All the Little Lights(54)

“How long?”

“Oh, you know,” she said, brushing off her pants. “Just a couple of years.”

“A couple of years? But . . . Elliott’s dad is . . . ?”

Leigh snorted. “Cherokee. And German, I think. Kay doesn’t talk about the German, even though he’s lighter skinned than I am. And yes, two years. They were long, but it made John and me inseparable. It’s good, you know, for things not to come easy. You appreciate them more. I think that’s why Elliott spent the last two years grounded trying to get to you.”

I pressed my lips together, trying not to smile. Kay returned, looking annoyed.

“You were right. Halftime,” she said. Someone else called her name, and she looked up, waved twice without smiling, and sat down.

“It was your idea to let him finish high school here,” Leigh said.

“It was his idea,” Kay said. She looked at me, unimpressed. “I wonder why.”

“Elliott said to be nice,” Leigh warned.

“He also said she’s an Aquarius,” Kay said, smug.

Leigh shook her head and laughed once. “Lord, not that again. You tried that with John and me, remember?”

“You’re both on the cusp,” Kay said. She forced a smile and then focused on the field.

The band began to play, and then the cheerleaders and Pep Club ran out onto the field, creating a pathway for the players. Another minute later, the team burst through a paper banner, and Kay immediately picked out Elliott from the dozens of students and pointed, a real smile lighting her face.

“There he is,” she said, grabbing Leigh’s arm. “He looks so big.”

Elliott wasn’t hard to spot. His dark hair poked out from under his helmet.

Leigh patted her arm. “That’s because he is, sis. You spawned a giant.”

I smiled, watching as Elliott did a quick scan of the crowd and found his mom, aunt, and then me. He held up his hand, his index and pinky fingers pointing to the sky, his thumb out to the side. Leigh and Kay returned the gesture, but when they put their hands down, he still left his up. Leigh gently nudged me.

“That’s your cue, kiddo.”

“Oh,” I said, holding up my hand, my pinky and index finger in the air, my thumb out to the side, and then bringing my hand back into my lap.

Elliott turned around, but I caught the trademark wide grin on his face.

Kay looked to Leigh. “He loves her?”

Leigh patted her arm again. “Don’t pretend you didn’t know.”





Chapter Sixteen

Catherine

The Youngbloods sat around Leigh’s oval dining table, spooning out everything from huckleberry bread to cheesy mac casserole. Leigh and her sister-in-law, Kay, had made all Elliott’s favorites earlier in the day, and they were ready when we arrived.

Elliott’s uncle John sat across from me, his already round belly meeting the edge of the table. He wore his hair long like Elliott, but John’s was in a ponytail, wrapped with a thin leather strap down the length of his hair, then tied into a knot at the bottom. Gray strands were mixed in with the dark, concentrated just above his ears. His gold-rimmed glasses sat halfway down his nose.

Elliott stuffed his face, his cheeks still flushed from working hard in the cold fall air, his hair still damp from sweating under his helmet.

I reached up to touch his bruised eye, getting more purple and swollen by the minute. “Does that hurt?”

“It probably will in the morning, but it was worth it to score that touchdown,” he said, grabbing my hand quickly to kiss it before spooning more food onto his plate.

“Slow down, Elliott. You’re gonna throw up,” Kay scolded.

“He never gets full,” Leigh said with borderline disgust, watching him eat.

“Maybe we should put ice on it?” I asked, still staring at his eye.

He chewed quickly, swallowed, and smiled. “I promise it’s okay.” He reached over, pulled my chair closer to him, and kissed my temple quickly before returning his attention to his food.

It struck me that I was sitting next to and getting kissed by the high school’s senior quarterback across the table from his family.

Elliott wiped his mouth with a napkin.

“At least he still has manners,” Kay deadpanned. “The Neal boy said there was a party tonight for the seniors. Are you going?”

Elliott frowned. “No, Mom. I told you that.”

“I just . . .” She only hesitated for a moment. “I don’t want you missing out on anything because—”

“Mom,” Elliott snapped, too loud.

Leigh raised an eyebrow, and Elliott lowered his head a bit. “We’re not going.”

“Well,” John said, “what are you gonna do then?”

“I don’t know,” Elliott said, turning toward me. “Maybe watch a movie?”

“Elliott, go. I have to get home anyway to make sure everything is ready for breakfast in the morning.”

“Is that B and B still going?” Kay asked. “Didn’t look like it was.”

“It is,” Elliott said. “Catherine works her tail off.”

“Oh?” Kay prompted.

“I help my mom with the laundry and food prep and general cleaning and supplies,” I said.