Page 27 of Holding On to a Hero
Abby gave me a doubtful look. She was gorgeous, with dark brown hair curling in a cloud around her wide-eyed face. The hair and her caramel skin had to have come from her father, wherever he was, but she had Ally and Will’s narrow nose and hazel eyes.
“Hi, Abby. It’s nice to meet you. Your Uncle Will talks about you all the time.”
Abby looked between me and Will, still frowning. “Hi,” she finally said in a toneless voice. Then she turned to her mother and asked, “Can I have my breakfast now?”
“We’ll all have breakfast,” Will chirped. “Come sit down, Jason.” Ally had put my coffee by one of the place settings on the table. I ended up between Will and Ally, which left me facing Abby.
Abby was quiet as we started breakfast and I complimented Will on his cooking. I told him he could cook breakfast in the ranch’s kitchen anytime. Ally coughed and buried her face in her coffee mug. Will rolled his eyes as I laughed.
Abby still was not participating in the conversation. I swallowed a bite of pancakes and tried to engage. “Abby, your Uncle Will said you like animals. Did you know I live on a ranch?”
She looked tempted. “Do you have a dog?” she ventured. Shit.
“Well, no, not yet. But we want one. We’re getting some sheep today, though. They’ll be really cute.” At least they would after they’d been fed regularly for a couple of months.
But Abby was destined to be a detective. “Who’s we? Do you have kids?” Crap. I looked at Will with a raised eyebrow, and he nodded. Okay.
“I live with my boyfriend Cole. You’ll get to meet him soon too.”
“But you were kissing Uncle Will!” I darted another glance at Will and Ally. Both of them were calmly sipping their coffee, waiting for me to fuck this up.
“Right. Because Cole and I asked your Uncle Will to date both of us.”
She took a moment to absorb this. Will at last decided to help. “Remember, Abby? I’m going to spend the night at my friends’ ranch tonight? That’s Jason and Cole.”
“Oh,” she said. Another pause, then, “So, you’re going on a date?”
“Right. Jason and Cole are making dinner.”
Abby’s eyes zoomed to mine and then back to Will’s. “Are you going to getmarried?”
Ally started coughing again, covering her mouth as her eyes danced in mirth. I couldn’t hide my own grin. Will looked desperate for a topic change, but he persevered.
“Uh, we’re just dating right now. You have to date for a long time before you know if you’re ready to be married.”
Abby turned to me. “Do you have Mario Kart?” She must have been bored with romance.
“Um, yes. Yes, we do. Do you like to play?”
“Yes, but if you play with Uncle Will tonight you have to let him be Peach.”
“Oh. Okay. He can be whoever he wants to.”
Ally snorted –snorted– and said, “Abby, tell Jason why Uncle Will never gets to play Peach at our house.”
I looked at Will in confusion, but he was looking everywhere else.
Abby explained seriously, “Because our house rules say the person who picks the game has to let the other person go first to pick their character.”
“That’s a good rule. Is Uncle Will always the one to pick Mario Kart, then?”
“No, I always want to play, and then Uncle Will always wants to play Peach but I want to play Peachmore.”
“Oh, no. That sounds difficult.”
“So Uncle Will lets me pay to play Peach.” What? I looked at Will, who had turned an astonishing shade of red. Ally was smirking evilly into her coffee.
I cleared my throat. “How much do you have to pay, Abby?” This was the most fun I’d had at breakfast in ages.
