My Lucky Days: A Novel (19 page)

“Hey, not so fast,” Callie yelled in his direction. “No ER visits tonight.”

“Fun police,” he yelled back.

I smiled, shaking my head. “He’s like a giant kid.”

“I
know
.” She rolled her eyes. “And we have to ground him sometimes too.”

“Ground him?”

“No dinner. No guitars.”

I laughed. “You took away his guitars?”

“Threatened. Sometimes that’s all it takes.”

“Are we not playing anymore?” Zach came over to his mom. He had a Spider-Man stocking hat pulled low on his forehead.

“We can still play,” Lucky yelled as he set Mia back down on the ground.

“Whoa.” She stumbled over to us. Looking up at me with her big blue eyes, she leaned her head against my leg. “You’re on our team.”

“You don’t have to play,” Callie replied. “Don’t let them con you into this too.”

“No, I want to play. But you might have to explain the rules.”

“Throw Frisbee. Run. Get cold.” She laughed. “That’s about it.”

I nodded, watching the red disk fly in the air. Lucky dove for it, rolling across the wet snow. Mia laughed and went to tackle him. She stole the Frisbee and tossed it back to Callie. But Colt jumped in the way and stole it.

He tossed it to Zach again, but Mia jumped in the way this time. She tossed it to me. I panicked, trying to jump in the air. And out of nowhere, Lucky dove in front of me. He grabbed the Frisbee, but his foot accidentally clipped my boot. We both went rolling across the yard, but the snow was soft and cushioned my fall.

Lucky kneeled down and dusted the snow off my face. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I see why this is a winter game.”

“I should have warned you. They get a little competitive.”

“
They.
I think you do.”

He bent down, laughing until his lips touched mine. They were frozen, but yet still managed to make my body tingle.

“You can’t kiss the enemy.” Mia’s voice came from behind him.

He smiled at me and offered a hand. I batted him away and got up on my own. “I agree with Mia. You are in enemy territory.”

“Wow. They’ve already turned you against me.”

“Yes.”

He studied me for a second. “You want to make a bet?”

“What kind of bet?”

“Hmm.” He leaned in so only I could hear. “You win, I will shovel the driveway in only my boxers. I win, you will shovel the driveway in only my boxers. At midnight. While everyone is asleep. And I watch you. Topless.”

It was too cold for my cheeks to get a deeper shade of crimson. I narrowed my eyes, feeling like I just got conned after all. “Fine. I will take your bet.”

“Seriously?” He laughed.

“Yes. Because I’m not losing.”

Turning on my heels, I made my way back over to Callie. “All right. We have to beat them. Or I will have to shovel your driveway.”

“Okay, that’s a weird bet.”

“Yeah, well, you don’t want to know what I have to wear while doing it.”

Callie looked back over at Lucky and then to me. “Will I have to ground him again over this?”

“You might. But for now, let’s just try to win.”

“Did Uncle Wucky bet hot chocolate?” Mia asked as she wrapped an arm around me and one around her mom.

“Yeah, it’s hot chocolate.” I grinned at her. “Lots and lots of hot chocolate.”

Then I glanced up at Callie and mouthed, “You have hot chocolate, right?”

She laughed, nodding her head.

“Yes!” Mia was jumping up and down. “We get hot chocolate and cookies.”

I smiled, knowing I had just gotten conned by another member of this family.

We played until I couldn’t feel my nose and my fingers were stiff. I eventually collapsed on my back, looking up into the sky as the snow fell down, sticking to my eyelashes. I gazed at the whimsical flakes—so fresh and clean, like sparkly sponges cleaning the sky.

I embraced the amazing moment that was taking place around me. Even though I was cold to the bone, the happiness glowed inside me from playing with this wonderful family. This highly competitive, knock-you-down-in-the-snow, sweet family.

I was falling for them as much as I was Lucky.

“You can’t fake dead to get out of the bet.” Lucky towered over me with a mischievous grin.

Zach was bouncing around in the background, celebrating the butt-kicking the girls received from the guys’ team. I heard Mia asking her mom if they still got cookies.

Lucky extended a hand down to me. I clasped his gloved fingers as he pulled me up. “I’m not doing that.”

“But you agreed.”

“You’re funny.” I laughed in his face.

“Not as funny as you’ll look tonight.” His eyebrows went up. “Naked. In the snow.”

Before I could say anything else, a snowball came flying through the air. It hit Lucky in the back. I looked around, expecting it to be Zach, but I saw Colt laughing at us. He tossed another one, hitting Lucky right in the chest. He threw one back, but it hit Callie.

As if on cue, that last ball initiated a free-for-all. Snowballs flying in every angle and from every person. No one was safe. I laughed and laughed, throwing and ducking, getting hit from every direction.

Callie was the first to bow out, and I went with her. Getting my bags, I took them to the pool house. I set my things in the bedroom next to his bed. It smelled good in there. Like him.

I surveyed the place. His living quarters were always functional. Not necessarily neat. But not really messy. His bed was made, but it wasn’t straight. And one of his pillows dangled precariously on the edge, close to falling on the floor.

I spent a few minutes tidying up. Then I second-guessed myself. Maybe I shouldn’t do that to his stuff. It was strange. I fought the urge to mess it back up to the way it was before. Then I realized that would be even weirder. Who made someone’s bed only to ransack it back into chaos? So I left it fixed.

I changed out of my wet clothes and went over to the main house. Callie already had cookie dough whipped up from scratch in her mixer.

“You need help?”

“Sure . . . um. See if you can get the hot chocolate going. Lucky’s still out there with Zach. They are building a snowman. Colt’s already back, and Mia is changing.”

“Okay.”

I made a pot of hot chocolate on the stove as the smell of cookies filled the air.

