Page 8 of Home Team Advantage
Kass leaped off the porch and threw herself at him. “Matty!”
He grinned and accepted the impact. For such a delicate-looking thing, she was solid. Clearly, she’d been spending a lot of time at BodyWorks with her dad. Knowing Kieran’s passion for martial arts, Kass was probably as well versed in self-defense as Matt was. Good thing too. She needed to be able to handle herself.
“Squirt,” he said affectionately.
“Beast.” She tugged at his long hair and flicked his earrings. “Nice. You almost look cool.”
“And you still look like trouble.”
He dropped her but kept one arm around her. His little sister was practically grown-up, as old now as he’d been when she was born. Those fifteen years felt more like a hundred sometimes—and not just because of the age difference. Their formative years had been comprised of vastly different life experiences. Kass had never had to worry about having enough money for food, clothes, or a roof over her head like he and his mom had.
The urge to look over at Mrs. Campbell’s house again was strong, but he refrained. He’d find out what the deal was soon enough, though the thought of Mrs. Campbell not being around anymore was a sad one. She was a sweet lady and a staple of the community, even if she was a busybody.
The moment they entered the house, he was surrounded by warmth and the delicious scents of his mother’s cooking. He barely had time to appreciate any of it before the next wave of welcome hit.
“Is he here?” called one of the triplets from the top of the steps. Then, “He is! He’s here!”
A series of whoops and pounding feet later, three more bodies launched onto him, as Brady, Bridgett, and Brianna joined forces and tried to take him down to the ground. Laughing, Matt went with it, which allowed his youngest brother, Finn, to climb onto the pile in victory.
Through it all, he managed to turn his head and see his mother in the doorway to the kitchen, a smile on her face and tears in her eyes. Kieran appeared behind her and put his arm around her shoulders, ever her rock.
“All right, you guys. Let your brother up so he can say hello to Mom,” Kieran commanded, amusement in his voice.
With playful pushes and a few poorly placed knees, they ceased their attack and retreated.
Faith waited patiently for him to stand and cross the room. When he leaned down and hugged her, he felt the familiar power in her embrace that had nothing to do with physical strength and everything to do with a mother’s love.
“I’m so glad you’re home,” she whispered.
“Me too, Mom. Me too.”
Chapter Five
ANNA
Anna peered through the ruffled kitchen curtains, getting her first good look at the backyard in the bright morning light. She hadn’t gotten a good look at the property when she first arrived. Darkness still fell early in this part of the country at this time of year, and she and her new employer had been too busy discussing other things.
It was a sizable back lot, the first quarter of which was the extensive patio she’d glimpsed the night before. Ceramic pots and urns sat on large, flat stones, now empty, but which she imagined filled with bright, colorful flowers when the season permitted. Beyond that, a fenced-in in-ground swimming pool was on the left side, grass and a stone walkway on the right. In the back, she could just make out an open space of grass with a tool shed in the corner. Tall, stately arborvitae stood like sentinels guarding the back property line. To the left and to the right, large deciduous trees, devoid of leaves, reached toward the sky, lording over dense bushes between them.
It was no wonder Mrs. Campbell didn’t want to leave this place to move into a small, impersonal living space. And based on Anna’s initial assessment, there was no reason she had to, not with just a little bit of help.
Through the stark branches, Anna caught glimpses of a black SUV coming down the driveway next door. Curious about the neighbors, she peered closer. A man got out of the vehicle and stood there, looking at the house, as if taking it all in. She could only see the back of him, but he appeared tall and had coppery-bronze hair that captured the sunlight.
The teakettle began to whistle. Anna paused in her snooping to tend to that. By the time she returned to the window, the man was gone.
She turned her attention back to preparing breakfast. Scrambled eggs, toast, fresh-squeezed orange juice, and hot tea. When everything was ready, she put it on a tray with Mrs. Campbell’s morning meds and carried it into the master bedroom suite. The older woman was sitting up in bed, reading glasses perched on her nose, frowning down at her iPad.
“What’s a seven-letter word for clear and translucent?”
“Hyaline,” Anna answered without hesitation.
“Yes, of course,” Elsa grumbled, jabbing the screen with arthritic fingers, then laying the tablet to the side. “It’s so refreshing to encounter a young person with a decent vocabulary. And useful for these crossword puzzles. My memory isn’t what it used to be, I’m afraid.”
“It’s not a word you hear often.”
“You’re a dear, sweet girl,” the older woman said. “I think we’re going to get along just fine.”
Anna did too.
