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Rhett leaned against my thigh. “Hi. Owie.” He pointed to Leo’s face.
I nearly groaned in mortification, but Leo didn’t even flinch. He crouched down until he was at Rhett’s level. “Nah, big man,” he said easily. “It doesn’t hurt.” He poked at his face. “All good, yeah?”
“You want me to leave the dogs here?” Michael asked, setting the cooler down.
“Yeah, you get the buns?” Leo stood back up.
Michael lifted them from the cooler in answer.
“Give those to the women inside,” Leo ordered.
Michael handed them to me and I stood there awkwardly for a moment.
“Can you bring ’em in?” he asked as he pulled packages of hot dogs out of the cooler.
I wanted to glare at him and tell him no. We’d been at the clubhouse for less than five minutes and he was already ditching me? What the fuck? But as I glanced at Leo, who was watching me closely, I realized it was a test.
“Sure,” I said, grabbing Rhett’s hand.
I strode through the forecourt, carrying bags of hot dog buns, and I could’ve sworn I was being watched. It felt like every single person had their eyes on my back as I walked up the couple stairs leading to the clubhouse door.
If I’d thought that it was busy outside, I’d been kidding myself. Inside was chaos. Kids ran all over, men and women sat at tables, talking and laughing, and at the center of it all, Michael’s grandma Callie and great aunt Farrah held court.
I stopped inside the doorway and let my eyes adjust to the dim interior, looking over the room. Michael’s siblings were nowhere to be found, but his aunts were bustling in and out of what I assumed was the kitchen, carrying big bowls out to the bar that ran the length of the room. I headed in that direction.
“Mama, hold me?” Rhett asked, pulling at my hand. I didn’t blame him. I wished someone could carry me through the room.
I hefted him onto my hip and strode toward the end of the bar, barely sidestepping as an old man turned toward me.
“Crap,” I yelped. “I’m sorry.”
“No need to be sorry, sweetheart,” he said with a raspy laugh. “My fault.” His blue eyes twinkled as he took us in. “You must be Emilia and Rhett. I’m Michael’s uncle Casper. Think we met a long ass time ago.”
“We did,” I said, recognition dawning. I don’t know how I’d forgotten those eyes. The blue was striking against his tan skin.
“You look like you’re about to fall over,” he joked, gesturing at the child clinging to me for dear life. “You need some help?”
“I’m supposed to bring these in tothe women,” I said, shaking the buns.
“Just throw ’em up on the bar,” he said, jerking his chin toward it. “These vultures’ll find ’em.”
I did as he ordered and then used both hands to resettle Rhett, who was watching something over my shoulder.
“Hey, pal,” Casper said, reaching out to pat Rhett’s back. “You wanna go play with the kids?” As Rhett turned to look at him, Casper’s smile grew and his voice gentled even further. “Got some grandkids around here somewhere for you to play with.”
Rhett looked at me and I nodded.
“Damn, he looks like his pop,” Casper said with a chuckle.
“You think?” I joked as I set Rhett on his feet.
“Now, I know there’s a lot of ’em,” Casper said as he reached out and grasped Rhett’s hand. “But you’ll learn who’s who.”
They walked away and I suddenly felt naked. I was used to Rhett sticking to me like a barnacle. My hands felt empty. Bare.
“You’re here,” Heather yelled from across the room, getting my attention by waving her arms over her head. “Where’s my grandson?”
I strode to her, ignoring the curious looks I got from around the room. If the people inside hadn’t noticed me before, they surely did now. “He just took off with Casper,” I told her as she pulled me in for a hug. “They were going to find some kids.”
