Man Of Her Dreams
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Beth must have noticed the shiver, for she said, “Meg’s freezing. Let’s go inside. We’ll get you a party hat, Ry.”
Ry slid out of his jacket. “Why don’t I give Meggy—”
“Meg,” she corrected firmly, giving him a look that said he’d better conform or forget about a peaceful evening.
Fitting his jacket around her shoulders, he repeated, “Why don’t I give Meg my jacket, and you get the hat, Beth?”
Meg’s happy smile rewarded his effort.
“Not ready to face the music yet?” Beth asked, teasing, yet understanding, too.
“Not just yet.” Ry hated to admit it, but being here was harder than he thought it would be. On the plane, he’d been prepared. He’d even had his opening speech memorized.
One look at Trey at the front door, like a lion at the gates, had changed that. The old anger flooded his mind, and he’d thought about getting back in the rental car and going back to New York for good. If he had avoided dealing with the family this long, he could do it forever.
But seeing the girls had settled him down. He still wasn’t sure he could manage to be the good son he’d flown out here to be, but he would give it his best shot. It was still minutes to midnight. There was no hurry.
“Stay put,” his sister said, patting his arm. “I’ll get you a hat, and you’ll be just like the rest of us.”
Was that what he wanted to be?
“Oh, and before I forget,” she said, “you’re staying at my place while you’re here.”
Beth made it more of an order than a request, but that was fine with him. He wanted time with his parents, but not the whole time. “How comfortable is your sofa?” He didn’t really care. He could sleep on the floor.
“I thought I got the sofa tonight,” Meg complained.
The three of them would be together tonight? Ry smiled at the fun they would have.
“Toss a coin or duke it out,” Beth said, heading for the house. “It won’t matter. We’ll stay up all night.”
“Say hello to the marine,” Meg called after his sister.
Beth tossed a snappy military salute. “Aye, aye, sir.”
Meg saluted back. “Be all you can be.”
Ry laughed softly, watching his sister march inside. The girls had their military branches mixed up, but who cared? They still knew how to have fun. No matter what else happened, he’d be glad he made the trip.
“You two haven’t changed,” he said, bringing the lapels of his jacket closer together, the better to keep Meg warm. His Li’l Sis had become one good-looking woman. She looked fantastic in that shimmery dress.
“It feels like Beth and I have changed.”
Her beautiful dark hair was still long. It was amazing how happy he was about that. Li’l Sis was adorable. She still stood all of five feet three, but she had definitely grown up.
“This is the first time Beth and I have spent together in ages,” she said a bit unevenly, as if she were nervous.
He felt a little nervous himself. But it had been a long time since they’d been alone. Even old friends had to get back in their groove.
“I’ll be glad when she’s through with her residency.”
He drew Meg under his arm. In that little dress, she could probably use the extra warmth from his body. “I only hope Beth has done this for herself. You have to want it, being a doctor and putting up with the life.”
“Did you ever want to be a doctor, Ry? Just for yourself, not for the family?”
Had anyone ever asked him that? Everyone seemed to assume he’d chosen to become a paramedic instead of a doctor just to spite the family. He hadn’t minded, and it was true that he didn’t want to be like them.
“I like helping people,” he replied, not really answering the question.
“Which you do as a paramedic.”
Darling Meggy, still backing him. “Sometimes I wish I could do more.” He could be honest with her. “Much more.”
“As a paramedic, you must see some terrible things.”
He was here because of one of those terrible things, so terrible that it finally got through to him. Pretty soon, he’d have to go inside and do what he’d come to do.
“This isn’t exactly party talk, is it?” he said, not wanting to burden her with his troubles.
“I always loved our serious talks,” she said softly, looking up at him so sweetly his heart skipped a beat. If she were just another pretty woman, he’d be thinking about stealing a kiss.
“If I recall, those serious talks mainly focused on your love life,” he teased, getting back into their groove.
“It was never all about me!” she protested.
“Li’l Sis, life was always all about you,” he said, laughing. It wasn’t, but he loved to tease.
“How can you say that?” She stepped away, a move that set the feathery plumes of her crown waving madly.
“I take it back,” he said, pulling her back.
She let him, but she shook a finger at him. “Ry Brennan, I spent half of my life listening to you talk about your girls. It was endless.”
He feigned innocence. “You didn’t want to listen?”
“Well, sure I did. I was a kid who knew nothing about dating. You taught me everything I know about boys.”
“It was an awesome responsibility,” he said gravely, laughing inside.
“You didn’t do that great a job. What I learned was that boys can be real jerks. You’d say one girl was cute, but too sensitive. Another had great eyes, but was too flighty. Another one, you liked her big…chest, but she wasn’t—”
“Enough!” He stopped her with a finger to her pretty lips. “Thanks for the trip down memory lane.”