Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100873 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100873 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
One memorable weekend, Danny had walked in late to find the table occupied by Alison, Joseph, Jacqueline and her professor husband, Oliver, all of them a little tipsy from wine and laughing uproariously over something.
He’d quietly tiptoed back out.
“How are Mum and Dad?” he asked. “I chatted to them a week ago but haven’t heard much since.” His parents had tended to baby him even after he reached adulthood, until he’d gently reminded them he was a full-grown man; he knew it was still a struggle for them to rein in the protectiveness, so at times they went a bit overboard with giving him space.
“Ísa still finds it bizarre that Mum has become such good friends with Jacqueline, but that seems to be holding.” Sailor grinned. “They went out antiquing, and Jacqueline apparently pulled out her credit card to buy this ten-thousand-dollar armoire that Mum admired. Mum had to explain to her that admiring things that are ridiculously expensive is part of the fun. The joy is in finding affordable treasures.”
“I can’t quite see the Dragon grasping that.” Catie’s mother had a way of thinking money solved any problem.
Sailor lifted both hands, palms upturned. “Yet they get along. I don’t get it either, but Mum is happy and so is Jacqueline.”
“Is Dad still doing that extra coaching with the kindergarten team?”
“Yeah, and the kids are freaking great. One made a try in the opposite direction the other week and all the players clapped and happy-danced.” Sailor laughed, his cheeks creasing and the blue of his eyes bright. “Dad says they remind him that at the heart of it, sports should be about joy.”
The words struck a chord with Danny. He was finding his joy again too, playing on a team that was competitive but that didn’t have the expectations of an entire city or country on its shoulders. Baseball was the top sport here, rugby far down the popularity ladder.
“What about you?” Sailor took a sip of the lemonade at his elbow. “Settling in okay?”
Danny nodded and told him about the day trip he was planning on one of his upcoming days off. “I’m going to see a sumo match with my housemates.” He grinned. “I can’t fucking wait. Those wrestlers are pure power.”
“I’ve watched a couple of matches on TV, but being there in person, that’ll be something else,” Sailor said and they chatted a bit more on the traditional sport before Danny gave in and said, “Have you seen Catie lately? How’s she doing?”
Sailor raised an eyebrow. “Great,” he said. “You know she put in a blistering time at the latest trials.”
“She told me.” He scuffed his foot on the floor, unable to explain why he felt as if he were fighting to hold on to air.
“Come on, baby bro, spit it out.”
“Don’t call me that,” Danny muttered, but he wasn’t truly angry. He knew his brothers would be calling him baby bro when he was seventy-five and heading into a retirement village.
“Dan, what’s wrong?” Sailor frowned. “Hold on. I’m going to close the door. Emmaline knows not to come in without knocking if the study door is closed.”
He returned soon afterward while Danny was still struggling with what he wanted to say. He wasn’t sure he wanted to say anything at all—because he and Catie, it was something important. Private.
“You and Catie having problems?” Sailor nudged, and when Danny scowled at him, his brother shook his head. “I have eyes in my head. I saw the way you looked at her at the airport, saw the way she hugged you. You two aren’t pretending anymore.”
Danny got all hot, his face burning. “Did Mum and Dad notice?”
“Probably, but you know them. They’re not going to say anything until you do.” Sailor leaned closer to the screen. “No pressure in either direction, Dan. We love you both too much.”
Exhaling hard, Danny shoved a hand through his hair. “It’s just hard to get a handle on things when I’m so far away.”
“You two are talking though?”
“Yeah.”
“Dan?”
“She always replies when I message. Always.”
“Ah.” Sailor leaned back. “But she never sends the first message, is that it?”
Danny stared at his brother. “How do you know that?” It was what had made him realize he didn’t mean as much to Catie as she did to him.
“Because I know Catie.” Sailor rubbed his jaw. “Look, I’m in a tough position. I feel protective of both of you, so I’m not going to talk about one to the other behind their back—but I will tell you to use your brain and not react emotionally. Think about why Catie is the way she is, and then think about what it says that she always replies to your messages.”
Sailor pointed at Danny through the screen. “Use your smarts, baby brother. You know the answer.”
30
DANNY GOES MIA
It took three days of sending Catie messages and getting funny replies that made him grin before Danny got one that shifted his brain cells into gear. He’d said: Clive still in town after his second jackpot?