“HOW LONG IS Iris staying?” Bering handed one end of a banner to Tag and backed away, unrolling it as he went.
“Not sure yet.” Tag fingered the thick textured paper that said Welcome Home & Congratulations, Iris! He climbed the stepladder next to the gazebo in Bering’s yard, pausing at the top while Bering scaled the ladder on the opposite side. He then tacked his end to the beam. “She’s job hunting right now. Why does this paper feel weird?”
“It’s some sort of super-biodegradable paper that Reagan made for a science project. The paint, too. He’s going to put the whole works in Emily’s compost pile after the party and then chart how long it takes to degrade and how it affects the surrounding...molecules or plant life or whatever. I don’t know. Emily and Aidan are helping him.”
Tag let out a chuckle. “Of course they are.” Aidan was Janie’s husband and Gareth and Reagan’s stepdad. He was also a scientist as well as Emily’s brother.
“What kind of job is Iris looking for?”
Ally had asked Iris the same question the day before. Those two had hit it off like long-lost pals. Tag and Ally had walked back to the airfield after the game where they’d talked for hours before Iris arrived. She’d taken one look at them and asked if Ally was his girlfriend, which prompted them to share the story about Rita and their pretend marriage. Thinking about yesterday’s trip filled him with a disconcerting mix of exhilaration and anxiety, much the way he felt when he piloted a new aircraft for the first time.
He’d nearly jumped out of the booth when Ally reached across the table and took his hand. The feel of her skin on his had been intense, the force of his attraction catching him off guard. It had also kept him up way too late the night before, leaving him a little irritable today. Eventually, he’d worked his brain around to accepting that it was perfectly normal to be attracted to a smart, funny, beautiful woman. Even one who was too young for him. He just needed to admire her and appreciate her from afar like one would a movie star or a model in a magazine.
He realized Bering was waiting for him to elaborate. “Iris has applied at different government agencies in DC and a few independent think tanks. She wasn’t super specific. I’m not sure she knows what she wants.”
Bering stretched an arm toward the middle of the banner and secured it there. “I swear, nothing would surprise me where she’s concerned.”
“Me, either. I just want her to be happy.” Of all his siblings, he worried about Iris the most. She didn’t seem to have the same innate contentedness that the rest of them possessed. Even with her academic success and innumerable accolades, she seemed to be constantly searching for some elusive element.
Bering added a couple more tacks. “Jack is stopping by later. Did I tell you that?”
“No, you didn’t.” Tag wondered why the senator was coming here.
“He’s in town, and he wants to talk to us. He’s bringing Randall.”
Randall Fincher was the state senator serving in their district. He’d been in the legislature for eleven years and had committed to assisting Tag when he retired and the time came for Tag to run.
“Huh. Okay, well, I’m curious.”
“Yeah, me, too.” Bering climbed down the ladder.
They both stepped back to admire their handiwork. Bering nodded, and in tandem they picked up their ladders, folded them and carried them to Bering’s shop. After stowing them away, they headed back toward the house where Shay and Hannah were preparing the picnic tables scattered around the grassy yard. Shay smoothed out a tablecloth while Hannah tacked it down so it would stay put in the breeze.
Shay said, “Hey, just the guys we were looking for.”
“Oh, yeah?” Tag nabbed a chip out of the bowl Hannah placed on the table.
“Yeah.” Hannah grabbed a handful of chips for herself and leaned a hip against the table. “A kind of weird thing happened to me a couple of days ago, and I was sharing it with Shay, who then told me that a kind of weird thing happened to her, too. And when taken together, these two things seem big weird.” She held her hands apart for emphasis before biting off half a chip.
“Big weird, huh?”
“Yep.” She grinned. “Lucas and I were outside playing catch a few days ago when these two women pulled up in this fancy rented SUV. I figured they were probably lost until they asked for me by name. Then they asked about buying the house.” Lucas was Tate’s nephew. Hannah and her husband, Tate, had adopted him. They lived in the largest, most luxurious home in Rankins. With the real estate market improving as it had been lately, Tag wasn’t all that surprised, although it would take someone with pretty deep pockets to buy their place.
