Game Saver (23 page)

“Mom . . .” Abi says with a groan, albeit an amused one.

After hugging Abi, Marcy turns to be, lifting up on her toes and wrapping her arms around my back, squeezing the life out of me.

“Do you mind letting Cade go so he can breathe again, Mom?” Abi muses.

With a loud smacking kiss on my cheek, Marcy releases me and moves back to stand next to Abi’s dad who holds his arm out to me.

“Rick, Abi’s father. You must be Cade.”

I step forward and shake his hand, meeting his eyes as I do. “Hi. It’s good to meet you.”

“You too, son.”

“Son?” Abi whispers, sounding horrified and making her mom giggle.

“Rick, you’ve only just met the guy,” Mom says.

“He’s looks the same age as Jamie, he’s like a son, therefore—son,” Rick replies with a wink and a shrug just as a younger version of Rick walks out to greet us.

“Jamie,” Abi says, rushing forward and hugging her brother.

“Hey Sis.” He turns my way as soon as Abi moves back to my side and holds out his hand.

“I’m Jamie, the only brother you haven’t met yet,” he says with a guarded smile. When he gives me a firm—okay,
very
firm—handshake, I’m in two minds about whether to bolt out the door or face the music and await my untimely death at the hands of the brother who may or may not know I was face-fucking his sister on her couch a few weeks ago.

“Anyway,” Abi announces, wrapping her arm around my waist and obviously trying to change topics, “are the rest of the guys here yet?”

“You two are the last to arrive.”

“Dammit, that means they’ve already started eating.”

“Not yet . . .” Marcy says, her lips twitching.

“You’re full of it. Maybe if you invited
their
dates, they’d get the welcoming committee at the door like this, and I
might
just have a chance of hitting the table first,” Abi says haughtily, but her heart isn’t in it. I’ve seen Abi pissed off and this is nowhere
near
that level.

“How I have four single sons is beyond me,” Marcy laments, pulling Abi away from my side and hooking an arm around her shoulders, leading her down the hallway. I catch Rick’s eyes just as he rolls them before turning and disappearing down the hall behind Jamie.

“Let me get you a drink. You’re probably gonna need it if you’re going to survive Thanksgiving with Abi and her brothers,” he warns, leading the way towards the brothers and—hopefully—an ice-cold beer.

An hour later, we’re all sitting around a large oval dining room table, Rick quickly saying Grace before Abi’s brothers descend on the huge spread of food covering every inch of it.

Watching the mayhem with a grin, I turn my head when Abi leans into my side. “I’ll warn you now, it’s first in, first served whenever food is involved here. You wouldn’t believe how quickly I learned that lesson with four brothers who I swear can eat their weight in food,” she whispers, her lips curving into a wry smile.

“Good to know,” I reply, scanning the huge amount of plates, all piled high.

“I’m serious, Cade. Stock up, because there won’t be any leftovers. It’s like survival of the fittest, Cook-style.”

“As opposed to Thanksgiving, Carsen-style, where the food prepared by caterers is abundant, excessive, and so far from home-style cooking it’s not funny?”

She snorts loudly and covers her mouth with her hand. I quirk a brow, watching her eyes dance as she struggles to compose herself.

“Seems we are from very different worlds,” she says before suddenly—and weirdly—tensing.

My hand darts out to her thigh under the table. “Abi?”

She opens her mouth to reply but before she can answer, we’re interrupted by Cohen. “Are you two going to eat or whisper to each other all day?”

Abi opens her mouth to reply, but Jaxon interrupts. “At least it would be better than what we saw her eating last time.” He grins over the table at her, a surprised—and somewhat amused—chortle escaping my mouth.

Abi huffs and glares at her brother who, along with Bryant and Cohen, smirks at the two of us.

“What was she eating?” Rick asks, and it’s then my life flashes before my eyes, imagining not one, not even four, but five Cook males stringing me up by the balls and cooking
me
for Thanksgiving dinner.

“You don’t wanna know,” three out of the four brothers reply in unison, all of them shooting me mock death glares before grinning at their sister’s horrified face.

