Page 74 of Stick Side
“We’re still a few hours out,” his mom revealed, “but the turkey is starting to crisp up nicely.”
“What do we need to do?” Ben asked, ready to get down to business.
“Well,” his mom said, wiping her hands on her apron. “The turkey is in with the usual herbed-mushroom and sausage stuffing. Carrots, parsnips, yams, and potatoes are roasting alongside it. That leaves,” his mom continued, ticking each item off with a raised finger, “scalloped potatoes, garlicky green beans with crispy onions, a tossed salad, and apple crisp.”
“Cranberry sauce?” Ben asked. Turkey just wasn’t the same without it.
“I made it yesterday,” his mom assured.
“Pumpkin pie?” he inquired. Cranberry sauce might be a classic but, as far as Ben was concerned, it ranked far below pumpkin pie, which he deemed essential to any Thanksgiving feast.
His mom chuckled, well familiar with his love of pumpkin-spiced everything. “I put Tali in charge of that one.” His mom glanced down at her watch. “She should be here any time now. In fact,” she said as the front doorknob rattled, “speak of the devil. That’s probably her.”
As was her usual way, Tali didn’t knock. She just waltzed in, knowing she would always be welcome.
“Benji!” Tali screamed with excitement when she saw him. She slid her pie onto the hallway table and dropped her bag before racing toward him and quite literally catapulting herself into his arms.
Chapter 38
Melody
Melodywastakenabackwhen a beautiful woman with the strong but svelte physique of aSports Illustratedmodel walked through the front door of Ben’s childhood home and screeched her excitement to see him before running down the hallway and jumping into his arms. The woman was like a succubus the way her arms and legs wrapped tightly around his solid, athletic frame.
Tendrils of jealousy wound around Melody’s innards. She had never thought of herself as a territorial partner, but she was being forced to rethink that assessment.
Waves of unpleasant emotions pummeled her as Ben returned the woman’s embrace. Their relationship was still new, but Melody never could have guessed seeing his arms wrapped around another woman would be so devastating.
“Hi, Tali,” Ben’s mom greeted warmly as she opened her arms for a hug of her own. “Come give me a squeeze, you little rascal. It’s been way too long.”
Tali laughed as she disentangled her body from Ben’s. Melody tried not to cringe at how slowly the other woman’s limbs appeared to slide down Ben’s body.
“Hey, Cath,” Tali acknowledged as she gave Ben’s mom an easy hug. “It’s so good to see you.”
Ben’s mom returned Tali’s enthusiastic embrace. “It’s good to see you, too, sweetie.”
“Tali,” Ben said after Cathy and Tali shared a few whispered words that Melody hadn’t been able to catch. “I want you to meet Melody and Shawna. Melody, Shawna,” he said, turning his attention toward them, “as you have probably guessed, this is Tali. Our families have been neighbors for the past thirty-odd years.”
“Yup,” Tali enthused as she walked back over to Ben and leaned into his side. “We’re family now. They’re stuck with me forever, whether they like it or not.” Here, Tali smiled in a way Melody might have found charming had her gut not started to churn with a sick sense of foreboding.
Melody glanced back toward the stairway as she heard a series of heavy footfalls. Eric, Alexei, Brendan, and Richie were making their way down to join the group.
Richie’s eyes brightened with pleasurable recognition when he reached the base of the stairs. “Natali—Aaahhh!”His greeting ended in a startled shout as she raced over and pounced on him in an only slightly less-familiar way than she had with Ben moments before. It spoke to Richie’s impressive athleticism that he was able to hold them both upright and not wind up falling onto the stairs.
“Richie Rich!” Tali laughed as she embraced him. “How are you? It’s been forever.”
A smile lingered on Richie’s lips despite their near wipeout. “I’m good, babe.”
He helped her regain her footing before leaning back and making a show of surveying her from head to toe. “I’d ask how you’re doing, but I can clearly see just how good you’re doing,” he flirted.
Tali smiled in that flattered-but-dismissive way of women used to being hit on all the time before gently swatting him in the stomach with the back of her hand. “As if you’d be interested in Benji’s sloppy seconds,” she rebuffed, making them both laugh.
Melody could practically feel her eyeballs fighting to escape the confines of her eye sockets. Oh, good grief. She and Ben had only briefly discussed their past relationships, but she knew he had recently ended a multi-year relationship with a woman named Natalie.
It wasn’t that long ago that both Ben and Richie had played for the Flyers. Given how tight the players on most teams became, it stood to reason that Richie could have gotten to know Ben’s ex-girlfriend quite well. Shoot. They might even have become friends.
Melody gulped. What an interesting Thanksgiving weekend this was shaping up to be. Not only was she spending the holiday weekend in a new place, with the parents of a man she had just started dating, it looked like her new relationship was also going to be under the scrutiny of several of Ben’s teammates—her father’s players—and his ex-girlfriend.
Melody could only guess at how the rest of the weekend would unfold, but there was one thing she knew with absolute certainty: It was going to be memorable.
