Love a Little Sideways (15 page)

Mitch, who’d been mid-swallow from a can of soda, choked. The other guys started laughing at him, which earned them glares from the women until Josh finally pounded him on the back and Mitch got himself under control.

“No handcuffs,” Drew told Bobby. Then he looked at his friend over the top of the boy’s head. “This time.”

Mitch flipped him the bird from behind the soda can, which made him laugh. It was going to take more than a cranky Kowalski to get under his skin tonight. Once he got his hands on that grilled chicken and coleslaw, Drew was going to be fully satisfied in every possible way. He knew it was temporary. He’d be itching to have his hands on Liz again in no time because, if he ever did get his fill of her, it wasn’t going to be for a long, long time. But for right now, he was a happy man.

“Will you play ball with me?”

He looked down at Bobby, who was holding a tennis ball and smiling sweetly up at him. “Are you talking catch, or some kind of tennis ball of doom game that will leave me dying for a tube of muscle rub and a hot tub?”

“Just catch.”

He wasn’t sure he believed the boy, but the other kids were either helping with dinner or reading. Even if the game got rowdy, he could probably survive a one-on-one with a little kid. Maybe.

They moved out into the dirt road for space and Bobby lobbed the ball to him. Drew stepped in to catch it and then threw it back. They fell into an easy rhythm that reminded him of very long ago days when he’d done the same with his dad.

Last year, it had been the baseball glove he’d found in the garage that led to the end of his marriage. It had gotten him to thinking it was past time for him to have his own little boy to play catch with and he’d told Mallory that. She’d tried to put him off again and, for the first time, he’d really pushed. That’s when she told him she’d never wanted to have kids and was afraid to tell him or she’d lose him.

Now he was starting over and, as Rose called for them to go and eat, he felt a little less satisfied than he had only twenty minutes before.

Chapter Fifteen

The day before the Maine half of the family had to go home, Rose and Aunt Mary made it clear there would be family activities, not everybody going in different directions and doing different things. Once dinner had been eaten as a group, the guys could go ride if they wanted, but everybody was grounded until then.

Liz didn’t mind. She spent a little time after breakfast cleanup doing her last load of laundry and then, after dumping it in her tent, she took a leisurely walk in search of others. She was almost to the screen house when Brian went by her, struggling to drag a cooler through the grass by one handle and, curious, she went and grabbed the other end to help him out. Or maybe to make sure he didn’t have his little brother stuffed in it. “What’s in the cooler, kiddo?”

“Drinks and ice.” The poor kid was panting. “It’s time for the Annual Kowalski Volleyball Death Match Tournament of
Doom.
”

“The what?”

He repeated it, but it didn’t sound any more appealing the second time around. She couldn’t very well drop her end of the cooler and run off, though. The thing was even heavier than it had looked.

“I guess every sport needs cheerleaders,” she said brightly.

“You have to play.”

Great. “Can’t you just call it volleyball? Does it have to be a death match tournament?”

“Of
doom.
It’s more fun when it’s a death match tournament of doom.”

It took nearly half an hour to get everybody in place and it was too highly organized for Liz to slip away without anybody noticing. Chairs were lined up along the edge of the playground, close enough to the trees to catch some shade. Andy and Rose were playing, as was Uncle Leo, but Mary was sitting out so she could help Brianna cheer. Emma got to sit out because of Johnny, and Paige was, of course, excused from all activities involving doom thanks to her pregnancy, which was probably the worst-kept secret the family had ever not kept.

Everybody else, even little Lily, who was trash-talking her family members across the net like a pro in her squeaky little voice, was on the field. It started out fun enough, but it didn’t take long for their competitive natures to kick in and the game got fierce.

Kevin, who was hovering over his daughter like a linebacker, lifted Lily into the air and they both laughed when she hit the ball back over the net hard enough to get it by Rose.

“Score!” the little girl shouted.

They all laughed as they rotated positions. It was Liz’s turn to serve and she got it over the net, though just barely. Since she hadn’t played volleyball since high school, she considered it quite the accomplishment. Sean popped it up in the air and she sucked in a breath as Mitch launched himself in the air and slammed the ball back, right at Drew.

Drew turned so it slapped his shoulder instead of his face since the velocity was so high he’d never return it, and Liz heard the gasps around them. Fierce was one thing. Nobody was supposed to get hurt.

She watched Drew shake it off, picking up the ball and tossing it over the net to Beth, whose turn it was to serve.

But in the next volley, Drew had the opportunity to spike the ball back at Mitch. He didn’t hit him, but Mitch’s awkward attempt to save it made the rest of them laugh as he hit the grass. He came up red-faced.

“Time out!” Mary called from the sidelines. “Time for everybody to hydrate.”

