5. Knox

So I might havethe hots for my neighbor.

And I may have made up an entire event to get to know her better.

Inviting over my pro-football-playing brother was just the cherry on top. But now that he was here, I realized it could have been an amazing or a horrible idea, depending on how this went. Either she was impressed by my cool family, or he fell in love with her instantly and swept her away to his mansion in Dallas. And with how beautiful Larkin was, there was a good chance he’d be enamored with her too.

But her eyes were mostly on her four-year-old daughter, who was chatting up the best quarterback in the league like he was just another kid on the playground.

“Will you throw less interceptions this season?” she chided him.

Everyone around her chuckled, and Ford’s cheeks tinted pink as he drew his hand through short brown hair. “That’s the goal.”

“And I think you should run more on the fourth down instead of kicking it away.”

He folded his arms over his chest. “You think so?”

She nodded. “You gotta take a risk sometimes. And I—”

Larkin put her hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. She’s a big fan.”

“I guess there’s a fine line between fan and critic,” Ford teased with a chuckle.

Larkin blushed hard. “Yes. We watch a lot of football in our house. And of course we cheer for our local team.”

Emily piped up. “Do you know Alex Hill?”

“He’s my best friend,” Ford replied.

Emily grinned like she’d died and gone to heaven. “I have some things to say to him too.”

Larkin shook her head at her daughter. “Let the man enjoy his party. You go play with Maya.”

“But, Mom,” Emily whined.

“Three... two...”

“Fine,” Emily piped off, spinning on her heel and marching across the grass to the sandbox.

“Sorry about that,” Larkin said to Ford. “She’d probably act the same way with Blippi if she ever met him.”

Ford tilted his head. “Which team does he play for? I thought I knew all the quarterbacks in the league.”

Everyone else cracked up, including me.

My sister-in-law, Liv, stepped closer, explaining, “He’s the star of a kids’ TV show.”

“Right,” Ford said, shaking his head. “I’m getting a drink. You want a drink?” he asked Larkin.

She nodded. “A beer would be great.” Her eyes lingered on my brother for a moment as he walked away, then she looked back at me, hitting my shoulder with her free hand. Baby Jackson copied her, and she held his hand. “How could you not tell me someone famous would be here?”

I chuckled, shying away, and said, “Guess he’s just ‘little brother’ to me.”

Liv rolled her eyes at me and then extended her free hand to Larkin. “I’m Liv, married to Fletcher.” She gestured toward my oldest brother standing next to her.

“It’s nice to meet you, Larkin,” he said, shaking her hand. “And you too, Jackson.” He gave a little wave to Jackson, who waved back.

I breathed a sigh of relief that Liv didn’t mention all of this had been thrown together last second or that I had to promise Ford I’d cook according to his dietary plan to get him to come.

Liv asked Larkin to go sit with her at the folding table and started asking her all sorts of questions. I went with them, listening intently while trying not to act too invested.

Larkin had grown up in Houston, moved to Dallas with her mom and sister when her dad passed in her teenage years. She worked as a nurse and had been hired to work at the local retirement home but was thinking about working in a school setting when her kids got older so they could be on the same schedule. Her sister lived in Paris, her ex was in Dallas, but her former in-laws were so supportive of the kids she decided to move here for free babysitting.

When Ford brought her beer out and Larkin was thanking him, I whispered to Liv, “You should be a detective.”

Liv laughed, tossing dark brown hair over her shoulder. “I already have my dream job, being a stay-at-home mom.”

“Wait a couple years for Maya to be a teenager and being a detective will sound a lot more attractive.”

“True,” she replied, then she focused her attention on Larkin, who was trying to keep her beer away from her grabby baby.

“Mind if I hold him?” Liv asked. “I love a squishy little babe!”

“Are you sure?” Larkin asked. “He’s a handful.”

“Of course.” Liv reached for Jackson, and even though he fussed for a second, she soon had him laughing by making silly sounds and faces.

Larkin rolled her shoulders before sitting back in her folding chair and taking a sip of beer. Her eyes trailed over to the sandbox where Emily, Maya, and Leah were balancing sand toys on their heads. Her eyes formed a soft smile to match the curve of her lips.

When she looked at me, her smile turned a little shy, like she knew I’d been watching her. She took a quick sip of her beer and asked, “So there are three of you Madigan boys?”

I smiled at the phrase. I’d spent my whole life in Cottonwood Falls being one of those “Madigan Boys.” I explained, “There are five of us. My youngest brother’s in college. Fletch, Hayes, and I live here—Fletcher’s the doctor in town and Hayes owns the body shop—and Ford lives in Dallas.”

“Hayes?” she asked, looking around.

“Late,” I said, “As usual.”

She arched a brow. “Does that bother a... rule-abiding citizen such as yourself?”

I couldn’t help my smirk. “You’ll get it when you see him. He makes his own rules.”

“Ah,” she replied with a smile. “Sounds like my sister. She never did what was expected of her.” There was something more to her tone that had me curious.

“Do you wish you hadn’t done what was expected of you?” I asked. The shock in her eyes was apparent, and I added, “It’s my job to read people.”

“Get out of my brain,” she said with a nervous laugh. “And no. I love my kids. But I wouldn’t mind a view of the Eiffel Tower right now either.”

“I don’t know,” I replied. “I think this view’s pretty great.”

I wasn’t sure what I expected from her, but it was definitely not the laugh that fell off her lips.

“Are you flirting with me, Officer Madigan?”

I hadn’t realized we still had an audience until Liv laughed heartily, and Fletcher stifled a chuckle of his own.

“She got you,” he mumbled.

“I hate you.” I replied.

Then I heard a loud engine approach. “Thank God,” I said, pushing up from the table. “Hayes is here.”