“Don’t tell me you guys are going to sell?” Hannah adored the house. Not only had it been built by one of her close friends, but it also had an atrium with a large pond, where Hannah’s treasured koi lived.
“Of course not. I haven’t finished my story. They made an offer on the spot—almost double what the house is worth.”
“Wow.” Bering was shaking his head. “Double?”
“I know, right?” Shay stepped forward. “Listen to mine—a woman and a man came into the inn late Wednesday morning. They strolled around for a long time, took a walk outside, snapped some photos and finally went for lunch in the restaurant. Adele was hostessing, the way she often does when it gets busy, and they asked her a bunch of questions, like did she know the owner and did she think the owner would be interested in selling. She texted me, and I came out to meet them.”
Bering crossed his massive arms over his chest. “Were they serious?”
“Not only were they serious, they already knew everything about the Faraway Inn. I mean, everything a person can get a hold of through public records and internet searching. The offer they made was outrageous.”
“That reminds me,” Tag said, knowing he was about to deepen the mystery. “I stopped to see Mickey and Mrs. P. on my way home the other night, and you know that piece of property Park bought across the highway?”
Bering nodded. “Yeah, I saw the for-sale sign, too. I figured Park was just trying to make a buck.”
“Me, too, but when I asked Mick about it, he told me Park was asking more than double what he paid for it.”
“Which means Park probably knows something.”
They all looked at Hannah, who huffed out a breath. “Which means I have to talk to Park?”
Tag grinned at his sister. “He loves you, Banana,” he said, hoping to soften her up by using her childhood nickname.
“Yes, he does,” Shay added with a chuckle.
“Ugh. Well, he does owe me for the pool lessons I’ve been giving him. Fine. If he knows something, I’ll get it out of him.”
* * *
ALLY SAT IN the passenger seat of Flynn’s SUV and tried to enjoy the scenery as they traveled out of town. A difficult feat, what with her stomach feeling like a wind spinner on a breezy day. After several miles, they turned onto a gravel drive. An attractively carved and painted sign read James Guide & Outfitter Service.
Where the long driveway forked, Flynn took a left, away from the house, and parked among the other cars already scattered near some outbuildings. Removing a gift bag from the back seat, he climbed out of the car.
“Should I have brought something?”
A grin played at his lips. “No, this is a little joke between Iris and me.”
“You guys are good friends, huh?”
“Um, sort of.”
“Hey, that reminds me, you never told me she was a triplet.”
“I didn’t?” He cocked his head. “Huh. I guess...I don’t think of her that way.”
Ally gave him a curious look, but there was no time to ask questions because Flynn was already moving. They headed toward a growing crowd of people near the large house, some bunched under a gazebo, others congregating in clusters around the spacious yard. They passed the professional-looking basketball half-court Flynn had mentioned. Kids were bouncing balls and shooting baskets.
“Wow...” Ally gawked at the parklike setting.
“I know. It’s pretty great, right? Bering and Emily love to entertain, and they’ve spent a lot of time on this place.”
A cluster of people milled around a horseshoe pit. Off to one side, there was a badminton net where four teenagers were laughing and smacking at a birdie. Farther away, the white wickets of a croquet course had been set up, and Ally heard the distinctive thwack of croquet mallet against ball.
Ally recognized Iris as she broke away from a group near one of the picnic tables.
“There’s Iris.” She glanced at Flynn, only to discover that he’d already spotted her. His body tensed even as his smile brightened. He waved and headed in Iris’s direction. Interesting.
Ally felt the back of her neck prickle. Her gaze swept across the sea of people and quickly latched onto Tag’s. His knowing grin paired with a quirk of one brow suggested he’d been waiting for her to catch sight of him. A furnace blast of heat radiated from her core all the way out through her skin. She returned the smile, and the next thing she knew they were moving toward each other.
“Hey,” he said, stopping in front of her. “Nice of you to come today.”
“Thank you. Flynn actually invited me like a week ago. I didn’t know any of you yet. I mean, you and I had met, but, well, I didn’t know who you were. And anyway, you know...it will be more fun now than if the party had been last week.”
