“Funny, Mom. Real funny.”
Nathan stood and watched her. Tara cradled the phone against her chest.
“Do you mind?”
“You listened while I was talking to him.”
“You’re not dating him.”
Nathan rolled his eyes. “What-ever.” He left the room and headed upstairs.
“Hi.”
Mick laughed. “Hi, yourself. Sounds like he had a good time at football camp.”
“I suppose he did. I was mauled by the players when he got off the bus. Apparently he told them I was dating you, so now I’m very cool.”
“How nice for you. So now they want to go out with you?”
Now she laughed. “Uh, no. Now they all want to come over for dinner when you’re here. They want nothing to do with me.”
“I’ll try to hit one of their practices, if you don’t think Nathan’s coach would mind.”
“I think Nathan’s coach would probably fall all over you in gratitude.”
“What have you been up to?”
“Working. You?”
“Same. I was wondering if you and Nathan were free this weekend.”
“I’ve got nothing on the calendar. I can check with Nathan, but I’m sure he doesn’t. Why?”
“I’d like to fly you to Saint Louis.”
“Saint Louis. Why?”
“It’s my hometown and where my family lives. No big thing, but it’s my brother Gavin’s birthday. There’s a party. He has a home game Saturday afternoon, then there’s a party at my parents’ bar that night. Thought you both might like to come.”
As usual, Mick’s lifestyle made her head spin. “Um, wow. Let me think about this for a minute.”
“It’s okay if you can’t make it. I understand it’s last minute, but they like to throw these things together at the drop of a hat. So if you don’t want to come—”
“No, it’s not that at all. Let me call you back, okay?”
“Sure.”
She hung up, her pulse jacked up and her heart rate accelerating. Meeting his parents and his brother? With her son along? This was all moving so fast. And maybe it didn’t mean anything at all. Maybe he brought women to meet his family all the time, and it was no big deal to him, so she was blowing this out of proportion. And it was a Major League Baseball game. Nathan would enjoy the chance to fly out to Saint Louis and see the game and meet Gavin. Why deny him that opportunity just because she thought the whole deal had ramifications that it probably didn’t?
“Hey, Nathan? Can you come down here?”
He opened his door and leaned over the railing. “What?”
“Come down here. I need to ask you a question.”
“What did I do now?”
She sighed. Why did everything with teenagers have to be so difficult?
You know why. You were one once.
“You didn’t do anything.”
He came down the stairs and lingered there.
“Mick asked if we’d like to fly to Saint Louis for the weekend. It’s his brother’s birthday. His family is having a party for him after his game Saturday afternoon.”
Nathan’s eyes widened. “Are you shi—are you kidding me?”
“No, I’m not kidding you. Would you like to go? We’d go to Gavin’s game Saturday, too.”
“Oh, man. That is just so cool. You said yes, right?”
“No. I wanted to talk to you first to make sure you’d want to go.”
Nathan slumped his shoulders, then rolled his eyes. “Dude. Mom. Call him back. Say yes. Now, before he changes his mind.”
MICK WAS BRINGING A WOMAN HOME TO MEET HIS FAMILY. And not just a woman, but a woman and her son.
He’d never done it before, and he wasn’t sure why he was doing it now, other than when his sister Jenna called him about the party for Gavin, his first thought had been to bring Tara and Nathan with him. He’d never wanted to do that before. He’d always gone home alone, because his parents were always after him to settle down and find a woman to share his life with. If he brought a woman with him, there’d be constant questions about whether she was “the one.” He never wanted to deal with that.
Christ. What was he thinking? This was going to be pure hell.
And yet he liked the idea of having them with him.
He had to be out of his goddamned mind.
“So you grew up here?” Nathan asked as Mick headed south on the highway from the Saint Louis airport.
“Yes. Spent my entire life here until college.”
“Then you went to University of Texas, where San Francisco drafted you number six.”
Mick laughed. “You do follow your football players, don’t you?”
“I know a lot about the players I like in the sports I follow. Which means I know a lot about you and your brother.”
“I’m honored. Gavin will be, too.”
“Tell me about your brother,” Tara asked.
“Not much to tell. He’s two years younger than me, decided he liked baseball better than football. He’s a giant pain in my a—uh—butt.”
Nathan snorted. “She’ll make you put money in the cuss jar if you don’t watch your language.”
Mick skirted his gaze to Tara. “A cuss jar, huh?”
Tara looked over her shoulder at Nathan. “A quarter for every cuss word. The jar is getting very full.”
“You’ve put some quarters in there, too, haven’t you, Mom?”
She looked straight ahead instead of at Nathan or Mick. “I guess I have.”
Mick laughed. “Well, we’re going to have to have a quarter-free weekend, because my family is Irish, and you’re going to hear a lot of cussing at the family bar. Cover your ears, Nathan.”
“I’ll do my best not to hear anything I’m not supposed to.”
Tara snorted. “Yeah, right.”
“It’s pretty here. I like it. Everything’s green.”
“It’s supposed to be green in the summer.”
“Where we live the hills are all brown.”
Nathan was right, Tara thought. It was beautiful here. Lush and green and summery. And it was hot and humid here, but Tara loved it. She loved the feel of the city as they drove down the highway. It felt homey, like a small city within a large metropolis.
“This is really beautiful,” she said as Mick turned off the highway into a residential neighborhood of thick trees and brick homes, well-manicured lawns and wide picture windows—the kind of home she’d love to own someday. Mick pulled into the long driveway of a pale brick home, two stories, with one of those picture windows in the front that she loved so much.
“This is your parents’ house?”
“Yes. I grew up here.”
“How wonderful your parents still live in the same home you lived in as a child. It must give you an amazing sense of security.” She wanted to give that to Nathan, but they’d already moved three times because her economic status had changed. At least it had changed for the better, so she couldn’t complain about that.
