Page 38 of Merry with Me

“Just to you it seems,” I say, my hand lifting to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“Nah, you’re just a big old softy hiding behind your past.”

“Are you a therapist now?”

“No, but I see you, Ollie.” Her voice is soft with her confession.

“I see you too,” I admit. I lean in. I need to kiss her. I have to.

“Thanks again.” She rushes the words before climbing out of the car, waving, and climbing into hers.

I missed my chance, but that’s okay. The next time, I’ll make sure she can’t get away so easily. It’s been four years since I’ve kissed someone, and Blakely Kincaid is about to break that streak. She just doesn’t know it yet.

CHAPTER

ELEVEN

Blakely

“Now this is the true spirit of Thanksgiving.” I lay my last Uno card down on the table. “I win.”

“How is that Thanksgiving spirit?” my little brother, who’s seventeen and several inches taller than me, asks.

“It’s a tradition. I’m the reigning Uno champion. Ask anyone.” I raise my brow at Beckham, daring him to deny that I’m the Kincaid champ at Uno.

“That’s only because you’re old,” my cousin Caden chimes in. Caden and Beckham are the same age and thick as thieves. You rarely see one without the other close by.

“Yeah, you had a million years of practice before we all came along,” my cousin Orion adds. He’s a year older than Beckham and the oldest boy of the cousin group.

“Keep running that mouth, boys.” I grin at them. “Green looks good on you.”

“Whatever,” Beckham mutters. “You know we’re going to take you down during the football game.”

“I don’t know,” my cousin Remi, who’s nineteen, speaks up. “We’ve been beefing up.” She flexes her muscles, and we all laugh.

“Us too,” Brynlee and Ada announce. They’re the same age as Beckham and Caden. They’re all in the same class. God help the teachers at that high school.

“Did someone say football?” Uncle Merrick asks. His three kids, Henry, Hazel, and Harper, are standing next to him, bouncing on the balls of their feet, ready to get started.

“Who are the team captains this year?” Orion asks. “I can’t remember where we left off.”

“My dad,” Brynlee announces, talking about Deacon. He’s not really my uncle, but that’s what I call him. We all do. Brynlee’s mom, Ramsey, is my dad’s cousin, but she was more like a sister to all nine boys. Aunt and uncle is how we see them.

“And mine,” Leo answers. His dad is my uncle Brooks.

“Let’s do this!” Uncle Brooks calls out, and everyone rushes to grab their shoes and hoodies. It’s a cool fifty degrees out today, so it’s perfect weather to play with just a hoodie. Once we get started running around, we’ll all be burning up.

It’s the perfect day with family, lots of good food, an Uno victory, and I’m happy to report that I was on Uncle Deacon’s team and we crushed our competition. I don’t know what life would be like without this big, crazy family of mine, and I never want to find out.

“Are you coming over tomorrow to help us put up the tree?” Mom asks.

“Is Rudolph’s nose red?” I ask, and she smiles.

“Good. It wouldn’t be the same without you there.” Mom pulls me into a hug that I return with vigor.

“Can I get in on this?” Dad asks. He doesn’t wait for us to reply as he wraps his arms around both of us. “Love you,” he says, and I know he’s speaking to both of us.

“Love you,” Mom and I chorus.

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