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As if that fact hadn’t plagued his thoughts day in and day out, night after night since he’d laid eyes on Baylee. “Look, Kate. I don’t know what’s happening.” He looked out the window, avoiding her eyes. “I like her.”
Kate rolled her eyes. “Tell me something that isn’t painfully obvious.”
He leaned forward, his fingers locked together in front of him on the table. “Look. I’m your brother. Why are you all over me like I’m bad news for Baylee? You’re acting as if for some crazy reason we decided to give it a chance, which I would not tell you if we did, that I’d be bad for her. And Casey.” He didn’t get angry often but heat was rising in him and he didn’t like it. Didn’t like having to defend himself to his own sibling.
Kate’s demeanor softened. She placed a hand on his. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m just… protective. Of both of you.”
Drew leaned back against the booth.
Meg came by once more and placed their plates down in front of them. “There you go. Can I get your guys anything else?”
Kate said a polite, “No thanks, we’re good.”
Meg moved along. Drew kept his eyes on his sister, not trusting he had it in him at the moment to be civil. And the last thing he needed was to snap at Baylee’s close friend who didn’t even know him. That’d make a great first impression.
Kate pulled the top bun off her burger and took the lettuce off, placing it on an empty side plate. She’d never liked lettuce on burgers or sandwiches, ever since they were kids. They knew so much about one another as siblings. Why couldn’t she understand where he was now? The angst in his gut over maybe losing the only thing he’d ever loved? Baseball was always top choice for him. Maybe that was why he’d never married. He hadn’t found the woman who could grasp that, not compete with it.
“Your burger’s gonna get cold.”
He nudged the plate away. “I’m not very hungry.”
“Come on, Drew,” she pleaded. “I really am sorry. I don’t want to ruin our lunch. I know you aren’t here for much longer. The last thing I want is for you to be mad at me.”
He gave her a slight nod, his anger subsiding. She cared. The way she showed it took some getting used to, but she bugged him out of love. He looked out the window, Baylee’s smile drifting into his thoughts. His family loved him, yes, but they consistently wanted to know the plan. What was he gonna do? When would he know if he still had his position on the team? Valid questions that he didn’t have the answers to. Baylee accepted him as is. Asked him about the game of baseball. Why he loved it. What he missed. She didn’t badger him about plans or his future. Hell, she didn’t even bug him about what was happening between them. She took one day at a time and enjoyed it. He envied her that.
“Please eat.” Kate’s voice was quiet now. Contrite.
He brought his plate closer to him again and popped a French fry into his mouth. It was good. Really good. He made a mental note to come into Meg’s more often while he was here.
“I promise we can talk about anything you want.”
He smiled. Kate was trying. It was time to give the kid a break.
“Not much to talk about right now. Why don’t you tell me more about your knight in shining armor?” He batted his eyelashes at her, teasing.
She wadded up her napkin and tossed it at him, which he caught without flinching and set it down on the table. “Baseball player, sis. I catch a ball for a living.”
“Meh. Whatever. So, you want me to tell you more about Jack? Okay, here goes…”
She proceeded to babble on about how she and Jack met, something about him knocking her off her bike. Not a scenario Drew could see leading to love, and one Drew had heard her tell multiple times before, but, whatever. Kate’s rattling on meant he didn’t have to talk and she was happy again. Two things he was good with.
However, throughout the meal, he noticed Meg looking their way from time to time. She was definitely checking him out for Baylee. One thing was for sure, a lot of people in Silver Bay cared about Baylee, kept an eye out for her. He was glad about that. He just wished they didn’t see him as the bad guy who would break her heart. If he were honest with himself though, a small part of him worried about the same thing.
*
Baylee sat ather kitchen table across from Meg. She’d gotten ready early so she could get Casey settled and not be late for her date with Drew. Meg had agreed to babysit, give Jenny a night off from watching Casey. Her mother never once complained about all the time she spent helping with Casey, but Baylee tried to honor her mother’s time. She needed a life too. Her mother had texted Baylee an hour ago, saying she was headed to her bridge club. Baylee was glad her mom had made friends in Silver Bay. Kate’s mother, Rose, was in the same bridge club though. Baylee hoped there wouldn’t be too much said between the women about her and Drew. Oh, who was she kidding? They were the talk of the town, apparently. But she was finding that she didn’t care. All she cared about was what she and Drew thought. Or felt. Too bad she wasn’t sure about either.
“Hello? Did you hear me?” Meg waved a hand in front of Baylee’s face.
“What? Sorry.” Lost in thought, Baylee had missed what her friend was saying.
“I said, he was at the diner today with Kate and at one point, looked pretty pissed.”
That got Baylee’s attention. “About what?”
Meg shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t eavesdrop, although I totally wanted to.”
Baylee laughed. Meg’s honesty was one reason she loved her.
