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Everyone watches me as I line my mallet up with the starting stake. There’s a shift in the air when the green ball flies through the first two wickets. I sink it through a third, passing Eddie. A fourth, passing Rachel. And then I aim straight for Hannah’s ball, glancing it with a satisfying tap.
All the side commentary that filled other turns dies away, as I walk over and line my ball up next to hers. I hold mine down with my shoe, then swing.
I grin as Hannah’s ball flies away with a satisfyingthump.
Hannah gapes at me, her mouth literally open. Everyone else looks surprised, but Hannah’s expression is the only one frozen with horror. “You didnotjust do that.”
I just continue grinning at her. “Better start walking.”
“Cheater,” she hisses, then heads for her ball.
“It’s in the rules, Hannah!” I call after her.
“Hannah is kind of competitive,” Rachel tells me conspiratorially, stopping beside me.
“Really? I hadn’t noticed.”
Rachel laughs before walking to take her hit.
Hannah manages to knock her ball back into play faster than I’m expecting, and then becomes hell-bent on revenge. Fortunately for me, her annoyance affects her accuracy, so I’m spared from her ire for two turns before she taps me. With a triumphant smirk, she sends me flying into the bushes.
“Oops.” Hannah feigns a regretful expression, and I want to kiss her. I probablywouldif we were alone right now. Her blue eyes are full of laughter, sparkling mischievously.
I shake my head before trekking into the flowerbeds to find my ball.
Mr. Garner ends up winning the game. Hannah and I vote for continuing and seeing who takes second and third, but we’re overruled by everyone else. They’re probably worried how long it will take, considering Hannah and I have volleyed between knocking each other off course ever since the first hit, and Rachel and Eddie’s balls have both been collateral damage.
“Let’s go to Canyon!” Rachel suggests. She glances at Eddie and April. “You guys in?”
Eddie looks apprehensive. “I don’t know if that’s—”
“Absolutely!” April says.
Rachel looks to Hannah next. “How about you guys?”
It’s strange to realize she’s grouping me and Hannah together the same way. Even weirder to comprehend we’remarried, same as Eddie and April, so it makes sense to couple us.
“Um…” Hannah looks to me.
I’m exhausted. I got up at five a.m. and it’s now ten here, which is one a.m. my time. In a few hours, I’ll have been up for twenty-four straight. But I nod because I’ll go along with whatever Hannah wants to do.
“We could get one drink, I guess,” she says.
Rachel claps her hands. “Yay! Let’s go!”
After saying goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Garner, we climb into cars. Eddie and April drove here too, but Rachel took a rideshare, so she comes with us. I climb into the backseat, letting the sisters sit up front. Rachel chatters away as we turn out of the residential area into a more commercial stretch of street.
About five minutes into the drive, my phone rings.
I recognize the number. It’s from a Kensington Consolidated work line. I sigh and answer. “Oliver Kensington.”
“Hi, Oliver. It’s Scott. Do you have a minute?”
“What the hell are you doing at the office this late?”
He chuckles. “What the hell are you doing answering your phone at this hour?”
“I’m on the west coast. It’s only ten here.”
