“Sure am. See you there?”
“Wouldn’t miss it. Bring your A-game,” he ordered.
“You too.”
She shook her head as she turned back to Asher, who had watched the exchange with folded arms.
“What?” she asked, self-conscious. “He knows I’m teasing. He likes it.”
“I know.” Asher headed toward the pool, Eliana beside him. “A lot of people here treat the residents like they’re children. They talk to them in a different tone of voice and can be really condescending.”
“I’ve seen it,” Eliana said. For the most part, all the workers at The Palms were respectful and lovely, but several spoke to her grandma like she was a three-year-old, and honestly, it was insulting.
“I like that you don’t. If you could refrain from hurting the octogenarians, though, I’d appreciate it.”
She cut her gaze to him and bumped her bare shoulder into his sun-warmed arm with a laugh.
Chapter 18
AsherapproachedEliana’sfamily’stable with a pitcher of ice-cold lemonade that Winnie pushed into his hands to deliver.
“Thank you!” everyone called out as they refilled their empty glasses. Eliana scooted over on the bench and patted the seat beside her.
“Come sit before Grandma sees that you’re free. She’s had you working nonstop all morning.” After refereeing the volleyball game, he’d also reffed the basketball game and had been tapped in to participate in the three-legged race. He would love nothing more than to jump into the pool, but the idea of playing chicken with one of the residents wasn’t appealing, so he’d volunteered to ref again.
“Thanks.”
Julia grabbed an empty glass and filled it with lemonade for him, which he gratefully took. Eliana slid half of her sandwich toward him, along with her uneaten chips. “Do you like turkey?” she asked.
“Yes, but I can get my own.”
“No. You can’t. She’ll see you and next thing you know, you’ll be setting up the obstacle course for this afternoon.”
He nodded in acknowledgment as his stomach growled. He was pretty hungry. He took a bite of her sandwich. Eating from someone else’s plate was an almost intimate activity.
The Peters’ family members were all givers. They gave without thought, and even more, they often seemed to notice when someone needed something before it was even asked. They were also a touchy bunch—always hugging and linking arms and sitting right beside one another. For them, it was like second nature, but for him—who could go weeks without touching someone—he always noticed it.
For a moment, he allowed himself to imagine what life might be like if he had a family like theirs. But that thought path was too raw to travel, so he took another huge bite of the sandwich. Bruno hadnotmade this—it tasted like a grocery store special.
Cameron rested his head on the table with a groan. Though the sun was covered by a huge, striped umbrella above them, the heat of the day had firmly set in.
“What’s wrong?” Eliana scratched his back and shared a concerned look with Asher. The morning had sped by with a game of basketball in the pool—which Eliana had dominated, of course—and a three-legged race that had left Cameron red-faced and panting.
Eliana’s mom placed her hand on Cameron’s forehead. “He’s burning up. Are you feeling sick, Cam?”
Cameron groaned in response. He’d been losing energy all morning, but Asher had assumed it was the sun and exertion getting to him. Now Asher wished he’d kept a better eye on him.
Eliana rested her head on Cameron’s shoulder. “I was sick with a bug last week that was pretty bad. I hope he didn’t catch it.” Eliana worried her lip between her teeth.
Asher caught himself just before he confirmed how bad it had been. Her family would wonder how he knew that. As it was, he kept getting glances from her family, and he knew they were burning with questions.
“I hope so too.” Eliana’s mom frowned and turned to her husband. “I think we need to call it a day. He needs to shower and rest.”
“Sounds good to me.” Her dad stood, followed quickly by Julia and Logan.
“We should go too,” Julia said, concern pulling her brows low. “If something’s going around, I want to get as much done as I can before I get sick.”
Eliana stood to give her family all a hug. Her dad and Logan patted Asher on the shoulder as they walked past him, and Julia gave him a quick side hug, even though they’d only met a few times. Then it was just him and Eliana, shoulder to shoulder at an empty table, sharing a plate of food.
