Page 160 of The Route to You

“What’s knocked up?” Tara asked, looking at her mother.

Elle glared at Kyle, then gave Tara a patient smile. “You know, knock-knock-knock,” she tapped her knuckles against Tara’s skull lightly, and she giggled.

“No, I thought it might be an engagement,” Mom said with a look at him to watch it in front of the kids. “I’ll see where they wandered off to.”

As Mom went in, Elle shook his head. “You’re going to give that woman a heart attack, you know.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He cringed inwardly, though. Just wait until she hears about the SkyRun.

The sliding door opened, and Quinn, Dad, and Sloan exited, carrying several bowls and platters. They set it on a pop-up table Kyle had placed by the slider, where condiments, plates, and utensils were already set up with drinks.

Fancy drinks, too. When Kyle had mentioned a barbecue to Sloan, he’d pictured a cooler with beer and soda. She’d bought glass drink dispensers and spent all morning making sweet tea and some fruity drink with berries in it, slicing lemons, limes, and oranges for the water. The pop-up table had a tablecloth, too, and little stands announced the food in Sloan’s practiced script.

“Everything looks so nice,” Mom said as Sloan set the food out. “Now you all see why I can’t ever host. I can’t hold a candle to this younger generation. My mom’s specialty was a cheeseball with Ritz crackers and lime Jell-O salad.”

“I love a good lime Jell-O salad,” Sloan said with a grin. “My mom used to make it all the time when we were young.”

Mom’s face softened. “I bet she did, honey. She was a great cook.” She reached out and squeezed Sloan’s hand for a beat. Then she turned toward Kyle. “They were putting the dogs inside for you. I told them to come on out. Now, what’s this big announcement?”

“Announcement?” Sloan asked, shooting Kyle a glance.

He sucked in a breath. “Yeah, it’s just a little something I wanted to tell everyone together. About my new show.” That seemed to relax Sloan, but he could already read the question in her face. Why didn’t you tell me first?

Liddy and Callum came out, sitting next to each other at the table, completely unaware of the way Kyle’s heart started pounding the minute they sat.

Now or never.

As he opened his mouth to speak, Tara ran up to Liddy, “Aunt Liddy! Aunt Liddy, look, my tooth is wiggly.”

“Wow, that’s amazing,” Liddy said.

Charlotte went running up beside her sister. “Iggy.”

The interaction gave Sloan a few moments to cross toward Kyle. “What’s going on?” she asked under her breath.

He squeezed her hand. “It’s a good thing. Don’t worry.”

She didn’t look fully convinced.

As Elle helped her daughters sit, Kyle tried to calm his nerves. This would take a lot of convincing everyone , he was certain, but he also knew he needed to do it.

“So, my announcement . . .” Kyle said, running his hand through his hair. With everyone’s eyes on him, he felt the weight of their curiosity. “You all know I’ve been wanting to revamp the show. I have to do a slightly different spin on it to make it work, but Davy has agreed to come out as a consultant and help me get the first few episodes off the ground.”

“What about funds?” Dad asked, practical as ever.

“I’m getting to that part—” Kyle said with a look. “I’ve spent the past six weeks working on the logistics—getting a small crew together. And I’ve lined up a few minor sponsors . . . and one major one. Blue Ridge Sports will be sponsoring five of my episodes.”

“That’s amazing,” Quinn said, with an enthusiastic smile. Elle furrowed a brow at him. “They made my rucksack. They make top-notch outdoor gear.”

Kyle went over to the grill and took the hamburger patties off, keeping his tone casual. “Yeah, exactly. They’re great. But the thing is, they want me to participate in an event they sponsor in the Tetons. It’s called the SkyRun, and it’s a thirty-mile race, in pairs, in the mountains. Two of the episodes are to be dedicated to it. Initially, Tomas and I approached them, but Tomas isn’t up for the challenge—it’s an intense physical endurance thing—so he’s going to cover from the sidelines. Dean agreed to go as my teammate. I started doing some weight training with Jeremy, but I’ll need to step it up to be ready.”

As the meaning of Kyle’s words became clearer, he saw the expressions on his family’s faces change. Flickers of hesitation. Worry.

Just like I expected.

Sloan cleared her throat. “When is the race?”

“January. I’ll need to go a few weeks beforehand to acclimate to the altitude and continue training, but my surgeon has cleared me.”