Justin’s head broke the surface, his lungs filled with air, and the first thing he did was burst out laughing. The second thing he did was splash all three of the men standing there. Brooke released her own breath—air she hadn’t realized she’d been holding—and her body sagged with relief.
Ellie walked to the pool edge with a towel and waited while the guys dragged Justin out of the water by the arms, then she wrapped the fluffy terry around him. Justin’s face glowed with vibrancy and life and joy.
And tears swelled in Brooke’s eyes out of nowhere.
“You’re tired.” Tammy rubbed her back and walked her a few steps toward the pool, frowning with concern.
“Me? You’re the one who’s been on your feet all day.” She worked up a smile for her sister. “So? How was the first day at the big, fancy teaching hospital? What’s with the different scrubs?”
Tammy’s smile beamed, and she rolled her eyes. “It was amazing. All except the part where my last patient threw up all over me—hence the replacement scrubs.”
The mention of vomit made Brooke’s stomach roll toward her throat. She curved her lips over her teeth and focused on controlling the wash of nausea.
“But I’ll tell you all about it later,” Tammy said as they approached the guys and she thanked Ellie for the towel. She rubbed her son’s wet head. “Time for this one to get to bed.”
“Did you see me, Mom?” Justin chattered with excitement. “The guys taught me…”
Tammy walked back to the table with Justin, Troy, and Wes. Keaton stepped up to Brooke and reached for the zipper of the jacket, tugging it into place. “Cold?”
She snuggled close to him with the first real fear of driving a wedge between them since they’d gotten back together. “A little.”
He turned her toward the house and wrapped an arm around her. “You don’t feel good, do you?”
He didn’t sound particularly alarmed, and Brooke felt guilty. This had suddenly become her new normal, which she neither liked nor could control. They stopped at the t
able where everyone except Tammy was comfortably seated again, opening another round of drinks.
“I’m fine,” she told him, forcing a smile that seemed to drain her strength. “Just tired.”
“I think we all need some good sleep.” Tammy pulled a Renegades logo sweatshirt over Justin’s head and smiled at Brooke. “Ready?”
Brooke hesitated. She hoped she would find a moment to talk with Keaton alone tonight. Between the move, Justin’s school, and Brooke’s, Tammy’s, and Keaton’s schedules, they hadn’t gotten much more than a few stolen moments together.
He’d just returned from a shoot in the Mojave Desert this afternoon and had a new shoot starting tomorrow on the other side of the LA basin. That meant he’d be working sixteen-hour days, six days a week.
Which left Brooke holding this secret time bomb until she saw him again.
That led her to fear and doubt and anxiety of how they would ever make this work. Spiraling into panic that she might have moved her sister and nephew to California only to have her relationship with Keaton fall apart when he found out—
Keaton gave her shoulder a squeeze. “I’ll take her home.”
It took a second for her to untwist her mind only to get confused again. “I live the opposite direction—”
“Yeah, well, I’ve been wanting to talk to you about that.”
He used his foot to angle a chair and eased into it, pulling her onto his lap. Brooke couldn’t look away from his face, from the intensity in his eyes. He was focused in a way that told Brooke this conversation had a very specific purpose. The fact that everyone else was also listening should have been weird. Brooke should have told him they’d talk about it privately, but instead of the others’ presence feeling invasive, it felt supportive. Nurturing. And Brooke realized this was probably a lot like what it felt like to have a big, close family always butting into your business.
God, she understood why Ellie loved it so much. Brooke did too.
He pulled out his wallet, opened the fold, and drew out a key. “I think it’s about time you gave your sister and your nephew some space.” He grinned. “And come crowd me instead.”
Her mouth dropped open, a fist of emotion grabbed her heart, and her eyes instantly blurred with tears.
“Awww,” Ellie said. “That’s so sweet.”
A murmur of agreement passed among the other women while a mess of emotions jumbled with just as many conflicting thoughts.
“Oh my God.” The words came out in a choked whisper, and she covered the tightness at the center of her chest with one hand. Tears spilled over, and embarrassment clouded the joy. She covered her face with both hands and huffed, “I’m sorry.”