Family Camp (Daddy Dearest, #1)(45)

Lucy had been so adorable, waving one little arm like she was riding a bull. And, naturally, Geo had been all-in on acting like a horse, tossing his non-existent mane, shaking one leg out, and shimmying his butt to the crowd’s roars of approval. Travis had laughed until he couldn’t breathe.

Travis could totally see Geo as a teacher. He was a born comedian, gaining attention easily and holding it effortlessly, unafraid to be goofy, careless of his dignity, and obviously adoring kids. His students must love him.

By comparison, Travis had so many hang-ups and insecurities. He felt them all as Jayden dragged him over to Geo.

“Hey,” Geo said, his eyes warm.

“Hey,” said Travis.

“Geo, guess what?” Jayden said excitedly. “Travis gets to be on our team for the family relay!”

“Very cool.” Geo raised an eyebrow at Travis. Are you sure?

“Jayden asked so, yeah, I’m in,” Travis said, clearing his throat.

“Well heck, in that case, we are totally gonna win this thing. Good job recruiting, Jay.” Geo held out his fist and Jayden bumped it with a proud smile.

“Hey!” said Jayden, “since I have you guys together… Stryker and Aiden went to see Travis when the Padres played the Dodgers. Like, at a biiiiig stadium in L.A. Can we do that, Geo? Puh-lease? You want us to come see you, don’t you, Travis?” Jayden gave Travis a wide-eyed innocent look.

“That’d be great,” Travis said. And he meant it. The idea of Geo and the kids being in the stands, of seeing them again at a game at some point in the future, that made him happy. He liked it more than he had any right to.

“Um…” Geo bit his lip. “Well, L.A. is a long drive, Jay. Even longer than it took us to get here.”

“Oh.” Jayden’s face fell.

“Oakland would be closer for you,” Travis said.

Geo looked at him sharply. “Oakland…isn’t bad. About three hours.”

“Well, if you wanna bring Jayden and Lucy sometime, I’ll get you tickets.”

“Yeah?” Geo’s smile was crazy bright.

“Sure. I’d be happy to. Just pick a game. Our schedule is on our website.”

“Yeah!” Jayden hollered, leaping in triumph. “We’re gonna go see Travis play ball!”

“That was a pretty darn good idea, Jayden.” Geo squeezed Jayden’s shoulder. He smiled at Travis, eyes warm. His tongue poked his cheek, distractedly, but it reminded Travis of just one thing. His skin prickled and a chill went down his spine.

Nope. They were not doing this before a family relay. And definitely not in these shorts.

Travis looked at Jayden. “So. Um. Family relay. There’s a ball pass, then a wheelbarrow race. Last round is a three-legged race.”

“What the hell’s a three-legged race?” Jayden made a face like Travis was crazy.

“Care to rephrase that, Jayden?” Geo said, his voice firm.

“What the heck’s a three-legged race?” Jayden batted his eyes coyly.

“It’s like this.” Travis turned to stand right next to Jayden, putting their legs together. “These two legs are tied together, and we have to get down to the finish line and back like that.”

“Oh, man!” Jayden squeaked, hitting his forehead with his hand like he couldn’t believe it. “Well, I want another blue ribbon, so you all need to bring it.”

“Three legs, four legs, no legs, I am on it,” Geo said adamantly. He put his fist in the middle of them. “Let’s do this thing. Team Manderson!”

“What?” Travis laughed.

“Mayhew and Anderson. Just run with it, man, Come on!”

Travis swallowed something that might have been a hysterical giggle and slapped his hand on Geo’s. Jayden slapped his hand over Travis’s, and, with a little prodding, Lucy added hers on top with a chin-tucked smile.

“Go team Manderson!” Jayden crowed.

Geo broke the clench and trailed his fingers in the air like sparklers and the kids copied him. He was a dork, Travis thought. But he was the very best kind of dork.

There was the blast of a whistle. “Okay families, line up!” Cindy yelled. “Come on! Line up at the white starting line. Family teams. Each team should have two to six people.”

Team Manderson lined up. As they were waiting for the other families to get into place, Travis whispered to Geo, “Was everything okay with Jayden last night?”

Geo nodded. “Yeah. Really good, actually.” He gave Travis a meaningful look. “What about the fire? Is your family going to be okay?”

“Yeah. The firefighters think mice chewed through wire in the walls, and the insurance guy said it was covered if that’s the case, so—”

“Okay, guys! First up is the ball pass! Here’s how it goes.” Cindy and Joe were at the finish line while Trish moved down the starting line with the basket, giving each family a ball. “First person up puts the ball against their neck, like this.” Joe demonstrated, putting a ball at his neck and holding it there with his chin. “Kids five and under can secure it with an arm like so—” Joe held his forearm against the ball. “But no one, ever, can touch it with a hand!”

“No way, that’s cheating!” all the counselors shouted at once, Travis included.