Road to Reason (10 page)

“What? Is he giving you a hard time? Need me to talk to him?” He sat up straighter.

“No!” This was not going well at all. “Nothing like that. I just wanted to tell you who he is since you won’t stop bothering me about it,” she said, trying to joke and lighten the mood. “You know him.”

“I do?”

“Yes.” She took a deep breath. “I’ve been dating Ryan.” There she said it. It was out.

“Ryan who?” He lifted his beer to lips.

“Ryan Mathews.”

He started to cough, choked on his beer, then burst out laughing.  “No, seriously. Who is it?”

That wasn’t the reaction she was expecting and she wasn’t sure if it was a good sign or not. She crossed her arms and pinned him with a stare. The one she reserved for when she was annoyed with him. 

His laughter died down as he became aware she wasn’t joking.  And that she was glaring at him.  Hard. Enough to make him squirm. Just like when they were kids. But not enough to stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth. “Oh, hell no!” he roared.

If looks could kill, he would be dead right now. “I’m a grown woman. I don’t need you telling me who I can and can’t date.”

He stopped and put his beer on the coffee table. “Listen, Katie.” She glared even harder. “Kaitlin,” he corrected. “Listen, you don’t know what he’s like.”

“I most certainly do. I’ve been dating him for almost a month,” she said, adding to insult to injury. Might as well come clean.

He groaned. “You’re too good for him,” he said quickly.

“I would like to think we are good enough for each other.”

“You don’t how he is with women,” he said sarcastically.

She was afraid to ask, but she needed to know.  “Does he cheat on them?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” he answered honestly, then shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. You’re still too good for him.”

“Then what? I already know he dates a lot. So do you and Alec. Matter of fact, you and Alec have been known to go out with him.” She narrowed her eyes at him harder.

He fidgeted more in his seat.

Before he could answer, she interrupted him again. “You’ve been friends with him a long time.  Can you just look beyond the fact that I’m your sister for the moment?”

“That’s a little hard to do,” he said with a pained expression on his face.

She sighed and uncrossed her arms. She knew he meant well. But she needed to get through to him. She needed at least one of her brothers on her side and if Ben was, then the rest would follow. 

“Try harder.  Aside from the fact that he likes to date a lot of different women—which is no different than you or Alec—name one other thing about him that makes him not good enough for me.”

He stared at her. She knew she had him when he couldn’t come up with anything off the top of his head. “But you and Ryan? Geez, Katie, you’re killing me here,” he complained.  Her glare got worse, in the end he sighed and simply said, “Just be careful.”

Alec was a little easier to get through to, but not by much. As soon as Ben left, she called him. He hadn’t been too happy. Alec was the closest of her brothers to Ryan, but when she used the same logic on him that she did Ben, he had no choice but to concede and say the same thing. “Just be careful.”

She hadn’t been able to do much more than leave a message on Phil’s phone. But hours later he sent her a simple text.
I won’t warn you. I’m sure the others already have.  Just be happy.
She almost cried when she received that message. Leave it to Phil to always know the right thing to say.

Once everyone on her side of the family was informed, she called Ryan and broke the news. “Well, it’s over.”

“What do you mean by
over
?”

“Everyone knows now. And for the most part they all seem fine.  At least in the end they did. I think we are in the clear,” she said, trying to joke.

He let out a breath. “Good to know. Guess I can enjoy myself on Saturday and not worry about any daggers in my back.”

“I’m not so sure about that.” She laughed again, feeling the stress of the day waning.

Ryan saw Kaitlin’s car pull into his driveway and made his way outside to meet her. He tried not to whimper when he noticed her backside was the only thing visible while she reached into the trunk.

He had all he could do not to run his hands along the back of her legs, lifting the bottom of her little sundress up. Just a bit, just to see what treasuries were hidden underneath. “What do you need help with?”

She jumped up with a start, backing right into him, then she tried to tug the sundress down.  His arms come around her from behind, steadying her.

“Easy there,” he said, laughing.  Then did groan when she relaxed and pressed her rear end into him, and tilted her head up seeking a kiss. He found she was more touchy-feely than she admitted to. Or maybe it was only with him. He hoped so. 

He lowered his mouth to hers. What he intended to be soft and sweet, quickly turned into more with his hands sliding up from her waist to cup her breasts, her backside arching into his groin.

When he lifted his head, she turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck to kiss him properly. Her fingers ran through is his hair, messing it up, then ran across the whiskers on his cheek. “I guess it can get a bit rough,” she whispered. “But still plenty soft.” With a sly look, she asked, “Sure we need to go this party?”

She was testing his resolve.  Trying to push back the moan that wanted to escape from his lips, he let go of her to step back and give himself some breathing room.  Soon, he hoped.  He wasn’t sure he could wait much longer.  Today would be the deciding factor. “We have a surprise to deliver,” he said through a strained voice.

“I’ve got a surprise too,” she mumbled.

