✿ Aileen's POV
I'm lining up to take another shot when Tracy walks in. She takes one disdainful look at us and shakes her head.
“Why do you encourage such activities, Lee?” she asks.
I throw my remaining can at Tracy, hitting her on the shoulder.
“I refuse to play,” she say, as if hitting her with the can had been an invitation.
Tracy had brassy blonde hair, the result of the highlight touch-ups she'd done herself since high school. Today, her hair was knotted high on her head.
“Aw, come on, Tray,” Landon says, catching her in his arms and making her dance around a tight little circle with him.
“The game is pointless,” Tracy insisted. “Besides, no one ever pays up the promised prize”.
“Stick in the mud,” Landon says with a grin and lets her go.
“Your stick in the mud is what normal people call mature!” Tracy calls over her shoulder as she walks away.
Matthew stands up next on the three-point line.
“He's going for three! The crowd goes wild!” Landon cries, then makes a noise like a crowd cheering.
He misses and hands his can to his father, Joe.
“I'd love to stay and kick butt, but I've got to go help your mother. Hello, Aileen dear.”
“Old man Joe” I smile.
My uncle wanders into our midst and pauses to look sternly at Joe.
“What?” he asks innocently.
“Watch this, old man,” my Uncle challenges him and tosses the can into the basket from the three-point line. “Champion!” he shouts, throwing his arms in the air. “Again.”
“High five,” Landon cheers, lifting his hand to my uncle. “And lucky you, it's your Starbucks card.”
“When's dinner starting?” Matthew asks. “We athletes need to eat.”
“As soon as Natalie and Sophie get here,” Jane, their mother answers. “Lee, I love your hair!” she adds, reaching out to me. “And this outfit, gosh!”
“She went out of town” Bonnie chips in.
Jane catches me by the arms and leans back, studying my hair with a critical eye. My hair had always been unmanageable. I could remember the agony of Nora trying to run a brush through it to tame it.
“Cute,” Jane says, nodding her approval. “You always look so cute.”
“Janey” I chuckle.
“Okay, I won't gush. Hey, did you look at those recipes I sent you?” she asked eagerly.
“Yes, and I loved how easy they are,” I tell her.
“That's great,” she says with delight. “I also found these—”
“Jane? Janey!” her husband, Roland was suddenly standing beside us, papers in hand, reading glasses perched on the end of his nose, and wearing his Western shirt.
Where Sophie's mother was soft and a little rounded with age, her father was tall and thin, with graying blonde hair. He peers at me over the rims of his glasses.
“Hi, pumpkin,” he says, leaning over to kiss my cheek. “Did you do something to your hair?”
“Sort of” I smile.
YOU ARE READING
To Capture A Bride
Romance|Updates every Tuesdays| "Come with me." I laugh and wipe the beads of sweat off my forehead. "And why would you think I'd go anywhere with you?" I ask. He fills his cheeks with air and glances at the time on his watch, before slipping his hands s...
