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“I wish we had a dog,” Layla announced as they walked toward the kitchen.
“We’re not getting a dog, Layla,” Charli said, proving that she had an incredible sense of hearing.
“One of these days,” Layla muttered.
Will wasn’t so sure that her persistence would outlast her mother’s. Layla had definitely inherited her mother’s stubbornness, so it was possible that she’d win in the end, but only time would tell.
Will didn’t know who Layla’s father was. He wasn’t sure anyone but Charli knew for certain. So it was possible that Layla had also inherited stubbornness from the mystery dad. In which case, Charli might as well wave the white flag about the dog.
“Hi, Will.” Charli greeted him with a smile.
“Hi.” He glanced around. “Am I the first one here?”
“Not quite.” Charli opened a cupboard and reached for some glasses, setting them on the counter. “Janessa and Aria got home a few minutes ago. They’re upstairs but should be down soon. Jay and Misha are picking up the pizza. Gareth had to swing by his house, so he’ll be here in a few minutes.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Will asked.
“Nope. You know this is a pretty low-key meal.”
“Well, I brought some dessert,” he said, giving her the bag that held a container of cookies. “Mom brought me more cookies yesterday.”
“We’re going to have a nice assortment.” Charli pulled the container out of the bag and put it next to another one on the counter. “We made brownies this afternoon, and I’m sure Misha is going to bring cookies from her mom.”
Before he could respond, the doorbell rang, and Layla ran off to greet whoever else had arrived. Her squeal of delight meant it was most likely Peyton. Sure enough, the pair came running into the kitchen ahead of Jay and Misha, who had Ciara in her arms.
Jay put the pizza boxes he carried on the counter, then turned to take the bag Misha carried. “Salad and cookies from Denise.”
“That was sweet of her,” Charli said. “What’s she up to tonight?”
“She’s going to Eva’s to have dinner with her, Eva’s daughter, and a couple of other ladies from the crafting group,” Misha said as she put Ciara down on the floor at Layla’s prompting.
“It’s nice that she has some friends to socialize with,” Charli said.
“I agree. It was the thing I worried about the most in moving here.”
By the time the doorbell rang again, Aria had returned to the kitchen, so she went to answer it since Gareth was the only one missing. Janessa came downstairs a few minutes later, the last of the group they were expecting for the meal.
“Let’s pray,” Charli said, then passed the responsibility off to Layla when she asked to do it.
After Layla was done, they opened the pizza boxes and gathered around to choose their favorites. No surprise, Will was the only person taking slices of the Hawaiian pizza.
Seated at the table a short time later, Will didn’t immediately join in the conversation. He was hungry, having not had much of a lunch that day.
“How was basketball practice this week?” Gareth asked Jay.
Jay groaned as he set his partially eaten piece of pizza down on his plate. “That new kid and his dad are going to be the death of me.”
“What did he do?” Gareth asked.
“The dad has shown up to practice three days this week, and he’s been generous with his criticisms of how I’m running the practices. Coach tried to talk to him, but the guy just dismissed him. So disrespectful.”
“Is the kid playing tomorrow?”
The team was having their first game the next evening, and Will knew Jay was concerned. The team was good, but not as good as the previous year’s had been. But that was to be expected since most of last year’s first-string had been made up of seniors who had graduated. There would be some adjustments needed as this new team found its footing, but dealing with this new kid and his dad wouldn’t make it easy.
“Yeah. Somehow, he managed to get his grades up enough,” Jay said.
“Barely,” Will added. “He’s doing as little work as possible to get by.”
