Page 96 of Fall for Him

“Lord, isn’t swell just the right word for these muscles.” Her eyes twinkled at Derek’s biceps and his corded forearms.

“I think you’re thinking swole. Chrissakes, mom.” Dylan palmed his face.

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Gallagher.” Derek appeared delighted at this mortifying attention.

“Katie’s fine, Derek. Tommy,” she shouted out to Dylan’s dad. “We’ve got two more strapping men to help with table duty.”

Derek smiled. “Happy to help. Just point Dylan and me to what we can do.”

Dylan’s dad came around the side of the tent with a big crate. “Oh, c’mon, Katie, you know Dylan does better helping in here with you.”

Derek’s flicker of confusion made Dylan stiffen.

His dad put down the crate of flowers and kissed Dylan’s mom. “The three big boys’ll be in in a minute. They always do the tables.” He clapped Dylan on the shoulder and then shook Derek’s hand. “Heard a lot about you, Mr. Chang. Glad my boys asked you to come. You’re right, Katie, this fella’s almost as tall as Brooks. You’re Sean’s neighbor, right? Friend of that poor young goalie who passed away?”

A muscle ticked in Derek’s jaw. “Yes, I am. Will Sean be here today? Haven’t seen him for a while.”

A shadow passed over Dylan’s dad’s face. “He’s upstairs. Not sure if he’ll be down. Have to see how he’s feeling with all the people.”

Something in Dylan’s dad’s reaction discouraged more questions. A noise in the corner caught Dylan’s attention. Two more redheads sat on one of the big old rugs they always used to line the tent floor. Felicity held her niece in her lap, reading her a book called A Young Girl’s Guide to Fighting the Patriarchy.

Derek elbowed Dylan in the ribs. “See.”

As if to further illustrate the point, when his niece jumped down out of her lap, it revealed that Felicity’s T-shirt was a cartoon-style uterus holding up a middle finger. Her shirt was knotted at her waist over an aggressively feminine, floral-patterned pink skirt.

“Nice shirt, Lissy.”

“Mom’s pissed,” Felicity said in a carrying whisper.

Dylan’s mom called back. “I think my daughter should be able to express herself through her clothing, but if all the kids start making that gesture, I’m going to burn that fecking shirt.”

Dylan’s oldest niece strutted up to Derek. “I’m Felicity.”

“That can’t be right because she’s Felicity.” Derek pointed at Dylan’s sister.

Mini-Felicity lived up to her namesake with the look of pure contempt she offered Derek. “Multiple people are allowed to have the same name. I call her Aunt Lissy. Just in case you’re still confused.”

“Ahh… I had no idea. Thanks for explaining. I’m Derek.”

Mini-Felicity gave a little approving nod and ran off, pulling off her T-shirt over the top of her bathing suit.

“Cal’s daughter,” Dylan said, and smirked. “Next year, you should bring your nephews and we can see what she makes of Lucas. They’re the same age.” The words “next year” gave Dylan a few seconds of anxiety, but Derek didn’t react with anything other than amusement.

“Not sure the world is ready for those two to be friends.”

Dylan’s mother pushed a color-coded list into Dylan’s hands. He and Derek dove into tasks. Derek was arranging centerpieces while Dylan was up on a ladder in the corner, patching a rip with duct tape.

When he climbed down, wiry arms grabbed Dylan from behind. He twisted to find himself wrapped in a hug from his favorite relative, Aunt Jeannie.

“Guess you couldn’t come up with an excuse this year. Glad I made the trip out. Didn’t know I’d get a glimpse of you. Missed your face.” Her bright, blue-gray eyes twinkled. Eyes that were much more lined than the last time he’d seen her. She was thinner too. Felicity lived with her all through her undergrad out in Kansas. She rarely traveled away from her store in the last few years, so he was surprised she came.

“Shoulda known,” Dylan said with a nod at the shirt Aunt Jeannie was wearing, twin to Felicity’s.

“Aunt Jeannie buys me the best gifts.” Felicity giggled and then started organizing the desserts.

A commotion built as Dylan’s three brothers tromped in and stole Derek away from the flowers, yelling back words like “table duty” and “touch football” and “Gallagher initiation.”

Dylan watched his… friend run off with his brothers with a twinge. It wasn’t exactly jealousy. On some level he was happy that Derek fit into his family so well. Not that he had been thinking about it like that. Because that would be super weird since they hadn’t even technically put a label on their relationship yet.

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