56. Noelle
Chapter fifty-six
Noelle
“And the Fabulous Four are back, baby!” Cal lifted his enamel coffee mug in a salute as the four of us sat around the fire in the Satterfield backyard after Thanksgiving dinner.
I half expected Greyson to say something about not being mushy, but his expression softened as his gaze lingered on the back porch where Paisley and Juliet were on the porch swing talking to Macy.
“Yeah, we’re back,” he said, a half smile quirking his lips.
“Took us long enough.” Myles held his hands out to the fire with a groan. “And I’m feeling the effects of that turkey more at thirty-two than I ever did at eighteen.”
“Gonna start your discourse on why the Canadians are better at Thanksgiving with it being in October?” I teased.
Myles rolled his eyes. “I’ve made my case in defense of my countrymen. Y’all can choose not to see the light, but I’m right.”
“You want to back that claim up with some action?” Cal taunted.
“I can whip you in Mario Kart any day, brother.”
“Not if I sic Jules on you.”
“Too bad she’s on my side now.” Myles smiled as he, too, glanced at the porch when Juliet’s laugh echoed through the night.
A gaggle of kids, including Khia, bounced on the trampoline, and Rosie Cotton barked at them like a worrying mother hen until Greyson gave a low whistle. She trotted over to him, parking herself beside his chair and laying her head on his knee.
The fire crackled with warmth, spitting a burst of sparks up into the night. I shivered and leaned back in my chair to study the faint stars splattered across the indigo canvas of sky overhead.
“Do we have eyes on the guys?” Myles did a quick scan of the yard, clearly looking for the handful of players that had joined us for dinner. Including Aaron, the Chargers’ former backup goalie who’d been traded to Boston last year, but was still close with the team.
“As in the guys who routinely refer to you as Dad?” Cal teased.
Myles sighed like a man who’d argued this point before but never won before muttering, “Someone has to be the responsible one.”
“Relax, Canada, they’re deep in conversation over a pie they pilfered from the kitchen. And so far they’ve added the verb grand gestured to good ol’ Merriam-Webster and turned Matthew McConaughey into an adjective.” Cal paused, frowning. “How do you even turn a person into an adjective?”
Myles scrubbed a hand over his face with a groan. “I have no idea, and I don’t want to know. They can handle themselves like adults.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” Greyson said, eyes twinkling in the firelight. “And for the record, I believe they’re encouraging Max to ask Arabella out.”
“That’ll happen the day pigs fly,” Myles said dryly.
“We should do a couples’ night,” Cal burst out.
“The four of us?” Greyson arched an eyebrow.
Cal rolled his eyes. “Obviously with Jules and Pais, too. Maybe before my nephew makes his appearance. I’m thinking something with silly string—”
“No!” the rest of us shouted in unison.
“Kidding.” Cal smirked, holding up his hands. “But it was worth the look on your faces. Dinner and board games for old times’ sake? Grey can cook.”
Greyson grunted but shrugged in a why not? manner.
“The Fabulous Four becomes the Spectacular Six?” Myles asked.
“Huh, not bad,” Cal mused. “We need T-shirts. Oh, and a group chat!” He lifted his mug. “Here’s to friends, marriage, new beginnings, and crushing Myles in Mario Kart. May we always be fabulous.”
“Dream on, Cap.” Myles raised his cup.
“It’s about time,” Greyson added, saluting.
I squeezed Cal’s hand and smiled up at him. “To new beginnings.”
Life looked a lot different from the one we’d dreamed up around the campfire thirteen years ago. Our hopes and plans had gone sideways. We’d grown and our dreams had grown with us. But the core thing had stayed the same—a friendship that could last.
And it all started with taking the road home. It was the grandest place of all.