The young man appeared promptly in the doorway, his broad shoulders filling it. His gaze went straight to Charlie, who burbled happily. Someone loved his daddy, that was for sure. “What can I do?”
“Take the stuffing and potatoes to the table, please.”
Kerry and Charlie went to the far side of the kitchen and got out of the way as the counter was cleared of bowls mounded high with food. She watched as Owen carefully carved the turkey and arranged it on a platter, issuing directives to his daughter’s boyfriend like the drill sergeant she knew he sometimes was. Before she knew it, everyone was gathering in the living room again, where the couch had been pushed up against the window to make room for an extra long table extension. Becca sat at one end, Hayden beside her and then Seth and Josh finishing that side. Owen was at the other end of the table, next to Josh, and Kerry sat next to him. Adam took the seat next to her, and Will sat beside him, stealing Charlie on his way to his chair.
They played musical baby as the bowls of food were passed around, and once everyone had a full plate in front of them, Owen raised his glass in a toast.
“Happy Thanksgiving,” he said, his voice rich and warm. “I say this every year, but I am grateful for this family, and I mean it more this year than ever before. Each and every one of you is special to me. Now eat up.”
Kerry pressed her lips together, unexpectedly emotional. That wasn’t the plan. The plan was cranberry sauce and artisanal turkey, and being grateful for the sweetest, sexiest friendship she didn’t see coming. Nothing more. “Here here,” she said as they clinked glasses.
After they’d all made the right noises, because every single bite was delicious, the conversation went from the formal toast to little noisy pockets of conversation at every corner of the table. Owen asked Kerry how the delivery went, and she gave him the briefest of highlights. She asked about the dry brine, because holy cow did that make a difference to the taste of the bird, and then he shared that Adam had gotten into fire school.
“Really,” she said, turning to give Adam a bigyay, you told him!smile.
Adam grinned. “Kerry already knew.”
Owen laughed. “What?”
She made a face. “Yeah, he told me a week ago. I caught him at the diner, stewing over the admission letter.”
Owen scooped her hand in his and kissed her fingers. “And you kept his secret?” She nodded as Owen smiled at her, the corners of his eyes crinkling in approval. “Good girl.”
It was the kind of thing she might have bristled at from another man, in another setting, but from Owen, knowing he appreciated her respecting his brother’s personal space, it warmed her to her core.
At the other end of the table, Seth was telling Becca a harrowing tale of a rough landing, and she just kept shaking her head. “Nope, nope, nope. That’s insane, Uncle Seth! I can’t believe you.”
Hayden said something about it putting the risks of hockey in perspective, and then Kerry’s attention was dragged back to Owen.
That’s how the whole meal went. Snippets of conversation, and then she’d find herself staring at the host, the patriarch of a misfit family. A big man with bigger feelings, she thought.
They took a backyard break while Becca and Hayden cleaned up before dessert. Kerry gamely joined in as they played three on three touch football. Owen was on the opposite team, the quarterback, and she did her gamest best to cover him despite the fact he was twice her size. In the end, she resorted to dirty tricks—dirty talk, muttered under her breath, about the fact she was free for the night and all the things she planned to do to thank him for the delicious meal—to distract him from his goal.
He still made the throw, and Josh scored a touchdown for their team.
Kerry’s team came back, though, and it was tied up when Becca called them back in for dessert.
“The best possible finish,” Will said diplomatically.
Owen caught Kerry with a big bear hug from behind. “We’ll continue this later,” he whispered in her ear.
She looked forward to it.
* * *
Owen’s familyleft in waves. The brothers first. Josh, because he had work to do in the garage, and he took Seth and Adam with him for free manual labour. Then Will, after he helped pack up leftovers for everyone.
And finally Becca and Charlie in his bucket seat, being carried by Hayden.
“I didn’t really get enough Charlie cuddles,” Kerry said once everyone was gone and Owen had pulled her onto the couch for a grown-up cuddle of his own. “He’s very cute. And everyone got along…”
Owen chuckled. “Is that a sideways observation that I didn’t growl too much at Hayden?”
“Maybe. I mean, I noticedsomegrowling, but…” She giggled at the look on Owen’s face.
“He’s all right. He’s trying.”
She nodded.