She stood and looked at the huge home while Mick and Nathan pulled their suitcases out of the trunk of the rental car. Her heart lodged in her throat. What if they didn’t like her? How many women had he brought here before? She hoped Nathan didn’t burp—or something even worse—in front of his parents.
Mick slipped his arm around her waist. “What are you doing?”
“Girding my loins.”
He laughed and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “This isn’t an inquisition. My family is easy to know and very friendly. You’re going to love them, and they’re going to love you and Nathan. Quit worrying.”
Her son obviously didn’t have a shy or worried bone in his body, since he was already dragging their luggage ahead of Mick. That’s what she loved about her kid. No fear and full of adventure.
She’d been fearless and adventurous once, too, and look where it had gotten her—pregnant at fifteen.
The double doors flung open, and two people came out, one a tall, slightly thicker version of Mick, with a shock of salt-and-pepper hair, and a slender, petite woman who could not have possibly given birth to Mick. Her red hair was cut short to her chin, and she was just stunning.
“Oh, you’re finally here!” the woman, who must be Mrs. Riley, exclaimed, enveloping Mick in a hug. He picked her up and kissed her cheek.
“Hi, Mom.”
Mr. Riley hugged him, too, and kissed him on the cheek. “Been too long since you’ve been home, Michael.”
Mick grinned, totally comfortable and happy with his parents. Nathan was smiling, too, though obviously a bit bemused at all this affection. Tara laid her hands on her son’s shoulders.
“Come in, come in,” Mrs. Riley said. “It’s so hot outside today. We’ll do introductions inside where it’s cool.”
They walked inside and left their luggage in the entry. The house was definitely older, yet beautiful, all light colors, beige and brown and cream, beautifully decorated, and the rooms oversized with lots of furniture. It looked welcoming and comfortable, not artsy and stiff.
“Come on into the living room and make yourselves at home,” Mrs. Riley said, hugging Tara. “I’m Kathleen, and this is my husband, James, but everyone calls him Jimmy.”
Mick made the introductions. “Mom, Dad, this is Tara Lincoln and her son, Nathan.”
Tara was enveloped in a hug by both of Mick’s parents. Jimmy shook Nathan’s hand, and Kathleen hugged him. “Welcome to our home,” Jimmy said.
“Jimmy, bring out the iced tea I set in the refrigerator. I’m sure everyone’s thirsty. We’ll go sit down.”
Mick took Tara’s hand and led her to an oversized chair for two. Nathan took a seat on the sofa by the window, and Kathleen sat in a chair covered by a quilt.
“Your home is lovely, Mrs. Riley,” Tara said.
“Call me Kathleen, or I’m not likely to answer you,” Kathleen said.
“All right,” Tara said with a laugh. “Kathleen.”
“Thank you. Mick and Gavin keep trying to buy us some big new fancy house, but we love this old place and don’t want to move. We had the kids in this house. It’s home to us and always will be.”
“Besides, it will give me something to work on when I retire,” Jimmy said as he brought the tray filled with tea. Kathleen passed out glasses, and Tara took a long swallow.
“And when’s that going to be, Dad? Never?”
Jimmy laughed. “Who’s going to run the bar for me? Jenna?”
“She does that now, doesn’t she?” Mick asked.
“She gives lip to all the customers.”
“And they love every insult she hurls at them,” Kathleen said.
“Jenna is my sister,” Mick explained. “She bartends at Riley’s, our family bar and restaurant. Mostly a bar, but we also serve sandwiches. Big sports bar, really.”
“Oh, fun. So do you have multiple screens to show all the games?” Nathan asked.
Jimmy nodded. “Can’t miss my boys’ games while I’m workin’, now can I? And it’s a big draw for customers. We have the main big screen over the bar, then multiple small screens to show whatever else is on. Baseball, football, hockey, basketball, NASCAR, soccer. You name it, we’ll have it on.”
“Awesome.” Nathan turned to Tara. “Will I be able to get in?”
Tara lifted her gaze to Jimmy. “I don’t know. Can he?”
“Sure, as long as he doesn’t go to the main bar because he’s not twenty-one. But he can sit in the restaurant portion. There’s even some video games in there for the kids.”
“Rockin’,” Nathan said. “Can’t wait to see it. So do you have all your sports trophies from when you were in high school and college and stuff?”
“You mean the hall of fame room? Yeah, unfortunately, it’s all here in the shrine.”
“The shrine?” Tara asked, laughing.
“It’s not a shrine,” Kathleen scoffed. “What do you want us to do with the trophies and awards you and Gavin won? Box them up and throw them in the attic?”
“Actually, that’s a great idea. I can take care of that while I’m here.”
Kathleen waved her hand. “Don’t be ridiculous.” She turned to Nathan and Tara. “Would you like to see them?”
“Yeah!” Nathan said.
“I’d love to see them.” Tara stood.
Mick pulled at her hand. “You don’t have to go see them.”
“I want to.”
“Ugh.”
She laughed and followed Kathleen upstairs.
Mick was right. It was like a shrine, but it was very sweet. There were trophies and pennants dating back to grade school. Everything from peewee football and T-ball all the way to the awards both the brothers had won in college, tucked away in what looked to be a room now used as an office, since there was also a desk and a computer.
The pride on Mick’s parents’ faces was evident as they stood by and beamed while they pointed out what each of the guys had won each particular trophy for. Mick, meanwhile, just looked damned uncomfortable, which Tara also found incredibly charming. There were also trophies for Jenna for gymnastics, dance, field hockey, and softball.
Clearly an athletic family.
“Wow. All your stuff is just bangin’ awesome,” Nathan said, ogling Mick’s college awards. “You worked hard, huh?”