Hot Finish (Fast Track #3)(32)
Author: Erin McCarthy

Hunter, who had cross-examined everyone on their blessings, asked, “What about your family? Aren’t you thankful for them?”

You know, she loved the kid, but really? Maybe Hunter would like to poke Suzanne in the eye, too.

“Hunter! That’s enough,” Tammy said, her look to Suzanne sympathetic.

Oh, well, whatever. There was the truth and Suzanne had lived with it long enough. “I don’t have any family, honey. My granny and granddad raised me and they passed away. I don’t have any brothers or sisters or aunts or uncles.”

“Oh.” Hunter’s little face crumpled. “That’s sad. But we’ll be your family, right, Mom?” She looked to her mother for confirmation.

“Of course. We love Suzanne.”

Oh, shit, now she had tears in her eyes. She was going to humiliate herself right here in Tammy’s country chic dining room with this dumb turkey plate in front of her. “Thanks, honey,” she managed to force out. She reached around Ryder, careful not to look at him, and rubbed Hunter’s back. “I love y’all, too.”

“Isn’t Ryder your family?” Hunter asked. “You were married and everything.”

“And everything” pretty much summed it up. Suzanne fought the urge to sigh. Somebody better have poured her wineglass straight to the top after all of this.

“Alright, it’s time to eat,” Elec said. “Food’s gonna get cold. Ryder, you have anything to be thankful for? You’re the only one left to answer.”

What Ryder said just about scared the skirt off of Suzanne. He looked at Hunter and said, “Yes, I am Suzanne’s family. And I’m thankful for every day that I’ve been in her life.”

Then he leaned over and kissed Suzanne on the temple.

Making her actually blush for the first time in over twenty years.

RYDER watched Suzanne running across Tammy and Elec’s backyard, football tucked under her arm, dodging Pete’s attempts to tag her. There was something very sexy about a woman willing to put on a borrowed pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt and get out in the yard on Thanksgiving Day for a pickup game of touch football. Suzanne had always been like that though, willing to dive in, ready to try anything.

He supposed he ought to help Pete out since they were on the same team. Evan was also on their team, but he had paused to take a sip of his beer. Hunter was blocking Pete, and it looked like their sibling rivalry was alive and strong as they shoved each other a little harder than was necessary. Ryder jogged over and scooped Hunter off the ground and put her under his arm like Suz had with the football.

“Pete, you’re clear, tag Suzanne.”

“Hey!” Hunter protested, wiggling in his arms. “Put me down!”

“Nope.” He bounced her a few times and she laughed.

Pete started charging toward Suzanne, who squawked and took off running again.

Hunter got too heavy so Ryder put her down and they both took off after Pete and Suz. Hunter collided with her brother and Ryder grabbed for Suzanne. She gave him a challenging smile as she slipped out of his grip. Her cheeks were pink from the cold and she was breathing hard from the exertion.

“You’ll have to tackle me to get this ball.”

“It’s touch football.”

“Scared you can’t do it?”

“Oh, I can take you down.” Ryder grinned and did a small circle around her. She spun around, wary. “You sure you want me to do this?”

“Give it your best shot.”

Ryder shoved her into a giant pile of leaves. She stumbled and went down on her butt, laughing even as she fell. “You still don’t have the ball.”

He dropped down and hovered over her, wanting to suck her juicy bottom lip, stained the color of raspberries from the cold. “It’s too bad we didn’t play this game shirts and skins. This would be even more of a fun position than it is.”

Her eyes were shiny and leaves were sticking to her hair. “You’re a dirty man. There are children present.”

Those children were also landing on his back. Someone hit him hard with a monkey move, all arms and legs all over him, and suddenly there were four of them in the pile, laughing and tossing the fiery dried leaves in the air and at each other.

Watching Suzanne laugh and smile, his own grin splitting his face, Ryder had a hell of a lot to be thankful for.

ELEC sat next to the fire pit, keeping one eye on the logs he had burning there and another on his step-kids playing in the yard. His wife was on the chaise lounge with him, nestled between his legs, her back on his chest, and he kissed her shoulder, perfectly content.

“So what do you think is going on out there?” he asked Tamara.

“Hmm? What you mean?”

“Ryder and Suzanne. There’s a . . . vibe between them.”

Tamara glanced up at him, biting her lip. “They slept together the other night.”

Well, that explained a lot. “Really? I thought that was over and done a long time ago.”

“Yeah, me, too. And I’m worried about Suz. She said it was no big deal, but you know her . . . she says everything isn’t a big deal. But I don’t think she’s ever really gotten over Ryder, and if he’s just playing around, well, I’m worried she’s really going to be hurt.”

Elec studied the pair rolling around in the leaves with Hunter and Pete. They both looked to be having fun, and at dinner Ryder’s words about Suzanne had sounded sincere. Elec didn’t think he was just fooling around to fool around. “I thought Suz was the one who wanted a divorce.”

“Technically, but it was complicated. She didn’t leave him because she didn’t love him. It was other . . . stuff.”

“Huh. Well it looks like that other stuff isn’t mattering so much right now. They seem to be getting along just fine.”

“Maybe.”

Elec laughed and nudged Tamara with his knee. “Don’t be cynical.”

“I’m not! I just care about my friend. I want her to be happy, happy like me.”

“Oh, are you happy?” Elec teased her, stroking the back of her auburn hair. “I wasn’t sure.”

“I’m very happy. The only thing that could make me happier would be if you kissed me.”

“I can do that.” Elec kissed his wife and forgot all about Ryder and Suzanne.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

SUZANNE stared at Nikki across the sampling table at the bakery on Saturday and wondered if it were possible for her head to float off of her shoulders and out the front door, and if it did, if that would really be such a bad thing. She was so exhausted her head felt like a helium balloon, and she was fighting random waves of dizziness.