Page 30 of Found By You
It annoyed me that I didn’t know those things about her. Why hadn’t she told me that her neck was bugging her, that her ribs hurt? Immediately, I tried to check myself a little bit. She didn’t have to tell me. I didn’t have to care that much.
Damon was sitting at the table, looking like he’d been camping for a couple weeks instead of overnight. Isla stood up from her seat next to him and came over, so I introduced her.
“Isla, this is Sky.”
Isla gave Sky a little hug. “I’ve been so tired with the baby, but I wanted you to know that I’ve been thinking and praying for you. If you ever need anyone to talk, I’m here.”
Sky nodded. “Thank you.”
Isla patted her shoulder. “I’ll have to tell you my story sometime.” She looked over at me. “Unless this big lug here has already told you.” She leaned in and gave me a light hug, then pulled back, searching my face. “Hope you’re getting some rest, okay?”
I stuck my tongue out at her.
She rolled her eyes. “See, this big lug doesn’t like any of us trying to take care of him.”
I let out a gruff sound. “My mother takes care of me enough. Now I have to have all these sisters-in-law take care of me.”
Sky grinned wider at me.
My brother Canyon came over. He stuck his hand out to Sky. “I guess I’m one of the only ones not to meet you. How are you doing?”
She took his hand, which looked massive compared to hers. “I’m good. Thank you. You have a great family.”
Canyon let go of her hand and then reached out and chucked me in the shoulder. “They’re all right.” He pointed at me. “You have to watch out for this guy, though.”
I gave him a fake one-two punch, and we both laughed.
Of course, Kayla came over and gave Sky a hug, and she gestured back at her seat. “Sit by me.”
But then Dylan walked in, and he surprised everybody by bringing Eliza Burke. I mean, it wasn’t ahugesurprise, but they’d been so on-again, off-again throughout high school, and she’d been divorced, so whatever. Who was I to judge anybody? I didn’t care.
Everyone said, “Eliza!” and she looked around the room and laughed. “Good to see you, Armstrong family,” she said. Her eyes lingered on Sky.
I cleared my throat. “This is Sky. Sky, Eliza.”
Eliza shook Sky’s hand, and then she whispered, “I’ve heard a little bit about you. I hope everything’s going okay.”
Sky looked slightly embarrassed. “It’s great.”
Noah slammed his hand on the table. “Okay, sit down. Let’s play some poker, people.” He was shuffling cards as he looked at Sky. “I don’t know if you remember cards, Sky, but I have to tell you that none of us like to lose.”
Surprising us, Sky nodded and picked up the a deck of cards, which she started shuffling like a pro. “I think I know a thing or two about poker.”
I laughed. “This could be fun.”
Chapter 14
Sky
I’d been nervous about going on this semi-date with McCrae. Not that it was a date. I was more like a tag-a-long, I kept reminding myself. But as we played poker, I found myself laughing and getting to see how fun the Armstrong siblings were.
The back room at Jim’s was cozy, with warm wood paneling and vintage photos of Refuge Falls dotting the walls. The scent of burgers and fries wafted in from the kitchen, mingling with Kayla’s light perfume.
Of course, Kayla was so cute, and since we already sort of had a bond, she was trying to help me cheat, which I found funny. I didn’t know how I knew how to play cards so well, but I could count them a little bit. As the games progressed, I was able to keep track of how many cards were left and who had what cards. That was interesting to me.
When I won two games in a row, there was a big uproar from the group. It wasn’t like we were playing for much. It was just a twenty-dollar buy-in that McCrae had paid for me.
I loved how relaxed McCrae seemed, how he really opened up around his siblings. I knew they were telling inside jokes and teasing each other, but it was fun and upbeat. We were all drinking soda pop or water. Some of them ordered burgers, while I nibbled on a large order of fries.
