The sound of a car engine outside drew me out of my thoughts. I pulled back the curtain in the kitchen window, peeking out just in time to see Callum’s truck pulling into the driveway. Swigging down the rest of my coffee, I wondered how exactly I was supposed to follow my mom’s advice and stop being an overthinker.
I had been overthinking the issue ever since that conversation we’d had. I just didn’t know how to not to analyze. To calculate. It was who I was. Who I always had been.
That was what had made me so good at diving. It required extensive planning, mastering complex routines, and a ton of strategy in dive selection. I’d studied mathematics, for heaven’s sake, not philosophy.
Yet, as I watched Callum climb out of his gleaming truck with a tray of takeout coffee in one hand and a grease-stained paper bag in the other, I had to admit, his strategy with Brody had worked. He’d ripped off the band-aid, and my boy was just fine.
Brody opened the door for him now, beaming. Callum strode in, grinning at us like this was the most natural thing in the world. “Delivery. Anyone order a breakfast sandwich?”
“Me!” Brody’s hand shot up as he followed Callum to the kitchen. “Is it bacon and maple syrup?”
“With egg,” Callum confirmed, smiling and walking right over to brush the lightest of kisses to my cheek. “I also have a chocolate chip croissant in here with your name on it.”
“Be still, my beating heart,” I teased, but also, not really. Pushing away from the counter, I helped him unpack breakfast, giving his hand a quick squeeze while Brody unwrapped his sandwich. “You’re spoiling us.”
He shrugged, sliding his arm around my hips and tugging me into him for just a moment. “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
“I don’t like that song,” Brody muttered around a mouthful of food. “Grandpa loves it, though.”
“Eat first, baby,” I said. “You can talk when you’re finished chewing.”
He groaned but made quick work of his sandwich. I accepted my coffee and croissant, but I’d barely finished eating by the time they were racing toward the truck. Eventually, I took the coffee with me, content to sip it on our way to the rink while Callum psyched Brody up for the game.
When we got there, however, I was surprised to find a cluster of familiar faces waiting near the entrance. My eyes went wide as I twisted to stare at Callum. “Your brothers are here.”
“Yep,” he said cheerfully, that dark hair flopping over his forehead like he was the coolest kid in school. “Their wives, too. They wanted to be here to support Brody.”
“Awesome,” he shouted from the back seat, then sprinted toward the locker room as soon as we were out of the truck.
When he passed the Westwoods, he held out his hand like he was running out of the locker room and expecting high-fives, and every last one of them obliged. All I could do was shake my head, my cheeks a little flushed by the time we reached them.
“I’m so sorry about that,” I said immediately, mostly to Laney and Sadie. Sterling scared me a little and I honestly didn’t know what to make of Jameson. “Did he at least say hi?”
“Who has time to say hi?” Jameson asked, grinning. “He got his good luck high-fives. That’s all he needs. Hey, who’s hungry?”
“Me,” Callum said immediately, pulling each of his sisters-in-law into a quick hug before he and Jameson practically stormed the concession stand with Sterling in tow.
I stared after them, feeling painfully out of place until Sadie suddenly took my arm and started guiding me toward the stands. She smiled happily as Laney took my other arm. “Don’t worry about them. They’ll buy at least half the concession stand?—”
“Or the actual stand itself,” Laney added.
Sadie inclined her chin and shot Laney a grin. “True. Or that. Either way, there’ll be enough snacks for us too. I just really hope Jamie gets me a slushie. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve had one of those?”
“It’s freezing in here,” Harrison piped up from behind us. I hadn’t even realized he wasn’t with his brothers. “Do you really want a slushie?”
Sadie glanced at him over her shoulder, grinned, and then pointed at her slightly swollen belly. “I have built-in heating these days. Bring on winter, and bring on that slushie.”
“I’d better go tell him.” Harrison darted away and Sadie giggled, checking to make sure he was gone before she sighed. “Do you think he’s figured it out yet?”
I frowned. “Figured what out?”
“That he’s next,” Laney said.
My eyes widened. “Do you really think so? Isn’t he only in his early twenties?”
“Yep.” Sadie released my arm when we reached the stands, half-turning to keep speaking to us while she climbed. “Harlan’s serious about all this, though. He’s not even going to let Harrison get out of it.”
“Do you really think so?” I couldn’t imagine that. “He’s the baby of the family.”
