Page 23 of Play the Field

“Dinner’s just about ready!” Dan hollered back from the kitchen.

When I appeared at the threshold, the kids looked up from their homework and waved. “Hi, Aunt Cat.”

“Hey, kiddos.” I smiled at them as they went back to their workbooks. Looking around the counters, I turned my attention to Daniel who was wiping sweat from his brow. “Need any help?”

He scoffed as he looked up from the pan full of steaming risotto on the stove. “Very typical of you to walk in as I’m finishing and ask to help.”

Frowning at him, I took a seat at the table next to my niece and nephew. “How was your day?”

“Hectic. The mayor doesn't want to approve any more housing but we need it pretty badly.” Dan groaned as he pulled five plates from the cupboard.

Laughing I picked at the skin near my fingernails. “Yikes. I guess you can thank Zoey and Jamie for that one.”

Before I knew it, Dan was delivering plates of steaming food to the table and setting them in front of us. Just as everyone took their seat, the front door swung open and Meredith’s voice called from the entryway. “Sorry, I’m late!”

Dan stood from his chair and grabbed her plate from the microwave. In a hurry, Meredith tossed off the light jacket she had on for the chilly evening. She walked around the table and gave Lily and Jacob each a kiss on the head.

Placing a ceramic plate in the empty table setting, Dan kissed his wife on the cheek. “Hi, honey.”

“Hi, thank you.” Meredith sighed as she leaned back into the chair.

It was easy to see how exhausted she was. But as Dan poured her a glass of red wine, she sat up and tried to be in the moment with her family.

Dan held the bottle up. “Want any, Cat?”

My throat tightened. It had been a week since I’d had a drink and a part of me wondered what harm one glass would do. But I shook the thought, knowing Cat would be expecting me first thing in the morning.

“No, thanks.” I reached for my glass of water as everyone dug into their food. Looking over at Meredith, I smiled. “How was your day?”

She sighed, both relieved someone asked and dreading answering. “Not bad. I’m still adjusting to being back in an office. And the commute.”

Nodding, I blew a raspberry with my lips. “No kidding, the drive down to the city is no joke.”

Daniel had mentioned that Meredith went back to work at her law firm when I first got back to New Winford. Money had been a little tight and she missed having something outside of the kids to focus on.

I took a bite of food as the table’s conversation moved on to the kids’s days. The risotto melted on my tongue, the warm rice exploding with flavor. I couldn’t stop myself from shaking my head at the delicious food.

“How was yours?” Daniel eventually turned his attention back to me.

With a mouth full of food, I hesitated. After I’d swallowed my bite, I answered, “Weird. I went on a hike with Cleo today.”

“Fontaine?” Dan nearly choked.

Wrinkling my forehead, I laughed. “Yeah, how many Cleos do you know?”

Daniel shook his head. “Just the one.”

In an attempt to not be too invasive, Meredith looked up from her food. “How did that come about?”

“Honestly?” I asked, waiting for their nods before I continued, “The last time I felt like my career was on track, was when I was playing with them.”

Dan pursed his lips as he considered it. I could tell that he was playing through my highlight reel in his mind. Of course, I knew it was true. I’d been replaying that film in my head every day for at least the last five years.

Sighing, Dan took a sip of his wine. “What did they think about that?”

“They agreed to help me train.” With a shrug, I went back to my plate. “But I have a feeling they only said yes to get me out of New Winford as quickly as possible.”

Meredith nodded. “But that’s what you want anyway, right?”

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