A laugh rolled through my chest and I fought it down. Classical kid thinking he was cooler than he really was. And he was all mine.
“C’mon Jordan.” He waved his hand toward the court. “Come play with us. Cooper said we had to stay out of Rebecca’s way because she goes nuts when planning for a party.”
“I’ll be there in a second okay?”
“Yeah. Okay, Mom?”
“Go.” She flipped her hand out. “Go have fun.”
He took off running back to the court. In the distance, Ryan shouted, “Get your ass, I mean, butt out here Jordan! These kids need some help beating us old farts!”
All the boys in unison yelled, “We do not!”
I shook my head and before she expected it, pressed my lips to Destiny’s cheek and pulled back. “You’ll be okay here? Want me to show you inside?”
“She’ll be fine,” Rebecca said, coming up from behind us. I hadn’t even heard her coming I’d been so enamored with Toby. Would that shine or insane feeling I had around him ever dull? The thought that when I looked at him and saw how cool he was, I was so damn proud I’d had a hand in making him, vanish?
I hoped not.
“Come on,” Rebecca said. “The girls are inside, and we’re almost done. Although to be honest, we’re mostly standing at the windows, drooling over the half-naked men.”
Destiny’s head turned toward the house and her bottom lip slid between her teeth. “Who’s in there?”
“Kelly and Brooke. And they’re fine. They’ve been here all morning helping me and they love Toby.” Rebecca reached out and tugged her hand. It was the first time I saw Rebecca willingly touch Destiny in my entire life.
Shit. She wasn’t just trying to like her; I think a part of her actually did. Even better.
Destiny looked down at their hands and back to me, her wide grin from Toby was now almost large enough to split her face in two. “I’ll see you later?”
“Yeah, after we kick the kids’ asses.”
“Please. Toby can totally take you.”
“Come on,” Rebecca said again. “You can help me make the sangria. Either that or I’m throwing the water hose on both of you.”
“Go,” I said nodding toward the house. “Have fun.”
“K.” She barely got that much out before Rebecca yanked on her hand. I stood in place until she disappeared up the deck and around the back of the house before turning back to the guys.
Then I ran up to where Toby had the ball, stole it right from him and sank an inside jump shot.
Twenty-One
Destiny
I was weavingmy way through the small groups of people. The party was in full swing and I had to give props to Rebecca. She knew how to throw a party that had something for everyone.
Toys were sprinkled all over the yard for the kids to play with but most of them had congregated near the basketball hoop. I’d checked on Toby several times, forcing him at one point to take a break and get something to eat.
Rebecca threw a barbecue feast with hamburgers, brats, pulled pork, and chicken. Homemade potato salads and coleslaw, fruit salad and a string of different desserts were spread out on a huge row of tables. And on a different table, there was a whole line of bags of chips. Plastic cups from the keg littered the ground. Plastic wineglasses from the homemade sangria sat abandoned on several of the waist-high brick walls surrounding the patio.
Everyone had said hello to me. Most had offered their condolences of Tillie. Many had congratulated me with Toby.
Allof them had been nice.
The shock was setting in. It was, entirely possible, I’d twisted things wrong all those years ago. Or at the very least, ten years had passed and like Jordan said the other night about Christa, we’d all grown up and put aside the childish bullshit of our past.
I grabbed the ladle from the sangria bowl and refilled my glass, surveying the area.