He wondered what was wrong, but this wasn't the right time to ask her. He'd taken her hand in his and squeezed it, and she'd smiled at him. Still, that sadness in her eyes lingered.
When the night started to wind down, he stood. "I think we're going to head out."
"Okay," his mom said. "We'll see you in the morning for breakfast. You two sleep well."
"Thanks, Mom. Good night, all."
"Thank you all for a lovely evening. And for dinner," Katrina said.
They said their good nights and headed out to the car. Grant drove the few miles to the other house, parked in front, then came around to the passenger side as Katrina was getting out. He slipped his hand in hers and squeezed.
"This place is okay?" he asked.
"This house is amazing. It was so nice of your mom to offer it to us."
"I think my mom really likes you. I think she likes you and me together."
She didn't say anything, just offered up a faint smile. He let it go, and walked them up the steps and to the front door. He opened it and switched on the light.
"We brought the luggage in earlier today, so that's in the bedroom," she said.
"Great." He closed the door, then pulled her against him. "How about we talk?"
"Okay. What would you like to talk about?"
"You."
Her lips tilted. "I'm not a very interesting topic."
"I disagree." He brought them over to the sofa in the living room, then sat, putting her on his lap. "You came outside after going in and refilling your drink. You stood on the back porch and you looked so sad."
"I'm surprised you noticed that."
"I notice a lot of things about you, Kat." He brushed his hand down her hair, loving the way it felt like wet silk against his fingers. "Tell me what made you sad."
"I was thinking about my mother. About how much I missed her."
He thought about that for a minute. "Being with my family--around my mother--makes you miss your mom."
She looked down at him. "For a guy, you're very adept at reading a woman's emotions."
"I have a pretty good mom. And I have a sister. I've had some experience in this area. Plus, I'd like to think I've been around you enough that I might be starting to grab signals about how you feel."
She sighed. "Yes. You have an amazing mother. She's reminded me that I also had an amazing mother. It was just a momentary thing. I'm past it."
He sat her down next to him. "I'm sorry you were sad. I couldn't imagine not having my mother."
"She's obviously had a very strong influence on you."
"Yeah, she has."
"You know, for some reason, I thought you would have been heavily influenced by your father."
"To some extent I was. As far as sports, he was my role model. My mother taught me about a lot of other things, mainly about women. She used to think I wasn't listening, but I was."
She traced her fingers across his brow, then over his cheekbone and jaw. "Your mother has done an amazing job. You're quite the man, Grant Cassidy."
"I don't know about that. More like a work in progress. I haven't always been the best as far as women, but as far as you? You do something to me, Katrina Korsova."
"Is that right? And what do I do to you?"
He studied her for a few seconds, and she wondered if there was something on his mind. But then he took her hand and guided it down his chest, over his stomach and settled it over his quickly hardening cock. "That's what you do to me. You make me hard. I'm like a walking erection around you."
She quirked a smile. "That's not necessarily a bad thing, you know." She slipped down off the couch and nestled on her knees between his thighs. "Let's see what we can do about that."
Grant laid his palms flat on the sofa as Katrina unzipped his pants and pulled out his cock. Her mouth was on him in record time, and he was arching upward, sliding his cock between her sweet lips.
"Oh, yeah," he said, leaning forward to grasp a handful of her hair. "Do you know how much I want to fuck your mouth?"
She gave it up to him, opening for him so he could slide against her tongue, giving him access to pump between her lips until he was ready to explode. But instead of coming in her mouth, he wanted to be buried deep inside her. He pulled her up onto the sofa and dragged her pants and underwear off, making her stand while he put his mouth on her sex.
She let out a soft moan while he explored her pussy with his lips and tongue until she was the one arching against his mouth.
And then, when she was shaking and he knew she was ready to come, he laid her on the sofa, and left only long enough to grab a condom. He put the condom on, spread her legs wide, and draped them over his arms. He slid inside her, leaning in to kiss her while he ground against her.
