Page 27 of Rainbow Kisses

But it wasn’t Mrs. Travers.

“Hey, man. Just checking in to see if you’ve got everything you need.” Rowdy grinned at me then held up an insulated bag. “And we come bearing food, so I figure you’ll be happy to see us.”

The “us” part of that equation was a short, beautiful blonde whom Rowdy had somehow managed to convince to move from New York City to St. David with her young daughter, who bounced between her mom and Rowdy.

“Lucky for you, Rowdy cooked,” Tressy said with a lopsided grin, which just made her daughter, Krista, laugh.

“Mommy, you don’t cook that bad.” Krista looked up at me with a glint in her eyes and whispered, “But Rowdy’s definitely better.”

With a smile, I waved my hand. “Come on in. We’re just getting our stuff put away.” I turned to yell toward Maddy’s bedroom. “Hey, Mads, we’ve got guests.”

I took the bag from Rowdy and headed toward the kitchen. “Thanks for this. I figured we’d head down to the diner for dinner, but this is better.”

“Don’t get too excited.” Rowdy put his arm around Tressy, the move so natural, they looked like an old married couple. I figured that wedding would be happening pretty soon. “It’s just baked rigatoni, a chicken casserole, and eggplant parmesan.”

“Dude, you have way too much time on your hands.”

Something crossed Rowdy’s expression, so fast that I almost missed it.

“Yeah, not really. But we gotta eat too, and it’s easy enough to make double.”

“Well, I appreciate it.” I turned to call for Maddy again just as she came out of her bedroom. She had a polite smile on her face, as if she figured she had to be on her best behavior or else. Or else what, I don’t know.

“Hey, Mads, these are my friends, Rowdy, Tressy, and Krista. Rowdy’s the captain of the Devils.”

“Hi.” Maddy nodded and raised a hand before dipping her head down, though her smile did seem a little more natural when she glanced at Krista.

“They brought us food, so we won’t starve or rot away on fast food. At least for a few days.”

Maddy stopped at my side, close enough that we were almost touching.

“Thanks.”

“Can you put this in the fridge for me?”

“Sure.” She took the bag, then glanced at Krista, whose bright smile made Maddy’s smile a little more natural. “Do you wanna help?”

“Sure! Momma said you just moved here. We did too. Well, a little while ago. We moved here last Christmas. Christmas here is really fun. Did you know…”

The girls had moved out of earshot, and I turned back to see Tressy staring at the girls and Rowdy staring at me, still grinning.

“Sorry.” I waved at the sitting area on the other side of the room from the kitchen. “Come on in. Sit down. You want something to drink?”

“Nah, we’re not staying long,” Rowdy said. “Just wanted to make sure you had some food.”

“This is much nicer than I was expecting.” Tressy’s gaze swept around the place. “When Rain told me you were renting a garage, I didn’t think it’d be this big.”

“Yeah, me either. It’s deceptive from the outside. And the two floors are nice.”

It meant me and Maddy had separate rooms and baths. Yeah, they were small, but it’d been more than I was expecting, and I was grateful.

“Are you excited to be playing again?” Tressy asked.

Loaded question, especially with Rowdy watching me like a hawk.

I nodded. “I am. It just takes me a little longer to warm up than it used to. Don’t want to embarrass myself with all the kids this weekend. I swear they get younger every year.”

Rowdy snorted. “That’s because we get older. Sprints get more exhausting, and the hits hurt a little more. Good thing you’re here to give me a few weeks off.”

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