She loved the deep sound of his laughter, the way it seemed to vibrate through her. “It sure will. Do you think we can find a few minutes to talk later?”
Ally wondered what about. She’d spent the previous evening trying to decide if she imagined the connection they’d forged and what to do about it. She wanted to explore it, spend time with him. But she had no idea how to go about it. She hadn’t dated much and when she had, the guy had always done the asking. Should she invite him over for dinner or maybe see if he wanted to grab lunch one day soon?
“Yeah, sure. There’s something I’d like to ask you, too. As long as you don’t plan on beating this age thing to death?” she teased.
“Hey,” he joked, “I’ll have you know age is not an issue with me. My pretend wife is years younger, and we are as happy as can be.”
A fluttery feeling spread through her, because even though he said it in jest, it was exactly what she’d hoped to hear. “How nice for you that you’ll have someone to push your wheelchair in your later years. Which obviously—” she waved a hand up and down the length of him “—is not too far off.”
Glaring playfully, he said, “Yes, and I’m hoping that soon she’ll be able to go to an R-rated movie without having to show her ID.”
“Oh, well, I doubt she’d care about showing it for that. I know for a fact she loves movies. She grew up in a village in the middle of nowhere, so a movie theater is like a huge thrill for her and... This third-person thing is getting weird now, isn’t it, because I’m talking about myself like some kind of sociopath?”
“A little,” he teased. “But it’s okay—the guy you’re talking to likes it. He finds it cute.”
They laughed, and Ally was still grinning when Iris and Flynn approached them.
“Ally, hi!” Iris said.
Tag greeted Flynn, then hugged his sister. “I’m going to go give Bering a hand with the grill. Don’t forget we’re talking later, okay, Ally?”
Iris beamed at her. “I’m so glad you could make it. Now I feel like I have two people who came here just for me.”
“I’m happy to be here, but it looks like you have a lot of people who came here for you. I’m not even sure I know this many people.”
Iris frowned and looked around. “I know. It’s a little ridiculous.”
“What do you mean?”
“Most of these people aren’t here for me. That sounds bad, doesn’t it? I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. I love my family, and now that you’re a fake part of it...” she paused to wink at Ally “...you should know that they will use any excuse to throw a party. Like herd animals, they like to gather. And graze.”
Ally wondered about her reference to “these people” and “they” instead of “we.”
“I’m just going to say congratulations and that I think a party in your honor is well deserved. It’s not every day a person earns a doctorate—right, Flynn?”
Gaze glued on Iris, he agreed, “Right.”
With a breezy wave of her hand, Iris said, “I worked hard for it, that’s true. Let’s not talk about the fact that a doctorate in economics doesn’t have quite the same cachet as a medical degree.”
She was obviously joking, but Flynn seemed a little irritated by the self-deprecating comment.
“Iris, seriously,” he said. “Ask twenty people here about asymmetric shock and reserve currency and see what answers you get.”
Iris furrowed her brow and looked like she was going to argue.
Ally pitched her expression to serious and jumped in before Iris could speak. “Plus, I’m very familiar with Flynn’s work. Trust me—his job is not that hard. Everyone knows it’s the nurses and the paramedics who do all the work.”
Iris laughed and linked an arm through one of Ally’s. Tilting her head toward the gazebo, she said, “Come on. Let’s get you introduced to some people.”
* * *
AFTER LUNCH, EMILY announced it was time for all basketball players to gather on the court. Janie read off the teams and went over the rules.
“We’re doing three on three to twenty points or twenty-five minutes’ total game time. Because we’ve got five teams, we’ll draw for the first game, and it will be loser out. The winning team will take the bracket spot and continue from there. My handsome husband, Aidan, has a bum shoulder, so he’s going to be our referee.” She then informed the crowd they had five minutes to find their teammates and discuss strategy before the first game began.
“You’re with my cousin Gareth and his friend Cody.” Ally turned to find Tag behind her. He waved toward the opposite side of the court. He pointed at Ally, and a tall teenager held up a finger in an “I’ll be right there” motion.
