More than the Game by Jenni Bara

24

@FoxxNews:@VoteLorettaM has scheduled a huge rally in DC on the Fourth, fun, fireworks and a VP pick.

“We’re golfing.” From Nick’s tone, Beth didn’t think it was up for discussion, although half the group had already said they weren’t going. “All of us,” Nick added, looking at Danny, the biggest anti-golfer in the bunch.

“Oh?” Clayton, who was also on the anti-golf team, asked. “Who died and made you the boss?”

“Are you kidding? I brought the clubs all the way here.” He went on, using his hands in a series of wild gestures. “I checked the clubs in San Diego, flew to Chicago, got them rechecked for my flight to Kennedy. Put them in a cab to Danny’s place, then walked them into the subway to the ferry because he left his car at Will’s. Then I had to walk from the ferry to Will’s with them before the drive out here. And I’m going to have to do it all again on the way back. A boat, a plane, a car, and a train.” He slapped the back of his hand against his palm to emphasize each word.

“Does that mean you don’t like green eggs and ham?” Danny asked. All the guys laughed, except Nick, who frowned. “All right, since you went to all that trouble, I’ll go, but I’m not getting up at the asscrack of dawn this time,” Danny added.

“Seven o’clock is not the crack of dawn. Try having an actual job where you get up at five every day,” Joey scoffed.

“I can’t help that I’m smarter about choosing a job with reasonable hours,” Danny replied, and he and Clayton fist-bumped. Neither were morning people.

“Danny, you don’t have a real job. You’re a lifeguard,” Will pointed out.

Luke laughed. “Burned.”

Chaos reigned as the boys talked more smack to each other. Beth shook her head as she listened to the back and forth.

“Beth,” Nick finally said and smiled. “Sweetie.”

She knew what he wanted. “Yeah, I’ll call about a tee time. And I know—not at the crack of dawn, and not so late that it’ll impede happy hour.” She headed for the phone, and Marc followed her.

She liked the fact that he’d stuck with her since they had arrived. She’d wondered if he wanted to come to be with her or her brothers; his focused attention told her she was his priority.

“I’m not going golfing on your birthday, and neither are the kids. I know the idea is to give you a break, but we want to spend the day with you,” he mumbled.

“Afraid to tell them?” she teased.

The only one Marc seemed even slightly afraid of was Nick, which was silly. Although Nick resembled a hermit now, it wasn’t his usual look. He’d been in Syria and would go back after this week’s leave. Blending in there was easier if he didn’t look like a military man.

“More hoping you could get me out of it. I thought the two of us could do something with the kids while they’re gone.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him.

“What did you have in mind?” Beth asked.

“Since it’s your birthday, I’ll take care of the plans. You just come.” He leaned down and gently kissed her lips.

“And get you out of golf,” she teased.

“I thought we already established that.” He smiled as he headed back into the room to join the boys.

They were all laughing over their ‘five o’clock somewhere’ drinks—in Pennsylvania it was only four, but Nick had grabbed a beer a few minutes ago, and they all followed suit.

“Okay, tee time at ten-thirty for the seven of you.” She smiled as the men all frowned at her.

“Seven?” Nick asked, and his eyes fell on Marc.

“Yip.” But she said nothing else.

“Beth, math has never been your strong suit,” Will said, “but I know you can count. There are eight of us plus two kids.”

“Oh, I know. But only seven of you are going. It’s my birthday, so Marc’s staying with me.”

She knew how they were going to react, but Marc didn’t. All eyes fell on him.

“Dude.” Luke glared at Marc. “Tell me you’re not that whipped.”

“Whipped?” Marc asked with a single eyebrow arch.

“Yeah,” Will agreed.

“Next thing you know, you’re going to be skipping baseball games in favor of The Kardashians,” Danny said, snickering with Nick.

“Beth has no interest in that show. It’s never going to be a problem,” Marc assured them. “As far as golf, if you had a choice between spending the day with a beautiful woman or seven ugly men, which one of you would play?”

“Ooh,” Clayton chanted and fist-bumped Marc, who smiled at him.

Beth shook her head. Marc crooked his finger at her, and she moved to sit on his lap.

“Thanks for your help there, sweetheart.” Marc chuckled against her ear, sending a shiver down her spine.

“You have to hold your own in this group,” Beth murmured. “And you did.”

“Where did you find him?” Nick asked, shaking his head.

