AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Gina glanced over to Mama, who actually had her hands up above her head, stretching. “You take your mom then.”
“Yep.” Blake took the blue bags from Adam and offered them to Gina. “Do you want to go first?”
“Yes,” she said. “Then the whole game won’t be dependent on me.” She juggled the loose bags in her arms and started toward the other cornhole platform, the one Blake would be tossing toward. Daddy already stood there, bagless, and Blake joined Mama and all of her red bags.
The cornhole platforms bore red, white, and blue paint, with a giant Texas star at the bottom. Nash and Little Nick had made them several years ago, and someone on the ranch repainted them every spring so they always looked like a million bucks.
“At this station, we’ll have Jesse and Starla playing Nash and Ashley,” Todd bellowed. “The last one down here.” He took a few steps and looked at his clipboard. “Will be Sammy Boy and Baby John against me and Kyle.” Todd handed his clipboard off to Adam, who’d already finished his game, and Nash stepped to the station next to Blake and Daddy. He grinned across the space to Ashley, who shook Jesse’s hand like they were super good sports.
Starla, who stood next to Nash with square shoulders and the straightest back Blake had ever seen on a person, looked like she might throw up at any moment. He smiled at her, but she didn’t seem to see it.
“All right,” Todd called from his position down on the end. “Let’s play.”
Red started, and that meant Mama selected one of her bags, lined up her throw, and tossed it. The thunk of the corn against wood met his ears, and the bag slid to the left. “Nice one, Mama,” he said, though she was a good two feet from the hole.
“Oh, you,” she said, swatting at his bicep.
“What?” He flinched away from her and put an extra step between them. “I said it was nice.”
“You’re teasing me.”
“I am not,” he said. “The game is young.” He quieted to watch Gina throw, sending her all the good vibes he currently possessed. “It wouldn’t kill you to let me and Gina do well, I have to say.” He barely moved his mouth as he spoke, and Gina let her blue bag fly.
It also hit the wooden platform and slid up toward the hole. Friction stopped it short of dropping in, but only by a couple of inches. Holly and Sierra cheered for her, and she gave both of them a high-five.
The game continued, and Gina scored two points for their team by getting two of her bags to stay on the board while Mama scored three by getting a bag in the hole. She clearly wasn’t going to give Gina and Blake a pass at all, and Blake scowled at her behind the brim of his cowboy hat as he bent to gather the blue bags Gina had tossed his way.
He didn’t really care about the family cornhole tournament. Sometimes he and Jesse won, and sometimes they lost. It was all fun, and usually for the guests so they’d sign up and play cornhole during their time here at the lodge.
Now, though, he wanted to destroy the competition just to make Gina happy. When it was his turn to throw, he blocked everything out except the Texas star across from him. His throws were flawless, and he downed all four of his bags, one after the other.
The crowd around him and Gina, Mama and Daddy, grew as his team suddenly went from three to two, up to fourteen to six.
Gina wore sunshine and moonbeams on her face as she bent to gather the bags, but Blake didn’t even break a smile.
“What is going on with you?” Mama asked.
“My girlfriend would like to win,” Blake said, once again barely moving his mouth. “It wouldn’t kill you to help me out so I don’t have to get quite so in the zone.”
“You must really be liking Gina.”
“Mama, I’m not talking about this right now.”
She didn’t seem to mind talking and throwing at the same time, but Blake noticed that Daddy and Gina weren’t engaging in small talk. She scored another four points—one for each bag she left on the board—and she grinned at him across the pitch.
She hadn’t even been able to do that last week, and all Blake had to do was land one bag in the hole and they’d win. Mama scored two cornholes, bringing their score up to twelve.
Blake gathered the blue bags and held them while Daddy made his throw. The bag didn’t even land on the board. Blake caught his eye and knew that mistake hadn’t been a mistake at all.
He grinned and held two bags in each hand and lifted them up.
“Blake and Gina could win with this throw,” Adam yelled, drawing everyone’s attention. “Let’s have a drumroll.” Hands got clapped on thighs in a fast rhythm, and Blake grinned and grinned around at everyone.
“They’re in last place right now,” Todd said, having come down the row from his game. “But a win this fast, by that many points would definitely lift them up the leaderboard.”
“Come on, Blake!” Gina called, clapping her hands together and jumping up and down on the other side of their game board. Daddy grinned, a resigned look on his face. He didn’t mind being last at all. Actually, Blake thought his dad would gladly be last so none of his children ever had to be.
Mama, on the other hand, gave Blake a friendly smile that really held iron teeth. “Are you going to ask her to marry you?”
