“Oh, honey, are you sure?” Lacey whispered, hoping against hope that it was just a crush and not something that would “crush” Shannon’s spirit.
Shannon nodded as she pulled away, swiping her arm across her face to mop up the tears.
Furiously fumbling into the pocket of her jean shorts, Lacey handed Shannon a slightly used tissue, the one weepy benefit of possible infertility—she always had tissues on hand.
“Come on, Shan,” Cat said with a plea in her eyes, “you’ve only been friends with the guy for a little over two months. How on earth can you be so sure you’re in love?”
Shannon blew her nose hard, then rewadded and dabbed at her eyes, voice nasal. “Because s-suddenly the only time I’m h-happy anymore is when I’m with him, Cat, and when I’m not?” She hiccupped and sagged back in the chair, gaze wandering into another dead stare. “He’s all I think about. I have no interest in food, my friends, my writing—”
A low groan scraped from Cat’s throat as she slumped onto the dock, head in her hands. “Nooo, not your writing too! That’s what happened with El Jerko.”
Shannon grunted. “Yeah, I know, that’s why I’m so sure I’m either in love with the idiot or well on my way.”
Cat jumped up. “Oh, no—not if I have anything to say about it, sweet cheeks.” Hands on her hips, she glared down at her sister. “You’re either going to ditch this friendship first thing or cave on that stupid no-dating policy of yours, because you are not going to go through another heartbreaker like this—I can’t take it!”
“You can’t take it?” Lacey said a lift of her brows. “It was Shannon who lost a year of her life, Catfish, as I recall.”
“Yeah, Carbuncle, and I suffered right along with her—major. After all, we share the same blood, the same DNA, the same brains—”
“The same sweet personality?” Lacey hiked a brow.
Cat’s blue eyes thinned considerably, lips twitching in sparring mode. “Somebody’s gotta bring up the rear in this family, Carmichael, between Doc Brilliant and Mother Teresa here, so I’m just doing my job.”
“And an excellent one at that, Catherine Marie, I assure you, but must I remind you—again—that I am now an O’Bryen, not Carmichael or Carbuncle.”
Cat squinted while she aimed a peanut at her best friend. “Sorry, Lace. You’ll always be a crusty carbuncle to me, sister-in-law or no.”
“Mother Teresa??” Shannon said in a hoarse voice, a hint of a smile in her tone as she lasered Cat with a look worthy of her twin. “I should be so lucky, then I’d be long gone from this mess I’m in, totally content in the arms of God.”
“But you’re in the arms of God now, Shan,” Lacey said softly, hope pumping through her veins over the only thing that would get Shannon through. She ducked her head to peer up into her sister-in-law’s red-rimmed eyes, peace suddenly flooding her soul. “I don’t know if you’re in love with Sam Cunningham or not, Shan, but I do know that God will get you through if you are. And you’ll come out on the other side stronger, happier, and more blessed than you’ve ever been before, and we’ll be right there beside you, cheering you on.”
A smile trembled to Shannon’s lips as she squeezed Lacey’s hand. “Thanks, Lace. I do know that, and I can promise you it’s the only thing that’s keeping me afloat.”
“Good,” Cat said with a thrust of her chin, “because I’m getting ready to throw you a floatie, sis, and so help me, you’re gonna take it or I’ll make your life miserable.”
“You mean more than now?” Shannon asked in an innocent tone, her serious expression causing Cat to go stock-still. “Gotcha,” Shannon said with that sweet smile that Lacey loved, slipping off her chair into a squat next to her sister. “You are my other self, Catherine Marie,” she whispered, her soggy look a mirror reflection of her sister’s as she brushed a stray hair from Cat’s face, “the best half of the whole.”
Cat was a stoic, so seldom had Lacey ever seen tears in her eyes, but she saw them now, bright and shiny as she clung to her sister in a ferocious hug. “I love you, Shan, with everything in me,” she whispered, “and so help me, God, I will gut any guy like a catfish who ever hurts you again, you got that?”
Shannon’s gentle laughter drifted on the breeze like a breath of hope as she plopped down next to her sister. “And I may just let you, sweetie, although this one doesn’t really deserve it.” The smile faded from her face. “Friend or otherwise, the man’s a keeper.”
“So, keep him.” Lacey joined them to sit on the dock, leaning back with palms braced to the wood and legs crossed at the ankles.