She whimpered against his lips and he thrust deeper, feeling her squeeze tight around his cock.
Neither of them were going to last long, and that suited him just fine. He wanted her, needed her, and had done nothing but think about this moment the entire day. So when she shattered, he pressed his body against hers, needing to feel her body quiver. She wrapped her legs around him and he dug in deep, thrusting over and over as he released. Now he was the one shuddering against her as he poured out everything he had.
He pressed his body against hers, feeling both their hearts beat fast against each other, then slow to normal rhythms again.
"I'm not sure I can move," she finally said.
He fixed that by scooping her up and carrying her into the bedroom.
"Let's try out this awesome shower," she suggested.
They took a quick shower, dried off, then unpacked and crawled into bed.
Katrina laid her head on his shoulder and flung her leg over his hip.
"Feel better?" he asked.
"I feel perfect now that we're in bed together."
He couldn't help but smile at that statement. He was content to listen to the sound of her breathing. Within minutes, she was asleep.
Katrina was right. Damned perfect. He closed his eyes.
TWENTY-SEVEN
THE BASEBALL GAME IN THE MORNING WAS PRETTY epic. True to what he stated, Tucker cleaned up the field with his brothers.
Then they all complained that of course Tucker would toss that nasty curveball at his brothers.
"What? You wanted me to throw easy pitches at you?"
"Well ... yeah," Flynn said, letting out multiple curses as he swung on three pitches and missed.
They all got tired of missing pitches, and finally, Barrett arrived, who, Katrina realized with a surprise, looked nothing like his twin brother, Tucker.
"Oh, they're fraternal twins, not identical," Lydia said. "I guess Grant didn't mention that."
"No, he didn't."
Barrett was tall and dark and oh so handsome, like Tucker. But he didn't wear glasses, and he was a lot more muscular. And where Tucker's eyes were green, Barrett's were blue.
But Barrett had the same Cassidy sense of humor, standing on the sidelines during the baseball game and calling them all pussies.
"I'm happy to toss a few balls your way, Barrett." Tucker stared down his twin brother.
"No. I'm good. Besides, I already know I can hit you, and I don't wanna embarrass you in front of the ladies."
That caused Mia to laugh so hard she started coughing.
"Enough of this," Grant said after striking out--again. "How about some football, where we wipe the floor with our brother?"
"Now we're talking," Barrett said.
"You can all cool down and get drinks, then you can pick corn for me first," Lydia said. "After that you can play football. Besides, I'm sure Leo and your father would like to get in on a football game."
"Aww, man. You're gonna make us play with Dad?" Grant asked. "He'll get to play quarterback, which means I'm gonna have to run."
"Wimp," Barrett said. "I'll run you down and intercept you."
"Care to put some money on that?" Grant asked.
"I've
got a hundred that says I take one away from you."
"You're on."
"And so it begins," Lydia said to her, heading toward the cornfields.
Katrina had to admit she was more excited about picking corn. They dove into the fields.
"Check the end of the corn husk with your hands as you go along," Lydia told Katrina and Anya after she handed them baskets. "If it's rounded or blunt, it's ready to be picked. If it feels pointy, it's not ready yet."
She demonstrated by going down the row with them, and feeling a few of the ears, then having them run their hands over the ears after she had. "These are ready. This one's not."
It didn't take long for Katrina to get the feel for an ear that was ripe. After that, she and Anya were on their own, and Anya disappeared down a different row. Grant and his brothers had been assigned different rows, and wow, were they fast. They had obviously done this before because they moved at a much more rapid pace than she did.
Before long, she had filled her basket and walked to the end of the row, where they dumped the corn into a bin. She went back to refill.
All in all, it took about an hour.
"That's good enough for now," Lydia said.
"What do you do with all the corn?" Katrina asked as they headed toward the house.
"Some we'll put on the grill for dinner tonight. Some I'll blanch and freeze for the rest of the summer."
"That sounds fun," Anya said. "I hope we're around to help with that."
