Page 53 of One Touch

“Do you want to pick some flowers for Lark and Tootie? They might like that.”

Together we circled the edge of the yard, where it transitioned from lawn to wild grasses to farmland. While most of the spring and summer flowers were slowly dying back, little pockets of black-eyed Susans were standing tall. While Penny fussed over the perfect arrangement of flowers, I stepped into the blueberry field to pluck a few ripe berries from the bush.

Sweet, tart juice washed over my tongue, and I sighed. Supermarket blueberries couldn’t hold a candle to the fat, juicy crops Sullivan Farms grew. “Want one?” I held up a ripe berry for Penny, twirling it between my thumb and forefinger.

Her eyes lit up, and she popped open her mouth. With a laugh, I tossed a berry toward her and hit her square in the eyeball.

We laughed as she squinted. “Ow!”

“Again. Let me try again!”

I lined up another berry and totally missed as Penny moved her head to try to catch it, making a dramatic show of chomping at the air.

“Last one, I promise. I’ll get it this time.” Lofting it higher in the air, the berry made a perfect arc and landed in her mouth.

She cheered in triumph, and love swelled in my chest. Because of her dad’s NFL and coaching career, Penny had spent her early years traveling the country with Wyatt. At the beginning of summer, they’d finally set down roots and come home.

I’m so glad I’m not missing this.

I had been so blinded by what I thought was love that I had willingly left my hometown when Declan urged me to take the scholarship. I hadn’t even realized how much I missed having everyone together—how comforting it was to be surrounded by people who really knew you, but loved you anyway.

Only you’re a different Kate now.

It was true that the little sister who’d left Michigan with a heart full of adventure and hope had changed. Brokenhearted and without them, I was forced to pick up the pieces and do the mending without the comforts of my family. As a result, a sister who had found her voice and was willing to stand up for herself was proving to be an uncomfortable change for my big brothers.

Penny beamed her blueberry-stained smile at me.This kid gets me.

I pulled Penny in for a hug and pointed us back in the direction of the farmhouse. From across the yard, it didn’t look like the half-done mess it was up close. Sure, the paint was dulled, and the half-full dumpster was an eyesore, butdamnshe was a pretty house. A sprawling farmhouse surrounded by blueberry fields and a three-legged dog chasing chickens in the yard.

Wyatt called to us, and we started walking back toward the family, chatting about what was going on in her life. Penny had started her first school year in Outtatowner, and I enjoyed hearing her take on it.

Apparently Mrs. Crumbly was still mean as a snake, and the lunchroom still served rectangles of cheese pizza that tasted like cardboard. When we had made a wide loop around the yard, Penny walked toward a large oak tree. Beside the tree was a decent-size rock, awkwardly placed withEggburtpainted in her little kid handwriting. She bent to place one happy, yellow flower in front of the rock.

I had heard all about how Penny had thrown an impromptu chicken funeral for little Eggburt. Turned out it wasnotone of Aunt Tootie’s beloved chickens, but a store-bought roaster that the family had eaten at dinnertime.

That kid was anut, and I loved her for it.

When we turned, Tootie was pulling a box markedcobblerfrom a take-out bag. Despite not having a working kitchen, the farmhouse was still the largest place to have us all together, and take-out dinner in the yard was better than nothing. Penny presented the rest of the flowers to the women. Lark looked like she was going to cry, and Tootie fussed over them before pulling Penny into a tight hug.

I straddled the bench of the large picnic table and listened quietly as my family’s conversations overlapped with each other.

Duke caught my attention when he cleared his throat. “I invited Beckett over, but he said he couldn’t make it till later. So ...” Duke’s eyes shifted warily to me. “He may come by.”

Heat flamed in my cheeks. Beckett and I hadn’t spoken since last night, when we’d had sex and his mother caught me naked in his living room. I wanted to die of embarrassment and never think about it again, but reminiscing about Beckett and the night we shared seemed to beallI could think about.

“He’s a dick, right?” Penny asked around a large bite of cobbler.

Water shot out of Lee’s mouth as he covered a laugh.

“Pickle. Mouth.” Penny slinked back as her dad shot her a very serious look. “Sorry,” she whispered. “That’s what Aunt Kate called him ...”

Accusing eyes turned my way.

“Penny, I shouldn’t have said that. It was not nice. I don’t think that anymore, and he and I are ...” I looked at the faces of my older brothers, who were each staring at me in anticipation. Lark’s grin only widened.

Shit.

“We’re friends,” I stated simply.

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