by Jaci Burton
"No. I sit on the board of the Cassidy Foundation. We run several charities, and I'm deeply involved with those. So as far as the legal side, I still have my fingers in that enough that I don't yearn for my days as a lawyer. But the courtroom? No, I don't miss that at all. I did my part for a lot of years and I thoroughly enjoyed the work I did. I made what I consider all the right choices for myself, for Easton, and for the kids. I have zero regrets."
"Tell Katrina how you and Dad met, Mom," Mia said, then looked over at Katrina. "It's such a great story."
"Easton was a key witness in a case I was prosecuting for battery."
"Really," Katrina said. "What was the case about?"
"He was involved in a skirmish in a nightclub. Though he wasn't a participant, one of his friends had been accused of assaulting another patron there. Since Easton had been present, he was one of the witnesses and I needed to talk to him. Of course, since the defendant was his friend, he did his best to make himself unavailable.
"I was an assistant DA during that time, and I was assigned to depose him. He didn't show up during the scheduled time, which irritated the hell out of me. He claimed scheduling conflicts, when I knew damn well he was trying to protect his friend."
"Did he ever show up?" Katrina asked.
"Finally. And he wasn't happy about it, either. But we got through it, and I gave him credit for being honest, though he was as ... creatively evasive as he could be. And he claimed the other guy started it and his friend was just defending himself."
"Did he have to testify in court?" Anya asked.
Lydia shook her head. "The guy who was assaulted ended up dropping the charges and refused to testify. And without our key witness, we didn't have a case."
"So you lost," Anya said.
"More or less, yes. And then Easton asked me out."
Katrina laughed. "He did?"
"Yes. And I was pissed about losing the case and the media circus surrounding him and the other player."
"So you said no?"
"Of course I said no. I was young and hungry, trying to climb the ladder in the DA's office. I wanted nothing to do with him and his fame. But he was so persistent. He pursued the hell out of me. Of course I was also wildly attracted to him. There was my dilemma."
"And then Mom gave in and went out with him," Mia said with a wide smile. "They became an item, which caused another type of media circus."
Lydia sighed. "That it did. Which did not make the DA's office happy."
"Not much they could do about it, right? They couldn't tell you who you could date--or fall in love with."
Lydia nodded at Anya. "That's true. We became inseparable. Both of us so career minded, and yet so in love. And when he proposed to me, it kind of sealed the deal. I was going to be the prosecutor married to the football star."
Their story made Katrina's heart swell. "That is incredibly sweet. And so romantic."
"It was. He swept me off my feet. Damn man. He was kind of overwhelming."
Katrina knew that feeling. She'd felt overwhelmed ever since Barbados.
Like father, like son, she supposed.
While everyone talked, she sat and sipped her drink, looking out over the porch and onto the land. What an amazing feeling that must be for Lydia and Easton to have all this land, to know they could walk or drive for miles and still not see the end of what was theirs. She had been impressed enough with Grant's house in St. Louis. The property had been huge, especially the expanded woodland area with the surprise pond located beyond the woods.
This, however, was spectacular. She couldn't imagine having something like this, an oasis to shut yourself off from the world, but also spacious enough to welcome as many guests as you wanted.
She'd always been content in New York. It had suited her purposes, business-wise. It had everything she needed or wanted. But now it was starting to feel closed in to her.
Which was ridiculous, of course. She'd be fine once she got back home.
Easton opened the front door. "Steaks are ready, honey."
Lydia stood. "Okay. Let's go have some dinner."
Just as they were about to head inside, a dark SUV came flying up the driveway, dust flying in its wake. It slammed to a halt out front.
A tall, very muscular dark-haired man came out.
"Figures you'd show up just as dinner was being served," Lydia said.
He pulled off his dark sunglasses and came up the stairs, wrapping Lydia in a hug. "You know me, Mom. And it's good to be home."
He turned away from his mother only long enough to hug his sister.
"Brat," he said.
"Smartass," she replied. "Good to have you home again."
