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Kendall leaned over and poured another margarita for herself and topped off Peyton’s. “Mom, seriously, he’s a grown ass adult. He could stub his toe getting out of the pool too. You want to line that in bubble wrap?”
“I know that, Kendall, but he’s worked really hard to get where he is in his career. I don’t want him doing anything to jeopardize that.”
“Oh my god, Mother, if he can’t handle it then maybe he’s in the wrong field.”
“How you can you say that? Ryan has agift.”
“Yeah, I’m aware,” Kendall growled.
Peyton watched the byplay between mother and daughter. She didn’t know what the story was, but she’d have to be an idiot not to sense the undercurrents floating around the kitchen. “So, how long are you and Pat in town?”
“Just for the weekend. We are flying out to Greece on Monday and then going on a cruise for the next month.”
“Wow, that sounds amazing.”
“We can’t wait.” Her shoulders bounced with excitement as she wiggled her arms in front of herself. “I still can’t believe Ryan remembered me telling him how I wanted to go to Malta.”
“Geez, Mom, I booked the damn tickets. It wasn’t all Ryan,” Kendall muttered.
Debbie reached over and squeezed Kendall’s arm. “I know, sweetie. Both of my children are fantastic. Your dad and I appreciate this gift so much. I’m just telling Peyton how thoughtful your brother is.”
“So the cruise is a gift from Ryan and Kendall?” Geez, her mom usually got a gift certificate for the spa and a card.
“Yes, it was supposed to be for our thirtieth anniversary, but we were still working and couldn’t get the time off. Now that we have retired, we can finally do it.”
“Oh, that’s very sweet. I’m sure you’ll have a fantastic time.” Peyton glanced out to the barbecue where Ryan was in deep conversation with his dad. Even from here, she could see the tension on Ryan’s face. What was that about?
As she watched, Pete said something and suddenly everyone was laughing. Whatever the moment Ryan had been having with his father was gone. Turning her attention back to Kendall and Debbie, she listened as the two women discussed the itinerary for the trip. It sounded amazing.
Ryan popped his head into the kitchen. “Two minutes on the ribs, Mom.”
Several hours later, Peyton pulled her feet up onto the daybed that overlooked the valley while Ryan walked his family to the door. After several minutes, he returned and dropped into the seat beside her. He shifted her so she was forced to curl into his chest. Smiling to herself about what a snuggler he was, she placed her hand on his stomach and absently rubbed her hand back and forth.
“I love my family, but they can be exhausting.”
“Well, it must be exhausting to never do anything wrong.”
“What are you talking about? I can’t do anything right.”
Peyton shifted on the daybed so she could look him in the face. “Your parents are obviously incredibly proud of you.”
“Oh, absolutely they are.” He dropped his head back onto the pillow. “I don’t really know how to explain it. They wanted me to reach my goal so badly that it kind of became their whole world, and the idea of anything fucking that up is unthinkable for them both.”
“But you’re living your dream.”
“Yeah, but it could all be taken away in a heartbeat. So, I can’t rest on my laurels.” His chest rose and fell on a deep exhalation. “My dad was on me tonight about how my pitching seemed off today and how you—” He glanced down at her. “Need to either come to more games or no games because having you in the stands was a distraction to me, or some such bullshit.”
Peyton’s stomach clenched. “Your parents hated me then?”
“What? No, they loved you. My dad was just worried that I’m in too deep with you. I’m going to get hurt, and it’ll fuck up my game.”
“Why would he think that?”
“Probably because I never introduce them to anyone for this exact reason. They analyze every little thing. I glanced up in the stands today, so I was distracted because you were there.” He snorted. “I look up in the stands every game. I love seeing the crowd wearing our jerseys, and when I’m at away games, I scan the crowd looking for the splash of a Hawks jersey in the stands. The fact I knew you were there wearing my jersey wasn’t a distraction. It was fucking fantastic. If I seemed nervous at all, it was probably because they were there.” He laughed. “Not that I could ever tell them that.”
“Well, if it’s any consolation, your sister did a good job telling your mom to chill about her sweet, sweet boy,” Peyton teased.
“Shit, sorry about that.”
