Why Not Tonight (Happily Inc. #3)(73)

“Wondered if you were going to show,” Mathias said, handing him a bright green T-shirt with their team number clearly marked on the front.

“I’m here.”

“Good.”

Natalie rushed up and hugged him. “I’m so excited. You’re going to do great.”

Just seeing her eased the tension inside of him. His gut unknotted and he found himself thinking more clearly. He kissed her. “You’re going to watch?”

“I’ll be here with your sisters-in-law.” She grinned. “We’re going to be talking about everyone, so brace yourself.”

“No bracing required. I won’t be able to hear it.”

She laughed. “Good luck.”

She ran back to join the wives.

For just that instant he allowed himself to believe it was real, that he could figure things out and convince her they belonged together. Only he knew that was impossible. There was too much for him to overcome. He couldn’t trust who he was and there was no way he would consider having children, while Natalie was born to be a mom.

“So here’s how it’s going to go,” Nick said. “We have the 5K followed by a scavenger hunt through the wooded part of the park and then a tug-of-war. The better we do in the first two parts, the higher our ranking in the final one. The last two teams compete against each other first in the tug-of-war, with the winner taking on the next highest ranked and so on.”

“The higher you are, the fewer number of turns you have to take,” Del confirmed. “No problem. We’ve all been training for the race and Aidan will get us through the woods, no problem.”

Mathias looked around. “Maybe it’s just me, but doesn’t that guy over there play professional soccer?”

“Ringers,” Nick muttered. “I knew it.”

Ronan chuckled.

“If the teams will head to the starting line, please.”

The instruction came over the loudspeaker. Ronan and his brothers lined up for the race. Some of the teams were all women and others were mixed gender. There was friendly bantering at the starting line. Then the gun went off and everyone sprinted along the course.

An hour and a half later they’d completed the 5K and gotten through the scavenger hunt in the forest. Aidan had studied the map and found the shortest way through while the rest of them had worked the clues. They’d finished third out of twenty-five teams, giving them plenty of time to rest before the final event.

After a water break, they headed over to the tug-of-war area to watch the other teams. A long rope stretched over a shallow gully filled with mud. It was about ten feet wide, and while not that deep, it was going to be plenty messy, not to mention humiliating, for any team that got pulled in.

The two last-place teams took their place. A group of women easily defeated a team of guys in their late teens who were too busy laughing and joking with each other to notice the round had started.

“Never underestimate the power of a woman,” Aidan said as the young guys went sprawling.

“We’ve got a bit until it’s our turn,” Del said. “We can relax. This has been fun.” He made a fist and lightly socked Nick in the arm. “Thanks for arranging everything. We should do it again.” He looked at Aidan. “Is there anything like this in Fool’s Gold?”

“There has to be. We have a festival nearly every week. If not, we can start something.”

“Why Fool’s Gold?” Mathias asked, looking wary.

“Why not?” Aidan’s expression tightened. “You grew up there. You have friends there. You can come back and hang with Mom. And speaking of our mother, you three need to step it up. Everything falls on me. Sending flowers for her birthday and Mother’s Day doesn’t mean you have an ongoing relationship.”

Ronan took a step back. This wasn’t his fight, he told himself. He didn’t have to get involved.

Nick shuffled his feet. “It’s not Mom who’s the problem.”

“I don’t care.” Aidan stepped close and glared at him. “She’s your mother.”

“I know.” He sighed. “Fine. I’ll do more. And you’re right—we should do something in Fool’s Gold in the next few months. Maybe before Pallas has the baby. After that we won’t want to travel for a while.”

Mathias nodded. “I get it. I’ll talk to Carol. Maybe we can all get together for Mom’s birthday this year. Take her out to brunch.”

Del grinned. “Brunch works.”

Ronan knew their father hated brunch and would refuse to go.

“Besides,” Del said, looking smug, “if Maya and I move back to Fool’s Gold, I’m going to be golden.”

“You wish,” Mathias joked, and then he turned to Ronan. “You want to weigh in on this?”

“Do what you want.”

Mathias’s humor faded. “No way. You’re not going to tell us that you’re not coming with us.”

“I have no reason to go see Elaine.”

Nick muttered something under his breath. Del and Aidan both looked disgusted.

“You can’t be serious,” Del told him. “Dammit, Ronan, get over it. She raised you just like she raised us. She was there for you every single day. You’ve got to let this go.”