Chapter 10
Following the most amazing turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and casserole after casserole that his mother and sister had managed to put together to complete the amazing meal, Damon kicked back in his seat and wondered if he could fit another helping of everything without exploding.
“Jesus, Damon, where do you put it all?” Grace shook her head.
His sister looked damn good. Still full of muscle and sass, she remained sarcastic and funny. A ballbuster and carbon copy of their father.
“I need the protein. Helps my knee recover faster.”
His mom nodded. “Just make sure you save room for pie.”
“Oh, that’ll be no problem.” Not only had he watched his sister fix the pumpkin pie under their mother’s direction. She’d also made an apple pie just for him.
Damon studied the table, wondering if he should wait.
Nah. He loaded up on more turkey and stuffing, smothering his plate in gravy.
“Seriously, dude. You and I are hitting the gym tomorrow.”
“Stop judging me, Grace,” he said with his mouth full. “I’m good to work out if you are. I mean, you’re probably still jet-lagged from all the travel to get here. Gosh. I’m surprised you managed it.”
He learned she’d spent an extra day to herself at a hotel and spa before arriving. Needing an extra burst of fortitude to deal with the parents.
She gave him a look he ignored.
“Man, you guys are such great cooks. Seriously.” He didn’t say much more as he ate, his thoughts turning to what Marlie might be up to with her family.
Last night, after she and Jeff had left, Will, her brother, had cornered him. Instead of begging for hockey tips, he’d asked about Damon’s intent with Marlie.
Damon found he liked the guy. Will had that guy-next-door handsome thing women seemed to like.
Open and charming with a smile that invited others to laugh with him, Will had seemed to know everyone at the party.
Cade gave the guy glowing recommendations.
Not just as an electrician, but as a decent human being.
So Damon had been honest when he’d told Will, “Your sister is hot. She’s a little mean. No way I could ever push her around even if I wanted to. I like her. What’s the problem?”
“She’s not some easy conquest.”
“Buddy, I hate to say it, but easy is boring. And nothing about your sister has been easy since I met her. Besides, she’s a grown woman with a brain. I respect her choice to say yes or no. You should too.”
That seemed to mollify Will enough to relax on the interrogation before turning the conversation to hockey and how they really needed to beat the Flashmans’ team on Sunday.
Damon loved a good rivalry. He liked Deacon Flashman, but Mitch Flashman had been giving him the stink-eye since they’d spoken. Maybe because Damon had been so effusive about his wife’s amazing baking skills. But still, he—
“Yo, bro. What are you thinking so hard about?”
He glanced up at his sister. “Huh?”
His father smirked. “It’s the Sinclair Gift. He’s met your future sister-in-law.”
Damon groaned. “Please, Dad. Stop.”
Grace smirked as well, looking so much like their dad that Damon couldn’t help laughing at the pair of them. “Well, well. Little guy falls hard.”
“You’re just piling on because we don’t know about your personal life.” In a lower voice, Damon added, “Because you ran from home like the scared little girl you are.”
“You got that right.” Grace speared a slice of turkey from his plate.
“Hey.”
She chewed. “Mm-mmm. Man. Mom, you and I make a great team.”
“We do, honey.” Leila grinned. “So what are we cooking tomorrow night?”
“Mom, we’re not having people over tomorrow. I wanted to spend my break with you guys. I don’t have a lot of time before I head back Sunday.”
“Wait. This Sunday?” Leila blinked. “I thought you were here for a week.”
“No. I’m saving my leave for Christmas, so I can come back. I worked this around my ninety-six.” Her four-day government holiday, ninety-six hours of leave.
“Oh, well then. We can see the Flashmans later.”
“Wait. The Flashmans?” Damon perked up at the name. “I met two of them last night at a party. And the guys I’m coaching are playing them Sunday.”
“Yes. Lee and Brenda Flashman are the pair I was hoping to have here for dinner. You must have met their boys, Mitch and Deacon. A lovely family. The boys are married and have children.” She pointedly stared at Grace and Damon.
So Damon turned to his sister and said, “You know, I could have sworn you told me you were interested in someone. Who was it again?”
“Ha ha.”
Their father had heard enough. “Well now, Grace. We haven’t heard enough about you and what you’re up to. We need to schedule a visit to come see you at Camp Pendleton, don’t we, Leila?”
“Just as soon we we’re on the mend. Another month or two, maybe.”
Damon gave his sister a wide smile and two thumbs up.
When his parents looked away from her at him, she dragged her thumb across her throat and glared at him.
Their dad continued, “With the boy finally getting a girl, it’s time to help our oldest find love and settle down.”
“Find love?” Grace sputtered with laughter. “He just met this woman and has his first date tomorrow night. For all you know, she’s crazy.”
Damon sighed. “One can hope. She sure is pretty.”
Big Mike nodded at him. “See? He’s a goner. Now we just need to work on you.”
“I like girls,” she blurted.
Mike didn’t miss a beat. “Good. Find one and bring her home. The playing field is wide open for you, honey.”
“Wide open.” Damon nodded.
Grace looked hunted. “Oh, er, I didn’t know you knew.”
