"Except for Mia--" Tucker turned to Aubry. "Our little sister. She's in college, and happy to be away from the nonstop sports talk and roughhousing that goes on whenever we're together."
"Does this mean you all play football or baseball whenever you're together?"
"Baseball?" Flynn laughed. "Who'd want to play that pussy game?"
Tucker pinned Flynn with a look. "I will lay you flat and shove a baseball down your throat."
"You could try, but between Barrett and me, you'd be the one eating it."
"Barrett's my twin. He'll take my side."
"Think again," Barrett said to Tucker. "When it comes to football or baseball, you already know what I'll choose."
Aubry laughed. "Poor Tucker." She rubbed his back. "That's okay. I might not be able to go up against these two, but there are sharp knives in the kitchen, and I have performed surgery before. I can wield them like weapons."
"Oh, I like you," Flynn said. "You talk a tough game. But can you take a beating in a game situation?"
Being an only child, Aubry never had to deal with sibling teasing. However, she'd borne the brunt of harsh competition from peers and harassment from instructors. She knew better than to back down when a challenge was issued. "Bring it."
"I like her, too," Barrett said. "But what's she doing with you, Tucker?"
"Kiss my ass, Barrett."
With a smile, Aubry pushed off the sofa and stood. "You three can sit here and spar. I'm going to go fix the sauce for the salmon."
Tucker moved to stand. "I'll help you."
She shook her head. "You hang out here. This is a one person job."
TUCKER SAT BACK AND DRANK HIS BEER, HAPPY TO have his brothers--and Aubry--here.
"I need to stretch," Flynn said, standing. "Let's go out back so I can walk around."
"This is what happens when you get old and take too many hits," Barrett said, standing to follow him.
"Fuck you. And I can still put you down."
"You can try."
Tucker shook his head, grinned and stopped in the kitchen to grab three more beers. He pulled Aubry into his arms and kissed her, lingering for a long, satisfying kiss, but not too long. The last thing he wanted was for his dick to get hard. His brothers would never let him live that down.
When he pulled away, she smiled up at him.
"I like your brothers," she said, laying her palms flat on his chest.
"If you do, you're the only one. Besides my parents."
She laughed and patted his chest. "Go outside with them."
"Are you sure? I don't mind hanging in here to help you."
"You can help when it's time to cook the salmon and make the sides. I've got this covered right now."
"Okay."
He kissed her again, unable to stop himself from deepening the kiss, pulling her tighter against him.
"Hey, you two. Knock that off," Barrett said. "We need beer out here. You can make out later."
Aubry pulled away. "Go."
Tucker smiled at her. "Yes, ma'am."
He grabbed the beers and headed out back to the deck, where Barrett and Tucker had already grabbed chairs.
"Can't keep your hands off of her, can you?" Barrett asked. "Not that I blame you. She's pretty."
"She's more than pretty," Flynn said, accepting the beer Tucker handed him. "A doctor, too, huh? Barrett told me about your trip to the ER. She's the one who treated you?"
Tucker sat in one of the chairs and popped the top on his can of beer. "Yeah. She's a hell of a lot smarter than I am."
"Yeah, well, who isn't?" Flynn winked at him, then took a long swallow of beer.
More than accustomed to nonstop insults from his brothers, Tucker ignored that one from Flynn.
"Are you gonna be able to make Leo's game tomorrow?" Barrett asked him.
Tucker nodded. "It's a day game, and early enough before I have to report to the stadium that I should be able to see most, if not all, of it."
"We'll hold a seat for you," Flynn said. "Unless some hot mom shows up. Then you're on your own."
Tucker laughed. "Always thinking of family, aren't you, Flynn?"
"You know it."
"Where are you two headed after this stop?"
"Flying out to San Francisco to look at some property for Flynn," Barrett said.
Tucker raised a brow. "Are you looking to buy a house, Flynn?"
"Eventually. Things are pretty settled with the Sabers now, so I might consider that. We'll look at houses. But this is commercial property."
"Really. Are you thinking of investing?"
"He's thinking of opening a restaurant," Barrett said.