“He followed her around like a puppy for a while until she brought him home,” Will said, trying again to rile Marc up.

“Yeah, he had to beg for weeks,” Danny agreed.

“It was borderline pathetic,” Clayton added.

Marc shrugged unapologetically. “Nothing worth having comes easy.”

“I got to disagree,” Luke said, shaking his head. “Sometimes, it’s good even if it’s easy.” And then he paused and turned to Beth. “But you’re not allowed to be easy.”

The guys all laughed while Beth shook her head.

“Dude,” Clayton said, glancing up from his phone. “You’re moving to Colorado?”

Marc snorted. “Or Florida—or I think two days ago it was Texas. No one is changing pitching coaches at this point in the season, no matter what Twitter says.”

It was crazy how much speculation about Marc’s next job there was buzzing around the sports media. Austin might be doing it on purpose to drum up interest, but Marc kept assuring both her and her brothers he wasn’t getting a job until after the playoffs; maybe holiday time in November or December. As always, talk of his career had the guys talking about baseball.

“You want to run with me before dinner?” Beth asked, turning to look at Marc.

He looked over her shoulder, and his brow furrowed. “Do you guys mind watching the kids?”

She knew they didn’t, but when she turned around to look, they were all staring at her like she had grown horns in the last few seconds.

“What?” she demanded.

“He can run with you?” Danny asked skeptically.

“Why not?” Beth shook her head. Then surprise turned to glares. She didn’t understand what the big deal was.

“Maybe I should stay and watch Mandy and Steve,” Marc said, looking as confused as she was. Mandy and Steve were currently on the other side of the room, building LEGO ships. That would keep them entertained for at least another half hour. She sent a look to her brothers, telling them all they better step up.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll watch ’em,” Will said, recovering from whatever the problem was. “I told them I’d take them up to the barn, anyway. Luke’ll come with me. Right?” Will threw his bottle cap at his brother when Luke didn’t answer.

“Sure,” Luke said, glaring at Marc.

Beth didn’t understand. She ran every night; it wasn’t like any of them ever came with her and now they were feeling left out. And none of the boys had ever had a problem watching the kids before. Even when she’d had to bring other kids with her, they didn’t mind. She shook her head and stood up to get changed. She could usually sort through their madness, but this time, she was coming up blank.

After they got back from their run, Beth took care of dinner while Marc showered. Some of the boys had gotten over whatever their problem was; others hadn’t. Marc was as confused as Beth by the boys’ reaction to their running together. Her brothers were acting like she’d asked Marc for a quickie before dinner instead of a run. He wondered if that was what they thought they were doing. It had surprised Marc too when she’d asked him to go—she usually liked to run alone—but he hadn’t minded going. Especially when she came down in her sports bra and shorts. He’d follow her anywhere like that.

At six-thirty, they were all sitting down to eat. Peas weren’t something Marc usually ate, especially not when they were still in the pod, but in the last month of dinners with the Evanses, Marc had learned to eat his veggies. The kids were great about their greens, so he was shocked when the fight ensued at dinner.

“I not eaten them,” Mandy said again, pointing to the peas on her plate long after everyone else had finished.

Marc was wiping down the table around Mandy while the rest of the guys were in the kitchen doing the dishes. The Evans rule was a simple one: Beth cooked, and the boys cleaned up every meal with no complaints. Marc had learned that there was nothing Beth hated more than dishes; at her house, he and Steve took care of them.

“They don’t have to be your favorite, Mandy, but you need to eat them,” Beth said again.

“You mate my life so hart,” she replied, glaring at her mother and using a line that Marc had heard from her plenty of times.

“Then you don’t get ice cream,” Beth said simply.

“Yes, I do,” Mandy said with a sassiness that proved she was her mother’s daughter.

“No, you don’t.” Beth always handled Mandy’s attitude with a calm, collected response that impressed Marc.

Joey, Luke, and Steve walked into the dining room, each with a bowl of ice cream, and sat down.

“I want ice cream!” Mandy screamed. Marc had never seen her pitch a fit like this before, but Beth didn’t act like it was anything new.

“Then eat your peas,” Beth replied, on the receiving end of Mandy’s glare.

Grant walked in a minute later with two bowls in his hand. “Did I hear someone say they wanted ice cream?” he asked, smiling at Mandy.

