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Including me.
“Your defensive line coach was slacking,” Drew adds, and I pull myself out of the car long enough to take in the scene.
Drew is yet another cousin, and all three men decided that today was the day to show up at my garage to hang out and chat. It happens often, cousins or aunts and uncles popping in to see what I’m working on and to spend time with me.
It doesn’t bother me at all.
But I can’t let these guys know that, or they’ll be here every day, and this will be their new hangout.
“If you’d like to have a football meeting, you can do that somewhere else.” I reach for a socket wrench but discover that my hand is covered in grease, so I pull the rag out of my back pocket to wipe it off first.
“Why are you pissy today?” Liam scowls over at me. “You’re always the even-keeled one of the group.”
“I’m not pissy. I’m busy.”
Ike throws the ball to me, and I easily drop the rag and catch it.
“I can’t just play catch all day. I have to get this Mustang finished so I can work on the next project.”
“What is the next project?” Drew walks around the car, examining it as if it was on a lot and he was in the market for it.
“If you kick the tires, I’ll kick you.”
“Yep, pissy,” Ike says with a toothy grin. “Want me to have Sophie come over and cheer you up?”
Soph and I are close. Out of all the cousins, she’s probably the one that I confide in the most, the one I’ve always felt the closest connection with. And her husband knows that.
Hell, everyone knows that.
“It might be a job for my sister,” Liam says, nodding. “I’ll call her.”
“Don’t call her. I’m fine. I’m just on a roll with work, and you three stooges showed up to interrupt me.”
“I’m not a stooge,” Drew says. “Answer the question. What’s the next project?”
I usually have three going at any given time. One that I’m finishing up on, one that I’m hip-deep into, and one that I have my sights on and can’t wait to start.
“Don’t laugh,” I say with a sigh, resigned to them doing just that as I stalk over to the fridge and pull out a bottle of water, taking a long pull. “It’s a 1983 Jeep Wagoneer.”
All three of them just blink at me. No, it’s not a sexy sports car or even a super-old classic that’s hard to find.
“A station wagon?” Liam asks, his brows drawn together. “Like, a huge family car from the olden days?”
“Yeah.” I shrug, drink the rest of the bottle, and chuck it into the recycling bin. “It’s a commissioned piece. These old Wagoneers are popular right now. They’re nostalgic.”
“Hey, you do what you have to do,” Ike says. “We all have to make a living.”
We’re silent for a minute, and then we bust up laughing. Sure, I do it to make a living, but I don’t need it. I love it. Pure and simple.
“You didn’t make fun of me when I was restoring my ’73 Bronco.”
“That’s a Bronco,” Drew says, as if that explains everything. “It’s fun. It’s masculine and cool.”
“Point taken.” I reach for the socket wrench. “When does practice start for the new season, Ike?”
“We never really stop training, but we don’t start getting ready for the season until mid-summer. So, a couple more months. I was thinking about taking Sophie somewhere for a few days. What do you guys think? Maybe Hawaii?”
“She loves Hawaii,” I reply. “I think someone in the family has a house on the beach in Maui. Who is that?”
“My mom and dad,” Drew confirms. “They’ll let you use it, no problem.”
“That’s awesome, and it’s pretty damn convenient being part of this family because, I swear, y’all own homes pretty much everywhere in the world, but I want to take her to a spa. Let her get pampered and polished. Maybe shop some.”
“You’re pretty much speaking the love language of every woman in this family,” Liam says with a laugh. “That’ll get you laid. Do it. Wait, did you fuck up and this is how you’re trying to get back on her good side?”
“No, I didn’t fuck up. I’m just trying to be nice to my wife. So I stay on her good side.”
“Good plan.” I nod, pleased that one of my favorite people has found such a good guy. “Will you still be around for the big party at Aunt Sam and Uncle Leo’s place next weekend?”
“Yeah. I figure we’ll leave after that. It’s too fun to miss.”
“I think it’s the one thing every year that the whole family makes sure they’re in town for,” I agree. I glance longingly at the car that isn’t finished and that I didn’t get enough done on today. “I have to lock up and go.”