Tucker turned in his chair to face Flynn. "No shit."
"Thinking about it."
"I had no idea you were even interested in doing something like that. And why?"
Flynn shrugged. "I like food."
Tucker laughed. "Come on. No bullshit."
Flynn leaned forward in his chair, rolling the can of beer around in his hands. "It's something I've been toying with for a while now. San Francisco extended my contract and considers me a franchise player. I'm staying put there, and I want to put my signature on the place. Plus, I seriously like food. And I can cook, assholes."
"But you wouldn't be the chef there or anything," Barrett said.
"Of course not, dipshit. You hire an experienced chef to run your restaurant. But it's a way for me to stay connected to the city."
Tucker was impressed, though he shouldn't be. As the oldest Cassidy, Flynn had always had the smarts, the leadership ability and the ambition to do anything he wanted in life. That he also loved football had been an added bonus for the family.
"Do you need investors?" Tucker asked. "If you do, hit me up. I might be interested."
"Thanks. I'll let you know."
Tucker stood. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting hungry. I'm going to head inside to help Aubry with dinner."
Flynn got up. "Let's all go help."
"You can all cook," Barrett said. "I'll put myself in charge of drinks."
"Taking on the hard tasks again?" Tucker asked as they walked inside.
"You know me. Always willing to fall on the grenade."
Tucker shook his head and followed his brothers inside.
DINNER WAS A ROUSING SUCCESS, THOUGH AUBRY knew she and Tucker couldn't take all the credit. Flynn had pitched in, and despite Tucker giving his brother a hard time, she had to admit Flynn knew his way around a kitchen. He'd decided to put himself in charge of the grilled vegetables. She'd handed them over to him, and he'd sliced them, seasoned them and prepared them with meticulousness, then baked them until they were a golden, crisp perfection.
She leaned against the counter, watching in awe.
"How did you learn to do that?"
He shrugged. "Our mom is a great cook, so you sit around talking with her enough, you pick up a few things. Plus, I'm a big fan of food and I hate takeout. So I've practiced at home."
"I'd say you know what you're doing."
He looked out the window where Tucker was busy with the grill, Barrett talking to him. "Don't tell my brothers. I have a reputation as a badass."
She laughed. "Your secret is safe with me."
She'd prepared the seasoned potatoes, and those were ready just as Tucker came in with the grilled salmon. She'd also tried her hand at the topping sauce for the salmon, a honey mustard glaze that she hoped was as good as it sounded.
It had been a very unusual experience to say the least. She'd fully expected Tucker and his brothers to sit in the living room, drink beer and talk or watch sports, or possibly hang out outside. Despite Tucker's intention to assist her with this meal, she'd figured he'd want to catch up with his brothers, and she wouldn't have minded cooking by herself.
What she hadn't expected was for all of them to roll up their sleeves and help her. Tucker handled grilling the salmon, and Barrett had washed all the prep dishes.
It was
definitely a team effort.
She opened another bottle of wine and set it on the dining room table to let it breathe while they laid the food out and set the table.
Barrett was the one who held her chair out for her. She turned to him and smiled. "Thanks."
"It's the least I can do for the beautiful woman who made this amazing meal for me."
"Quit hitting on my girlfriend, Barrett," Tucker said, nudging his brother aside to sit next to Aubry.
Tucker had called her his girlfriend. In front of his brothers. That was fairly monumental, especially for a guy. Aubry was touched by his display.
"Thank you all so much for the help," she said. "I hope you enjoy the meal."
"It looks great, and smells even better," Flynn said. "I know it's going to be good."
"Enough talking," Barrett said, lifting his fork. "Let's eat."
They poured wine, and ate. Aubry took a bite of the salmon, which melted on her tongue.
"This turned out perfectly, Tucker," she said. "Just the right amount of grill time."
"It is pretty good," Flynn said. "I like the sauce, too. Is that honey in there?"
Aubry nodded. "It's a pretty simple glaze, with white wine, balsamic vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard and garlic."
Flynn nodded. "It's great. For a little different flavor, you might try marinating your salmon in soy sauce, brown sugar, bourbon and ginger. Add a little lime juice and some garlic, and just a touch of black pepper. It's tangy and really damn good."