“I want to know,” Jamie says, leaning towards us, his demeanor screaming menacing, not ‘big softie’ like Abi said.

“Do you like Cade?” Jaxon asks him, his lips twitching.

Marcy giggles, and Abi’s cheeks flame red. She’d be the
last
person I’d ever imagine to get embarrassed over sex talk, although maybe the threat of having her Dad find out about her deep throating my cock in her living room is where she draws the line.

“I
did
like him, but now I’m thinking I won’t for much longer,” Jamie muses, but there’s an edge to his voice that I can’t quite read. It’s enough to have me prepared for anything: a punch, a brawl, death by older brother . . .

Deciding that offense is probably my best line of defense, I fall back on my deeply engrained manners to help move the conversation on to a far less dangerous—for me—topic. “Marcy, this food looks amazing. Thank you for inviting me.”

“Oh you’re welcome, Cade. Thank you for coming,” she replies brightly, nudging her husband’s arm with her elbow. “Such lovely manners, honeysuckle.”

I struggle not to laugh at her outrageous term of endearment for her husband, but considering she calls Abi ‘precious,’ I shouldn’t be so surprised. I wonder whether she calls the guys muffin, sugarplum, pumpkin, or angel? If she does, I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep a straight face around them.

“Marcy tells me you’re a doctor, Cade,” Rick says between mouthfuls.

I finish chewing before taking a drink of my beer and answering him with a grin. “I’m an Emergency Medicine Specialist at North Western.”

“I dated a nurse from there once,” Jamie announces.

Abi looks at me, her eyes wide, and I know just what she’s thinking.

“As long as her name wasn’t Mac, we’ll be good,” I reply with a laugh.

“Why?” he says, eyeing me up suspiciously.

“Because she’s my best friend’s wife and if you’d dated her, it might make future gatherings awkward.”

“Nah, I think her name was Sophie. It wasn’t serious. Just a few months about nine years ago.”

I choke on my drink, knowing
exactly
who he’s talking about because Sophie is one of Mac’s friends and although she used to be a good-time girl, she’s now
very
married and
very
pregnant with baby number four.

Abi rubs my back, putting her mouth to my ear. “I know there’s a story there. You better tell me later.” Still reeling from just how small the world is, or maybe it’s just the six degrees of separation Mac style, I meet her eyes and nod, noting how relaxed and happy she seems now that we’re here and I wasn’t hung, drawn, and quartered upon arrival.

“And your family, Cade? What do they do?” Rick asks and I still, surprised at his question.

“His dad is running for mayor, Dad,” Abi replies, her voice unreadable.

“I know that,” he says. “I mean the rest of the Carsens.”

“My mother sits on many charity boards.”

“And your brother and sister?” Marcy asks, taking a sip of her wine but looking at me intently. It seems Abi
has
imparted some information about me, to her mother at least.

“My sister is a lawyer and my brother is in the army, currently deployed in Iraq.”

“Your parents must be so proud—a lawyer, a doctor,
and
a solider,” Marcy says with a bright smile.

“Indeed,” I reply, dipping my chin.

“Do you think he’s going to win the mayoralty?” Jamie asks, leaning back in his chair.

“It’s looking likely,” I reply dryly.

“I’m sure your parents were disappointed that you were missing Thanksgiving this year?” Marcy says.

Not likely,
I think, but what comes out of my mouth is a
lot
nicer. “I spoke to my sister this morning, and my brother isn’t the easiest guy to get a hold of, for obvious reasons,” I say with a grin. “But I’m glad you invited me.”

Abi’s hand slide into mine and give me a squeeze, and it calms me.

The truth is, my mother communicated her displeasure clearly and without room for any misunderstanding before telling me that Abi and I were expected to attend the annual Carsen Christmas party in four weeks’ time. The good news is that Cam will be home that week.

“I haven’t been following the campaign closely but maybe I will now,” Rick says. I turn my head to Abi, the look exchanged between us—her wide eyes and my surprised ones—speaking volumes.

