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I toss the ball and he doesn’t have to move to catch it this time. It sails directly into his glove and before I know it, he’s tossing it back. I have no time to think or prepare, just adjust my glove. But this time, the ball hits me square in the glove with a satisfying thump. “I did it!” I yell, dropping the ball from the glove as I do a little shimmy and shake in victory.
“Good job, Kate! Now you can play catch with me all the time!” Max yells, jumping up and down along with me.
I glance at Jensen. His eyes are hungry with desire as he watches my little victory dance. He takes a step toward me, invading my personal space, reaching down to pick up the baseball and whispers, “I knew you could do it.”
“It must have been the teacher,” I tell him, smiling like a loon.
“Ehh, it’s the player,” he says, handing me back the ball. “Better throw it back. Max is waiting.”
And that’s how I spend the next fifteen minutes.
“Dinner’s ready,” Mary Ann hollers from the porch, pulling everyone’s attention. Jensen takes the ball glove from my hand and heads over to collect Max’s. The little guy is already sprinting toward the food line, his grandma there, waiting with an empty plate.
Slowly, everyone makes their way to the porch and loads up their plates with delicious homemade food. I grab a hotdog and plenty of the cheesy mac and cheese with bacon, some fresh fruit, and baked beans before heading over to find a seat at one of the tables under the shade tree. Jensen follows behind, sliding onto the bench between Max and me. Soon, everyone takes a seat and practically inhales all the amazing food Mary Ann and Marissa prepared.
“Emma and Orval want to come down next weekend,” Mary Ann says, making Samuel groan. “We don’t have any vacancy, though, and you know there won’t be any in town either.” She’s referring to the other bed and breakfasts in Rockland Falls, and I can tell by the way she says it that there’s more to this story.
“Orval is my mom’s brother that I told you about,” Jensen whispers beside me, referring to the long-lost brother his mother has.
“Our guest room is torn up, remember? There’s no way we’ll get the closet finished, walls painted, and new flooring in before Friday,” Harper says with a shrug, but it’s the glint in her sparkling blue eyes that I notice right away.
“And I’ll have Max, so I don’t have any extra room,” Jensen adds, the corners of his mouth fighting to not turn upward.
“I’m busy,” Samuel says, straightening his already straight necktie.
“Your work schedule doesn’t have anything to do with family using your guest room,” Mary Ann says gently.
Samuel scoffs. “The last time they used my spare bedroom, I found the plastic packaging for a vibrator on the floor and a note that said I was out of KY.” Everyone at the table, with the exception of Max who’s obliviously eating macaroni and cheese with bacon, bursts out laughing. “It’s not funny. I don’t even own KY.”
“Oh, Sammy, liven up a little, will ya? Share your house. Buy them KY. They’re family,” Freedom adds, her bangle bracelets jangling as she reaches for the bowl of watermelon.
Jensen’s oldest brother gives her a look of horror. “I am not buying KY.”
“For them or for you?” she asks sweetly.
“Neither,” he growls, adjusting the necktie once more. It’s almost like a nervous thing he does when he gets riled up, and if there’s one thing I’ve noticed in the last two hours, it’s Freedom definitely gets him all sorts of worked up.
“They could stay with me.” I don’t know why I said it, but the words were out before I could stop them. Actually, no, that’s not true. The fact is I have a huge house with umpteen bedrooms and no one else to share them with. A little company might be just what the doctor ordered.
Everyone stops and looks at me. I can tell I’ve overstepped. Their faces are a mixture of relief and horror, most likely because I’m not even a part of this family and I’m offering up bedroom space for some out-of-town family.
“You don’t have to do that,” Jensen insists.
“Yes. She has room. They can stay with Kathryn. Case closed,” Samuel says, reaching for his hamburger as if there’s no more need for discussion.
“I don’t want to overstep,” I start, but am cut off by Jensen’s younger sister.
“You’re not overstepping,” she insists. “It’s just that…Aunt Emma and Uncle Orval are…different.”
Rhenn snorts. “Different, my ass. Those ol’ birds are nuts—the good kind, of course.”
Latham glances over at me with a serious face. “Let me ask you, Kathryn, do you own a sex swing?”
My eyes are as wide as the plate in front of me, and I’m pretty sure my blush is the color of a fuchsia crayon as the others hoot with laughter. “They bought one for Abby and Levi. You knew that right?” Harper asks her family.
I’m completely lost. I’ve offered up my home to a couple who uses a sex swing? What in the…
“Listen, Kathryn, that’s very nice of you to offer. I’m sure they’d love to stay with you for a few days, if you really don’t mind. Orval and Emma are good people, if not a little on the…eccentric side.”