Aubry's eyes widened. "That sounds delicious."
Tucker pinned Flynn with a look. "I can't believe you have a recipe in your head."
Flynn shrugged. "I told you. I cook."
"Flynn's thinking of opening a restaurant in San Francisco," Barrett said to Aubry.
"Really?" Aubry asked. "That would be amazing."
Flynn glared at Barrett. "Do you have to tell everyone we know?"
Barrett grinned. "Pretty much, yeah."
"Uh-oh," Aubry said. "Was I not supposed to know? I'm sorry if it's a secret."
"It's not a secret," Flynn said. "I just haven't decided yet if I'm going to do it. After our visit here in St. Louis, we're going to fly out to San Francisco and look at commercial property. I'm still thinking about it, though."
"Opening a restaurant is serious business," Tucker said. "I know a lot of athletes who've done it, but I've heard it's very difficult. Do you have a chef in mind?"
Flynn shook his head. "Right now I'm just considering the project. First I'll look into location and property. Then we'll take it from there and see what happens."
"I told you, if you need investors, let me know," Tucker said. "I believe anything you put your head and body into, you can make work."
Flynn looked at Tucker, then nodded. "Thanks, Bro. That means a lot."
Aubry loved the look that passed between the brothers. That was a tight bond.
"You're not getting any money from me," Barrett said. "I'm just going to go with you and tell you over and over that it's a dumb idea."
Flynn laughed. "Yeah, I knew I could count on you, Barrett."
"I think it's very exciting," Aubry said to Flynn. "I do wish you luck. You seem passionate about food. I think you could make it work."
"Thanks."
Dinner was a success, and the more time she spent around Tucker's brothers, the more she liked them. Barrett was funny, Flynn was more serious, but still had a good sense of humor. And it was quite obvious that despite all the teasing, they all loved each other very much.
It was also clear that Tucker enjoyed having his brothers around. With them spread out playing sports in different areas of the country, he probably didn't get a chance to see them all that often. So she didn't mind at all that they stayed up very late.
She stifled a yawn and finally stood and said, "I hate to be a terrible partier, but I have an early call tomorrow, so I'm going to bed."
"We should head to bed, too," Flynn said, standing.
She put up a hand. "Don't be ridiculous. Stay up as long as you like. I can guarantee that as a doctor, I fall asleep in seconds and will sleep like the dead. Lessons learned from my internship."
Tucker put his arm around her. "You sure?"
She nodded. "Absolutely. Have fun catching up with your brothers." She kissed him good night, hugged Flynn and Barrett, then took herself to Tucker's bedroom.
She could have gone home to her own condo, but it was late and she'd brought a bag with her scrubs for tomorrow.
Besides, Tucker had asked her to stay, and she wanted to. Something about sleeping next to his body at night had become so natural, so seemingly perfect.
And tonight she was too damn tired to dissect all the reasons why, so she undressed, washed her face and brushed her teeth and crawled into Tucker's bed, pulling up the covers without thinking about their relationship.
Instead, she smiled and turned off the beside lamp, closed her eyes and was instantly asleep.
"LEO'S GOT A GOOD ARM," TUCKER SAID. "LEFT FIELD is a good position for him. Plus he's fast, so he can run down base hits."
Tucker's brother Grant nodded. "His on-base percentage is decent, too. He's enjoying playing baseball."
Tucker turned to his brother and grinned. "You sound surprised."
"Grant thinks it should be all about football," Leo's older sister Anya said. "Kind of like your other brothers."
"Hey, kid. I didn't say a word."
"It was implied, Barrett." Anya winked at him.
"Actually, he's enjoying both sports," Katrina said. "I'm just happy he's found something that fulfills him. My little brother is a different kid this year."
"Yeah," Anya said. "A lot less surly. And, unfortunately, a lot more outgoing. You can hardly shut him up now. I miss the quiet, hides-in-his-room-all-the-time Leo."
Katrina nudged her sister. "You do not."
Anya gave her sister a quirky smile.
