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“Are they here tonight—Van and his girlfriend? Aston?” I asked to push away the feelings I didn’t want. I could never forget why I’d said never again with Axel.
“Yes, Ree, Van, Aston and his friend, Carrington, are in the rec room out back.”
Van and Aston were Axel’s younger brothers. Last time I’d seen them, Van hadn’t been even remotely interested in dating. Or girls, in general. At least, not that he’d been willing to admit at thirteen. To think he had a girlfriend now blew my mind a little. He had to be nineteen already, which was a hard for me to believe. Aston had been in high school at the same time as Axel and me, a freshman when we were seniors. I’d known all of the family for years, since Axel and I had gotten together when we were in eighth grade.
Yet as small as Cherish Cove was, I’d barely seen any of them since that day in November when Axel’s uncle had come to him with the offer of driving for him, starting the next February. One day, we’d been planning what we would be doing for Thanksgiving, so we could see both our families, and the very next week, Axel had been gone to training in North Carolina.
I forced a smile as I tried to eschew the memories. “Is there anything I can help with? Set the table or something?”
“That would be great. You and Axel can get us set up for eight in the dining room. Aston and Van’s friends are staying for dinner, too.”
“On it, Ma,” Axel said, appearing at my side, though if I were honest, he hadn’t been far from me since I’d walked in the front door—of my apartment tonight. Even when I’d disappeared into my bedroom, he’d been yards away. And when we were in the same room? He stayed mere feet from me.
“Here,” he said, reaching down the plates and handing them to me. “I’ll get the silverware and glasses.”
His hands brushed mine as he handed them over, sending an unwelcome sizzle buzzing through me. Winter static electricity, I told myself.Nota reaction to him, not at all. But it didn’t recede when he cupped the outsides of my fingers with his palms. “Got them?”
“Yeah,” I rasped. My voice sounded strangled as I carefully pulled away, trying not to look too obvious or affected, then marched into the other room.
The table already had eight heavy, dark-oak chairs and sage-green placemats around it. Cream-colored cloth napkins in braided-gold rings were on each setting. I took just a moment to admire the aesthetic Molly had created in here, with a low centerpiece of greenery that complemented the wood and seemed to blend with the linens.
Walking around the table and ignoring Axel on my heels, I placed a dish on each place, moving a ringed napkin to the center of every plate, while he followed, situating the silver on the mats. He worked quickly, putting down the utensils fast enough to stay right beside me. He repeatedly brushed into me as he moved, ratcheting up my awareness to an irritating, itchy level that made me want to scream from frustration.
I was well aware that in other circumstances, it might have made me want to jump him. Not tonight.
“I’m going to see what else your mom might need,” I said and practically sprinted from the room after I’d set down the last cream-colored ceramic plate with a design that matched the greenery. Molly didn’t miss a detail.
“What else?” I asked her.
“We’re ready to go,” she told me. “Go get the boys and Ree?”
“Sure.” Ignoring Axel, who was getting the glasses for the table, I headed toward the back of the house where I’d spent so much time over the years. Leaving the kitchen, I took two steps down onto a all-season porch. It was much like Sutton’s, only the Pendleton home was farther inland and didn’t overlook Lake Michigan the way my cousin’s did.
On the right end of the porch, a second door led into the addition Benz had made to the house when Axel was in middle school. Since their home was on a large parcel of land, there had been plenty of space to add this yawning room whose footprint was about as big as the main house itself. It was also the only testament to the fact that they had some money—something they didn’t flaunt with their otherwise understated living. But here… This was a teenager’s paradise.
To the far side, there was a small tiled area with a basketball hoop, the space big enough for one-on-one matches. Nearby, there were pinball and arcade games, including a driving simulator Axel had spent countless hours in. More to the center stood a pool table and a ping-pong table. But none of it was crowded in the enormous area that had its own heating/cooling units placed on three of the four walls to offset the stress on the main house’s HVAC.
Of course, no teen oasis would be complete without a wet-bar kitchen, including a sink, fridge, microwave and stools around the counter. Seriously, Axel and I had practically lived here in high school. On plenty of days, I’d curled up in a chair and studied with him. Or I’d read or shot hoops while he practiced in the simulator.
Sometimes, I’d watch a movie because straight ahead from the door was a large seating area with three—yes,three—large screensbefore it. At the moment, one TV had a basketball game, one showed a motocross competition and the third, in the center, featured a video game where two characters were going head-to-head in a martial arts fight.
“Dinner’s ready,” I said as I approached. Four heads popped up and one of the people leapt to his feet.
“Hey!” Van vaulted over the couch and ran over to me. A moment later, he enveloped me in a tight bear hug.
“Bristol,” he murmured, holding me tight for a long moment. When he let go, I was handed over to Aston who’d followed and now repeated the warm embrace. Tears pricked my eyes. These guys had been my family just as much as my own biological relatives were. I’d missed them so much. As much as I’d like to say this family was another thing Axel had taken from me, not being around them had been my own damn fault. I couldn’t really blame him for that.
“My God, you guys are all grown up,” I exclaimed when I stepped back and surveyed them. Van looked a lot like Axel had around that age, and Aston had the same build as his older brother now. All three men were about the same height and had identical coloring.
My gaze drifted to the other two people who had come over, and I offered a friendly smile. These had to be the other two Molly had mentioned. Van introduced me to Ree, a sweet red-headed girl who pressed shyly to his side, holding his hand but seeming to angle slightly behind him. Aston slung his arm around the shoulders of a slightly shorter man with a wiry build.
“This is Carrington,” he said.
Carrington tipped his head toward me with a grin. “Nice to meet you.” His gaze shifted. “And you. You’re Axel, right? You look like your brothers.”
I turned to see Ax had followed me, and I wasn’t quite sure how I wanted to feel about that. He really was becoming my shadow today. I’d have to call Sutton later to talk to her about it. We were cousins but both only children, so we’d grown up as close as sisters. And I needed to talk to her about this—if she wasn’t otherwise occupied with Hasya.
“That’s right,” Axel said, stepping forward and holding out his right hand. Somehow, his left snaked around my waist, his fingers trailing over the small of my back before he pulled me into his side. I stood there, stiff and frozen awkwardly. My senses screamed to step away, but I didn’t want to make a scene.
