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Mitch
I think I met a girl.
Oh yeah? Another one?
Mitch
Dick.
Something different about this one.
Jersey chaser?
Mitch
Sure hope not.
Good luck.
The fire crackledin front of me as the sun slowly dipped into the water on the horizon of Lake Michigan. Orange and peach faded into deep indigo as the sun set into the water. Barefoot, I dug my toes into the soft sand.
Lee plopped into the Adirondack chair next to me and handed me a beer. It was some fancy IPA from the local brewery, one I hadn’t tried yet. I scowled into my beer as I sipped.
“What’s got your panties in a twist?” Duke sat diagonally across the fire from me, Beckett to his left.
Lee was next to me and bumped my arm as he leaned in. “He’s pissy that we left the Grudge, and Royal was there eyeballing his woman.”
I pushed his arm off mine. “Fuck off.”
Lee laughed as though my reaction confirmed his suspicions. “Told you.”
“You should have danced with her, man.” Lee loved the Grudge and the attention from townies and tourists alike.
My jaw tightened as I thought of her on the dance floor. “Probably. But I don’t care about that arrogant prick.”Lie.
Lee tipped his bottle toward the fire. “You cared enough to stake your claim against Royal King and nearly knock his head off his shoulders the first time she stepped into the Grudge.”
“That was different. She was new and didn’t know how things are here.”
“Seems she’s figuring it out,” Duke added.
I stretched my legs. Relaxing at beach bonfires with my brothers, just shooting the shit, was something I had missed. There was a sliver of comfort in our shared history, no matter how depressing it was. Despite the fact that I was fundamentally disconnected from them, in the growing darkness, we shared the peaceful silence of the fire crackling and waves lapping against the beach.
I stared into the bonfire, watching the flames lick the wood and dance in front of me. “I don’t want Pickle getting too attached.”
“Like you’re not already attached?” Duke shook his head. I didn’t miss his implication that it wasn’t solely my daughter whose feelings for Lark were changing.
“We’reallattached. Lark is great. Is that a bad thing?” Lee asked.
I shook my head, ignoring his comment that Lark had already woven herself into the fabric of my town—and my family—with her grace and sunshine. “Maybe not. Lark is really sweet with Penny. It’s just... the last nanny we had was her only real friend. Then she met one of my teammates, and when he got traded, she went with him. It was hard on Penny.”
And now I’m fucking this one just to make it extra complicated.
“It was bound to happen, though, right? It’s not like she’s got a lot of women around her.” Duke’s comment was particularly insightful, and it grated on me.
“Yeah, we see the news,” Lee chimed in. “You don’t date. Ever.”