Lydia put her arm around Anya. "I could keep you for the entire summer, you know."
"I'd enjoy that as well. Too bad school's starting up in a couple of weeks."
Anya gave her a wishful look. Katrina laughed. "No. Sorry. You don't get to forgo your senior year to stay here on the ranch."
"See how she ruins all my fun, Lydia?"
Lydia laughed. "I ruined a lot of the kids' fun over the years."
Katrina caught sight of Easton and Leo returning in the truck, so she stopped and waited for them.
When her brother climbed out of the truck, he looked sunburned, dirty, and he smelled like fish. He was also grinning like crazy.
"Catch any fish?" she asked.
"I caught two," Leo said. "Easton said I didn't do badly at all."
"He's a natural fisherman," Easton said. "Born to it. With a little more practice, I could take him out on the boat at sea and I'd bet he'd be catching bigger fish in no time."
She was certain Leo's face might explode if he smiled any broader. "I'm glad you had a good time. I hear there's going to be a football game out here soon."
Easton nodded. "Then we're back just in time."
Lydia decided it might be better for everyone to have lunch first, and let Easton and Leo cool off a bit inside the house, so they made sandwiches and had leftover fruit salad from the night before. Easton told them about fishing and told everyone how well Leo did baiting his first hook.
"Yeah, the kid was born to live in the country," Easton said. "You'll need to drag him out of the city more often, Katrina. Plus, I hear he wants to play football."
"So he tells me."
"I guess we'll find out during the game this afternoon if he's any good at it, since he'll be playing with the best there is."
"And Tucker, who sucks," Barrett said before taking a bite of his sandwich.
"Screw you. I'm going to knock you flat on your ass," Tucker said.
"You wish, pansy."
"Someday, Katrina, maybe you'll end up with a houseful of boys who love each other as much as ours do," Easton said. Then winked at her.
She laughed. "Oh, I have siblings who love to give me a hard time. This is not unfamiliar to me."
"This is true," Anya said. "Though we don't beat each other up."
"You don't know what you're missing, Anya," Barrett said, winking at her.
"Please don't give her any ideas, Barrett," Katrina said.
Anya laughed, then shot Katrina a look of pure devilish delight.
It was a good thing she knew they'd never get physical with each other, or her sister would be in deep trouble.
After lunch everyone scattered to rest up before what everyone had now dubbed the first annual Cassidy football tournament to the death.
Or until everyone got tired, or until Lydia decided enough was enough. Whichever came first.
"They call it the first annual," Lydia said to her as they all marched out to a clearing behind one of the barns. "But honestly, they've been doing this for years. Someone will get their ego in a knot over something, and then it's a free-for-all."
"And you're not worried one of them will get hurt?"
"Not really. They're all athletes, all in shape, and I think they know their limits as far as how much they can hurt themselves--and each other. They have professional careers to watch out for and none of them will put any of their brothers' careers in jeopardy. It's all in good fun."
Katrina wasn't so sure about that. With all the guys dressed in shorts and sleeveless shirts, the muscles on display were impressive. And they were all incredibly tall. They all looked fierce and prepared to kill their opponents. Even Easton was still in amazing shape for a man she guessed had to be in his mid-fifties. She supposed working a ranch kept a man in good shape.
Which was no doubt why Lydia had that gleam in her eye.
And in the middle of that mix of giants and testosterone was her brother, who looked so small in comparison.
As if Lydia could read her mind, she said, "They'll protect Leo, so don't you worry. They'd never put him in harm's way. They'll mostly pound on each other."
Which meant Grant could take a pounding.
Not that she thought Grant couldn't hold his own, because standing out there in the field, sweat soaked and looking just as determined as his brothers, she was convinced he'd be victorious. But she couldn't help the tiny feeling of trepidation that had crept in.
She didn't want him to get hurt. And there was a small voice inside of her--call it competitive spirit--that really wanted to shout to him to kick his brothers' asses.
