“You hear that Justin?” Corbin led him toward the stairs. “Let’s go see what Uncle Lang has brought you.”
“Uncle Lang,” his brother said with a big, satisfied grin. “I’ll never get tired of hearing it.”
“Will you be the best uncle ever?” Ivey teased.
“Naturally.” Assuming a lofty expression, Lang stated, “I excel at all I do.” With that, he shot a quick, suggestive look at Hope, making Ivey stiffen.
Her friend never liked male attention, and in fact, it set her on edge. Outright flirting or innuendo tended to leave Hope floundering.
But Lang moved right along, adding, “I have no doubt I’ll win the uncle gig, too. Just watch.”
When Hope only chuckled without a single sign of unease, Ivey felt her heart turn over. She couldn’t wait to get Hope alone to ask her about her reaction to Lang, but for now she enjoyed seeing her relax and have fun.
Together, they all tromped over the path in the woods to Corbin’s house. Branches spread out overhead, and exposed roots tried to trip her up. Corbin stayed close, occasionally holding back a weed, once removing a spiderweb with a stick.
When Justin ran ahead, Corbin called, “Wait for us,” but Justin didn’t slow and Corbin didn’t seem to mind. “That boy has one speed, and it’s fast.”
Ivey smiled with him. “Typical of kids his age, I guess.”
Lang said, “I remember always being in a hurry.”
“And I remember always beating you.”
“A challenge!” Lang broke into a flat-out run, and Corbin immediately gave chase.
She and Hope shared another look. “Should we?”
“Heck, yeah.” And just like that, Hope took off, too.
Wow. She’d had no idea Hope was so fast! Laughing while struggling to catch up, Ivey ran as fast as she could in flip-flops...and skidded to a halt when she found the others all staring at Corbin’s driveway, where a very nice inboard boat sat in shining splendor.
Holy smokes.
Pleased with himself, Lang stood with arms crossed while Justin and Corbin circled the boat.
Finally Corbin looked up. “You didn’t.”
“You already know I did.” Smug, he took a bow and said, “Surprise.”
Astounded, Corbin rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s big.”
“Not too big for the lake. I checked before getting it. If you take the cover off and climb inside, you’ll find a tube, skis, rope, jackets...everything you need.”
Corbin’s mouth hitched on one side, giving him a lopsided grin. “Wow.” To the women, he said, “My brother is sometimes overly extravagant.”
“Pfft,” Ivey teased, totally deadpan. “It’s just a boat,” and that had both men chuckling.
Justin couldn’t seem to take it in. “You bought it for us?”
“Yup. What do you think? Am I the best uncle ever or what?”
Taking everyone by surprise, Justin launched himself at Lang and got swung up into a big hug. “You are!” Ninety miles a minute, he explained, “Me and Dad were looking at boats, but he said it was a big decision and we had to take our time and now we have one and it’s bigger than the one we rode in today.”
As Justin drew a breath, Lang said, “I’ll teach you to water-ski, okay? Or your dad can. He was better at it than me.”
“Truth,” Corbin said, turning to the women. “Either of you ski?”
Hope shook her head. Far as Ivey knew, she hadn’t even been in the lake, or worn a swimsuit, since the assault.
“I’ve gone tubing, but only when the driver swears not to deliberately dump me.” Making a face, Ivey said, “Geoff drove a friend’s boat once, and there was nothing fun about it.”
Corbin sent her a shrewd look. “Yeah? Why’s that?”
“He did dump me, the jerk. And back in the cove where I just knew there’d be big turtles and catfish and all kinds of snakes.” The memory irked her all over again. “I made him take me home and the whole thing was a fiasco.”
Lang said, “Geoff sounds like a—”
“Bad driver,” Corbin inserted, giving his brother a frown and sending a quick nod Justin’s way. To Ivey, he said, “Our mother would ride in a tube and we knew if we dumped her, there’d be hell to pay. I promise you, you can trust both of us.”
Lang crossed his heart, but added, “For the record, I like getting dumped.” He stuck his hat on Justin’s head. “What do you think?”
“I don’t know.” Justin lifted his shoulders. “I guess I will.” He moved away to circle the boat again.
“So.” Hands on his hips, Lang surveyed his brother. “You hadn’t yet bought a boat, right?”
“I was trying not to overindulge,” Corbin said.
Ivey couldn’t take it a second more. “Not to be nosy, but you’re saying you could have bought a boat like that, too?” Pretty sure it had to cost eighty thousand or more, not that she knew boat values since she’d never considered one herself, much less one so fancy. Then to Lang, “And you can just grab a boat like that as a gift? To give away?”
Corbin hedged, but Lang shrugged it off as nothing. “Yeah? Corbin didn’t tell you?”
“No,” Corbin said. “I haven’t yet shared my financial records with her.”
Ivey laughed. “The two of you should take this act on the road. Together, you’re hilarious. And hey, it’s not like being financially secure is a bad thing.”
“It’s not old money,” Corbin said with a shrug. “Early in Mom and Dad’s marriage, he turned a rundown sporting company into a thriving business. They reinvested everything for years, expanding across the country. After Dad died, Mom took over, though she’s no longer involved in the day-to-day running of things. Lang and I have stock, of course, and investments of our own.”
“So you don’t need to work?”
“Don’t need to,” Lang said. “But we both do.”
“It’s an ethical thing,” Corbin explained. “And we’d be bored in no time if we didn’t stay busy.”
Proving none of that meant anything to him, Justin asked, “Can I look inside?”
“You bet.” Lang started unsnapping the cover of the boat. “Why don’t you and I explore it while your dad gets that pizza ordered? I’m starved.”