21. Annabelle #2
“I love this family,” Dylan tells me. “I really do. But if one of them says, ‘it’s just euchre,’ it’s already too late.”
“Too late for what?” I ask, my heart pounding.
“And if they say, ‘we’ll allow it this time,’ pack your bags.”
“Stop it,” June shushes him. “You’re scaring her.”
“I’m just saying, in this family, euchre comes with house rules, footnotes, a tribunal, and penalties that carry over to Thanksgiving.”
Grant nods as if Dylan isn’t exaggerating at all. “Still want to play?”
“Deal the cards.”
Grant deals us each five cards. June has already passed on the first trump before I’ve even arranged my suits. We go around the table, trump is hearts, and Grant shows both red jacks at once. This is way faster than my computer program and I’m struggling to keep up.
Everyone else is throwing cards on the table without much thought.
They’ve been playing for so long the reflexes are automatic.
The strategy is fairly simple—play your high trump or your off-suit aces when the cards are in your favor, and get rid of lower cards when you haven’t got a prayer of winning that trick.
I know the theory, but I still have to look at every card in my hand before I play one.
Meanwhile, the conversation continues around both tables without a break.
Felix keeps one eye on his cards while pestering Grant, bugging him to help out with a tour group coming up. “After all,” Felix says, “It’s your fault.”
“My fault?” Grant trumps my ace with a jack, taking a trick I thought was mine.
“You showed those guys from Solduxe such a good time that Tim’s decided to come back to Echo Creek for his fatherhood fling.”
“His what now?” June holds her cards, stopping the play until Felix answers.
“He’s going to be a father,” Felix says. “The baby’s due next month. He wants to have one last weekend with his friends.”
“He’s leaving his pregnant wife to go into the woods with his buddies?” June slaps down a king and takes the trick. “Toxic.”
Felix shrugs. “Maybe she was happy to get rid of him for a few days.”
“Worse,” June mumbles.
I’m still trying to keep up with the euchre game, but the mention of Solduxe brings me back to my first night in town.
The bar. The flirting. The searing-hot kiss.
I steal a peek at Grant, to see if he’s thinking what I’m thinking, but he’s half-turned in his chair to talk to Felix at the other table, and I can’t read his face.
“Did I mention how much they’re paying me?” Felix asks.
“You did, and I don’t care,” Grant says.
“I’ve already rented the snowmobiles and arranged the catering. I’ve got the equipment and the layout. I just need people.”
“What about Sophie?” I ask. It’s my turn to deal and I shuffle repeatedly to give myself a little breathing room between hands.
“She’s not cut out for this,” Felix snaps. “I’m doing my signature snowmobile-to-the-stars package. If it’s a clear night, it will be—”
“Cold as fuck,” Grant says.
“Language,” Tammy says, glaring from the other table.
I deal the cards. I’ve got a fist full of nines and tens. I sag in my seat.
“Pick it up,” Grant says. “I’m going alone.” It’s the ultimate flex in a euchre game. He’s confident he can win all five tricks by himself. He does. That’s it for this round. Grant and Dylan one. June and Annabelle, zero.
Tammy has a giant sheet of paper for a scorecard, and she tells us where to rotate for the next round of the tournament. June and I face off against Felix and Tammy, and by some miracle of the card gods, win by one point.
June and I do a girl-power victory dance, then take on Blake and his Dad as our final challengers. Grant and Dylan have won both their games so far, so it all comes down to this last one. We have to win and they have to lose. I don’t love our chances, but I’m not going down without a fight.
I’m getting into the pace of the game now, and I’m remembering all the tips Grant gave me yesterday. I loosen the grip on my cards, and I’m able to pay attention to the game and follow the conversation at the same time. Sugar puts her head on my lap and I pet her for good luck.
Felix is still going on about the evening he’s planned for Tim and his buds.
Maybe he’s trying to make it sound so interesting that Blake or Dylan will come along to help.
They’ll take snowmobiles onto private property bordering the Hiawatha National forest, where they’ll have a campfire, a gourmet dinner, and stargazing.
“Maybe even the northern lights,” Felix adds.
“I only need help with the food and setting up the targets.”
My head pops up. “Targets?”
“For glow and arrow.”
“Is that what I think it is?” I’m so surprised that I almost forget to follow suit with my cards. I pull back a diamond and lay a heart instead.
“Probably.” Felix has his head in his cards. “Light up targets, light up arrows. Dudes go nuts for it. Daylight archery doesn’t interest them, but do it in the dark and they think it’s the best thing ever.”
I adore archery, but I haven’t been shooting in forever. Glowshoeing was a blast, and glow and arrow sounds even better. “Can I come?” I ask.
The euchre game comes to a halt as everyone stares at me. “I mean, I can help,” I tell Felix. “With the food, setting up, whatever you need. I owe you for that time you plowed out my car. And maybe I could shoot a few targets while we’re out there?”
Felix chuckles indulgently and everyone else joins in.
“Don’t laugh,” I tell Felix. “I was on my high school archery team.”
“They have those?” June asks.
“We won the state championship.”
Felix is laughing for real now, his head thrown back. “I’m sorry,” he says, when he sees me glaring. “I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing at Tim. In advance. Yes, you can come. Please come with us, and do not tell the guests you can shoot.”
“Why not?”
“It will be funnier.”
More cards on the table, another trick taken by Blake and Scott. Dammit. June and I are losing.
“What time do you need us there?” Grant asks.
Felix picks up a trick. “If Annabelle is helping, I don’t need—”
“I’ll be there.”
The words land in my belly and refuse to sit still.
A second ago, the answer was absolutely not, and now he’s volunteering?
Is he worried about me? Afraid I’ll embarrass myself in front of the tour group?
Does he just not want me going without him?
As I try to catch his eye, my knee gives a tiny, rebellious bounce against the table leg before I can stop it. Grant is looking everywhere but at me.
“Are you going to…” June nods at my final card and I realize everyone else has played. It’s a lousy off-suit nine. I throw it on the pile. We lose this trick and we lose the tournament.
Grant and Dylan are on their feet, high-fiving each other across the table. Grant demands that I give him back his lucky shirt.
June points to me. “Hasn’t she just proven that it’s not lucky?”
“No, no,” I say. “I’m sick of wearing it anyway.” I duck into the bathroom where I strip off the shirt and then put my flannel on and button it. When I get back to the living room, I ball up the t-shirt and toss it to Grant. “Here you go, complete with girl cooties.”
Grant dangles it from a finger and thumb, holding it away from his body. “You’re not going to wash it?”
“That wasn’t part of the deal,” I tell him. “You want it clean? Wash it yourself.”