Page 50 of Tied Over

“Well, then,” she said with a cackle. “If that’s true, then the two of you should be no challenge for me and Hank.”

I glanced at her husband, and he waggled his eyebrows at me. “Pictionary, my boy,” he said, though I was far older than all the other men but him. “We’re going to murder you.”

“I have no doubt,” I agreed.

Dinner was fine, barbecue with more fixings than I’d ever had in my life. Afterward, the kids went to watch movies and the adults stayed in the great room to split up into teams and play games.

I was tired, so I ended up heading back to my room. On the way there, Stella saw me, grabbed my hand, and took me down the stairs to the basement, where there was a popcorn machine with butter and everything you could want on it, along with juice boxes and s’mores.

“You’re all gonna get diabetes,” I told her.

“Is that bad?” Stella wanted to know.

My phone rang, and it was Bodhi on a FaceTime call. “I thought you were taking another nap.”

“No, I’m watching—what am I watching?”

“Encanto,” Brandon told me.

“I’m watching Encanto.”

“I see. Well, I have to draw Usain Bolt. Thoughts?”

“Where are you?”

“In the kitchen pantry.”

“Why not,” I teased him.

“Just, c’mon,” he urged me.

“Draw the flag of Jamaica and a lightning bolt.”

“Ah. Good. Thanks,” he said and hung up.

Five minutes later he came downstairs with a bottle of water, pain meds, and a creamsicle.

“Oh, you’re a nice man,” I said playfully.

He took the chair beside me, I passed him the fresh popcorn Stella had just made me, and I got the creamsicle.

“It’s good, right?” she asked him from the other side of me.

“It is. You did a good job,” he told her.

She shrugged. “It’s kinda easy, but you can’t overfill it, and you hafta put the butter in from the mini fridge. Last time Uncle Hayden forgot to take the wrapper off the stick of butter,” she said, rolling her eyes. “There was a fire, and Grampa had to get a new machine.”

“Rookie move,” he told her.

“Yep,” she agreed, and it was a really good impression of my voice.

Encanto was good, and Coco, after that, as well.

“Okay,” I announced loudly, putting the TV on the home screen since I had the clicker. “It’s a little after nine, so everybody has to go wash their faces, brush their teeth, change into their jammies, and we’ll watch one more movie before you hafta go to bed.”

They were instantly up and moving, running by in a stream of children as Angie, Keith, and a man I didn’t know walked into the room.

“You two should come upstairs,” Angie suggested, and I noted she was holding the stranger’s hand as she led him over to me. “Jed, this is my husband, Zach. Zach, this is Josiah Redeker, and you remember Bodhi from New Year’s in Vail.”