“That checks out. I can tell.”
I set him down, and he immediately grabs my hand, pulling me toward the family room.
“C’mon. Let’s wrestle.” He turns and runs, and I pretend to lag behind him.
We tumble onto the rug. He climbs on my back like he’s Alex Honnold free-climbing El Capitan.
I groan dramatically. “I’m under attack! Someone call for backup!”
Kevin barks, and Bill circles us like a tiny security guard. Grayson tries to get me in a headlock, but his arm is too small. I pretend to struggle, though, and Grayson strains with his effort. When he starts to tire, I make an elaborate escape and pin him down but then let him out as soon as he attempts a Granby roll. He collapses into giggles and flops beside me, breathless.
“I win,” he says.
“You always do.”
After a minute, he runs off to show Kevin a plastic dinosaur he brought.
I push myself up and go back into the kitchen. Noah looks at me and frowns.
“What’s up with you?”
I groan. “Am I that obvious?”
Grandma Nancy gestures toward me like she’s presenting evidence in court. “He’s had a big day.”
Noah keeps watching me, and everyone else starts filling in the blanks.
Dad exhales. “Tully ran into Lola.”
Noah’s brows draw together slightly. “Lola.Really.”
He’s a man of few words, my brother.
“In the garden,” Grandma Donna adds.
“At the resort,” Dad clarifies.
Noah nods once, absorbing.
Then Dad adds, “She’s here with Patrick Martin.”
I mutter, “PatrickfuckingMartin.”
Both grandmas sigh at the language, but neither corrects me, a sure sign that they know I don’t need the pile-on.
Noah’s mouth tightens. He leans one shoulder against the wall.
“You okay?” he asks. “She did a number on you.”
“I’m a little shaken up.”
He nods. “Did you talk to her?”
“A little. I gave her a ride to the resort from The Loon. She…she apologized before she got out of the car.”
This causes an uproar.
“You didn’t tell us that. What else did she say?” Grandma Nancy demands.