"Flynn," Lydia said. "This is Katrina Korsova, Grant's girlfriend. And this is Katrina's sister, Anya."
Girlfriend. She didn't know how she felt about that, but she didn't have time to think about it because Flynn took her hand and shook it.
"So, my brother's the first of us to bring a woman home to meet Mom and Dad, huh? Nice to meet you, Katrina. You too, Anya."
"Flynn," Katrina said.
"Hey, Flynn," Anya said, grinning the whole time.
"Well, come on," Lydia said. "Let's go eat before those steaks get cold."
"Nice of you to have dinner on the table just as I got here. I'm starving," Flynn said, putting his arm around his sister and walking inside behind their mother.
"Wow," Anya said, inching close to Katrina, stopping her as everyone else headed into the dining room. "Is every Cassidy brother that good-looking?"
"They're all too old for you, Anya," Katrina said.
"I know that. But that doesn't mean I can't ogle the goods. And maybe drool over them a little. Flynn is all lean muscle and dark hair and those eyes. Such an intense green. Gah. I need to take a picture of him to send to Leah. I need to take pictures of all of them. I wonder what Barrett looks like? Maybe I can get a group pic?"
Katrina shook her head and grabbed her sister's hand. "I think you need to stick to boys your own age."
Anya made a face. "Bleh. I don't want a boyfriend. I'm just enjoying the eye candy."
Sometimes, Katrina wondered about her sister. Seventeen and she hadn't had a boyfriend yet. She'd gone out on a few dates, but mostly in groups with a bunch of friends, which Katrina had thought was just fine.
Maybe it was time to encourage her sister to spread her wings a little.
She paused behind everyone else as they all entered the dining room. What was she thinking? A few weeks ago she'd have been deliriously happy to have her little sister stay boyfriend-free. Now she wanted to encourage her to date?
Katrina was twenty-seven and had just had sex for the first time. She was doing just fine. So was Anya.
"You know what, Anya? You're right. You don't need a boyfriend. Not anytime soon."
She needed to reevaluate her priorities, and fast.
Clearly, Grant was not a good influence on her.
And speaking of Grant, as they entered the room he came around the table and put his arm around her waist.
"I see you met Flynn."
"I did. He showed up outside just as we were getting up to come in for dinner."
"How timely of him. His stomach has a clock. He knows when a meal is being served."
Flynn came down the hall. "Oh, and you don't? You eat more than Tucker and me combined."
"I don't think so."
"Before this devolves into another one of your infamous hot dog eating contests," Easton said, taking his spot at the far end of the table. "Let's sit down to eat."
"I'd like to hear about the hot dog eating contest," Leo said.
Leo had taken a seat across from Easton, who motioned with his head down the table. "Ask Grant. He was usually the instigator."
"Tucker stupidly claimed he could eat more than I could. Then Flynn chimed in, and Barrett said he could eat twice as much as the three of us combined. So I challenged all of them."
"This was when I wa
s outside working in the garden one day," Lydia said as she passed the salad around the table. "We were having company over that night, so I had hamburgers and hot dogs in the fridge. The boys snuck into the kitchen and took all fifteen packages of hot dogs out of the refrigerator, threw them on the stove and cooked them up, and proceeded to try and outeat each other."
Katrina looked at Grant. "How old were you?"
Grant lifted his gaze to the ceiling, obviously thinking. Then he looked at her. "Flynn was like twelve, I think. Which would have made me eleven and Tucker and Barrett eight."
"Foolish boys," Lydia said. "By the time I came into the house, they'd eaten every hot dog and their faces were green. I made them all throw up outside."
Leo snorted out a laugh. Even Katrina couldn't resist laughing.
Flynn pointed his steak knife at his brothers. "Yeah, but I won."
"I don't think so," Grant said.
"We all know I won," Tucker said with a smug grin. "I threw up four times."
"Can we please not discuss this during dinner?" Lydia said. "I don't think we want Katrina and her family fleeing the table because of our choice of dinner topics."
Katrina couldn't help but smile. "Oh, trust me. I've heard worse during dinner."