That certainly stirred Cat’s pot, lighting sparks in her eyes. “No way, Lace. She needs to distance herself from Sam Cunningham as much as she can.”
“Agreed,” Lacey said quickly, “on the distance, not on how much.”
“What do you mean?” Shannon said, head in a tilt.
“I mean, keep the friendship, Shan, but at arm’s length.” Lacey shifted to get more comfortable. “Which frankly, shouldn’t be too hard once Sam’s back with Jazz because trust me, the woman does not like other women in her man’s life, friends or otherwise.”
Cat pelted a peanut at Lacey’s head. “Oh, great idea, Carbuncle—let’s just keep her in the lion’s den where the beast can eat her heart out.”
Lacey stared Cat down. “Not if she has another lion to protect her,” she emphasized with a smug look in Cat’s direction before facing Shannon once again. “Which means, Shannon O’Bryen, that as much as I hate to admit it, I agree with Cat—you need to start dating again.”
“You do?” Cat blinked several times, obviously not used to Lacey agreeing so readily. A slow grin lit up her features. “Well, of course she does!” She grabbed Shannon’s hand with a giggle. “And I know just the guy to fix you up with too!”
“Oh, noooooo you don’t,” Shannon said. “You are not going to pawn Mrs. Brewer’s son off on me, Catfish. You’re the one she wants as a daughter-in-law, not me.”
“Mrs. Brewer?” Lacey’s gaze bounced from Cat to Shan.
“A cafeteria monitor at the school where we teach,” Shan explained, attempting to scoot away from her sister.
Cat clamped on to Shannon’s arm to prevent her escape. “Okay, okay, we’ll send Horatio sailing.”
Lacey’s jaw dropped. “Horatio? A woman actually named her son Horatio?”
“After Horatio Hornblower,” Cat said, smile shifting sideways, “one of her favorite heroes. Which actually fits pretty well because both Horatio and his mother are from a long line of horn-blowers.” Cat tugged Shan back. “Then how ‘bout that sweet guy at church? You know, the one who turns sixty shades of red whenever you and I come around?”
Shannon’s smile was patient as she inched even closer to Lacey. “Yes, Russell Sternberg is sweet, but in case you haven’t noticed, Catfish, the poor guy is shyer than I am, so I doubt there’d be much talking going on.”
“Not necessarily a bad thing,” Cat teased.
Lacey pelted Cat with a hailstorm of peanuts. “I swear, O’Bryen, somebody needs to put you in shackles till you grow up.”
“Don’t think Mom hasn’t threatened,” Shannon said, pushing several stray peanuts through the cracks in the dock before Cat could pop them in her mouth.
Lacey shook her head, wishing Cat could find a decent guy she actually liked who would help get her back on track. Expelling a wispy sigh, she refocused on Shannon. “Well, what about Chase?” she said, waiting for Shannon’s reaction. “I think you two would be a good match.”
“No way,” Cat volunteered, finishing off the rest of the scattered peanuts. “He’s too serious, too mature, and way too spiritual.” She paused, nose in a scrunch. “Which come to think of it sounds pretty perfect for Shan. But unfortunately, ol’ Pastor Chase hasn’t shown much interest in anyone since you threw him over for Jack, Lace.”
“That’s not true,” Lacey said with a niggle of guilt. “He dated both Katy Hendricks and Wendi Kitsteine
r after we stopped going out.”
Cat delivered a deadpan smile. “One date each does not qualify. Face it, Lace—you ruined the man for other women.”
“I did not.” Lacey’s chin rose several degrees, along with her defenses. “I’ll have you know that Chase specifically asked me about Shannon after Jack and I got engaged, wanting to know if she was seeing anyone.”
Cat could have been a statue, her look of stun etched in stone. “You’re kidding,” she said, a definite hint of hurt in her tone.
“He must have meant Cat, not me.” The shock in Shannon’s voice was equal to Cat’s.
“Nope.” Lacey shook her head, actually encouraged that Cat seemed disappointed over Chase’s interest in her sister. A good sign, indeed, when a godly man like Chase didn’t completely turn the wild twin off. “He meant you, sweetie-pie, but when I told him that you were ‘unequivocally against dating at this phase of your life,’ which is what you drilled into my head, yes?”
Shannon nodded.
“I can unequivocally say he was not only concerned, he was downright disappointed.”
