‘Stupid question.’
Griff peeled one off the six-pack he’d brought with him, and tossed it over, smiling as his friend caught it adroitly in one hand.
‘Leaving tomorrow is gonna suck.’ Deke sighed and shoved a hand through his shaggy, blond hair. The occasional gray thread ran through it these days, something his manager had urged him to cover up for the sake of the band’s younger fans. Deke’s response had been blunt and unprintable.
‘We’ll all keep an eye on your family, you know that.’ Griff tried to reassure him. ‘Once you get on stage again, you’ll be okay.’
‘I suppose. When I was a kid growin’ up, I taught myself how to play guitar and spent all my time listening to country music. I loved the way it told stories. Still do. I’d tune in to the Grand Ole Opry on the radio every week and dream of playing there one day. I’ve been fortunate enough to do that many times now and the band was even inducted into the Opry a couple of years ago, which was a huge honor.’ Deke’s face settled in a frown. ‘I’m startin’ to question if the effect it’s having on my family and private life is worth it.’ He drank deeply of his beer.
Griff wasn’t sure how to respond. He was living proof that achieving so-called success wasn’t always what it was cracked up to be.
‘I’m in a self-pitying mood tonight. Ignore me.’ Deke shook his head ‘Why don’t you go in the kitchen and tell the girls the steaks will be about fifteen minutes?’
‘Sure.’ He left his friend tending the meat, but when he pushed open the back door and stepped into the kitchen, Griff seriously considered walking straight out again. The two sisters stood in the middle of the floor, facing off like gunslingers at the O.K. Corral.
‘I could clear the table so we’ve got room to sit down and eat,’ Lyndsey said.
‘I’m sure you could, but Mum promised you’d do whatever I wanted, andI want you to hold Nora,’ Becca tossed back at her.
‘Fine. Pass her over.’
‘We’ve discovered my clever big sister has yet another talent — baby magician.’ Sarcasm oozed out of Deke’s wife. The squirming, tightly swaddled baby was thrust into her aunt’s outstretched arms.
‘That doesn’t surpriseme.Lyndsey strikes me as a very capable woman, and I’m sure there’s a prescribed regimen for putting a cranky baby in itsright place.’ Griff’s humorous emphasis on the last two words, echoed the name of her business. A dark flush of heat raced up Lyndsey’s smooth, rich dark skin. ‘Is there anything I can do to help? Deke said he’d be about fifteen minutes.’
‘You could lay the table, if you like.’
‘No problem.’ He winced as Lyndsey’s expression turned to stone. It pissed her off big time that her sister was happy enough to accepthishelp.
Griff grabbed a couple of dirty plates off the table and added them to the dishwasher before methodically clearing away everything else, stacking papers, baby toys and clothes on the counter. He didn’t dare ask where their proper homes were, because that would kick off another argument.
‘Here you go.’ Becca passed over a stack of mismatched plates. ‘I’m going to drag Theo out of his bedroom.’ She marched off, bristling with determination.
‘I wouldn’t like to be in the kid’s shoes.’
‘Me neither,’ Lyndsey agreed.
‘I never meant to make fun of you earlier. I’m sorry.’
‘Don’t worry about it.’
His gaze fixed on the little girl snuggled against Lyndsey’s body and woefully inappropriate thoughts about doing the same came to mind. It did no damn good whatsoever to tell himself it was nothing more than a case of being celibate too long.
‘Right, the steaks are done.’ Deke strode in carrying a hefty white china platter, and the mouthwatering aroma shifted Griff’s mind off sex to the fact he was ravenous. ‘Where’s my lovely bride?’
‘I’m here.’ Becca hurried in to join them, her stepson trudging along behind like a man going to his execution. ‘You’re starving, aren’t you, Theo?’ Her smile and voice were both a little too bright.
It didn’t take a psychic to sense Deke’s annoyance when the boy stayed stonily silent.
‘Sit by me, Theo.’ Deke’s tone made it clear he didn’t expect an argument. ‘I’ll take Nora, Lyndsey, so you can eat.’ He set the platter down and reached for the sleeping baby.
Griff totally got that his friend wanted time with his new daughter before he left, but Theo’s angry, flashing eyes said his son saw it as another kick in the teeth.
Becca grabbed a pile of cutlery out of the drawer and tossed it on the table for them all to grab.
Before Lyndsey had a chance to sit elsewhere, Griff yanked out two chairs and gestured for her to sit down.
‘No kale salad?’ He reached for the bowl of jacket potatoes. ‘I’m disappointed.’
