“I only bought a twelve pack,” I confess. “trying to be good with playoffs looming and all.”
"I think we need more," Grady replies and turns to Tenley. "Can I borrow your car? I'll head down to the place at the bottom of the street and grab some. Your car is blocking mine on the driveway.”
Tenley reaches into the pocket of her cardigan and tosses her cousin the keys.
Two hours later, everyone is tipsy and upbeat. Condolence calls have been made to Theo by every Garrison in the place and once again, I’m amazed at how tight the family is. Nash and I are tight now too. Tighter than we’ve ever been, which isn’t to say we don’t bicker. But we’re co-captains and we’re working together and communicating better than ever before.
"If we really focus, we can beat the Riptide, if they make it that far in their division, which I think they will," Nash tells me. "But we have to really practice our blind passes."
Yeah, we’re back to doing that thing the fans and coaches love, where we anticipate where the other will be on the ice and shoot the puck in that direction before the other even gets there. It’s put me up in the top three scorers in the league and given Nash the title of most assists.
“We have to get to the end first, Nash,” I remind him as Tenley plays a heated game of ping pong on my table at the edge of the patio with Grady. Surprisingly he is not kicking her ass. “It’s a long road to the Final, which is the only time we’ll play a team from the other division.”
“I know but come on, I feel it. Don’t you?” he pushes his shoulder into mine as we sit beside each other on the couch. Olivia walks in with a new tray of food she must have prepped in the kitchen.
I shoot her a grateful smile and turn to my brother. “If I say I feel it I jinx it.”
"I thought I was the superstitious twin," Nash chuckles. He pauses, sips his beer, and his eyebrows, the same shade as mine, furrow a moment. "You gonna marry this one too?"
“Not right now, no,” I reply. “But I hope when I’m ready, she’s ready too.”
“Good. This is the right call. The right girl,” Nash replies. “I’m happy for you.”
I'm about to make some snarky remark about how that means we'll be legally tied to Tenley when Olivia holds up a crumpled piece of paper. "Who dropped this?"
“What is it?” Mallory asks.
Olivia unfolds the paper and smooths it out. It looks old and stained and I wonder if it’s just garbage that blew in off the street. “A receipt… no a… what? I…”
She pauses pulls her phone out of her pocket and switches on the flashlight. The sun has dipped and the solar lights around the patio aren’t that bright. Olivia’s head snaps up and she spins to stare at Tenley.
“What?’ Tenley asks.
Olivia’s head snaps to Nash and then to me before her eyes find the paper again, but Tate is snapping it out of her hand, annoyed with all the suspense. He reads it and his mouth falls open. He looks at his sister. “It’s a marriage certificate. For you. And Nash.”
"What?" Mallory squeals.
Tenley's face goes pale, and Nash's goes blank like his brain has disconnected. Tate waves it in the air. "Tenley tell me this is a joke. What the fuck?"
“Oh my God!” Tenley lunges and snatches the paper out of Tate’s hand.
Nash is on his feet beside me. “You had this? The whole time?”
“It must have been in my sweater pocket. I haven’t worn this in forever,” Tenley looks like a bear in a trap. Tate snatches the paper back from her and turns to Nash, his eyes narrowed.
“Tell me this fake. A joke.”
I step up to stand beside my brother, to have his back if he needs me, and block the punch Tate looks like he wants to throw. "Itmightbe.”
“I’ll call the lawyer,” Nash mutters and stalks back into my house. Tate moves to follow, but I hook his arm.
Tenley scurries off after Nash. Tate stares at me. “You knew?”
“Yeah. Sort of.”
“Holy shit.” Olivia gasps and stares.
Grady puts down his beer and slaps my shoulder. "Great night! The entertainment was top-notch. I'm going to head out. We should do this again sometime."