“Cool. Thanks.”
“So, you play basketball?”
She shrugged. “Yeah.”
“Did you play in high school?”
“No. I didn’t go to high school. I was homeschooled.”
His forehead knitted like he was puzzling out her meaning.
“Something wrong?”
“No, uh...” He shifted from one foot to another. “Nothing. It’s just that my family is extremely passionate about sports, basketball especially. We can be a little, um, intense and aggressive.”
“I understand. I can be that way, too, about certain things.” She added a chuckle, but he still wore a pained expression. “Wait, are you worried about me?”
“A little. Please don’t call me a chauvinist but you’re tiny, and if you haven’t played much I’m afraid...”
At least he was honest. Ally placed a hand on his arm. “Don’t be. I’ll be fine. It’s just a game, right?” His arm was so much bigger than hers. She might have let her touch linger a little longer than necessary, she realized, when she noticed him staring down at his forearm.
She removed her hand, but his expression only held more angst as he said, “No, Ally, that’s my point. It’s not just a game with us. It’s...” His words faded away as his expression turned sheepish. He squeezed her shoulder. “Well, you’ll see. And I apologize in advance for the over-the-top behavior you’re about to witness.”
“Oh-kay, I guess?”
“What I’m saying is that I can’t let you win.”
Sliding her gaze toward the hand still on her shoulder, she said, “Thanks for the warning. Better be careful, though. All this looking out for me and I’ll wonder about your intentions.”
He went hands up, palms out, eyes wide, like she’d just caught him robbing a bank. “No, no. I don’t... I’m not thinking about you...like that. I promise.”
An invisible pain hit her in the chest, so sudden and powerful that she brought a hand up and placed it there. She glanced away, forcing a smile that felt brittle enough to crack her face. How could she have been so stupid? He could have any woman he wanted. Why in the world would he consider...whatever it was she’d been thinking?
“Of course not,” she managed. “I was only...kidding.” Liar. And she knew she sounded like one. She tried for eye contact, but her eyelids felt heavy, her vision blurred. Why had she flirted with him? It was all that pretend-wife talk and the looks and the touching. She had zero experience with flirting, and clearly she was not a natural.
“Hey,” he said, but she still couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze. Her cheeks were flaming with embarrassment. Not until the very tips of his fingers found the tips of hers and squeezed, making her breath catch a little, did she look at him. He let go, but that deadly green glint was blazing in his eyes, and his voice held a desperate kind of urgency as he whispered, “That was a lie, Ally. I was lying. I shouldn’t say this, but if you were a decade or so older, my intentions would be exactly what you implied. But you’re not and so I promised myself I would let it go.”
His eyes roamed over her, and it felt like a panicky hummingbird had been turned loose inside her chest, darting every which way. She wanted to argue, to convince him age didn’t matter, but that would probably sound...desperate. And maybe he was just being nice and letting her down easy. But, no, the way he looked at her, watched her, had her believing every word. She couldn’t keep her eyes off him, either. And when they touched, the air went all heavy and thick between them, like a thundercloud gathering. She might not have much experience, but their attraction was about as straightforward as it got. And now he was admitting it only to assure her he wouldn’t act on it? Because of her age? She didn’t know how old he was and she didn’t care.
A whistle blew, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. Game time. Further ruining the moment, Tag gave her a buddy-type pat on the shoulder and said, “Don’t worry. You should do fine with Gareth on your team. He’s really good. Almost as good as me. Don’t hate me after.” Walking backward, he tapped his chest with one finger before pointing it at her. “You young ’uns can learn something from us old guys.” Adding a cocky wink, he left to find his teammates.
And that’s when Ally’s blood began to boil. Why did he get to decide she was too young? Or he was too old or...whatever? Why did he get to give her advice and tell her how things were done? Why could he assume that she would be careless where her job was concerned or that she couldn’t operate her seat belt or that she hadn’t played much basketball? Maybe it was time someone showed Tag James a thing or two, that the world wasn’t always just as he saw it.
Maybe, Ally thought, she should be that someone. And perhaps she should start with a basketball game.