I smiled as best I could and kept walking toward the house.
Inside, the kitchen smelled like fried chicken, which normally would perk me up, even on the worst days. But not today. So I went to my room and decided to take a shower. After I was dressed, I debated telling Presley I couldn’t stay for dinner. But I knew walking out and leaving her and Tanner together would make me crazy, wondering what was going on while I was gone. So I stuck around to watch the car accident waiting to happen.
Presley was taking biscuits out of the oven when I walked back into the kitchen.
“Hey,” she said softly. She looked around to see if the coast was clear. “How was your afternoon?”
I walked to the refrigerator and grabbed a beer. Twisting the cap off, I shrugged. “Fine.”
She frowned. “Alex wanted to play, and I couldn’t say no.”
I nodded and sucked back half my beer.
“It smells like heaven in here.” Tanner strolled into the kitchen. “I can’t remember the last time I had a home-cooked meal.” He walked over to Presley and swiped a biscuit from the tray she’d just taken out of the oven. Biting into it, he said, “Thanks for making my favorites. I miss your cooking, P.” Then he winked at me. “Among other things.”
Presley closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “We’re ready to eat. Can one of you please tell Alex and make sure he washes his hands?”
Tanner and I both said “Sure” at the exact same time. But I needed a moment.
“Enjoy your biscuit.” I lifted my chin to my brother. “I’ll get Alex.”
Once we were all seated at the table, Alex was even more animated than usual. He bit off a chunk of a drumstick and spoke with his mouth full.
“Uncle Levi, did you know my dad probably would’ve had the highest number of completions in his first year in the pros? Before he got hurt.”
I looked up at my brother. He’d had a pretty solid rookie year, though he wouldn’t have had the best passer rating in the league if he hadn’t gotten injured. I knew that because I did hold that title that year. But when I looked over at Alex, who was practically beaming with pride for his father, I didn’t have the heart to set the record straight. Instead, I gritted my teeth and nodded.
“I’m sure he would’ve.”
“He also could’ve been All Pro that year.”
I inwardly rolled my eyes. “No doubt.”
While Tanner was busy shoveling food into his face, totally undaunted by stretching the truth with his kid, Presley caught my eye. She smiled appreciatively at me. She knew the truth.
“You know,” Tanner said. “I realized today that I was just about your age when I first met your mom.”
“Really?”
“Yup. We were in second grade together. She was a cheerleader for my peewee football team, and she was the prettiest girl on the squad. Actually, she was the prettiest girl in the school. I remember telling the guys on my team that I was going to kiss her someday.”
Alex scrunched up his nose. “Gross, Dad.”
Tanner laughed. “Why is that gross?”
“First of all, you’re weird for wanting to kiss a girl at my age. And second of all…she’s Mom.”
“Well, don’t worry. Your mom is a nice girl. She made me wait years to get that first kiss anyway.” Tanner turned to Presley. “Remember that day? I carved your initials in the tree at Redmond Park.”
“You also cut yourself with the pocketknife while doing it.”
Tanner leaned back in his chair. “Totally worth it.”
I guzzled what was left of my beer and slammed the bottle on the table a little too hard. “I need another one. Anyone else?”
“I’ll take one,” my brother said.
Presley frowned. “No thank you.”
For the next half hour, Tanner continued to walk down memory lane. I had to listen to stories about them going to prom, their first apartment, and how my brother used to fall asleep with his head on Presley’s pregnant belly, listening to Alex’s heartbeat. Each one was progressively harder to swallow, so I washed them all down with more beer than I normally drank. But it was what came after dinner that made me move to the hard stuff.
“Dad and I are going to camp in the yard tonight together,” Alex said.
I knew it was stupid. We’d only camped once, yet selfishly I’d felt like camping was our thing. I couldn’t even muster a that’s great to the kid. Instead, I went to the cabinet where my grandfather had always kept the liquor and twisted the top off an unopened bottle of scotch.
Presley looked at me with concern as I poured myself a shot, but said nothing.
“Mom, can we go out and get marshmallows? Dad and I are going to make a campfire when we camp tonight.”
“Umm… Sure, sweetheart. Let me just load the dishwasher, and we can run to the store. Why don’t you go wash your hands in the meantime.”
“Okay, Mom!”
As Alex ran off, Tanner walked up behind Presley at the sink. He put his hands on her shoulders, and I felt heat rise from my toes to the top of my forehead. “Levi and I will take care of all this, babe. You did all the cooking.”
Presley turned around, effectively forcing his hands from her shoulders. “Tanner, please stop calling me that.”
“Sorry. I guess it just feels so good to be living with you again, I forget we have a ways to go.”
Presley shook her head. “We’re not living together. You’re staying in one of the rooms—same as any stranger might be doing once the inn is open again.” She lowered her voice. “You need to stop giving Alex the wrong impression, Tanner.”
He wrinkled his forehead. “What, that I love his mother? That’s not a wrong impression. It’s a fact.”
“You’re making him think we’re a couple.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.”
“He’s a smart kid. Maybe he just sees what’s meant to be.”
Presley shook her head again. “I’m going to take Alex to the store. Do you need anything else for tonight while I’m out?”
“Nope.”
She glanced over at me before grabbing her keys and yelling for Alex.
Once it was just Tanner and me, another shot of scotch was necessary. I poured to the brim and sucked it back, enjoying the burn as it washed down my pipes.
Tanner rinsed a plate and loaded it into the dishwasher. “You drink more these days than I remember…”
“Not usually.”
“Something bothering you?”
“Nothing I feel like talking about.”
Tanner chuckled. “Woman problems, huh?”
I said nothing, which made my brother assume he’d hit the nail on the head.
“It was easier when we were eighteen, wasn’t it? Now a Ouija board has more answers about what a woman wants than I do.”
I poured another shot. “It’s not that complicated.”
“For you, maybe. What are you pulling down? Twenty, thirty million a year? You just have to flash that Super Bowl ring, and the panties fall to the ground. Us working stiffs have to actually work for it.”
The muscle in my jaw ticked. “You might want to pull out your Ouija board and have a heart to heart if you think all women only give a shit about money.”