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Drew followed more slowly. "Well, that was fun," he said dryly. "I used to be good at videogames."
"Really?" Megan asked doubtfully.
"Yeah, really," he said. "I used to beat all my brothers."
"How many do you have?" Megan asked.
"Four brothers and three sisters," he replied.
"That's crazy," Megan said.
"That's the way I'd describe it."
"Are you the oldest?" Megan asked.
"No, I'm right in the middle. And my family is getting bigger every day. My sister, Emma, and my brother, Aiden, are both engaged. Emma and Aiden's fiancé, Sara, were childhood friends, so they're planning a double wedding in August. And I just found out today that Sara is expecting a baby. I'm not sure how that will affect the double wedding, but there's certainly a lot of action in the Callaway family."
"Weddings and babies," Ria murmured, thinking how lovely it all sounded. How nice to be in a family with no bigger problems than that.
"A double wedding is so romantic," Megan said. "I would love to get married on the same day as my best friend, Lindsay."
"You wouldn't want your own day?" Ria asked.
Megan shook her head. "Double the wedding, double the fun, double the presents."
"I guess that's true," Ria said with a laugh.
"Good eggs," Drew murmured as he quickly worked his way through his omelet.
"I told you it would be nothing fancy."
"I'm not picky when it comes to food. Growing up in a big family, you learn early to eat whatever is there and eat it quickly."
"I always wanted a brother or a sister," Megan said, a sad note in her voice. "I don't know why my parents didn't have more children."
Ria didn't know why, either. Kate had always talked about having more than one, but that was probably before she realized just what kind of family she had married into.
"So where is this double wedding?" Ria asked, wanting to get off the subject of Megan's parents.
"I have no idea. I try not to pay attention when the women start talking weddings," Drew said. "I don't know why anyone wants to spend so much money and time on a party."
"It's not a party; it's a wedding," Megan said. "It's the most important day of your life."
"Don't argue with a sixteen-year-old," Ria advised. "Especially when it comes to romance and love. You will lose."
He smiled. "Are you speaking from experience?"
"Absolutely."
Megan rolled her eyes, then took her empty plate to the sink. "Can Lindsay come over for a while? We want to work on our English project together."
"Sure."
As Megan left the room, Ria glanced over at Drew and caught him staring at her with a more serious and thoughtful expression than their recent conversation should have elicited. "What?"
"You don't like it when Megan talks about her parents. Are you afraid she's going to give away your big secret?"
"It's painful to talk about my sister, and, yes, I'm always afraid that Megan will give something away. She thinks that we're safe now."
"You've allowed her to think that way. You don't want her to live in fear. So you take it all on," he said. "I admire that, Ria. But don't you ever want to share that burden?"
She shrugged. "I'd only be making someone else's life as difficult as mine."
"What did your mother want?"
"She was just checking in."
"And…"
"She noticed an odd car in her neighborhood. She's going to check it out with the local police."
"So your mother can go to the police, but you can't?"
"She can talk to the police about an odd car in her neighborhood. That has nothing to do with me."
"Obviously, she thinks it might. Why doesn't she have Megan?"
"My mother has another family. She has young children to worry about."
"Your family is getting bigger by the minute, too," he said with a wry smile. "So much for it's just me and Megan."
"It is me and Megan. I honestly don't think of my mother's second family as mine."
"How many kids in her second family?"
"Two boys; they're eleven and twelve."
