Page 72 of Forbidden Love

This was the first time I was going home with an open mind. I walked inside and was immediately met with the sound of my brothers’ loud voices and laughs. Would they welcome me, or would they be surprised I was joining them?

I walked into the kitchen, and everyone fell silent.

“I’m so glad you could make it,” Mom said, coming around the counter to hug me.

“Sorry it took me so long to join you.”

“You’ve been busy with your fundraising projects. We’ve heard all about it,” Dad said.

I felt a little guilty for that because I should have been the one telling them about what was going on in my life. “We built the first dugout this weekend and painted it.”

I pulled the pictures I’d taken on my phone and a few that Miranda had sent me of the paint fight.

“You look close with the Fletchers,” Xander said.

“Yeah, we’ve been working closely on this project. They came to me with the idea of partnering together on a fundraiser to help the community. I wanted to help with girls’ sports, and they wanted to do something with the baseball programs. This is what we came up with.” I tensed, almost expecting one of my brothers to give me a hard time, saying dugouts weren’t really that helpful to anyone, but no one did.

Instead, Xander pulled me in for a hug. “I’m proud of you. It looks great.”

“How many do you have planned?” Dad asked.

“Just six for now. We didn’t raise as much as we wanted by hosting the baseball games, but we figured we might have to make it an ongoing fundraiser or even do it with the team that needs the dugout so that everyone can be involved.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Dad said.

It wasn’t high praise, but it was something. “I had another idea, but this one I’d lead myself. I’m calling it Kylie’s Kids. I’d set up boxes around town to collect gently used sports equipment. But I could always alter it to do coats and gloves in winter or food at the holidays.” My heart threatened to beat out of my chest as I said it because I wasn’t sure how they would take it. It had nothing to do with the family’s business.

“I love it. I can see the boxes around town,” Mom said as she handed a platter to Dad to grill outside.

“Does this mean you’re staying?” Xander asked.

“I don’t know.” But how could I create a program and then leave? It didn’t make sense. But then, the only reason to stay was Tyler. I wasn’t sure if he was all in or viewing it as a fling with an end date. Probably the latter since he’d never been in a serious relationship. Why would he start with me?

“This is just a fundraising project. I can’t live off it.” I still needed a job.

“I hope you follow through with it. I think it’s a neat idea that the community will be involved in,” Mom said.

“I think so too,” I said to Mom, wishing my brothers would give more feedback. But as usual, the other two had gone outside with Dad. Either they didn’t care to comment on my plans or they didn’t think much of me.

The old hurt and sensation that I didn’t belong here continued. I wondered if it would change anything if I spoke these feelings out loud.

“You’ve been spending a lot of time with Tyler. People have said they’ve seen you two around town, putting up flyers,” Xander said.

“His brothers asked Tyler to talk to me about partnering with Fletcher & Sons. I think Mac and Sam are busy now that they have families.” I prayed he wouldn’t ask any more questions. I knew Tyler wanted to talk to them about our relationship first. “We’re working together on it. I really couldn’t have done any of this without his family. They’re doing the work for free and giving us the lumber and supplies without any markups.”

“It benefits their business to be involved in it. I just hope they’re not taking advantage of you,” Xander said.

“Why would they be taking advantage of me?” Was Xander insinuating that I wasn’t savvy enough to know when I was being manipulated?

“Leave her alone. Kylie’s a smart woman. She can take care of herself,” Mom said, patting Xander’s hand.

I let it go, but his insinuation that others would take advantage of me grated. It fed into the belief they’d always had that I couldn’t take care of myself.

We sat at the large dining room table since most of the family was there. Four kids and my parents. Killian was the only one out of town. I wondered if any of them had ever brought a woman to dinner. Would they be as accepting as the Fletchers were to Natalie and Alice?

As usual, the talk revolved around the lodge and bookings for the summer season. It tended to be quieter during the summer, but we still received reservations from people who liked to hike and visit Telluride in the warmer months.

My brothers talked to my parents about various ways to bring more people to the lodge, activities and events to entice them.

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