Page 81 of Can't Get Over You
“Hey.” Wyatt stood. “That’s the only kind I like. Give it back.” He motioned to the remaining boxes. “You guys like that slimy shit on top.”
“You want it back?” Before his brother could answer, Jude tipped his head back and slowly lowered it into his mouth.
“You’re an asshole,” Wyatt said.
Jude shoved the entire slice inside and grinned.
As Decker burst out laughing, Wyatt reached behind his head and swatted the bill of his backward ball cap, sending it flying across the table.
“Jerk.” Decker didn’t react quickly enough because Boone snatched it out of the air. “Hey. I’ve had that since I was thirteen.” The quarterback’s chair nearly toppled over as he lunged for his hat. “Give it back. That was Tom Brady’s. He signed it for me at football camp.”
But Boone was up and tossing it to Jude.
And then, it was pure chaos. The men chased each other around the table, their big bodies slamming into it so hard they shoved it an inch to the left. Somehow, Boone got Decker to the floor, and the guys were full-on wrestling, shouting, and laughing.
But when Ava noticed Cody standing in the doorway of the kitchen watching, she clapped her hands. “Game on.”
As if she’d Tasered them, the men leaped to their feet, staring at her like runners at the starting gate.
“Ten minutes to collect the boxes and packing paper. Biggest pile wins a care package from the aunties.”
“Teams or solo?” Boone asked.
“Solo. You’re on your own for this one.” Ava checked her watch. “Three…two…one… Go.”
The men scattered. It was the strangest thing Finlay had ever seen. Jude took the stairs like the house was on fire and he had to save the family dog. Boone grabbed a knife out of the block and followed him. Decker raced to the basement, which Gunnar had filled with a couch, a basketball arcade game, a ping-pong table, and a huge television that occupied half the wall. AndWyatt found a giant black trash bag under the sink and tore across the living room.
“What on earth?” Finlay asked as she picked up Cody.
“You know how in class we use distraction when we want to stop kids from fighting or throwing a tantrum?” Ava asked.
Finlay nodded, hitching the boy more comfortably on her hip.
“So with four brothers, you can imagine how wild they’d get. That’s when I came up with this game. Basically, I give them a task. Whoever finds the most pinecones in ten minutes wins a prize. Whoever can make the tallest stack of rocks gets to put the star on top of the tree. That kind of thing.”
“They still do it now? Jude’sthirty.”
Ava laughed. “Oh, they’re as competitive as ever.”
“And who’re the aunties?”
“That’s my family. My dad was basically raised by six very strong women.”
“Got it.” Finlay glanced to the top of the stairs to find Jude standing in the shadows, watching Cody intently.
He seemed torn. But then, he raced down and hurried over to them. “You on my team?” he asked the boy.
Cody nodded, holding his arms out. Jude gently took him and carried him across the living room. “Team Grizz. Let’s go.” He raced back up the stairs.
“Hey, man, not fair,” Boone shouted. “You got two extra hands.”
“Suck on it,” Jude called, and just before he disappeared down the hallway, she caught Cody’s smile.
Watching him, Ava said, “He’s a good man.”
“I know.”
I’m in so much trouble.
