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Cami Gentry, Cassie’s twin sister, looked amused as she put her hands on her hips and sized me up. “So you’re Curtis,” she said.

“Guilty,” I replied and accepted her handshake. It was surprisingly firm.

Cami was different from her twin sister. It wasn’t just because they didn’t look alike. Cami bore a strong resemblance to her mother, Saylor. Even the style of her long brown hair was the same. Cami also possessed a certain shrewdness that came across as she peppered me with questions and carefully weighed the answers. I couldn’t blame her for the scrutiny. Here I was, some rough looking dude with a sketchy record, living with her family and standing too close to her sister. I’d heard she was a reporter. After five minutes in her company I’d have to say the occupation suited her well.

“Make way, everyone,” said a man’s voice and a tall dark-haired guy strolled into the backyard carrying a platter of raw meat. I gathered that the guy was Cami’s boyfriend, Dalton. Cord had told me a little bit about him when he mentioned that Cami and her boyfriend were coming over for dinner tonight. He used to be a pro athlete and I found that easy to believe. Judging by the muscles on display I’d guess he still hit the gym pretty often. Years ago he’d suffered an injury that led to the decline of his sports career. These days he owned and operated a baseball facility for local youth. I could tell from the way Cord talked about him that he had enormous respect for the guy. I had to admit that Dalton sounded like he was as close to a saint as a man could hope for when it came to his daughter’s boyfriend.

Dalton was gracious when he set the plate of meat down and shook my hand.

“Good to meet you, Curtis.” He looked me over carefully. “I can see you’ve got good taste in ink.”

My arms were a mess of shapes and skulls and black tribal tattoos. I knew the letters on my neck would have some people guessing I had a history of gang activity. Dalton’s friendly smile said if he knew anything about my past he wasn’t going to hold it against me. I appreciated that. A lot of people were far more judgmental.

Cami sidled up to her boyfriend and he put his arm around her. “Don’t tell me Dad’s letting you grill the meat. That’s a task he usually insists on performing himself.”

“Because he says he’s only one who can grill a perfect hamburger,” Cassie added.

“And by perfect she means burnt to a crisp,” Cami smirked.

“They’re never burnt,” Cord boomed, entering the backyard twirling a grilling utensil and wearing an absurd white chef’s hat. “Just well done.”

Cassie put her hand to the side of the mouth and loudly whispered, “They’re burnt.”

“Thanks for the support, Cassidy,” Cord sighed and fired up the grill.

Cassie grinned and kissed her father on the cheek. “Love you, Daddy.”

“I know. That’s why you’re allowed to get away with insulting my grilling skills.”

Cassie and her sister opted to return to the house. I noticed the way Dalton stared at his girlfriend with a goofy grin as she walked away. I didn’t know much about this Dalton dude but the boy was smitten, that was for sure.

“I never burn the damn burgers,” Cord grumbled as he tossed some slabs on meat on the grill.

Dalton threw me a look and nodded. I smothered a laugh.

Brecken came outside with the ancient mutt known as Angus the Dog. Angus still had some life left in him and would retrieve a ball if thrown but then it seemed he would lose interest and drop it under a bush somewhere. After a few minutes Brecken got bored and left Angus to go pant in the shade.

My brother approached Dalton rather shyly. “I heard you used to play baseball,” he said.

“Sure did,” Dalton said cheerfully. “You like baseball?”

“Yeah. I watch the D-Backs games sometimes.”

Dalton smiled. “You ever play any yourself.”

Brecken scrunched up his face. “Not really. I’m not very good at it.”

“Maybe we could toss a few balls sometime. I could give you some pointers.”

Brecken’s face was hopeful. “Really?”

“Sure. I run a kids’ baseball camp a few miles from here. How old are you?”

“Thirteen,” answered Brecken in a soft voice. He was sensitive about the fact that he looked a few years younger.

Dalton was kind enough to just nod and say, “That’s the perfect age to start playing baseball.”

Somehow it was still a surprise to me that everyone in the Gentry family went out of their way to be kind. Apparently it was a prerequisite that even extended to significant others because Dalton immediately starting schooling Brecken on the finer points of throwing a ball. Brecken eagerly soaked up every word.

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