A voice she decided would be prudent to keep silent. But when Grant came over to where they were sitting to grab a bottled water from the cooler, she went over to him, grasped his arm. "You'll watch out for Leo?"
He smiled at her. "Of course. He's not going to get hurt."
"Okay. And Grant? Kick their asses."
He grinned. "I intend to." He gave her a quick kiss, which caused his brothers to whistle at him. He rolled his eyes, then headed back out on the makeshift field.
Katrina pulled up one of the chairs they'd brought out to the field. She and Lydia, Mia, and Anya had taken seats under a group of trees in the shade and sipped glasses of lemonade from the jug Lydia had prepared.
It looked like Easton, Barrett, and Leo were going to be on one team, and Grant, Flynn, and Tucker on the other.
They flipped a coin, and Easton's team would have the ball first. After a quick huddle, Easton dropped back and threw, but Leo missed the catch.
Leo was disappointed, too. She could tell from the way his chin dropped to his chest.
"You'll get the next one, kid," Easton said, slapping him on the back. "Even the best receivers drop passes."
"Dad's right," Grant said. "Brush it off and go after the next one."
"Hey," Tucker said. "Quit talking him up. He's the enemy right now. Drop another one, Leo."
That made Leo smile, and then it was back to the game.
After a series of downs, Easton's side turned the ball over. Grant had the ball next, and as soon as he dropped back he threw a long pass to Tucker. Flynn and Barrett crashed into each other in an awful collision, and Tucker caught the pass for what Katrina assumed was a touchdown.
"Ha!" Tucker said, slamming the ball to the ground. "In your faces, all of you."
"That's only because you had me as protection," Flynn said. "Without me, Barrett would have flattened you."
"Whatever." Tucker calmly walked b
ack to the huddle. "Face it. I'm better than all of you. At any sport."
Grant shook his head, then looked over at Barrett. "Even though he's on my team, you have my permission to turn him into a pancake the next time he has the ball."
Barrett nodded. "Consider it done."
Tucker just laughed, but on the next play, Barrett did just that, slamming Tucker to the ground.
Tucker just stared up at the sky.
"You okay?" Grant asked, grinning down at him.
"Fuck off," Tucker said with a slight wheeze in his voice.
Grant laughed, then helped Tucker up. "You never did know how to keep your mouth shut, dumbass."
When it was Easton's turn at quarterback again, he threw it right at Leo. Flynn and Barrett did battle again. Katrina could swear the two of them crashing into each other sounded like two freight trains colliding. Tucker went after Leo, but even Katrina had to admit, Leo was fast. This time he caught the ball and scored.
Katrina was out of her seat, screaming. It might be makeshift play and mean nothing, but these were all pro players. And the ego boost for her brother was going to be tremendous. She could see the joy on Leo's face, and all the Cassidys celebrated with him.
"No one gets an easy score in this family, Leo," Easton said. "You did good."
There were several skirmishes, and the score seemed fairly even. Katrina kept her eye on both Leo and Grant. Her brother was filthy and seemingly having a great time. After every play, whether they scored or not, he came out of it grinning. He apparently was being accepted by the Cassidys, and she knew that, to Leo, it was all that mattered.
On one play, Barrett knocked Flynn to the ground, stepped on him, and flew into Grant, knocked him flat and took the ball, scoring for his team. He raised his hands over his head, then slammed the ball to the ground.
Barrett looked fierce. "That's how it's done, boys."
Katrina held her breath, even reaching over to grasp Lydia's hand.
"Grant's fine," Lydia said. "Trust me."
Grant leaned over and glared at his brother. "I think you broke my rib."
Barrett went over and held out his hand to Grant. "Don't be such a puss."
Grant shoved a shoulder into his brother, then laughed.
Only then did Katrina exhale.
"I was going to suggest we join in the game because it looked like so much fun," Anya said. "But now I think I'll pass."
"Yeah, you'd have to be insane to want to take part in that bloodbath," Mia said. "I'm comfortable making fun of them on the sidelines."