“Hey, Katie. Can you check on those when the timer goes off? I’m going to see what Mia is doing.”

I smiled at Callie. “Sure.”

I poured a mug of chocolate and went over to the window. Lucky and Zach were busy on a lopsided snowman.

“I think my little brother has been like this since the day she brought him home.”

“What?” Startled, I turned around to find Colt at the stove, putting marshmallows in his cup.

He smiled, coming over to me. His dark hair was straight and short with a few flecks of gray on the edges, even though he was only in his early thirties.

“I saw you watching him. People have always been drawn to Lucky. He’s like some sort of magnet, pulling you in.”

“Yeah, he does that.”

“And he can convince you to do something before you even realize what you just agreed to.”

I laughed that time. “Yeah.”

“But you can’t help but like him. Am I right?”

“Yeah.” I glanced over at Colt, seeing his eyes light up bright as he watched his son and brother through the window.

We had never really talked before and this was something unusual, not that I minded. I wanted to get to know Colt better. Or I guess hear what he had to say about Lucky. I was curious.

“What was he like as a kid?”

He looked back over at me. “The same, really. Happy. Popular. Making everyone laugh. And talented. He was gifted with that voice from the first time my mom heard him sing.”

“Of course he was.” I smiled.

Colt’s blue eyes grew serious, like he was contemplating something. “I might be overstepping, but I want to say something to you if that’s okay?”

“Okay?”

“Lucky is my brother, but I take care of him. I have for years. And what he lets you see isn’t everything about him.”

I felt nervous suddenly. I wasn’t sure why. But something shifted, and I felt like I was about to get some lecture from his
father
. “What do you mean?”

“He doesn’t let people get close to him. Not really. Yes, he’s funny and popular. He pulls people in, but everything has always been one big party for Lucky. I watched it. Tried to correct it. And finally gave up. He has always done what he wanted. His guitar is the only thing I’ve seen him truly love besides my kids.”

The trickles of dread moved into my chest. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you’re the only girl he’s ever brought around his family.”

I struggled to swallow my hot chocolate. I looked back out the window, seeing Lucky pack snow on the second ball. “You mean he’s never brought someone for the holidays?”

“No, I mean,
ever
. Lucky has never mixed his personal life with us before. He keeps it very separate. You’re the only girl he’s let meet Mia and Zach.”

“Oh.” My heart was clenching. My little visits to his brother’s house flipped through my head. That first time he brought me here. Lucky said it wasn’t a big deal when I walked into the kitchen.

It had been huge.

Flashes of that first night here came back to me. Callie was chatty, but I remembered Colt being quiet as we ate, watching me cautiously out of the corner of his eye. I was nervous that night. And the kids occupied most of the conversation. I thought that was just his brother’s personality.

But after today’s little discussion, I realized I had pegged him wrong. Maybe he wasn’t as vibrant as Lucky. But very few people shined that bright. And the night we first met, Colt must have been concerned or confused. Or maybe a little of both.

I shook my head as I looked back at his brother. “I didn’t know. I just assumed that I was one of many. I know that sounds bad.”

“No, it’s okay. I get it and I don’t know what you feel toward my brother. But if you had doubts, I wanted to tell you what he might not be telling you. I see him happy with you. And I thought you should know. Maybe for selfish reasons. But this life he’s decided to live is, well . . . it’s going to be different than the one I know. And I think you’re good for him.”

“Thank you.” I smiled while telling myself to stay calm, even though his words had sent me reeling.

“You asked about him as a kid.”

“Yeah, I guess. What was it like? What was he like when—”

“She found him?” He smiled. “It wasn’t easy. And I wanted to hate him, you know. I was eleven and I wanted to hate this kid that was disrupting my life. But I couldn’t. He was so skinny. And he just stared at me with these big eyes.” He chuckled. “I sat in his room, trying to play cars. But he just watched me. Lucky didn’t speak to us. I think a few days went by before he even said anything. But I took care of him. And I’ve been taking care of him ever since.”

I felt a burn in the back of my throat as I blinked back tears. “I’m glad your mom was the one who found him.”

“Me too.” He smiled at me before glancing back out into the yard. “Speaking of my mother, she is about to go crazy wanting to meet you.”

A pang of guilt bubbled up inside me. “That’s my fault. I told him it was too soon.”

“It’s okay. We all understood. And that’s when I knew he hadn’t told you.”

The timer went off, bringing an end to the moment. “Thank you for . . . um . . . for telling me.”

He nodded as I left to get the cookies out. Setting three sheets of gooey chocolate chip on the counter, I turned off the oven. They smelled like little round pieces of heaven. I fought the urge to shove one of them in my mouth.

“I need to see the queen.” Mia came up behind me, grabbing my hand. She was in full costume.

“You think I’m the queen?”

“Yes. The Snow Queen Elsa.” And then I realized she was dressed as Anna from
Frozen
.

“Why aren’t you the queen?”

“Because you are the queen, silly.”

“Okay. Let’s go.” I followed Mia up the staircase. We reached the princess room, and I laughed. Big Teddy had reindeer antlers on top of his fuzzy head. “Let me guess. Sven?”

“Yes! Big Teddy is Vin.” Her little voice muffled up the words. “And when Uncle Wucky gets here, he can be Owaf. He sounds just like him.”

“He’s Olaf and not Kristoff?”

“Yuck. No. He’s Owaf.”

I sat down at the table as Mia dressed me like Elsa. But my thoughts tumbled back to what Colt had said downstairs. Why did Lucky not explain how big of a deal this was to him?

Have fun with me, Katie.

He had said it over and over again. Maybe he was trying to convince himself or not scare me or both. But this was definitely bigger than fun. And it would keep getting bigger every day I was here.