And at a certain point, Wolf just got irritated and pitched them both to the ground.
“Hey!” she said.
“We weren’t winning anyway,” he said, laughing.
“That didn’t mean I wanted to be thrown on the ground.”
“Chill out, squirt,” he said, tugging on her braid.
Her face was beet red, and she hoped that Travis hadn’t seen that. She really didn’t need her brother treating her like a baby, not when she was trying to get him to recognize that she wasn’t a baby anymore.
She huffed and rolled over onto her stomach, freeing herself from their three-legged prison.
She sulked off the field and went and got a plate full of food, determined to sit the remaining events out.
Evelyn got tapped for the potato sack race, and was dismal at it, which Elsie had expected. Her sister-in-law was great at a lot of things. Physical activity—when it wasn’t dancing—was not one of them.
It was Nelly McCloud who triumphed in that event, and Tag picked her up and carried her around like she was the trophy, then ran them both into the lake, while she screeched at him.
And Elsie couldn’t help but stare. At that relationship. Really, it was the same with her brothers. And their wives. It was like they’d transformed. They laughed now. They had fun. She had never really associated that with relationships, but it seemed to be a part of theirs.
And Tag and Nelly’s too. Apparently.
She made sure to fuel up until it was time for football. And for this, they divided themselves in half.
The Garretts ended up with the Sullivans, and associated ringers. Which did include Travis, and that pleased her immensely. They would have an excuse to get in the huddle together. But that also meant that the McClouds were paired with the Kings. And frankly she thought it was an unforgivable advantage.
Her brothers were great. But they were the only men of any real size on the team. Travis was handsome, but he didn’t have the height or muscle mass of any of the McClouds or Kings.
She really liked Travis. She also liked to win.
Denver, Justice, Daughtry and Landry King were terrifying. And Arizona might be small, but she was mean. Penelope, usually called Penny, had lived at King’s Crest—a ward of sorts of the Kings—for a number of years, but they were insular, and so as a result, she was too, and Elsie didn’t even know her whole story in spite of the fact they were very close in age.
But at least she wasn’t helping the McClouds. She was fluffy, and soft, and sitting under a tree with a small chicken beside her. So she wasn’t going to be causing any drama with the game.
Then there were...the McClouds.
Getting hit by Gus was probably like being hit by an actual freight train. The others would be like all the rest of the cars rolling right over.
“What’s the matter with you?” Sawyer asked, elbowing her as they took their place in the huddle.
She realized that Travis was in there too.
“Nothing,” she said, gasping for air.
“Good. Get your head in the game, Garrett.”
“I think we have to acknowledge we are a little bit outgunned,” Fia said.
“Yeah,” Wolf said. “But they aren’t going to tackle you.”
Fia looked back over her shoulder, and Elsie was fairly certain she was looking at Landry. “I would not be so sure.”
“Play the small helpless female thing to your advantage,” Sawyer said.
Alaina and Elsie snorted in unison. “We will not,” Elsie said, feeling free to answer for the two of them.
“Come on,” Travis said, elbowing her gently. “Pretend you sprained your ankle.”
He winked.
He winked at her.
For a moment, everything seemed a lot brighter.
Her stomach did a funny little shiver.
But then she looked out of the huddle, and saw the opposing team lined up and ready to go. And saw Hunter. His eyes were focused. Intense.
She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was coming straight for her.
And that made her stomach do something else entirely.
She took a breath. “I’m ready.”
“Break,” Sawyer said.
They got lined up, ready to hike the ball, with Sawyer and Gus head-to-head.
And when play started, it started hard.
It was a melee. There was no real refereeing in the situation, though people tried to call outplays and penalties from the sidelines. It was difficult to get anyone playing to pay attention.
The McClouds alternately had Charity and Nelly running around on their side, which made things feel a little bit more even. But then Wolf bumped Charity in an attempt to retrieve the ball, and that earned him a sack from Lachlan, even though he wasn’t even supposed to be on the field.
Wolf was grumbling about his knee when play started again, and in the confusion, the ball went loose. Elsie scrambled for it, scooped it up into her arms and started to run like a jackrabbit as quickly as she could for a first down.
And that was when she found herself flying through the air. Taken completely off her feet. She landed roughly in the grass, with Hunter’s arms around her. She clutched the ball to her chest, looking up at him with ferocity.
“You snake,” she said.
“I don’t think you got a first down.”
“I did,” she said.
“Didn’t,” he said, grinning.
And for some reason, the voices all around them went fuzzy. And her heart started to beat a little bit harder. So she did what any reasonable person would do. She reared up and bit him on the forearm.
He cursed, jumping back and freeing her.
“You,” he said.
“Deserved,” she said.
“Break it up,” Sawyer said, coming in and waving his arm. “This game is supposed to be civil.”
“He tackled me,” she said, pointing toward him. Then she realized her hand was shaking and she put it down.
“Tackle football, Elsie,” Hunter said. “If you’re too fragile to handle it...”
“I am not fragile,” she said back.
And she was going to lie in wait.
Alaina managed to get the ball at one point and was making a run for the goal line when Gus scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder like she didn’t weigh a thing.
Alaina’s howl of fury echoed across the surrounding mountains.
“Carrying!” Sawyer shouted.