Page 45 of Every Beat of My Heart

Silence fell between us while we watched Teddy throw the ball to Owen. Jameson was playing defense.

Then Wes stood. “Jameson’s a good guy. You should give him a chance.”

“I think you’re seeing something that isn’t there. Jameson isn’t interested in me.”

Wes’s lips curled upward. “Are you sure about that?”

My heart was beating rapidly. There was a moment where I thought he might be physically attracted to me. But I suspected my recent divorce and the fact that I had a child was a deterrent.

Wes yelled something to Jameson about being slow.

I enjoyed the camaraderie between the brothers. They might give each other a hard time, but it was clear they loved each other.

Now that there were four people playing, they fell into two on two. The entire time Owen was grinning. He didn’t have any siblings or any uncles. He was enjoying this time with the Calloway men.

A few minutes later, Al came outside with apple cider, iced tea, and cookies. “Sorry it took me so long. I knew I had cookies somewhere. I just couldn’t find them.”

I reached for the glass of iced tea, grateful for something to soothe my dry throat. “You didn’t need to bring them out.”

He raised a brow. “If your boy is anything like mine, these will be gone as soon as he sees them.”

I laughed. “You might be right.”

Al sat next to me in the companion rocker and nodded toward the box. “Get some before they’re gone.”

I popped a chocolate cookie in my mouth. “These are good. I haven’t had them in a while.”

“I have to hide them from the boys, or they’ll be gone. The only problem is that I hide them too well. Then I can’t find them.”

Jameson’s dad was nice.

Al looked over at me. “You from around here?”

“Grew up in the area. My parents still live here.”

“You have any siblings? Are they as crazy as my boys?”

I loved how he called them my boys even though they were grown men. “No siblings. It’s just me and Owen and my parents.”

“I suppose you’ll spend Thanksgiving with them.”

I shook my head. “They surprised me by planning a trip this year to Hawaii.” Whenever I thought about spending the holiday alone, my chest tightened.

“You’re welcome here. My daughter Daphne is a great cook, and we usually have some of the meal catered. Last year, Cole bought us the entire dinner. It was his way of apologizing to the family.”

“That’s a nice apology.”

“It sure was. But I only needed to see how much my granddaughter Izzy loved him.”

“That’s what Jameson said.”

Al leaned forward. “He told you about Cole and Daphne?”

“He loves his sister and wanted her to be happy. I think they’re close, being the two youngest.”

“They both lived on the farm together. Daphne was in the house for the first few years of Izzy’s life. Then she moved into the cottage. Jameson has been in the apartment above the garage since he was eighteen.”

“I bet you loved having your kids close.” As much as I wanted Owen to be independent, it would be hard to let him go when it was time.

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