She squares her shoulders and addresses her father. “Cade’s worked hard for everything he has,” she says, sounding weirdly defensive. “He bought his own house and has given up a lot to get where he is professionally. I have a lot of respect for the fact he’s his own man, going his own way. “

Awkward silence fills the room, Abi’s breath hitching as her outburst registers.

Thankfully, Jaxon swoops in and saves the day—and the mood. “We get it, Abs. You’re finally proud of one of your boyfriends. Now can we move on to dessert because I’m starving?” He shoots her a teasing grin.

Abi’s cheeks flush but she doesn’t miss the opportunity to poke her tongue out at her brother.

“You’ll have to excuse my children, Cade. You’d think I never fed them,” Marcy exclaims dramatically.

“That’s because you don’t,” all of the brothers say in unison and I can’t help it, I burst out laughing, soon being joined by Abi’s giggles and Rick’s chuckles.

At least there’s one thing in common between the Cook and Carsen Thanksgivings—in either household, there’s definitely never a dull moment.

After food, and talking, and
more
food, we all move to the family room and the giant flat-screen television on the wall to watch the Broncos take on the Colts.

“How’s work?” Marcy asks Abi as the commentators lead in to adverts.

“The hotel is good,” she replies.

“And did you get that promotion your mother was telling me about?” Rick says.

Abi grins, shaking her head at her mother. “I haven’t heard yet but my boss spoke to me on Thursday and said it’s looking good.”

“That’s awesome, precious,” says Marcy with a proud smile.

“Way to go, Sis,” says Cohen, walking into the room with beers for all of us guys.

“What about the other job?” Jamie says gruffly.

“Yeah, how’s Brandi and Roger?” her mom adds.

Abi shifts in my lap jerkily, her fingers tapping almost nervously on the arm of the chair.
I thought her family was fine about the stripping.

“They’re good,” she says, her voice breaking.

“You’ll have to say hi from me next time you see them,” Marcy adds, and Abi’s body goes as hard as stone.
What the hell?

I give her leg a gentle—hopefully reassuring—squeeze, but instead of relaxing her, her breath hitches, and she cautiously looks me in the eye before taking a huge breath and slowly exhaling.

“I’m not sure when I’ll see them again . . . because I quit.”

I swear you could’ve heard a pin drop in the silence that follows. Abi turns her head to look at me, but I’m in shock.

Mind . . . blank. Eyes . . . blank. Just . . .
blank.

My heart thumps hard against my ribs, and I realize that my fingers resting on her side are now biting into her hip. As her announcement—and the myriad of possibilities that come with it—registers with me, the quiet is broken by Bryant.

“About fucking time.” He tilts a beer bottle towards our chair.

“What?” she gasps.

“Thank fuck,” Jamie replies.

Abi’s head jerks to her oldest brother. “You never said anything about it.”

“Because, you’re our sister and we love you and we support anything and everything you do. No judgement,” Jaxon says.

I catch Marcy wiping her eyes before looking at me. Despite the swirling storm of emotions and thoughts inside of me, I plaster a smile on my face

“Dad? Cohen?” Abi eyes dart to me but quickly return to her family.

Her father’s eyes soften. “Baby girl, I love you regardless. I’ll always be proud of you and everything you’ve achieved. I know why you started working there, and I also know you wouldn’t accept our help back then because you’re as stubborn and proud as I am. Doesn’t mean I’m not happy as hell you’re not doing it anymore.”

“Dad . . .” she says quietly, her voice thick.

“Okay. Not to kill the deep and meaningful mood we’ve suddenly got going on here, but Dad, turn the TV up. It’s time to watch the Broncos kick ass,” Bryant announces.

And with grins and grunts from the guys, and some sniffs from Marcy and Abi, everyone’s attention goes back to the flat-screen and the football that’s now showing on it again.

Unfortunately for me, I don’t enjoy the rest of the game.

Don’t get me wrong. I put on a show, pretending everything’s fine for the rest of the afternoon. If Abi senses my mood, she doesn’t say anything about it, or choosing to bide her time until we’re alone and hoping to get a chance to explain it all to me.