I see Alison standing next to my driver as Lincoln and Huxley head to the lawn beside the house. She’s wearing a pair of jeans and a loose-fitting t-shirt, her hair pulled into a messy knot, and has no makeup on. And I don’t think I’ve ever found her to be more beautiful than I do right now.
She looks at me, a hesitant smile ghosting her lips. I flash her a finger to tell her to hold on and take the steps down the staircase two at a time. When I reach the porch, she’s sitting on the swing, watching Hux and Linc.
“Hey, you,” I grin, sliding into the seat beside her.
“Hi,” she breathes, her hand falling into mi
ne. We lace our fingers together and I give hers a gentle squeeze.
“I want to kiss you,” I say, “but I don’t know if I’m supposed to do that in front of Huxley or not.”
The breeze picks up her laugh and carries it across the yard. Lincoln looks up and catches my eye and just nods. I nod back, knowing he arranged for this after seeing me nearly having a breakdown this morning.
“Well, I’d like to kiss you,” she replies, “but I’m not sure if I’m even supposed to be here.”
“Why wouldn’t you be?”
Shrugging, she watches her son toss a ball back and forth with my brother. “Are we interrupting anything? Linc just showed up and basically dragged us over here . . .”
“So you didn’t want to come?”
Her face twists to mine, her eyes soft. “Of course I did. But I don’t want to be a thorn in your side. And Huxley is here, and I don’t know—”
“I’m glad you’re here, and I’m glad he’s here too.”
“You are?”
“He’s part of the deal, right? I mean, I can’t take you and not take him, even if he doesn’t think I’m the coolest Landry brother,” I wink.
“No, he certainly comes along with the package.”
“And I happen to like your package,” I whisper, making her laugh as a ball is overthrown and rolls to the porch.
Lincoln and Huxley race to retrieve it, landing in front of us. They’re laughing, out of breath, and Linc leans on the railing. He has a shit-eating grin on his face, his Arrows hat pulled low over his eyes.
“So,” he says, not looking anywhere but at me.
“So,” I say back, trying to keep my face as blank as possible. This just amuses him more and I can’t help but let my lips part into a grin. “Nice job.”
“You’re very welcome,” he says, knowing exactly what I’m thanking him for. “I told Ali if you didn’t want to see her, I’d be more than happy to hang out with her.”
I start to respond with a big “Fuck you,” but remember Huxley is standing right there. “You’re pushing it, Linc.”
He bursts into laughter and looks down at his new friend. “Can your mom play baseball?”
“No,” Huxley groans. “I don’t get a lot of practice in because she and my grandma kinda stink. Sorry, Mom.”
Alison laughs beside me. “It’s okay. It’s true.”
“So, your dad or uncle or brother aren’t around?” Lincoln asks, making me cringe internally. I don’t want the kid to have to start talking about things I know aren’t easy for him or his mother.
“I don’t have a dad,” Huxley says, his words enunciated very carefully. “Or a brother or an uncle. I have a grandpa, but he works a lot. So it’s just me and my mom and my grandma.”
Hearing the words come out of his mouth twists at my heart. I can’t imagine my life without my father or my brothers or sisters. They’re a built-in network of support, even though half the time I want to kill them. But I’d rather have them annoying me than not have them at all.
My heart breaks for this kid, and as Linc forces a swallow and looks at me out of the corner of his eye, I know his does too.
“The next time you come out here, we’ll bring a glove for your mom and Barrett, and we’ll teach them to play. That way, when I have to go back to Tennessee, you’ll have someone to practice with.”