Page 76 of Playing for Keeps

That’s why she loves her Minnesota life. She has friends and Merv’s family is always in and out of her house. She’s part of several social groups. In Minnesota, she never needs to work hard to keep her mind busy.

“How about after I finish working, we go out for lunch and a movie?” I suggest when I realize her coming early and without Merv is why she’s so antsy.

Kerrie offers me a smile and shuffles closer. “I feel left out.”

“I know.”

“No one told me about Val. Or how you were serious about him.”

“I did.”

“But I thought you were lying. You know, suffering in silence for Duke’s sake.”

“Well, I’m not sure I’m capable of suffering in silence. I’ve always been vocal when unhappy.”

“That’s not true. I had no idea you were nursing a crush on this man for months.”

“Well, you have me there.”

“Why did you hide your pain from me?”

Sighing, I wish we weren’t having this conversation while I’m at work.

“Saying the words would make them real,” I explain, feeling the old pain rising in my chest. “Meeting Val broke my heart. I believed we couldn’t work, but I still had big dreams. That’s why I didn’t dare voice anything out loud. I wanted to keep the dream alive for a little longer.”

“And does he live up to those dreams?”

Hugging her, I whisper, “He’s better. I thought he was just gorgeous and funny. I had no idea he was sporting such a big heart.”

My mom clings to me until the burgers on the grill begin to sizzle too loudly. I finish up my time in the diner and take my mom out for lunch. Clover finishes up with work and joins us for a movie. For a few hours, I return to my old life.

Yet, once Val’s family begins to arrive in West Virginia, my brain shifts from nostalgia to memorizing new names.

First up is his cousin Matilda who is Court and Justice’s oldest daughter. She’s a lovely brunette who seems immune to the drama lust of the rest of the homestead families. Traveling with Matilda are her two preteen daughters, Vanna and Leonie.

With them is Court and Justice’s youngest daughter. The blonde Henrietta goes by Rie. Before she married a Kentucky biker named Denver Majors, she had two blonde daughters—snarky Celeste and shy Camille. Rie’s recently delivered her first son with Denver.

“Crusoe was supposed to be a girl,” Celeste tells me while resting her hands on her hips and offering me a little sass. “Someone missed his thingy on the ultrasound. It was a huge mistake, but we’re keeping him anyway.”

Camille smiles at her baby brother and then unleashes an adorable grin at me. That little gesture infects me with baby fever.

“I want a little version of you,” Val tells Camille.

“But not me?” Celeste demands.

“I’m a weak man,” Val claims immediately. “A feisty daughter might be too much for me to handle.”

“You’ve got that right,” Celeste says and then checks to see if Denver heard how he’s strong enough to handle her.

Val’s ease with the kids leaves me clingy and horny after we get back to my place.

“I want you to put a baby in me right this second,” I tell him four times that night.

“I can only knock you up one at a time,” Val murmurs while yanking the blanket over us and scaring off Moo. “But I’ll try to stick a few extra babies in there anyway.”

The next day, Court and Justice’s dark-haired son Felix—who goes by his road name Poet—arrives in Tumbling Rock with his brunette wife and their three kids. Like Matilda, he has a home at the homestead but only lives there part-time.

Poet is married to the daughter of a Tennessee crime boss. Cricket has a weird name and a big personality. She calls me Lila a dozen times before finally acknowledging that’s not my name.

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