. Alec, the goalie. She had met him the night Ian had taken her downtown, and had seen him earlier in the day today, but she hadn't had a chance to speak with him.

She couldn't imagine why the three of them were up here arguing, but she couldn't miss the waves of tension rolling off Ian, even from this distance. She stepped closer, careful not to make any sounds, feeling guilty for spying even as tendrils of doubt and worry pulled at her.

"I don't want her taken advantage of. How do I even know you paid her what they're worth?"

"What? You think I'm trying to cheat your girlfriend, is that it? You really think I'm that big of an asshole? Christ."

Kayli frowned. The conversation didn't make sense, not when Ian already knew how much Randy had paid--because she had already told him.

Apparently Ian realized the same thing, because he stepped back and ran his hands over his face with a loud sigh and shook his head. "No. I don't. You're right. I just...never mind."

"No, not never mind. You drag me up here and throw all these accusations at me--"

Alec stepped forward and rested a hand on Randy's shoulder. "Randy, let it go."

"No, I'm not going to let it go. What the hell is your problem, Donovan? You're acting like you own this place."

"He does."

The bottom of Kayli's stomach dropped, filling her with a blast of icy dread. She blinked her eyes and stared at the three men, knowing she hadn't heard him right. She reached out and pressed her palm against the door, feeling the rough grain of the weathered wood bite into her flesh as she stared, waiting, telling herself she had heard wrong.

That had to be it. She had heard wrong, and Ian was going to laugh and say it was a mistake.

"He what?" Randy looked back and forth between Alec and Ian, and Kayli knew he saw the same expression on Ian's face that she saw, even from this distance.

Discomfort. Guilt.

"Ian owns part of it. Her brother signed it over to him before he left."

"Alec, enough."

"No, I want to hear this." Randy turned away from Alec and stared at Ian. Kayli's pulse thundered in her ears and she swallowed, needing to hear, to listen. "Your girlfriend's brother signed over his part of their farm. To you. Just like that? What'd she say when you told her?"

Ian muttered something too low for Kayli to hear over the thundering in her ears, but Randy's harsh laugh was clear. "Brilliant. So you're just going to keep sleeping with her and sweet-talking her at the same time. And let me guess, while you're at it, you'll tell her you love her, too, right? That gets them every time. And you call
me
an asshole."

Cold numbness swept through Kayli, filling her, settling so heavily in her chest that the mere act of taking a breath hurt. Their words drifted out to her but she barely heard them. Her vision narrowed and she tightened her grip on the barn door to steady herself. Then she pushed away, stepping out of the shadows and walking into the barn, her gazed focused only on Ian.

Silence greeted her entrance as all three men turned to face her. But she paid attention only to Ian, needing to see his face, needing him to look in her eyes so she could see the truth.

But when he finally met her gaze, all she saw was guilt and regret. The cold numbness claimed the rest of her, icing over her heart as she stared at him, closing out the warm memories of his whispered words of love.

Closing out the pain of his lies.

"Kayli..."

She shook her head and stepped closer as Alec and Randy walked past her, leaving the two of them alone. She kept staring at Ian, waiting, still hoping he would say it was a misunderstanding and that she hadn't heard what she thought she heard.

But the truth was in his eyes. Kayli clenched her fists and stared at him, struggling to get words past her throat. "How?"

Silence greeted her question for so long that she thought maybe she hadn't really spoken. Ian pulled his gaze away from hers and looked down at the dirt floor. "Jake signed over his portion before he left."

"Just like that."

"It's not..." Ian looked up at her, something flashing in his eyes. But he shook his head and looked away again. "Yeah, I guess just like that."

The harsh abruptness of his words shredded her, and she took a deep breath against the pain. Kayli looked up into the rafters above them, then over to the empty stalls and the bales of fresh-cut hay. She took another deep breath. "When?"

"I'm not--"

"When, Ian? When did this happen?"

Silence, then the sound of his heavy sigh. "When we were at the fair."

"That long ago? And you're still hanging around?"