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“Hey, it’s our pleasure. The place is turning into northern Minnesota’s most popular wedding venue. Seems like a good tribute to my father and his four ex-wives. But I’m sure your grandmother’s marriage will last,” she added quickly.
Brenda laughed and shrugged. “It’ll last as long as Granny wants it to. In all her seventy-plus years, she never wanted to get married before, so I consider that to be a good sign.”
“Your grandmother is a rock star,” said Carly. Her deep green eyes flashed with amusement. “She doesn’t care what anyone thinks.”
“Accurate,” Brenda agreed. “For better or worse. She said she’s putting an escape clause into the wedding vows.”
Billy’s heart gave a twist. When he and Jenna had gotten married, neither one had ever imagined they’d need an escape clause. He’d been all in, a hundred percent, the way a young person with no clue about the world could be. Then he’d gotten signed by the Twins, and he’d spent more time away from Jenna than with her, and then…
Thomas checked his watch and glanced at Carly. “Should I bring in the turkey?”
At her nod, he pushed back his chair and rose to his feet. Thomas was the tallest of the three brothers, although Billy was the most athletic, with the quickness and speed it took to play shortstop. Galen might be the most fit, however, since he spent his days hiking wilderness trails and canoeing down rivers.
“Want a hand?” Billy offered, already getting to his feet. Thomas beckoned for him to join, and they made their way into the big farmhouse kitchen where Thomas had spent many years making meals for Danny.
Thomas pulled the magnificent golden-brown turkey from the oven and set the roasting pan on the counter.
“Nice.” Billy sniffed the mouthwatering aroma rising from the bird’s juices. “Looks like your best one yet.”
“Remember the first time we tried to cook a turkey?”
“Yeah, when we forgot it was in the oven and went fishing? Locked ourselves out of the house? I had to climb to the second story to break into my bedroom and save the turkey.”
“It had transcended turkey-ness at that point.”
“Turkey-flavored charcoal for Thanksgiving.”
“Those were the days.”
They grinned at each other. Thomas’ smile had a sardonic edge, but Billy felt a genuine sense of nostalgia. Where was that coming from? It had been hovering around him ever since he got back to town. As if Lake Bittersweet was trying to tell him something.
“Want to take it in? I’ll grab the carving knives.” Thomas rummaged through a utensil drawer.
Billy put on two oven mitts shaped like loons. They’d come from a souvenir shop by way of a yard sale. In the old days, the Cooper brothers had done most of their shopping at garage sales and thrift stores. He and Jenna had done the same, since they’d been completely broke when they got married, with a baby coming. When he’d signed his first minor league contract, at the age of twenty-three, he’d taken Jenna to the nicest boutique in Braddock and told her to go wild.
She’d picked out one dress—a sexy red number, since she’d always wanted the perfect red dress—and refused to get anything else.
“We have to be smart. We can’t just spend it all at once. We have to save it for Zack and school and a million other things.”
They’d argued, but not fiercely, because he was on cloud nine since he was finally going to play professional baseball. “One nice dinner and we’ll call it good.”
She’d been right, of course, about the money. At dinner she’d worn the red dress, and they’d been all over each other that night. He hadn’t signed his first major league contract for another four years. It was a damn good thing she’d made him save his money.
“Is Jenna coming for pie?”
Billy startled. Thomas had a sixth sense when it came to knowing when something was on Billy’s mind. It probably came from all those years when he was Billy’s only parental figure.
“Yeah, with the boys. They should be here soon.”
Thomas waited, clearly lingering over his knife drawer search to give Billy time to spit out what was on his mind.
Billy let out a sigh. “I don’t know, man. I told you I might get traded. But there’s more. A team in Japan wants me to play for them. I’d have to pay a penalty for leaving the Twins early, but they’d give me a massive fricking contract. It’s so big that I can’t just say no. I mean, Japan. It’s so far. But it’s just a two-year contract, and at the end, I could walk away with a shit-ton of money. The boys would have everything they need forever.”
“Except you,” said Thomas softly.
“Yeah. The only reason I see them as much as I do right now is that I play for the Twins. Any other team, it’d be impossible. The Japanese season is just as long as ours is. I’d have to live overseas from February to October.”
“Damn.” Thomas withdrew two sheathed knives from the drawer. “What are you thinking?”