"This is true," Leo said. "We talk about really disgusting topics while we eat. Bugs. Vomit. Blood. Brain matter. We aren't squeamish."
Katrina leveled a glare on her brother. "Thank you so much for that, Leo. I'm sure you've endeared us to the Cassidy family quite nicely now."
"Actually, you have," Tucker said. "You're our kind of people."
Lydia cut into her steak. "Don't worry about it, Katrina. After dinner I'll tell you about the time Easton decided to discuss every detail about his gallbladder surgery during one very graphic dinner conversation."
"With photos," Grant added with a proud glance over at his father. His dad grinned.
This family was wildly amusing. And so obviously close-knit.
Katrina leaned over to whisper at Grant. "I can tell you have some kind of obsession about hot dogs. This worries me."
He winked at her. She shook her head.
"How long can you stay, Flynn?" Easton asked.
"Just two nights. I leave Tuesday morning. I need to get back to San Francisco, because we have a meeting, then we fly out to Denver for the game next weekend."
Easton nodded. "Your defense is looking solid this year. How are the rookies?"
"They're doing good. Our line is strong, our safeties better than ever. I think the D is going to kick some ass this year." Flynn looked over at Katrina, then the kids. "Sorry for saying ass."
Katrina laughed. "Nothing they haven't heard before."
"You play with Mick Riley. He's really good," Leo said.
Flynn gave a quick nod. "He's the best quarterback there is."
"Hello," Grant said. "I'm sitting right here."
Flynn shot Grant a smug smile. "I know you are."
"Asshole," Grant muttered, then looked over at Flynn. "San Francisco's on our schedule this season, you know."
"I know. You prepared to be flattened by your brother?"
"I'm prepared for my offensive line to kick your ass. You won't get anywhere near me."
Flynn calmly cut into his steak and slid a piece into his mouth. "We'll see, won't we, Brother?"
"Yeah, we will."
Katrina watched the interplay between the two of them. "Does this happen a lot? Brothers having to play each other?"
"On occasion. None of us play in the same division. Barrett plays for Tampa, too. So yeah, we have to play each other."
"And how does that work?" Leo asked. "I mean, you all are brothers. But on the field, you're competitors, right?"
"We put our best play out on the field," Grant said. "Family is for off the field."
"As it should be," Easton said.
"But what about you, Lydia, and you, Easton?" Katrina asked. "When your boys play each other, who do you root for?"
"I expect them to play the best they can," Easton said. "Their best game, and leave it all on the field. If Flynn as a defensive back had an opening, but pulled up and didn't lay Grant down because he's his brother, I'd be disappointed. And if Grant saw a wide open receiver who was beating Flynn and didn't take the shot and put the ball in that receiver's hands for a touchdown, I'd be disappointed in him. Their best game. That's all I've ever asked of any of my sons."
"I root for all of them. I feel bad when they lose, and I'm happy when they win. When they play each other, it's awful for me," Lydia said. "My stomach is in knots the entire game, because I know one of them will lose."
"Awww," Flynn said. "We're big boys, Mom. Honestly, we talk crap to each other, but really. We can take it. Win or lose, we can handle it."
"That's right, Mom," Grant said. "After the game is over, we're still brothers."
"I don't care which of them wins and which of them loses," Tucker said. "And I never have to play any of them. Lucky for them."
Grant laughed. "You mean lucky for you, sissy boy. You opted out of the tough game and decided on baseball."
Tucker leveled one hell of a confident look at Grant. "Oh, is that right? You want to try and hit one of my pitches and see how tough you really are?"
"Anytime."
Tucker squinted his eyes at Grant. "How about right after dinner?"
"I'll take you on right after Grant," Flynn said. "We'll see who gets their asses kicked."
Lydia sighed and leaned over to Katrina. "It's like this all the time when they're together. It's always the Cassidy Olympics. Lots of bragging. And a lot of sports being played out in the yard. That's why there's a clearing out back behind the garden. They played a lot of sports back there when they were kids."
Lydia gave each one of them a look. "I thought they'd grow out of it when they became adults. I was wrong."
