I move to sit beside Allyson, me and Cooper bookending our girl. He looks over at me, and I expect a friendly smile. Instead, he offers a me narrow-eyed look of examination. “My mom’s pretty awesome, yeah?”
His voice is flat, nothing how the sweet statement should sound.
I dip my chin in agreement as Allyson admonishes him in surprise. “Cooper! Be nice.” Even she heard the adversarial tone in her son’s voice which seems wholly at odds with the good time we’ve had today.
He looks down like he’s ashamed, but I see him swallow as he eyeballs my hand holding Allyson’s. We did this at their kitchen table not too long ago, and then it’d been Allyson I thought was going to freak out. Seems like it’s Cooper’s turn now. Guess he’s caught on to the seriousness of my feelings toward his mom, way beyond more than just dating, and is feeling a bit protective.
I like it. I lay my arm over Al’s shoulders and offer Cooper a handshake, looking him in the eye. “I couldn’t agree more. She’s the absolute best. You too.”
I must pass some test because he smiles easily after shaking my hand. It’s a good, firm shake just like we practiced on that first day of practice, which makes me proud.
The tension passes, and we all relax into each other. Cooper leans on Allyson and she leans on me, both of her guys holding one of her hands. With the parents and kids around us, it feels like our first official family outing.
A while later, when yawns have gotten more frequent and longer, we set up a big tarp with sleeping bags. We’d thought individual tents would be time-consuming, and honestly, part of the attraction of sleeping outside is the beauty of the sky above you, the night stars, and sunrise.
The kids fall asleep quickly, the parents taking a while longer even after the long day. Way off in the distance, I hear the Gator’s engine and wonder who’s driving around this late at night. I scan the group, seeing my brothers and the Bennett boys. Their women went home for the night, Katelyn to sleep in her bed and Sophie to care for Cindy Lou, and Mama Louise said her old bones wouldn’t pull ground-sleeping duty anymore.
That leaves . . . Shayanne?
The engine dies still some way away, but when I listen closely, I can hear footsteps walking through the tall grass toward us.
Shayanne comes into view, a worried look on her face, which sets off my alarm bells. I raise my hand, waving it around so she can see me in the fading light of the fire. She comes over, squatting down to whisper, “Hey, I need you up in the barn for something. Come on.”
“What’s wrong?” I ask, hopping up. My brain roars with what could cause her to drag me out of here in the middle of the night. Okay, it’s not even midnight, but still. If there were an animal issue, she’d get Sophie, and for just about anything else, she’d get Brody or Mark. I’m the big fucker she’d get if there were an intruder or if . . . the boys did something. Well, shit.
She doesn’t answer me. Instead, Shay leans forward, looking around me at Allyson. “You too.”
There’s definitely something wrong. Her brows are pulled together and her jaw is tight, but today’s been great as far as I’m aware, so I’m not sure what’s happened. I do a quick headcount to make sure no one has snuck off to see Baaarbara again without supervision, but everyone’s present and accounted for and mostly snoring away.
“Oh, uh . . .okay?” Allyson looks at Cooper uncertainly.
From a few feet away, Michelle lifts her head to whisper, “Go ahead. I’ve got him, and Mike’s here as stand-in coach. We’re good. Go handle Shayanne’s barn emergency.” She hums quietly. “Would that make it a barnmergency?”
I blink in confusion and grab Allyson’s hand instead of figuring Michelle’s brain out. We walk back through the grass, fighting to keep up with Shayanne’s pace, and that’s saying something because one of my strides is roughly equal to two of hers. “Shay, what’s wrong?”
“Shh. Just come with me,” she whispers over her shoulder, never missing a step. Once we reach the Gator, she climbs in the driver’s seat, still silent as a church mouse, which is making me antsy. Shay ain’t quiet, ever. She’s mouthy as a rule, just like the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
The engine roar is loud as fuck in the quiet night, and I realize why she parked so far away. She would’ve woken up the whole camp if she’d come any closer. But she takes off into the dark with ease, knowing the land like the back of her hand and making a direct beeline for our barn.