Liz was thankful for the cooling-off period her aunt had obviously seen the need for, but she didn’t think it would be enough. There was a lot of laughter and teasing as they drank, but the two guys stood on opposite sides of the group, drinking their water in silence until it was time to go back to the game.

There were some whistles and catcalls in the audience as Drew and Mitch both peeled their damp T-shirts over their heads, but Liz saw it for what it was. She wouldn’t be surprised if they started grunting and pounding their chests. Maybe pawing the ground. Idiots.

The two men engaged in a stare-down while they waited for their teams to get into position, and Liz wanted to cover her eyes when she realized it was Mitch’s turn to serve. Drew’s body was tense and ready for whatever her brother was going to dish out to him but, before anything could happen, Liz broke position and went to Drew. She put her hand at the small of his back so he looked at her.

“Stop,” was all she said.

The ferocity cleared from his expression and she felt the tension leave his back. “I’m not doing all the work here. I think it’s time for Bobby to make a big play.”

Everybody chuckled as Mike and Lisa’s youngest flexed his muscles, posing for the cheering section on the sidelines. Before going back to her position, Liz made eye contact with Mitch and was pleased to see he looked a little chagrined.

The rest of the game—or death match tournament of doom, she reminded herself—passed in a blur of sweat, shouts, laughter and curse words that morphed halfway through being spoken into non-curse words that didn’t fool anybody. The littlest ones and the older folks wandered to the sidelines as the volleys went on, but there was no quitting until the boys were done.

Finally Mitch’s team scored the winning point, although Liz wasn’t sure the scoring system was entirely accurate, and they all walked over to the shade and collapsed in the grass.

Liz flopped down next to Drew and rested her head against his shoulder while handing him one of the water bottles she’d grabbed as they passed the cooler. “Here. Drink.”

Danny, Mike and Lisa’s second son, pointed his drink at them. “Hey, you guys are both really tall. Your kids will be great at volleyball.”

Liz felt the heat blooming on her cheeks as an awkward silence greeted his words. Talk about zero to sixty.

“Depends on who they inherit their skills from,” Drew said. “If you know what I mean.”

Danny gave Liz the side-eye and then nodded. “Good point.”

Liz slapped Drew’s knee. “I’m not that bad.”

“Honey, you’re not that good, either.”

Everybody laughed and, even though it was at her expense, it felt good to hear it and she hoped the better mood carried through the rest of the day. She really wanted, when everybody went their separate ways, for it to be on good terms. Or at least not bad ones.

* * *

As Mary had promised, once they’d eaten their last barbecued dinner as a family, the adults were free to go for a ride. After a very long day that included the pool, a water gun war and various other sports events of doom, most of them were content to sit by the campfire and supervise s’mores. But a few of the guys were going out.

Drew wasn’t quite sure where he stood. Things had become more normal between him and Liz’s family over the course of the day to the point he’d been pretty comfortable during dinner. But in a group made up of Joe, Kevin, Ryan, Josh and Mitch—with no women playing peacemaker—he might not be as welcome.

“You in, Miller?” Mitch barked as he walked by. “Five minutes.”

Good enough. He grabbed his gear and was ready to go by the time the other guys were. They all stopped on their way to the four-wheelers to kiss their women, so he did the same.

Liz was breaking chocolate bars into s’mores-size pieces in preparation for the evening when he stepped up beside her and kissed the side of her neck.

“I’m heading out.” He snagged a piece of chocolate and popped it in his mouth.

She slapped his hand. “Those are only for people having s’mores. And don’t forget, if you get too close to the other guys in mud, they
will
roost the hell out of you.”

Since he had no desire to come back covered from helmet to boot in mud thrown off their tires, he made a mental note. “Maybe I’ll roost them.”

“They’re not that easy to catch off guard.” She lifted her finger to the corner of his mouth and swiped at it. “Chocolate.”

“Let’s go,” somebody yelled.

“I’ll be back.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and kissed her goodbye.

Once they were clear of the campground, Kevin—who was in the lead—kicked it into high gear and they tore through the woods. Whenever they had to slow down for tricky terrain, Drew made sure he left enough space between him and Ryan so he wouldn’t get wedged in behind him in a mud puddle.

Eight miles out, he saw Kevin’s taillights get squirrelly through a break in the trees and then pull hard to the right. They all pulled in behind Kevin, who’d gotten his four-wheeler as far off the trail as he could.

“Think I punctured a tire,” he said.

“I’ve got a kit,” Joe called from the rear.

After inspecting the tire, the puncture was found and Joe opened up the plug kit. “This is going to take a while.”

Drew tossed his helmet and gloves on the seat of his four-wheeler and grabbed a water from the storage box. He also found a candy bar and it made him smile to imagine Liz sticking it in there for him while he was getting ready.