“He was?” the twins said in stereo, a matched set with gaping mouths.
“Yes, he was.” Lacey squeezed Shannon’s hand. “He likes you, Shan. Didn’t you see that when he asked you to dance at the awards banquet? He kept you laughing and talking through three songs, for crying out loud, till Dr. Love cut in.”
“I thought he was just being nice.” Cat ground a peanut into the wood with her thumb.
“So did I,” Shannon whispered, face reflective. “I mean he’s always taken time to talk and tease with me at volleyball, but then he does that with all of the girls.”
“Not with me.” Cat’s quiet tone sounded more like Shannon than herself. Brushing peanut crumbs from her shorts, she hopped up and retrieved her fishing rod. “Lacey’s right, Shan. Chase and you would be good together.” She whipped her line into the water with a hard snap of her rod. “I mean, he’s not my type, of course,” she said as she popped her cork too quickly, “but that type is just perfect for you.”
Lacey’s heart cramped. You, too, Catfish, if you would just open your eyes.
“So, it’s settled, then, right?” Cat glanced over her shoulder, homing in on Lacey. “Sister-in-law Dearest will handle setting you and the pastor up, right, Lace?”
“Right.” Lacey ducked to assess Shannon’s expression. “If it’s okay with Shan.”
A weary sigh drifted from Shannon’s lips as she stood to her feet. “Sure, Lace, why not? There aren’t many men around who could get me to go out, but Chase is definitely one, so if he’s game, I guess I am too.”
“Great!” Lacey jumped up to give Shannon a hug. “You won’t be sorry, Shan, I promise,” she whispered as Cat slashed her line hard through the air, sinking Lacey’s stomach along with her hook.
But something tells me Cat might be ...
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Oh, goody, just what we need—another hot dog on the boy’s team!” Cat unleashed a mock groan, bobbling a volleyball as Sam strolled into the gym of Hope Church, the smell of fresh varnish and old sneakers taking him back. She grinned, the lust of competition shining in her eyes when she pelted him with the ball. “Jack says you went to nationals in college, hotshot.”
Sam caught the ball in split-second time, returning Cat’s grin with a cocky one of his own while Jack, Lacey, Shan, and Chase broke from a group of people to join her, their welcoming smiles making him feel right at home. “Yeah, but you’ll be happy to know we blew it in the semi-finals, so you can lower that pedestal a few feet.”
“Or dig a hole deep enough for both it and you,” Cat said with an evil smile, giving Sam’s cheek a pinch, “when the girls bury y’all.”
“In your dreams, Catfish.” Jack looped an arm over Sam’s shoulder, relieving him of the volleyball. “In fact, in a show of mercy, I think we should go with mixed teams tonight rather than guys against the girls, don’t you, Rev?”
Chase ambled forward with a smile and hand extended in greeting. “No comment,” he said with an easy grin, his grip firm as he shook Sam’s hand. “Welcome, Sam. It’s good to see you again. I’m the associate pastor here at Hope Church, and at the moment” —he tweaked Cat’s neck, causing her to scrunch her shoulders in a giggle— “the buffer between Jack and his volatile sister.”
Cat slapped him away. “I am not volatile,” she said with a pert thrust of her chin, amazing Sam as always that two women who looked so much alike could be so very different. “I’m what most people would call spirited.”
Jack chuckled as he fired the ball at his “spirited” sister. “And you don’t want to know what I call her.” He left Sam to hook Cat’s waist, giving her an affectionate squeeze. “Trust me, Catfish. Dr. Jock here was on a variety of scholarships in college, not the least of which was volleyball.”
“Good grief, Doc,” Shannon said, giving Sam a side hug. The pretend scowl on her face came off more adorable than threatening. “Are there any sports you don’t do well in?”
He flashed a grin. “Come on, Shan, I’m a ‘player,’ remember?” Draping his arm over her shoulder, he bumped her hip with his own. “It’s what I do.”
Two wins and one loss later, Sam was genuinely surprised how much he was enjoying himself. After sparring with Cat some more, Jack had introduced Sam to the rest of the players, which Chase insisted on dividing into mixed teams of guys and girls.
“To eliminate murder and mayhem in a church gymnasium,” Chase said, eliciting groans from the more athletic female contingent like Cat and several others, who wanted to take the guys head-on. Sam’s gaze had softened when it landed on Shannon, who simply smiled and chatted with two girls while calmly awaiting her team assignment.
