Evan let his mouth drop open. “Me?”
“Yes, you.” She was laughing as she said, “You were our little prankster. Remember that time you put a frog in my apron pocket?”
“That was because you made us all watch The Sound of Music.” He looked around the coffee table, grinning as he said, “Seriously. Five teenage boys watching Maria flirt with Captain von Trapp?”
“So you’re saying Evan was incorrigible?” Kelsey asked.
Susan nodded happily. “Totally.”
He looked at Paige. “You’ve known me all these years. You could defend me, you know.”
“Actually,” Paige said with a wicked little grin, “I’d rather Susan and Bob tell us more stories about their little prankster.”
It turned out there was no end to the mischief Evan had caused.
There was the time he’d put the goldfish in the toilet while he cleaned the fishbowl. “How was I supposed to know Matt wasn’t going to look down?”
And the time he painted the windows shut. “Daniel was the one who was good with his hands. No one told me I was supposed to tape first.”
“And what about when you put the hammer through the wall while you were hanging a picture for me?” Susan’s smile was fond with the memory.
“The walls were like tissue paper,” Evan protested. “The hammer just followed the nail right through.”
“And you didn’t know your own strength,” Bob added.
“Exactly. But how did you two know about that? Daniel helped me patch it up so it looked like new.”
Susan laughed. “Lyssa.”
“That little tattletale,” Evan grumbled, but there was light in his eyes for the youngest Spencer. All the Mavericks had a soft spot for her.
Paige wondered if those small incidents had been Evan’s way of acting out like a normal kid—especially considering he’d grown up with a father who wouldn’t let the slightest transgression pass, even if it was an accident. If so, Susan and Bob had taken it all in stride. They told the vignettes with a smile, a laugh, and, from Susan, sometimes a little swat at Evan. Meanwhile, he and Tony kept racking up the points on their Yahtzee scorecards.
“I’m so glad Evan had such a wonderful family to live with.” Theresa clutched the cup to her chest before she shook out the dice.
Susan’s eyes softened with emotion. “We’re so glad to have you and Tony and Kelsey with us now too.”
Susan had more than enough love to share. She would never be jealous of Theresa’s sudden return.As for Evan, he didn’t seem to be as tense or upset. Paige wanted to believe he was enjoying this. But what did he truly feel?
She longed to get him alone to find out. Longed just to be alone with him. Even though that was bound to be impossible this weekend with family all around.
Still, she had faith that more magic would happen between them soon. Magic so powerful that he wouldn’t be able to walk away this time.
In the meantime, she was delighting in all the things she was learning about him. With their scorecards almost filled and Evan neck and neck with Tony, the intensity of the game punched up. There was whooping and hollering with every throw.
“I’ve still got a really good chance against you two,” Kelsey groused as she took her throw. And came up with zilch.
“Hah!” Tony crowed.
She leaned over to rap his arm lightly. “I’ll get you next time.” Paige sensed the love there, the deep twin bond.
Then it was Evan’s turn. “You’re going down, dude,” he boasted to Tony as he shook and threw, then punched the air when he rolled four fives. “Gotcha.”
“No way. I still beat you.” Tony pointed to his scorecard, then Evan’s, and punched the air too.
“Let me double-check.” Kelsey grabbed the two cards.
“Now don’t cheat just because he’s your brother,” Evan warned.
She wrinkled her nose at him. “You’re my brother too.”
Evan leaned in. “But he’s your twin,” he emphasized.
The three siblings were so easy with each other, as if they’d known one another for years. Evan laughed and joked and teased. God, it was so good to see him smile, especially with his family. Paige caught Susan’s eye, and she was sure she saw the mist of happy tears there. This trip had truly been an engineering masterpiece. Even Theresa was smiling as she gazed at all three of her children.
“I declare it a tie,” Kelsey said. “And we’re going to need a rematch so I can beat the pants off both of you.”
They were all competitive, but what Maverick wasn’t? Tony and Kelsey clicked with Susan, Bob and Evan as if they’d been born Mavericks.
With the game finished, Susan announced, “I’m starving. Let’s take a dinner break.” Then she said that she and Bob were going to make grilled cheese sandwiches.
“My favorite,” Evan said as he hugged her off her feet. “I’ll help you.”
As the two of them headed off to the kitchen, Paige watched Theresa, looking for signs of jealousy over Evan’s relationship with his foster mom. It would be natural, as much as it would be a consequence of her own actions.
“I’m very glad you and the twins came,” Paige said as an icebreaker.
Theresa turned, a sheen in her eyes. “I am too. Susan and Bob took such good care of him. He obviously loves them very much.”