Joel takes off, leaving me in his dust. Maybe I should have seen it coming, given I did the same thing to Murph, but I didn’t expect the universe to serve up karma quite that fast.
Laughing, I cup my hands around my mouth and shout after him. “Seriously! We were supposed to be a team.”
“Tomorrow, baby. Today, victory ismine,” Joel laughingly yells back, closing in on Murph, who turns around and takes off as Ben laughs and clings onto Murph’s head.
Murph is surprisingly fast, even with Ben on his shoulders. I suspect Joel being so slow has more to do with wanting to make Ben laugh than with not being fast enough to catch up to them. Me? I’m as bad a runner as I’ve always been, and have more fun watching and cheering Joel on than trying to beat anyone.
We’re still out in the backyard when Win gets home from work at 4:30, just as I’m getting ready to head inside and throw together an easy dinner.
“Hey! I thought you were working late today,” I call out to him as he jogs down the porch steps, a large brown paper bag in one hand and a rolled orange blanket in the other.
He greets me with a hug and seems surprised at the kiss I give him, then lifts the takeout bag. “Nico told me to get home and enjoy the rest of the afternoon with an easy dinner. Absolutely nothing in here is healthy or green. It’s burgers, fries, sodas, and apple pie for dessert.”
Murph sets Ben on his feet, and they all hurry toward us.
“Win!” Ben grins when he sees him, telling him almost too fast to be understood all about the race he and Murph won.
Joel and I look at each other and shake our heads. The crowing has already begun.
Win grins back. “Hey, little man. I saw! That’s awesome.”
“You brought food!” Joel takes the bag from Win and sticks his nose in, inhaling loudly. “Smells good. I’m starving.”
“I thought we could eat out here,” Win suggests.
We have a few hours before it gets dark, so there’s no reason not to enjoy the nice, mild weather and eat outside.
“Sounds good to me,” I say. “And here is fine.”
Murph takes the blanket from Win and lays it out on the grass. “Do I need to grab napkins or anything else from the kitchen?”
Win shakes his head, and we all settle on the blanket as Joel pulls food from the bag. “There are napkins, and the soda is in cans, so unless anyone wants a glass with ice, we have everything we need.”
“No dishes mean no washing. I can live with that,” I say.
“You and me both,” Win agrees, toasting me with his can of soda.
Joel rubs his hands together. “Then let’s eat.”
Chapter 21
Rose
Something brushes my cheek.
My eyes snap open.
Murph is crouched beside me.
I haven’t seen him since our dinner in the backyard, which was followed by Ben asking Joel to read him a story and Murph to make all the animal sounds to go with it.
Me? I sat my tired ass on his bedroom floor with my head on Win’s shoulder and his arm around me, listening until I fell asleep, right alongside Ben.
Instead of joining Murph, Joel, and Win downstairs for another movie before bed, I thought an early night after a relaxing soak sounded like a good idea. I must have conked out soon after I climbed into my lovely, strawberry-and-coconut foam-smelling bath.
“What time is it?” I ask.
“Ten. I saw the door open when I was coming up to bed, and when I knocked, you didn’t answer. You were in real danger, sweetheart.” His voice is so gruff, it’s almost a growl.