Leila shrugged. “We’re your parents. We know everything. Oh, and the hotel called to let you know you left your credit card behind. That was the phone call you got earlier, not spam. So exactly how much time off do you have for this holiday?”
Grace turned bright red. Damon laughed his fool head off.
Big Mike grinned. “Yeah, never bet against the house. My Leila knows everything.”
An hour later, after he finished washing the dishes and putting all the food away, Damon rejoined his sister by the wood fire in the living room.
She sprawled on the couch. He rested in a recliner. Their parents had adjourned outside for a dip in the hot tub.
They’d all lived in this home for the past twenty years, and the place looked as rustic and warm as it had the day his father and mother had made it their own.
Done in warm shades with wood accents everywhere, the log cabin home sat outside of town in a development that had turned from remote to up-and-coming over the years.
Nestled in the woods, it blended well. Hope’s Turn at Christmastime looked like something off a postcard. And his parents’ home, when dusted with snow, always put him in mind of a winter wonderland.
“Gonna get snow soon,” he said to Grace, feeling sleepy while the fire crackled.
“Yeah.” She yawned. “What time is it?”
He checked his phone, disappointed but not surprised not to see any texts from Marlie. “Close to six.”
“Oh man. We’re getting old. All I want to do is sleep.”
“Hey, Grace. Know any famous people named Dick?”
“Hmm. Dick Clark.”
“Did that one.”
“Dick Cheney?”
“Oh, thanks.” He sent that to Marlie and had to laugh at her immediate response—a clown followed by a rolling eyes emoji.
“Any reason you’re into Dicks?”
“I knew you’d run with that.” He turned his phone face-down on his stomach and straightened out his left knee. “I met a woman. We have a date tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I know. Still not understanding the dick references.”
“She told me not to send her a dick pic. So I’m sending Dick—capital D—pictures.”
“Ah, you’re trying to charm her with that nonexistent wit.”
“Something like that.” Was it working? He sure the hell hoped so. He couldn’t wait to go out with her the next evening. “Where should we go for our first date? I have no idea.”
“Since you’re wooing my future sister-in-law, try not to screw it up. I’d say take her skating, but you can’t with that knee.”
“I could maybe just skate slow.”
“No. Don’t do it.”
He sighed.
“A bar with music would be nice. After dinner.”
“I can do that.”
“Not Stabby’s.”
Well, there went that idea. “Any suggestions?”
“I’ll ask Mom and Dad.”
“No.” He cleared his throat, annoyed when he saw her smirking. “I can handle it myself.”
“I should get them all up in your business. What’s up with throwing me to the wolves, Junior?”
“My name is not junior, first of all. And that, right there, is why. You’re always picking on me.” He made sure to include a deep whine with his complaint then laughed at her expression. “I’m glad you came home. I missed you.”
Her eyes shone. “I missed you too, little guy.”
He topped her by six inches, but to Grace, he’d always be the little brother she’d watched out for.
“So, about this chick,” she prodded.
“Marlie.”
She nodded. “Marlie. Is Dad right?”
Damon lifted his head to look around. Not spotting his parents, he answered quietly, “I honestly don’t know. But man, I like her. A lot. And I barely know her.”
“This isn’t just about getting into her pants?”
“Well, I’m a guy. Sure, it’s about that. But not only. She’s tall. Really pretty. Snarky. Mean.”
She groaned. “Hell. We all know you like them aggressive.”
“Coming from this family, that’s a given.”
Grace chuckled. “That’s true. To handle my brother, she’d have to be strong. Well, I’ll give you until Christmas. If you haven’t won her over by then, I’ll lend you a hand.”
“Please, don’t.” After a pause, he asked, “So who’s this woman you’re into? I mean, I’ve always known you like girls. Why blurt it out now?”
“What do you mean you’ve always known?”
He scoffed. “Subtle is not your middle name. In high school, how many times did you and Jenny Fielder have sleepovers where you went to sleep in one outfit and woke up wearing each other’s?”
“That proves nothing.”
“It does when you’re a horny teenager with a crush on Jenny Fielder. I followed her around forever. I heard things.” He made a face. “Super gross. But go, Grace.”
She laughed. “Well, I thought you might know. Didn’t think the old people did.”
“Yeah? Because the old man watches us like a hawk. And Mom’s got bat ears.”
“I heard that,” Leila called as she and their father walked through the living room to the bedroom, draped in towels.
“See?”
Grace shrugged. “Whatever. Now it’s all out it the open.” She watched the hallway where their parents had disappeared then leaned closer to him to whisper, “I might have experienced my own Sinclair Curse. But I’m not sure yet.”
“Oh boy. Hit you right between the eyes, then again in the heart?”
She rubbed her chest and scowled. “Yeah. But keep your pie-hole shut about it.”
“I see what you did there.” He pointed to his mouth. “Pie-hole. Ha.” At her glare, he hurriedly added, “I heard zip. Nada. Nothing.”
“Good.”
But he knew exactly what she was talking about.
His problem was in trying to prove to Marlie that he loved her, and she should really fall in love with him because they were meant to be.
But maybe he’d leave that to their second date. He didn’t want to scare her off, after all.