So what if he’s here playing with Oliver instead of checking in with me like he said he would. I don’t care. I was dreading it, actually. It would’ve been super awkward after last night.
“Look who I grabbed off the street.” Sly loops her hand through Scout’s arm, dragging the two of them to where I’m standing, wishing I could slink inside or at least fall into one of the bushes to hide.
“Hey, Daisy.” Scout’s voice is low, quiet.
Our eyes meet, and a flash of embarrassment hits me right in the stomach. I blink away fast. “Hey… Well, everybody’s here.” Turning, I start to go inside. “Anybody else want a sandwich?”
“Here, let me help you!” Sly jogs up the stairs, and I hear Oliver talking to Scout.
“Have you ever made a touchdown?” His little voice is fast and breathless, and I can’t help sneaking a glance at them.
“A few times.” Scout’s holding him in his arms, and the little boy is looking at the football like it’s a rare treasure.
“Can we do it again?”
“How about you run down the field and I’ll throw the ball to you? That’s called going long.”
“He is so good with kids, I swear.” Sly opens the door, leading me into the arched, white kitchen as she laughs, “Probably because he’s just a big kid himself.”
I follow her, stealing one last glance at Scout in his usual jeans and a tee, muscles rippling in his arms as he gently tosses the ball underhanded to the little boy running with all his strength across the yard.
“Look up!” Scout calls, but Oliver doesn’t even try to catch it. He seems to have forgotten he was supposed to do something more than run away.
“He’s not a child.” My voice is quiet, remembering the words Scout said to me at the Tuna Tiki. Tinkerbell… Peter Pan.
A few seconds pass, and I realize my cousin has stopped talking.
Sly’s watching me with a knowing grin, and a flush of embarrassment heats my cheeks. I hate how easily I blush.
“I guess some things haven’t changed.” She rounds the bar and pulls out five plates.
Brightening my tone, I go to the bar and start pulling out slices of bread. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. How much do we need? Is everybody having a sandwich?”
She takes out a serving spoon. “Twelve should be enough. We’ll make two for Scout, although Oliver probably won’t eat much. He probably won’t let Scout eat much either. He’s completely in love.”
“At least he’s talking now.” I nod towards the door. “What’s the story?”
“One of my massage therapy friends is a single mom. Ollie’s dad showed up on Friday, and she’s afraid he’s going to try and take her son away. She was having a bit of a meltdown, so I offered to keep him this weekend. Kind of get him out of the mess.”
“Poor little guy.” I put pairs of bread on each plate, and a stack of four on Scout’s. “Have you heard from her since you got here?”
“No.” She exhales heavily. “And he’s such a sweetie. I’m glad he seems so happy now. Scout really helped me. When I stopped him, he took one look at the little boy and jogged home to get a football. I guess he has a million of them hanging around.”
We prep the sandwiches, and Sly pours lemonade into a pitcher, grabbing five silicone cups as I head out the door. “Come and get it!”
Scout scoops up Ollie and walks towards us, giving me a hesitant smile I feel all the way to my toes as he closes the space between us. His eyes run all over me, and I wish I’d at least thought to put on some lip gloss. I could strangle my cousin for not telling me he was here.
“Sly said the house looks amazing.” Aunt Regina takes the cups and pours everyone a drink. “Maybe I can come over and take a look this afternoon? You know I’m dying to see it.”
“Mm!” I shake my head, covering my mouth as I quickly chew and swallow my bite. “I’m finishing up the master suite now. I’ll give you the grand tour when it’s all done.”
She exhales a frustrated noise, but she’s smiling as she leans back in the chair holding her sandwich.
Sly trades the double plate for Ollie with Scout. “Thank you.”
“For what?” He takes the plate, grabbing a sandwich and eating almost half of it in one bite.
“Making him smile. And laugh!” She leans forward, and the little boy squeals, taking the sandwich and studying it. “Try it. It’s cheese. You’ll like it.”
He takes a hesitant bite then eats more. Clearly, he worked up an appetite.
“Scout has always been great with kids. Remember when he protected you from that Shetland pony, Daisy?” Aunt Regina laughs. “What was that silly horse’s name?”
“Whistle Britches.” Scout chuckles.
“Yes! I think they called him that because he had the vapors.” My aunt covers her mouth as she laughs more. “You were so scared of that pony, Daisy.”
Scout’s dimple appears, and his eyes sparkle as he looks at me. It makes my stomach all fizzy and hot.
I look at my sandwich. “Shetland ponies are known to bite.”
“You weren’t much bigger than this guy.” Scout’s voice is warm, and his hesitation is gone.
Oliver looks up with cheese on both his cheeks. “Do you have a pony?”
“I don’t.” I smile at him, taking the last bite of sandwich. “I’m sorry, but I’d better take off if I’m going to finish that wallpaper.”
“So soon?” Aunt Regina frowns, and I walk over to kiss her head.
“I have less than two weeks left.”
Oliver climbs into Sly’s lap, and she rubs his back. “Somebody’s ready for a nap.”
“Here.” Scout’s on his feet, collecting everybody’s plates. “I’ll walk you back.”
“Oh, no. You don’t have to do that. I’m just hanging wallpaper.” Holding out my hand, I take a step backwards and my heel slips off the brick pavement. “Oh, woah!”
I throw up a hand and almost fall. Scout lunges towards me and almost drops all the plates, but I catch them and his arms.
“Yes, you’d better go with her, Scout.” Aunt Regina’s tone is wry as she stands and takes the plates from Scout. “I don’t like her over there working alone. If something happened, it would be a while before we knew.”
“That’s really not necessary. Nothing’s going to happen.”
“Come on.” He catches my arm, and I’m very aware of his strong grip on my skin.
“Fine. You can sit and watch as I hang wallpaper.”
“Make sure she doesn’t fall off any ladders,” Sly quips.
“On it.”
I roll my eyes and stomp off towards the street. My family is so ridiculous, and now I have Scout with me for the rest of the day. It feels even more dangerous than falling off a ladder alone in the house.
Six
Scout
“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” Daisy says the words, standing on a step ladder and holding the top half of a strip of self-adhesive wallpaper to the line at the ceiling.