“Yeah,” I say quietly. My stomach rolls with uncertainty. “Happy birthday.”
My father releases me. “Can we talk?”
There’s no hint of anger in his voice, yet I’m confused. I thought he was still mad at me. “Yeah, of course,” I nod, my heart hammering harder. And then the front door slams.
“Hey, fam,” Theo shouts from the foyer as he comes strolling into the kitchen. “Hope I’m not late.”
He hugs my mom and waves to the other mothers.
“Theo!” Lucy runs over to him, both of their laughter filling the air as she jumps into his arms. Growing up, Lucy and Theo were inseparable and their friendship didn’t stop after we all became adults. He swings her around, setting her down as he kisses the top of her head and they go their separate ways.
He strolls over to the table. “Coach,” he says, nodding at Uncle Caleb before addressing everyone else. “Happy birthday, Mr. Carson.”
“Thanks, Theodore.”
My eyebrows tug together. “You didn’t tell me you’d be here.”
Theo shrugs with indifference as he pulls out an empty chair. “You didn’t ask.”
I had been trying to put this birthday celebration out of my mind so I didn’t end up overthinking it like I normally do.
“Where are Nash and Riley?”
Nash is Theo’s stepfather who played with my dad and the rest of the guys. He met Theo’s mom when she was pregnant and is the only father Theo’s ever known.
“My dad’s at the game with Ryland and Chase, and my mom was having a POTS flareup, so she stayed home.”
Ryland is Theo’s younger brother. He’s the same age as Bella and they’re both sophomores in college.
“Alright, everyone, come help yourself to food. We’ll eat first and have cake afterwards.”
My dad rises from his seat, the same time everyone else does, but he walks directly to my mother. A smile tugs on his lips and he wraps his arm around her waist, pulling her close as he quietly says something to her.
She laughs softly, he plants a kiss on her forehead, and they break apart. My father’s always been the hardest on me, but if there’s one thing I can’t say anything bad about, it’s the way he’s always treated my mother.
Andi Ford is the light of his life.
I wonder if he ever thinks about those five years that I was alive and he had no idea I existed.
“Come on, Matty.” Theo throws his arm around the tops of my shoulders. “After that practice Coach put us through, you have to be starving.”
My stomach grumbles as if in response to his statement, and Theo laughs. We file around the island with everyone else, dishing food out onto their plates buffet-style. The house is loud, filled with laughter and flowing conversation, just as it always is whenever our families are together. The seats fill up at the table and around the island in the kitchen. I opt to stand by the counter, taking it all in as my chest warms.
With all the kids grown, some in college and some not living right here in Hillford, it’s not always easy for everyone to show up. We try our best to make it work if we can. There are two non-negotiables every year that everyone has to attend.
Christmas Eve and our annual summer getaway at the beach house.
Our parents all went in on a house together and it’s open for all of us to use whenever we’d like, except for that one week in the summer. That’s when we all show up and spend the entire week as one big, blended family.
There’s a twinge of guilt as my mind drifts to Jade. Her family is all on a different continent. Here I am, surrounded by family—blood and chosen—and she has to get on a plane to fly across the ocean just to see hers.
I can’t even imagine what that must be like for her.
“Did you and Dad make up yet?” Bella says as she slides next to me. I look over at the table as Theo drags Lucy’s chair right next to his.
Pursing my lips, I look at my sister from the corner of my eye. “No.”
“You know, he only has your best interest in mind, right? He wasn’t trying to be a dick. You both blew it out of proportion.”