Mitch walked over to stand next to him, mirroring his position of leaning against the ATV. “Heading home tomorrow.”

“Yup.” Drew took a swig of his water.

“I’ll spend a couple of days at home playing catch-up on paperwork and email and shit, then I’ve got jobs to check on in San Antonio and Philadelphia. Back to the grind, I guess.”

“We’ll be getting ready for Old Home Day.” Drew hated the stilted conversation and the awkwardness between them.

“I’m probably going to miss it. Paige is a little disappointed, but it was more important to her I take this entire week off.”

“It’s a busy day for the diner, so she might work, anyway.”

Mitch shrugged. “Probably. She might go in and help out Liz and Ava if it’s busy.”

“They asked the ATV club to ride in the parade to celebrate the trails opening, so they might be even busier than usual.”

“Yeah. So...about Liz.” Mitch stole Drew’s water and took a long sip before handing it back. “Needless to say, walking in like that was a shock. You and her together didn’t make any sense in my head. But now that I know and I’ve watched you guys be around each other, she seems happy. You guys look like a couple and it’s less weird.”

Drew nodded, not sure what he should say in response. Needless to say, Mitch coming around and even giving his blessing, so to speak, would be the best-case scenario. But the entire family seemed to have hopped on some kind of relationship express train while he and Liz were still at the station, trying to figure out their destination.

“What’s going on?” Mitch’s eyebrows furrowed, making him look even more serious. “Is there a problem with Liz?”

“No, there’s no problem. I don’t know how to explain it. Some of your family has looked at us and decided it’s a done deal. There’s even been talk of kids. But it’s not like Liz and I have been together since your wedding. She went back to New Mexico and we had no contact at all until she moved back to town.”

“So what are you trying to say?”

“Just that it’s new. And, like any relationship, we’re getting to know each other and figure out if we have a future and...we’re not at the point you all seem to think we are. And that worries me because what if we don’t get there?”

Mitch shrugged. “Right now you’re in a goldfish bowl. Not only is her entire family here, but she’s single while everybody else is doing the love and kids thing. That puts a big spotlight on your relationship. Once you guys are home, you’ll only have half the family, so it’ll only be half as bad.”

Drew laughed. “It’s not
bad
, really. I’m just afraid if we start getting to spend time together and realize we’re not meant to be, I’m the asshole.”

“And that would be different how?” When Drew looked sideways at him, Mitch laughed. A real laugh. “Sorry. My concern is that I know where you are in life. Mal did a number on you and now I get the impression you feel like you’re running behind. You want a wife and kids, like, yesterday. I don’t know quite where Liz is, but I don’t think she’s there.”

“I don’t think so, either,” Drew agreed quietly. “And no, not yesterday, but kids aren’t a
someday
,
maybe
thing for me anymore, either.”

“None of us liked Darren. You know that. Maybe most of it was the fact he talked her into moving to New Mexico, but part of it was how his needs were what mattered in their relationship. Liz is putting herself first now and none of us want that to change.” Mitch stole his water again. “If she decides she wants to explore her options and doesn’t see having kids for another five years, what are you gonna do?”

“I don’t know.” He wished he could give Mitch some reassuring speech on how Liz was more important to him than anything, even his desire to have children, but he’d be full of shit.

His marriage to the woman he’d loved since high school hadn’t survived his need to be a dad. Granted, that had the double whammy of her lying about having kids someday for their entire relationship, but if she’d changed her mind and told him she’d have a baby, he might have stayed. If Liz didn’t want to have kids anytime soon, it would be a big deal.

“Talk about it before you get in too much deeper,” Mitch said. “Your dad and our Rosie are together now, which means a whole lot of family time in your future. The less painful things end between you, if they do, the better it is for everybody.”

“Hey, Doctor Phil, you gonna ride or what?” Ryan said. “Tire’s good to go. Maybe.”

Mitch handed Drew his water back. “For what it’s worth, it’s still weird, but I hope it doesn’t go south.”

“Thanks.” After stowing what remained of his water and the uneaten candy bar back in the box, Drew grabbed his gear.

“I don’t know what he hit, but he wiped out half my plugs,” Joe said as he put his tools away. “I think it’ll hold until we get back, but that tire’s shot.”

“It’ll be fine,” Kevin said.

“Maybe we should put you in the back.”

Kevin buckled his helmet. “I could have four flat tires and you still couldn’t keep up with me.”

By the time Drew got his gear on, enough trash talk had been exchanged between Kevin and Joe that he knew it was going to be a wild ride back and plugged tire be damned.

He double-checked his helmet strap and adjusted his gloves before firing his engine. Then, one by one, they pulled back onto the trail in a spray of dust and gravel. Drew hit the throttle and prayed he didn’t die.