In turn, each of the boys gave her a wide smile. "But you can cheer us on, Mom. Free games, right in your backyard."
She shook her head.
Katrina smiled and scooped up some fruit salad on her fork.
After dinner, everyone helped with the cleanup, so it was done in record time. By then it was dark, so Easton decided the baseball game would have to wait until tomorrow. Instead, they fixed s'mores on the outdoor fire pit, and pulled up chairs to watch the stars, which were amazing with no city lights to distract from the view.
Easton had lit the torches to keep away the mosquitos. It was quiet except for the sounds of nature. Katrina could have sworn she could hear a running stream.
"Is that water running somewhere?"
"Yeah. There's a creek not too far behind us," Easton said. "We've had a lot of rain this year, so it's pretty swollen with water. If you open the windows at night, you can hear it."
"Which reminds me, Tucker, you and Barrett are in the guesthouse," Lydia said. "I'm putting Leo in your room here."
"Fine with me."
"Are you sure that's okay?" Katrina asked Tucker. "We really don't want to put you out."
"Honey, I've slept in some of the worst places imaginable when I played in the minor leagues. Wherever Mom wants to put me has a nice bed with a great bathroom and awesome sheets. Trust me, I'm good."
She smiled at him. "Thank you."
"No problem."
She went inside to refresh her lemonade. Leo followed her.
"Easton's taking me fishing in the morning. Like at dawn or something," he said.
"You did tell him you've never fished before, right?" Katrina asked.
"Yeah. He said it's time I learned."
Leo sported a wide grin. She could tell he was so excited to spend time with Easton. She grasped his arm. "Have a good time."
"I will." He started to walk away, but then stopped. "It's pretty great here, Kat, isn't it?"
She smiled at him. "Yes, Leo. It sure is."
Anya appeared from upstairs.
"I'm hanging out in the room next to Mia's," Anya said wi
th a wide grin. "We're going to watch movies tonight and she's going to give me some insights on college."
"Sounds great. If you need anything, text me."
Anya nodded. "I'm not going to need you. We're good. Trust me."
Katrina sighed. Neither Leo nor Anya really needed her for much.
That strange realization kept pummeling her over and over.
Her siblings were growing up, branching out, and needing her less and less.
She refilled her glass and went back outside, pausing on the porch stoop to see Grant laughing with his brothers.
She hadn't seen him that unguarded before, so at ease with himself. It was truly a sight to behold. Flynn shoved him, then he shoved back, but it wasn't with malice. There was an ease to him here, a difference to him. He was so affectionate with his mother--and with his father, too. She could tell how much he loved his parents.
She felt a pain of loss so hard and so deep for her mother right then. She missed her so much. It had been so long, but she could still vividly see her mother's face, smiling and laughing as she'd sit with all of them, read a book, play board games, or just watch television. It could be the simplest of things, a small gesture, like when she'd tuck Katrina's hair behind her ears. She could still feel her mother's touch, and she tucked her hair behind her ear, as if she could sense her mother's presence at that moment.
Those gestures had meant so much to Katrina. She knew how much her mother had loved her.
She wished she could remember the sound of her mother's voice, but it had been so long, her voice had faded with time. She could still picture her face. She had a few old photos around the apartment and every now and then she'd pull them out and look at them. Photos of her mother with the three kids all together.
The best of times.
She shuddered out a sigh, closed her eyes for the briefest of moments, trying to hold on to that sweet memory, then let it fade up into the night sky.
"I miss you, Mama," she whispered into the darkness, choking back the tears that threatened before pushing off the top step and heading back to the crowd.
TWENTY-SIX
GRANT HAD NOTICED A CHANGE IN KATRINA'S MOOD after she'd gone inside to refresh her drink. He'd watched her as she stood on the back porch, her arm wrapped around the railing, staring off at something in the distance.
For a minute there she'd looked so damn sad, he'd wanted to get up and go to her, put his arms around her and comfort her. But then she'd closed her eyes for only a few seconds, sighed, then come back down the stairs to sit next to him.
