Page 56 of Forbid It

Cassie raises her eyebrows mischievously, glancing at me with a growing smile. “Oh, he has?”

Iwan nods seriously, taking a bite of a croissant. “It’s always Cassie this, Cassie that.”

I search for something in the vicinity to throw at him, but I’m interrupted by a hand tugging at my shorts.

I glance down and see Sammy with a deflated ball in one hand and a pump in the other.

I rub my hand across his hair. “Hey Sammy-boy. Give it here.” I drop to my haunches and take the pump gently from his hands. He crouches down beside me as if I’m not just as tall as he is now. From here, I can’t see Cassie or my prick of a brother, but I can sure hear them.

“Has Mum got out the family albums yet?”

Cassie laughs, her husky voice echoing through the room.

“Nope,” I bark, climbing back to my feet. “Back off Iwan, or I’ll shove this pump up your…” I glance back at Sammy, who’s watching me intently. A boy of very few words, but we all know he’s hearing everything. “Ball.”

Iwan snickers.

“You’re such a child.” Thankfully there’s a tea towel on the counter that’s perfect for pelting at my idiot brother.

As soon as the ball is blown up enough, I let it spin into Sammy’s hands. He eagerly grabs it from me and starts dribbling it across the kitchen floor.

I step to the side and easily intercept it, dribbling it around the kitchen island.

“Boys,” Mum says. “Take it outside please.”

I snicker as Iwan joins in from the stool, trying to trip me up as I easily point the ball out of the kitchen door and into the back garden.

Sammy jogs beside me, his little hand pulling at the back of my top. “Ugh, ref!” I call out. “He’s touching me.”

“Hands behind your back, Sammy,” Dad shouts as he follows us out.

I put my hands behind my back and grin as Sammy copies me. I slow my movements down, letting the ball roll gently across the grass and giving him ample opportunity to take possession.

His tongue sticks out the side of his mouth as he gazes intently at the ball. Quick as lightning, his foot makes contact with the ball and kicks it straight into the goal that’s been in my parent’s garden since before I was born.

Cheers erupt from the crowd, and I offer my beaming nephew a high five. “Alright, that was an easy one. I let you have it.”

I touch the ball back into my possession, faking this way and that, trying to trick Sammy into predicting my maneuver. He crouches in front of me, concentration washing over his face.

I glance up and see Cassie cradling a coffee mug and watching with a grin on her face. I know realistically that Cassie’s seen me play dozens of times by now, but I still feel a thrill at her attention now.

She’s ushered onto the patio furniture on the deck, and I can barely peel my eyes away as she smiles at whatever Mum tells her. Her toned arm rests on the back of the sofa, playing with the strands of hair escaping from her bun as she takes a sip of her drink, her pink tongue licking away the foam.

Suddenly, the ball that was underneath my foot is popped out and I almost lose my balance. Sammy runs up the length of the garden until the ball is aimed at his father standing in goal, hitting him right in the bollocks.

The laughter that bursts out of me is loud and pointed entirely in my brother’s direction as he bends in half.

Sammy races back to me, the ball flying underneath his feet and I don’t stop laughing until I catch Gwen and Ffion appearing in the doorway.

I watch as Ffion glances at Cassie. Cassie looks over with a small smile but doesn’t make any sudden movements, as if my niece is a small baby animal approaching humans for the first time. Ffion hovers in the doorway, eyes fixed on the ground.

“Fi,” I call. “Come join my team. We need a good defender.”

Ffion brightens, and with a final glance in Cassie’s direction, she skips to my side. I tug on her ponytail as she jumps headfirst into the game.

It’s only later when it’s just me and the kids on the grass that Ffion sidles up to me.

“She’s a normal person, Fi,” I tell her quietly as she glances back at Cassie. She spent the whole scrimmage looking over at the patio and turning away quickly whenever Cassie looked up.