All in all, it was a fun evening of tough competition from the girls, confirming Sam’s suspicion that there weren’t many sports Shannon and Cat didn’t do well in either. The two of them were a finely tuned spiking machine, which added yet another layer of respect to Sam’s already high opinion of Jack’s sisters.
The pizza after the game was great, and Sam never even missed the beer he always had with it. He was having too much fun talking trash and sports with Jack and Chase or flirting with the girls to notice that this wasn’t the usual sports-bar gathering he was used to. So when the pizza was gone and several impromptu games of basketball were over, Sam realized he didn’t want the evening to end. And there was nobody he’d rather continue it with than his new best friend. Seeking Shannon out, he watched as she wiped down the patio picnic tables with another girl, reaching across with a wide stretch. And then like a spiked ball out of the blue, she caught him off-guard with a flash of attraction so strong, his gaze roamed from her snug-fitting shorts down her beautiful legs before he was even aware.
“So, you coming back, I hope?” Chase asked, and Sam’s gaze jerked back, heat ringing the collar of his Memorial T-shirt.
“Are you kidding? Athletic dominance and free pizza?” He offered a handshake, suddenly aware Chase Griffin was one of the few pastors he actually liked. “How can I resist?”
Chase slapped him on the back. “Was hoping you’d say that, Sam, although I suspect that killer spike of yours will up my humility a tad.”
“Join the club, Rev.” Sam scratched the back of his neck, smile sheepish. “Jack says you’ve got a pretty mean spike as well, spiritually speaking, that is.”
“Maybe.” The smile in Chase’s eyes tempered somewhat, replaced by a scrutiny that made Sam squirm inside like he’d just missed a free ball. “If you’re looking for deeper meaning in your life.”
Sam laughed. “Uh, more like a deeper relationship, Rev, because Shannon’s convinced me I’m going to need all the help I can get to land the girl that I love.”
Chase nodded slowly, hands parked on his hips. “Jasmine, right? Jack mentioned you’ve been interested in her for years now.”
Sam issued a good-natured grunt. “Yeah, especially after Ja
ck stole her away from me.” He nodded toward Lacey and Jack heading their way along with Shannon and Cat. “But the gods smiled on me when Lacey came along, knocking Jack out of the picture for good, so thanks to Shan’s sound advice, I’m almost home free.”
“God,” Chase said with a faint smile.
Sam paused. “Excuse me?”
“God smiled on you, singular, not plural,” Chase said with a friendly cuff of Sam’s shoulder. “And I’ll be happy to help anyway I can, Sam, so if you ever need to talk, just give me a call.”
“Thanks.” I think. Sam quickly turned his attention to Jack. “It was a great evening, Jack, so thanks for inviting me.”
“Which time?” Jack said with a grin, arm slung loosely over Lacey’s shoulder. “Seriously, I’m glad you came, Ham—it’s nice to compete against you again.”
“Uh, he was on your team, Jack, remember?” Lacey pinched Jack’s waist.
“Don’t kid yourself, Lace. Ham is a die-hard competitor in everything he does, whether striving to be the best on a team or owning the best candy jar in the office.”
Sam shrugged, offering a humble flash of teeth. “Can I help it if everybody likes Reese’s miniatures better than Tootsie Roll Pops?”
“Yes,” Jack said, flicking the back of Sam’s head as he passed by. “Knowing you, you probably researched it to death. Come on, Lace. After the week I had, I’m about ready to drop, and I prefer it be in a bed rather than on a gym floor.” He flopped a hand in the air on their way out the door. “So long, everyone.”
Goodnights rang out across the gym as people slowly filtered out, leaving Sam and Chase to pull up the rear with Cat and Shannon. “Hey, Shan,” Sam said while Chase locked up, “you and Cat feel like some ice cream?”
Cat exchanged glances with Shannon before she executed a perfect yawn. “Sorry, Sam, but I’m bushed, too, and I’m on early shift at camp tomorrow, so I need to head home. Rain check?”
“Sure thing,” Sam said with an understanding smile, feeling a little guilty to be so relieved over having her sister to himself. He looped an arm to Shannon’s waist and gave her a squeeze. “Looks like it’s just you and me, Angel Eyes. Unless, of course, the Rev wants to tag along?” He glanced at Chase, who had just approached, praying he would say no.