Beyond the Play (Out of Reach 3)

“Well, get up, lazybones.”

“I’m up,” I groan.

“Good. Are you coming to Mom and Dad’s for dinner tonight?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Great. Are you bringing Peyton?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t talked to her. Why?” She’s acting weird.

“Can I not miss my little sisters?”

“Your husband is home after being on the road for months. Don’t you have better things to do than bother me?”

“Oh, trust me. Cam and I got some us time.” She laughs.

“I don’t need to hear that, Paisley,” I complain, which only makes her laugh harder.

“Oh, hush. Now, make sure you pick Peyton up and bring her with you.”

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing. I just miss my little sisters.”

“I’m not buying it, Paisley Taylor. Spill.”

She laughs again. It’s a carefree sound that makes me smile too. She’s so happy, and Cameron adores her and their three-year-old son, Jett. My sister fell in love with a man who loves her like our dad loves our mom, and I couldn’t be happier for her. For both of them.

“Well, if you’re that worried that something is wrong, you better be there to find out.”

“To find out what?” I counter.

“Love you, Parker.” She makes a kissing noise, and then the call goes silent.

I’m pulling up my favorites list to call Peyton when my phone rings, and I see the image of my baby sister smiling back at me. “Hey, I was just getting ready to call you.”

“Let me guess, Paisley?” she asks.

“Yep. Did she call you too?”

“No, but she sent me a text that said you were picking me up to take both of us to Mom and Dad’s and that I needed to call you to make sure you were up and moving.”

“It’s noon. Dinner isn’t until five. We have plenty of time,” I assure her.

“I’m guessing she woke you up too?”

“Yep. I didn’t get home until late last night, and it’s Sunday. I’m sleeping in.”

“I think you’ve already slept in, Parker.” She chuckles. “Anyway, I was up late too. Karina and I were making plans for spring break.”

“Nice. However, the planning isn’t going to be the issue. It’s convincing Dad to let you go.”

“Well, I have you, Mom, and Paisley on my side, so I’m sure we can convince him. Besides, you and Paisley have softened him up over the years. I’m not worried.”

“Such confidence, baby sister,” I tease.

“Yeah, yeah. Get your ass moving and come and get me.”

“We have five hours.”

“I want to go early to get some laundry done. It’s so much better than the dorms.”

“Fine. I’ll be there in an hour. Wait, make that two,” I amend, and she chuckles.

“If you’re not here by two, I’m calling Autumn.” It’s a threat that we both know holds merit. Autumn isn’t above dumping water on my head to wake me up. She did exactly that freshman year. However, it was a different circumstance. I’d been up late studying, so when I finally fell asleep and Dad called to tell me that Paisley was in labor, I didn’t hear my phone. Autumn, on the other hand, did. Apparently, she was having a “good” dream, and trust me, you don’t want to know. She was mad she got interrupted and poured a bottle of water I had on my nightstand over my head to wake me up.

“Fine,” I grumble. “I’ll be there.”

“What did you do last night?” she asks.

“Autumn and I met up with some friends at The Outfield.”

“You mean the club and not the actual outfield, right?” She laughs.

“The club.”

“Sucks you have to be twenty-one to get in,” she comments. Peyton is a freshman, and although I know many students who had fake IDs, I’m not going to encourage my baby sister to do so. Besides, I’d never forgive myself if something happened to her because I gave her the access to get it.

“Meh, it’s not all that great. I’m sure you and Karina had more fun hanging out in your dorm.”

“Are you telling me you didn’t have a good time?” she asks.

An image of Holden with his front molded to my back as his hands roamed my body while we were on the dance floor flashes through my mind. “Sure,” I finally admit. “We had a good time, but nothing spectacular happened.”

“No?” she questions. “Was that your twin I didn’t know you had that had Holden Bailey’s hands all over her.”

Deny. Deny. Deny. “That’s crazy.” Not much of a denial, but it’s the best I’ve got.

“I saw the picture. There were a few freshmen there with fakes, and they saw you. They knew you were my sister and texted it to me. In fact.” I hear a beep, and I don’t bother to pull my phone away from my ear. I know she’s sent it to me. “I just sent it.”

“Yeah, we danced,” I confess. I can’t really lie my way out of this one with photographic evidence.