“What?”  He didn’t think he heard her correctly but was afraid he did.

“Oh nothing,” she said coyly. “OK, let’s get this transferred to your car since you know the way better than I do. It’s been a while since I’ve been around the lake. I’m sure I could find my way if you want to just take my car though. Or you can drive my car if you want?”

“Neither of us is driving a car. We’re taking my boat over.”

“The boat? Why?” She looked down at her dress with a frown.

“It’s faster. And there will be more than enough cars there, one less helps out. No one else goes over by boat.  Though Mac might, to be honest. Zoe has a fondness for boats now,” he said, as an afterthought. “Either way, I usually go to my parents’ by boat when the weather is good.”

Then he looked at her dress a bit closer and wished he’d warned her.  She looked really pretty in the white sundress. Striking actually, next to her black hair and dark eyes.

The straps of the halter-top were working extra hard to keep everything in place, but looking tasteful at the same time.  The dress was cut very close to her body, showcasing her tiny waist, and flaring slightly at her hips, but draping loosely around her legs, stopping above her knees.  She might have to hold her dress in place on the water. Maybe it was a good thing he didn’t tell her, he thought with a grin.

“OK,” she said dubiously.  “I’ll get the cookies out of the back if you want to get the rest of my stuff out of the trunk.”

Ryan reached in to grab the big cooler when his eyes landed on a tote-like bag. “What’s in the bag?”

She turned and smiled, a smile that had him looking at her nervously. “Just a change of clothes, my bathing suit, sweater and such. In case it gets a little cool. Good thing too. Maybe I should put the sweater on now for the ride over so I don’t have to worry about the top of my dress flashing the other boaters. Then I can hold the bottom down,” she said as an afterthought. 

Pity, the thought of her dress parting brought a grin to his face.  He threw the bag over his shoulder and grabbed the large cooler out. “Does it need to stay in the cooler or was it just for transporting?”

“It doesn’t have to stay cold, but it won’t hurt it either.”  She followed him around the back of the house with a large tray of cookies in her hands, carefully watching where she stepped. 

“You all right there?” he asked when he noticed she slowed down. He saw her looking at the ground as she walked around the house. He had been too busy looking at her assets in her dress to notice the wedges she had on her feet, with a ribbon tied around each ankle.

It was going to be a long day. Even her legs looked sexy. “There are paving stones leading to the dock once we get around back; it will be easier for you to walk then.”

***

“Hand me the rope, Katie,” Thomas instructed as he stood on the dock.

Kaitlin had been on the water and around boats enough in her life that she knew what she was doing but was just as happy to have help, considering how she was dressed. 

She really wished she had asked Ryan in advance what she should wear. She was used to dressing for parties in Manhattan and realized that she might be overdressed. 

As Thomas was tying the back of the boat off, Ryan crawled along the top of the cabin to tie off the bow.  

Kaitlin was trying not to stare, but she couldn’t help it.  He had on a soft fitted shirt that did nothing to hide his biceps, which were flexing while he reached forward and looped the rope around the dock. 

In straight-leg tan shorts she could see how muscular his thighs and legs were and couldn’t wait to see them up close a bit more, later tonight. She hoped.  She wasn’t letting on just yet, but she had no intention of going home after this party.  She even had the overnight supplies to prove it, tucked away in her tote bag.

“Give me your hand, Katie,” Thomas offered once she finished stuffing her sweater back in her bag.

She reached out to Thomas, not shocked in the least when he lifted her up and set her on the dock. He was bigger than Ryan. Even though he was decades older, he was still as strong as he always was.

But then he stunned her and pulled her in for a big hug, and whispered in her ear, “Keep him in line.”

“Anyone else here?” Ryan asked, looking at the yard that was shy of people, oblivious to the words spoken to Kaitlin.

“Lucas, Mac and their families are all inside.  Beth and Brooke wanted to get the babies down for a nap here so they didn’t have to wake them up early. And Jack and Cori should be here any minute. They wanted to come early to talk about wedding plans.”

Ryan looked at Kaitlin. “Is it okay to leave the cooler in the boat for now?”

“Yes, as long as you keep it out of the sun.”

“Here, Dad, take the cookies.” Ryan handed the tray over, then picked the cooler up and stowed it in the cabin. Once he was done, he effortlessly leapt onto the dock and the three of them made their way toward the house.

Kaitlin watched amazed when a blonde child loudly squealed, “Ryan” and then came running at them full force. Ryan plastered a bright smile on his face and didn’t hesitate to pick the little girl up on a full run. “How’s my girl?” he asked.

She grasped both of his whiskered cheeks in her hands, squeezing them together and giving him a kiss on his already puckered lips. “Good.  Will you take me on the boat later?” she asked. 

“If Mommy and Daddy say yes.” He laughed at Kaitlin’s face. “I learned the hard way not to tell Zoe yes to anything without checking with Mac or Beth first. Not after the first time I took her on the boat when she was supposed to be taking a nap. That had resulted in a mild temper tantrum, then a time out.  I still feel guilty over it,” he said with a wink.

