11. Holden

11

HOLDEN

My face hurts from smiling so hard.

I can’t remember the last time I’ve enjoyed myself like I am tonight. Of course, I keep thinking about Catherine and the fact that she’s out with that Jeremy, but after meeting him, I can’t bring myself to feel threatened. He didn’t even notice how beautiful Cat looked tonight.

My brother King bunts the ball and takes off running around the bases. He slides into second, and when Cole gets him out, he gets up and limps back to us.

“King, please don’t hurt yourself,” Haven exclaims.

He groans. “I’m too old for this.”

Haven just laughs, rubbing her slightly rounded belly. “I hope not. I’m pretty sure your son will want you to play with him.”

And just like that, King stops limping and picks Haven up with a spin. They kiss, and I have to force myself to look away. It almost feels like I’m invading on a private moment.

Dom and Gabe are trying to coach Cole on his pitching technique, and I elbow my sister. “You having fun?”

She crosses her arms over her chest. “I am. I love being here with you guys. It’s like we’re a real family.”

I put my arm around her shoulder. “We are a real family, Chrissy.”

She nods, but her smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “Right.” She gestures toward Cole. “He’s a good kid.”

I can’t help but agree. I haven’t been around a lot of teenage kids, but I already know Cole is special. To see the way he is with his mom and just how he carries himself tells me that he’s a great kid. “He’s the best.”

Of course, my sister the matchmaker can’t stop now. “His mom is pretty great too.”

“Tell me about her boyfriend.”

Chrissy huffs her breath, and I realize she’s probably not going to spill the beans, but I can’t resist asking. “You should ask her.”

How do I explain to her that I’m doing my best to keep my distance from Cat? I want to know what she sees in Jeremy, but I don’t want to know really. Hell, I don’t even want to think about her with another man. “I could ask her, but I figure it’s safer asking you.”

She doesn’t get it. “Safer? What’s that supposed to mean?”

I groan, not completely happy with myself. “It means I like her. I like Cat, and if I talk to her about her fuckin’ boyfriend, then I’m going to go off.”

Chrissy gets that look in her eye. “You like her? Of course you do. You were deadset on no one moving in here, and you didn’t hesitate moving her—and her son—in immediately.”

I cross my arms over my chest and stare at Chrissy. I know I’ve already asked her about Jeremy and she said she couldn’t tell me, but I knew once I got her in person, she would give in.

She groans and throws her head back. “Holden! Fine! His name is Jeremy Tabor, he’s an accountant, and I’ve only met him a few times, but he’s super dry. No sense of humor at all. ”

I frown. “Is he good to her?”

She shrugs, scrunching her nose up. “He’s… fine, I guess. He’s not mean to her, but look, honestly, they seem more like friends than anything else.”

At that, I hear the screen door open, and when I turn, Cat is walking out of the house. She’s still in her dress and high heels, and I’m not sure how to explain it, but she looks frazzled. Immediately, I walk over to her. “You okay? How was your date?” I try to leave the displeasure out of my voice, but I can hear it.

She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “It was… fine. What’s going on out here?”

With my hand on her lower back, I lead her off the porch, and my family all comes to stand with us. “Cat, I want you to meet my family. You know Chrissy. And these are my brothers Gabriel, Dom, and King and my new sister, Haven.”

“My wife,” King adds.

We all laugh because the man is all kinds of obsessed over his wife. “Right, your wife.”

Cat is looking between all of them. “Wow, there’s so many of you. Okay, Chrissy, Gabriel, Dom, King, and Haven. Right? ”

I nod. “There’s one more, actually. Ledger is enlisted right now.”

She repeats his name. “Ledger… got it.”

“Mom, go get your glove and come play.”

My mouth falls open. “Your glove? You play?”

Before she can answer, Cole chimes in, “Mom plays with me all the time. She’s pretty good.”

I look at the woman in awe as she holds up her finger. “Okay, I’m going to change and be right back.”

She jogs away, and as everyone goes back to the game, Gabriel nudges my shoulder. “Close your mouth, you’re drooling.”

I snap my mouth closed, and Gabe has his arms over his chest, watching Cat walk away. “Have you told her how you feel?”

I roll my eyes. “No, I haven’t told her I want to fuck her.”

He laughs. “I think there’s more to it than that.”

“I don’t do long-term.”

He widens his stance, nodding his head. “Right. Well, if that’s the case, stay away from her. She has a kid. She doesn’t do flings.”

I know he’s right, but there’s no way I can stay away from her. It’s like she’s in my blood. I have to have her. Maybe, just maybe I can be up front with her and tell her what I want and get her out of my system. I turn to my brother. “What about you? What’s going on in your love life?”

Automatically his eyes shift across the yard toward Chrissy. “I don’t have one.”

I look between him and my sister. “What—”

But before I can even finish my question, his phone starts ringing, and I remember that it's his emergency ringtone.

Gabe looks at his phone. “There’s a fire. I gotta go.” He looks out at our family, and they’ve all stopped what they’re doing and are now looking anxiously at him. We all worry when he gets a fire call. “See you guys later. Keep working, Cole! You’re a natural, and if you keep it up, you’ll be following this guy into the big leagues.”

He gives a longing look at Chrissy and then is headed out the door. All of us are quiet, and I’m sure we’re each saying our own prayers for his safety.

They are just getting back into the game when Cat walks out in cut-off shorts and a tank top, holding a pink glove.

“Pink?” I ask her.

She smiles up at me. “It’s cute, right? ”

Before I can tell her she’s the one that’s cute, Cole hollers for her to join them.

For the first time, I’m glad I have to sit out because I can stay here and watch Cat. There’s something about the way she smiles and laughs. She gives a hundred percent, and when she dives for a ball and misses, she gets right up and chases after it. My family is totally rooting for her, and she's won them all over in no time.

It’s crazy because if she was anyone else, I would be trying to figure out how to get her out of here. But with Cat, I’m wondering how long I can keep her and Cole here. It doesn’t make sense to me, but I will not question it. I’m just going to enjoy it while I can.