Marc couldn’t believe it. No way should Mandy have ice cream. He looked at Beth, who was taking a deep breath.

“I do!” Mandy smiled, looking proud of herself as Grant set a bowl down in front of her. Marc wondered how much of the tantrum Mandy was having was because she knew one of her uncles would give in.

Beth calmly pushed the bowl back before saying, “Once your peas are gone.”

“I no like peas.” Mandy’s full scowl was back on her face.

“Aww, come on,” Grant said as he pushed the bowl back toward the little girl.

Beth’s teeth clenched, and then Grant added, “My house, my rules. We don’t want the ice cream to melt. She can skip the peas this one time.” Mandy rewarded Grant with her sweetest smile, and Grant patted her head. At three, Mandy had already learned how to work her uncle.

Grant didn’t get to see the kids much, so it made sense that he’d want to be the fun uncle. All the guys enjoyed being the fun uncle, of course, but this seemed to cross a line. Grant’s interference was undermining Beth’s parenting, and Marc didn’t like it.

“Yeah,” Luke said, taking his brother’s side, “she’s on vacation. Give the girl a break.”

Beth looked warily from Grant to Luke to Joey, who was nodding in agreement. Danny walked into the room with his bowl and sat down. Marc would bet that Danny and the others weren’t willing to be the bad guys either.

Eating right mattered to Beth. Her kids asked for broccoli and spinach pizza with cauliflower crust, for fuck’s sake. And Marc had seen Mandy eat peas and like them. This was about not having to listen to Mom when her uncles were around.

Marc wasn’t about to let that happen. He’d be the bad guy. He had learned that the kids moved on quickly; if Mandy was mad at him tonight, she’d get over it by tomorrow.

“Amanda,” he said, walking toward the little girl. Beth’s eyes were on him, and although he was looking only at her daughter, he put his hand on Beth’s shoulder. Marc wanted her to know he was on her side, and wanted Mandy to know her mother was right. “I’ll put this ice cream in the freezer for when you finish your peas, like your mom said.”

Mandy turned her scowl on him. She reached up a hand to swipe the peas off the plate, but Marc caught her wrist and held on until she finally looked down at her plate and picked up one of the pea pods. Marc lifted his eyes, daring Grant to fight him about it. Grant’s eyes narrowed, and his grip tightened on the spoon, but he said nothing, and Marc left the room with the bowl.

He barely had the freezer door shut when Grant walked in.

“Give Marc and me a minute, boys,” he said to Will, Nick, and Clayton. Nick and Will headed out to the table with their ice cream.

“What’s going on?” Clayton asked, looking from Marc to Grant.

“Out, Clayton,” Grant said, but he was glaring at Marc.

“No. What did you do now?” Clayton asked in frustration. Clayton didn’t mean any harm in his question, but Marc wanted to ask what he’d done at all.

“I agreed with Beth,” Marc said, looking at Clayton before turning to Grant. “Healthy eating habits are important, and Mandy is Beth’s daughter. You have no right to interfere.”

“And you have no right to get involved in family business,” Grant shot back.

In any other situation, Marc might have agreed with him, but not when it was setting a precedent for Mandy that she didn’t have to listen to her mother.

“If Beth’s involved, I’m involved whether you like it or not.”

“Fucking the kid’s mother doesn’t give you the right—” Grant began.

Marc’s head spun. “Don’t talk about your sister that way.” Marc’s tone was low, but deadly serious. Ever since they’d arrived, Marc had gotten the impression that Grant didn’t like him, but that was out of line. “Even if Beth and I weren’t together, I’d still like Mandy. She’s a good kid, but she’s not your kid.”

“She’s my niece.”

“She’s Beth’s daughter, and that trumps,” Marc snapped at Grant. The two men stepped toward each other.

“And she’s your nothing,” Grant shot back. That was a punch in the gut. Mandy was his… what? Something. Marc didn’t know what the word for it would be.

“Whoa—Grant, Marc.” Clayton put his hand on his brother’s shoulder, both to calm him down and push him back away from Marc. Clayton was bigger than Marc or Grant, but that wouldn’t have stopped either of them. Beth walking in with an empty plate, however, did.

“She finished.” Beth’s smile faded as she walked into the room. “Guys?”

Beth didn’t look happy, and Marc took a breath. He turned to the freezer, pulled out Mandy’s bowl, reached deep down into himself, and handed it to Grant.