“Mommy, Daddy, Ryan’s here,” Zoe yelled, her little curly pigtails swinging as she bounced excitedly in his arms. Zoe’s parents, Kaitlin assumed, followed by Lucas and his wife, stepped outside. “Ryan said I can go on the boat,” Zoe informed them happily.

“Later,” Ryan clarified. “If Mommy and Daddy say yes,” he reminded her and tried not to look too guilty.

“Can I, Daddy?” she asked her father. She obviously knew who to go to when she really wanted something.

Zoe’s father laughed. “We will see.  But right now we need to meet Ryan’s new friend.”

Zoe seemed to finally take notice of Kaitlin standing next to Ryan and tightened her hold around his neck. “My friend,” she said and laid her head on his shoulder. 

“Come here, Zoe.” He reached out for his daughter. “Ryan is everybody’s friend,” he said gently, then transferred Zoe to his arms.

Ryan laughed.  “Kaitlin, this is Zoe, as I’m sure you’ve figured out.  And this is her father, Mac, and her mother, Beth Malone.  And the little one in Beth’s arms is their son, Evan.”

Kaitlin smiled politely but couldn’t help feeling out of place in front of Beth. Beth was gorgeous. She had long blonde hair, was tall and thin—built like a model, even though she had given birth less than two months ago. A strong bout of jealously coursed through her. First over the baby that she wished she had by now, and second for the body she’d always dreamed of.

Lucas came forward and gave Kaitlin a hug and a kiss on the cheek.  “It’s good to see you again, Kaitlin.”  He released her and turned to introduce his wife. “This is Brooke. Who also happens to be Mac’s sister.”

Kaitlin noticed the resemblance between the siblings was uncanny, both had brown wavy hair, light brown eyes, and both were smiling at her sweetly.  “Hi, Kaitlin.” Brooke reached a hand out, which only made Lucas laugh. “What?” she said to her husband. “Not everyone greets people with a hug,” she explained. Then she turned back to Kaitlin. “I love your dress.”

“Thank you,” Kaitlin said, returning the handshake.  Brooke was dressed in a pair of white fitted shorts, with a flowing sleeveless coral top that showed off her toned arms.  She had a pair of adorable floral flats on that Kaitlin couldn’t help but comment on.

“If you two are done talking fashion, maybe I can go see my nephew?” Ryan asked. 

Michele had just walked out carrying the nephew in question.  “You can look, but you can’t have him. I just got Michael to sleep, and I’m sure Brooke wants to lay him down.”  Ryan stepped forward to gaze at the sleeping baby, running a finger along the baby’s chin.

“Thanks, Michele,” Brooke said, taking her sleeping son and walking back into the house.

“Cori!” Zoe squealed when she saw a small redhead make her way around the side of the house, then wiggled out her father’s arms.

“Hi, sweetie,” Cori said, picking Zoe up on the run. “What cute pigtails. They look fun.”

“Mommy did them,” Zoe said, primping her hair.

“Do you think Mommy would do my hair like that, too? Then we can be like sisters,” she said with a giggle.

“Mommy,” Zoe said, as they made their way back to the group. “Cori wants pigtails too.”

Beth grinned and shook her head. “In a few minutes.”

Kaitlin couldn’t contain her shock. Ryan had told her Jack was big, but she never expected this. He was just as big as Thomas and she didn’t think that was possible. Only Jack was decades younger and in much better shape.  Even more shocking was how tiny his fiancée was.

After the introductions were made, Cori asked Kaitlin, “Do you cook?”

If Kaitlin thought the question was odd, she didn’t let on. Even when everyone else laughed. “Yes.”

“What did you bring today?” Cori asked, excited.

“Actually, I like to bake. I brought a tray of cookies.”

Cori’s eyes lit up, she turned to look at Zoe’s wide eyes. “Cookies!” Then she turned back to Kaitlin. “You’re my new best friend.”

Beth, having heard the comment, laughed. “Last summer I was Brooke’s new best friend because I can cook and Cori can’t.  I don’t think Cori ever got over it.”

Cori stuck her tongue out at Beth. “Let’s go find those cookies, Zoe. And then Mommy can do my hair.”

Mac took Evan out of Beth’s arms. “I’ll go lay him down while you take care of those two,” he said, shaking his head at the retreating forms of Zoe and Cori.

Jack turned to Ryan. “I better go keep an eye on Cori, too.  Or she will eat the whole tray of cookies before everyone else gets any.”

Kaitlin and Ryan were left standing there alone for the moment.  “Phew. I like your friends and family, but they’re a lot to take in at once.”

“No more than your brothers,” he said, laughing at her disgruntled expression. “At least my family seemed unfazed by our relationship.” He turned her to face him, resting his hands on her waist.

She lifted her arms around his neck and leaned in for a kiss, which only lasted seconds before they heard, “Watch your hands, Mathews.”