Tucker enjoyed Grant's fiancee Katrina and her siblings. And Grant loved them all, which meant they were family now.
With the pitcher on Leo's team throwing a strikeout to end the inning, they were now up to bat and Tucker waited for Leo to get his turn. He hadn't yet seen him bat, but hoped for something good from Leo and his team. He wasn't disappointed--the first and second batters singled, then the third batter drove in two runs with a double, putting Leo's team up two runs in the bottom of the first inning. The fourth batter grounded out, and Leo was fifth in the order, so he was up next.
"I am so nervous," Katrina said.
Grant took her hand. "He's going to do great, so relax."
Leo took the first pitch, a called strike.
"Oh, God. He's going to suck," Anya said.
"He isn't going to suck," Tucker said. "He's waiting to see what the pitcher's got."
He took the second pitch, a ball up and high. The pitcher for the other team was good, but hadn't settled into his groove yet. He was all over the place in terms of pitch placement, so Leo was being smart in waiting for the right pitch.
Soon it was a full count, and Leo had fouled off about four pitches.
"He's going to strike out, isn't he?" Anya asked.
"No, he's going to line one out to left field."
She looked over at Tucker. "How do you know that?"
"Trust me. I just know."
Two pitches later, Leo launched a double into left field. Everyone stood and yelled his name, clapping loudly.
When Tucker sat, Katrina looked over at him. "You were right. How did you know?"
"Easy. I know what their pitcher was throwing, and based on the way Leo was swinging the bat and hitting those balls foul, it was only a matter of time until he connected."
"I'm impressed," Katrina said.
"Me, too," Anya said.
Grant leaned over his shoulder. "Fucking smartass."
Tucker grinned.
Leo's team ended up winning the game by four runs, a good start to the championship. They met up w
ith him at the entrance to the locker room after the game. Tucker hung back while Leo got hugs from Grant, Katrina and Anya, and a huge pat on the back from Barrett and Flynn. Then he stepped in and shook Leo's hand.
"You did good, kid."
Leo smiled. "Thanks."
"You should probably rethink the whole football thing. Based on your talent, football's a waste of time."
"Hey," Grant said, frowning.
Tucker winked at Leo, who laughed. "Yeah, we should talk about that over pizza."
Tucker and Leo walked away, but not before he heard Grant mumble something about kicking Tucker's ass.
Unfortunately, he couldn't join them for pizza since he had a game of his own to play. So he shook Leo's hand, wished him luck on the rest of his games and said he'd try to get to another, but they'd for sure connect at Grant's house as soon as possible to talk baseball. He said good-bye to his brothers, kissed Katrina on the cheek and hugged Anya, then drove to the ballpark.
He got into uniform and headed out to the mound for warm-ups. He'd been working on all his pitches, but mainly his curveball, hoping he'd see improvement on whatever quirk it was that screwed him up on his last game.
He wasn't anxious--he was determined.
Tonight, he was going to win this one.
AUBRY FINISHED WORK AT SEVEN THIRTY, SO SHE cleaned up at the hospital, changed clothes and drove over to the ballpark, then made her way to the owner's box. Her parents were both there tonight.
Her mom gave her a hug.
"I'm surprised to see you here," her mom said. "Dad's over talking to one of the sponsors he invited to join us tonight."
"That's okay." She grabbed some water and took a seat next to her mom. "I'll chat with him when he's free."
She checked the score. The Rivers were up by one run, and it was the bottom of the third. The Rivers had one man on base and no outs.
"Did you just get off work?"
Aubry nodded. "I didn't have anything going on, so I thought I'd catch the rest of the game."
"It's a good game so far. Tucker Cassidy is pitching."
That's why she was here. "Looks like he's held them off so far."
"Philadelphia has a good team, but yes, no runs on their side yet."
Just then, Trevor Shay hit a triple, scoring the runner on first base. The owner's box erupted with cheers. Aubry stood and yelled, too.
Tucker had a nice three-run lead when he took the mound at the bottom of the third.
"So, Mom," she said while there was a lull in the action and her dad was busy with clients. "What if I asked to bring a guy over to dinner?"