“So go be the good guy. Give her back her ice cream,” he said, hoping the bowl could be a peace offering.

Grant’s face went white as he stared from the bowl to Marc, then left the room without taking it. Clayton followed him, grabbing the bowl out of Marc’s hand.

“Sorry,” Marc said. He’d thought letting Grant give her the ice cream would settle things down, not make them worse. “I’m thinking coming this weekend was a bad idea.”

“No, I’m glad you’re here,” she said, shaking her head and then coming up and wrapping her arms around him. “Thank you for taking my side, not letting them bulldoze me.”

“You don’t need to thank me. I’m always on your side,” Marc said and held her close. “You don’t even have to ask.” He couldn’t believe she hadn’t figured that out already. Whether it was the media, her father, her brothers, her kids—he was always on her side.

The next hour was tense. Grant left the house, along with Will and Nick, and although Clayton and Danny tried to lighten the mood, Joey and Luke were upset with Marc. Marc didn’t think he’d overstepped. More importantly, Beth wasn’t angry with him. And surprisingly, neither was Mandy. As soon as she finished her ice cream, she brought Marc her book to read, climbing right into his lap. And by the time the story ended, she was laughing as he tickled her while they debated blue vs. pink, like any other day.

Beth went up to shower, so Marc walked out on the back porch alone. It had started to drizzle about an hour ago, and the smell of wet dirt filled the air. The sky darkened; more rain was coming. After a few minutes, the door opened behind him and he turned, expecting to see Beth.

“I brought you a cold one,” Will said, sitting down next to Marc.

“Crossing enemy lines?” Marc asked, but he took the beer.

“Nah, Grant was wrong,” Will said, looking out into the fields.

“I know,” Marc agreed.

“Yeah, we all do. They’re over it. It’s hard sometimes.” Will sighed. “It’s why I told Grant he needed to invite you up this weekend.”

“What?” Marc asked, turning to look at Will.

“Pretty soon we’ll be replaced in her and the kids’ life by a new man. She’s going to remarry,” Will said simply, but the blood rushed to Marc’s head, and he sprang to his feet.

“Whoa.” Marc put his hands in the air, warding off Will’s statement with the gesture.

“I didn’t mean you, moron. Sit down,” Will said, shaking his head and handing Marc back the beer he’d pretty much dropped when he jumped up. Marc took it slowly, but didn’t sit. “You aren’t into marriage, but until now, she’d never let another guy in their lives.”

“What?” Marc asked suspiciously. Thunder rolled off in the distance, and his eyes flicked up to the sky. It was going to pour.

“Beth’s dated other guys since Bob died, but she picks wimpy losers—men she has no future with,” Will said, shaking his head.

Marc raised his eyebrows. “Losers?” He honestly couldn’t imagine it. She was too smart for that.

“Yeah, and she thinks she likes them—but she doesn’t.” Marc could almost laugh at the certainty in Will’s statement. “She thinks she wants someone calm and boring, but they can’t handle her, and she gets tired of them. She’s a lot; she doesn’t know when to slow down, and she needs someone to tell her to stop when she’s exhausted. She’s impulsive and lives the hell out of life, and she needs someone who doesn’t stomp that crazy out.”

Marc smiled. He couldn’t disagree. The one thing Will had left out was fragile, although Beth would kill Marc for even thinking it. But she was, in a way that drew him close, wanting to protect her when she needed it.

Will looked at Marc before he continued. “And she needs someone who can not only be okay with her seven brothers, but knows when it’s time to put them in their place. She needs someone more like you, and I think she’s finally realized that.”

“I’ve told her how things are with us—she knows.”

“Yeah. She’s told us,” Will agreed—more quickly than Marc would have liked. “She’s enjoying you while you’re together, but it’ll be over by the end of the summer.” Marc frowned. “What I meant before was that when things are over with you, she’s going to find someone—the right someone this time.”

Marc’s frown turned into a scowl as he stared out into the rainy evening. He didn’t like that idea; the thought of Beth with another man was like another hard punch to the gut. But Will kept talking, ignoring his scowl.

“She’s our anchor, and somebody’s going to take her away from us.”

“I don’t think the right guy would do that,” Marc said, sitting back down next to Will.

“That’s where you’re wrong. The right one will. It’s half of what will make him right for her,” Will answered. “We pull her in a hundred different directions. We all know that. But none of us want to give her up, either.”

