Page 121 of On a Fault Line

But he’s not the man I want.

“Hey, Penny,” Ivan says, tossing a cornhole bag into the air and catching it. “Want to play?”

I shift my weight on my feet. “Well, actually, I think my parents are starting their famous round of group games. You’re welcome to join us.”

Ivan looks up at the patio area behind me and frowns. “Nah. I’m not much into party games.”

“Oh, gotcha. Okay. Well, feel free to come watch if you get bored down here.”

“Sure. Sounds good.”

I rush back to the group, hoping I didn’t miss out on any essential rules or stipulations.

Collins makes a face at me, and I swear he’s gloating over Ivan not wanting to join us. This guy really can’t help himself when he gets his way.

Making a drumroll on her upper thighs, Momma silences us and then pulls out of the box ribbons the size of leather belts.

“Wow. Those are intense,” Graham says with a laugh.

“They are customized too.”

“Why do they all say, ‘Congratulations Red Dragon Soccer’ on the front?” Claire asks, stifling her laughter.

“Oh, no. That was the default message. Mine probably didn’t save.”

“Did you click save?” Graham asks.

Momma looks at him pointedly. “Of course, son. I’m not silly. You aren’t the only one who’s good at the Internets.”

“Anyway,” Dad chimes in before Momma loses it on us all. “The first game is called Fill the Bucket, and it’s a relay race between two teams.”

Momma claps her hands and runs to the side of the patio to grab two stacks of buckets. One stack is red, and the other is blue. “Each team will line up in a row, and all members will hold a bucket. The starting bucket will be full of pool water.”

“Everyone will face the same direction,” Dad explains, “and then lift the bucket up and behind them to try to fill the next person’s bucket without looking. We will do this twice, so once you are done pouring, move to the back of the line to wait your turn again.”

“And the team at the end after both rounds with the most water in their buckets will win,” Momma cheers.

Claire, Nic, Momma, and Dad make up one team. Graham, Angie, Collins, and I make up the other team.

I laugh as Nic runs to grab Claire a chair, and at her reaction to his overreaction.

“You better not get me wet,” Collins says, as I stand in front of him with my bucket while Angie and Graham make up the front of our train.

Looking back over my shoulder, I bite my bottom lip and give him the look. “I’m already wet.”

His nose flares, and I know I’m going to get into so much trouble later for teasing him.

Oh well, you only live once.

“Get ready,” Momma announces, standing at the front of her team. “Get set.”

We all lift our buckets into position.

“GO!” Dad finally says, sparking the start of the water challenge.

Angie lifts the bucket over her head and pours it blindly into Graham’s empty one, only sloshing out a small amount. She moves to the back of the line, while Graham dumps his into mine, splashing out just a few drops. But when it’s my turn to pour next, my grip slips and the gasp of Collins lets me know that I at least hit a target.

Too bad it was the wrong one.

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