“Do you know, between texts and calls, her phone rings constantly from all of you.”

Will shrugged. “What can I say? We’re close.”

“She loves you, but she also needs a break. Not that she’d ever ask for one,” Marc said.

“Exactly, and that’s why the right guy will take her away. Not completely, but just enough,” Will said. “Can you do us one favor, Marc?”

“What?”

“Don’t string them along too much longer. It’s not in any of their interests for you to hang around for another six months and then one day show up and say, ‘I’m out,’” Will said, observing Marc’s reaction.

Marc wanted to be mad, but he couldn’t. What Will was asking was fair.

“I’m not going to disappear. I can’t give her a permanent commitment, but I also can’t walk away,” Marc admitted.

Will smirked, but before he could respond, the door behind them opened. Both men turned to see Beth standing there.

“Playing nice?” she asked, pointedly looking at Will.

“Yeah, I was telling Marc he was right about the peas. A peace offering.” Will lifted his bottle, and Beth smiled.

“Thank you,” she said as she nudged Will with her shoulder.

The sky opened up, and the light rain became a hard pounding. Beth’s smile flashed. She got that sparkle in her eyes, the one Marc loved, and her Ugg boots fell with a thunk onto the porch. She hopped off the steps into the rain before cocking her head and beckoning them with a single finger.

“Oh, no—no no no,” Will said, backing up like she was a venomous snake. “This is exactly the kind of crazy I was referring to.”

But unlike Will, Marc was helpless to deny the call of the siren, and he found himself in the downpour with a beautiful woman in a soaked shirt and cut-offs, dancing in the rain. Beth swayed and shook to a beat he couldn’t hear, and he watched this beautiful creature who continued to amaze him with her ability to enjoy the hell out of life. He smiled even as warmth filled him, in his chest as well as his groin. Damn, she was perfect.

The porch slowly filled with Evanses, including Beth’s kids, so they now had an audience. But Marc’s attention stayed riveted on the drenched woman next to him.

“Come on, hotshot. Where are your moves?” Beth teased as she twirled and shimmied around him.

His captivation with her left him unable to resist, so he did the Robot to the sound of her cackles. When he looked back to see Beth covering her face with her hands as she laughed, he couldn’t stop himself from grabbing her and tossing her over his shoulder, spinning them both. She squirmed, kicked, laughed, and wiggled until Marc felt the little hands of her mini-me grabbing his legs.

“Me turn,” Mandy demanded.

Slowly he lowered Beth off his shoulder, but instead of letting her go, he kept her tight to him as he brought Mandy into their wet embrace.

“Are you my dancing in the rain girl?” Beth asked.

“Yes, me got moves,” Mandy said, and he released both girls, letting them spin around him again.

“Steve,” Beth yelled, and her son came down. “Where’s my dancing in the rain man?” she asked when he finally reached them.

Steve simply pointed at Marc. “Although he’s not very good.”

Marc reached over and gave Steve a noogie, and before Marc knew it, the entire family was dancing in the rain. Danny and Nick threw Will out into the downpour while Clayton snapped a group photo.

“Wall pic,” Clayton informed Marc, showing him the photo. He and Beth were in the center, the kids in their arms, all the Evans men around them. And he felt like part of the family.

That made him think about what Will had said.

Marc looked at Beth, a few feet away whispering to Luke. Her blond curls were dripping wet, and she didn’t have any makeup on—yet she was breathtakingly beautiful. He imagined her walking out next summer to dance in the rain with someone else. The idea caused something close to pain in his chest.

She turned, as if she could feel his eyes on her, and smiled before heading his way. “Catch me if you can,” she whispered, taking off in a sprint across the grass.

“Go; we got the kids,” Luke said next to him.

Marc smiled as he chased her through the rain, across the fields and into the barn. She laughed and teased him the entire way. But now they were alone, and he was getting his hands on her. Her wet skin sparkled in the fading light, and she was warm and slick when he reached for her.

Something he couldn’t name filled his chest, seeing the desire in her eyes for him alone. He might not be able to offer her a commitment, but he had promised great sex, and that was precisely what he was going to give her. She tossed a blanket on the ground, and he stripped them both down to wet skin.

He should say so many things to her—tell her he cared and didn’t want to hurt her—but he couldn’t get the words out. So instead, he showed her exactly how much he felt, and hoped that could be enough.