Chapter Twenty
“Mom, you made way too much food. We aren’t going to eat all of this.” Izzy carried what felt like the tenth dish to the table and scooted the mashed potatoes and green beans over so she could slide the bowl of creamed corn beside them.
“You know I miss cooking for people since I live alone now. I guess I went a little overboard.” Mom threw a glance at the front door.
Maybe she was as nervous about Tanner and Hayley coming over as Izzy was. But Izzy hadn’t seen a spread this big since the family Thanksgiving dinners they used to have growing up. Before Dad’s drinking got really bad.
The buzzer on the stove sounded.
“Would you grab the rolls?” Mom stirred the pot of gravy on the front burner and stepped out of the way. Izzy shoved her hands into pot holders and pulled the tray out.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
Izzy glanced at her watch as she dropped the sheet of rolls onto the back of the stove. “Tanner’s early. It’s only twelve forty-five.” She ripped the oven mitts off her hands and patted down her hair as she rushed to the front door. She snatched it open and the smile fell from her face.
“Justin. What are you doing here?” She tried to contain her discomfort considering Maddie was right behind her brother, looking about as excited to be here as Izzy was to see them. At least her nephew was excited, if his squirming beside his mom was any indication.
Justin stepped through the door and only then did Izzy notice a casserole dish in Maddie’s arms. She thrust it at Justin on her way in the door. “Good to see you again, Izzy. Take that to your mom, Justin.”
Izzy ignored the glare Justin cast his wife as Aiden threw his arms around her waist and squeezed.
Izzy closed her eyes and relaxed. Nephew hugs always had a way of calming her. Much like Hayley’s hugs did. Okay, maybe it was kids in general that made her happy. “Hey, buddy. How’s school?”
“It’s awesome. My friend David and I are on a soccer team together.” He finally let go of her and bounced from foot to foot. Always full of energy, that one. Justin and Maddie definitely had their hands full. As much as she loved her nephew, and it had been too long since she’d seen him, this was not a good time for them to be dropping by Mom’s.
Aiden ran toward the kitchen, leaving Izzy with Maddie. Her sister-in-law perched on the edge of the couch, her hands tucked between her knees, and her gaze down. She looked as though she’d lost weight, and the shadows under her eyes betrayed any attempts at hiding the exhaustion. Izzy knew Justin and Maddie were struggling, but Justin hadn’t said how bad his wife was.
Izzy should have reached out sooner. She dropped onto the couch and rested her hand on Maddie’s knee. “I’m sorry I haven’t stopped by. Opening the studio has taken up all of my time.” Well, not all of her time, but Maddie wouldn’t want to hear about Izzy’s new boyfriend and his daughter who were due here any minute.
Maddie’s lips pursed and her back stiffened. The muscle in her jaw twitched, and when Izzy looked closer, it was clear that Maddie was barely holding it together. Izzy’s heart broke for her… and for Justin. “I wish I could say something to make it better. I’ve been thinking about you and want you to know that you can call me anytime.”
“Thanks.” Maddie’s voice betrayed the fragileness that she tried hard to hide. It was no wonder Justin was unhappy.
Izzy patted Maddie’s knee again and headed back to the kitchen. Maybe she could convince Justin that today was not a good day. When she stepped through the door, Justin and Mom were laughing about something, both of them sliding plates onto the table. Too many plates.
“What’s going—” The doorbell interrupted the question she wasn’t sure she wanted the answer to. This time when she threw open the door, her smile was rewarded with one from Tanner. “Hi.”
His gaze darkened. Was he was thinking about last night? She’d never done that before, but she was quickly finding that Tanner brought out a side of her she didn’t expect. “Hey yourself.”
“Hi, Izzy.” Hayley approached Izzy tentatively, and while she had a smile on her face, the wariness was hiding just below the surface.
“Hey, honey. Come on in. Turns out my brother is here, too, with his wife and my five-year-old nephew Aiden. How about I introduce you?” Izzy motioned for Hayley to come in. She had barely stepped into Mom’s house when another voice rang out behind Tanner.
“Sorry we’re late.” Serena and Alexis rushed up the stairs. That was it. This was an ambush—pure and simple. Mom had outflanked Izzy and sprung the entire family on Tanner and Hayley. That explained all the food and Mom’s evasiveness. Izzy wanted to ease Tanner and Hayley into this. He’d already had to endure her siblings barging in on their morning after. He could certainly hold his own, but Hayley wasn’t an adult, and she was anxious around new people.
Serena and Alexis acted like there was no one else on the porch, pushing past Izzy and Tanner and into the house before she could catch her breath.
Izzy mouthed her apology to Tanner. “I’m sorry.”
He nodded and curled his arm around her waist. “I missed you.”
“I talked to you last night.” Her face heated at the memories.
“Yes, and I’d like a little more of that, in person next time.” He waggled his eyebrows and then stepped into the living room.
Izzy hurried behind him, seeking out Hayley. But she hadn’t needed to worry. Hayley was sprawled on the floor with Aiden, heads together over the book he had brought with him. Serena and Alexis were chatting with Maddie. Mom had lowered herself to the floor with Hayley and Aiden, laughing at something Hayley said. She didn’t seem to be nervous around all of these strangers. That dampened Izzy’s frustration with her mother… a little. She’d still gone behind Izzy’s back.
Izzy turned to Tanner. “I was worried when Mom sprang all these people on us. She didn’t tell me she was inviting the family. I would have told her not to, or at least warned you in advance.”
His gaze remained locked on his daughter. Izzy couldn’t imagine what he’d been through, raising Hayley alone. To watch her among Izzy’s family, you’d never know she had anxiety around new people. She had blended in and made herself at home.
And Izzy liked it. She liked seeing Tanner and Hayley here, in the house where she grew up, with the people who were most important to her.
Justin finally made his appearance and crossed the room toward them. “Hey, Tanner. I didn’t hear you come in.” He extended his hand and Tanner shook it.
Izzy glared at the glass of scotch in her brother’s hand and then at him. She didn’t have a problem with Justin drinking, especially knowing what he was going through with Maddie, but they all tried to avoid alcohol in front of Mom. They didn’t want to remind her of Dad and certainly didn’t want her worrying that they would end up like him.
Justin avoided her gaze and sipped from the glass of amber liquid.
Mom hopped up from the rug and crossed the floor to them. “Hi, Tanner. I’m Barbara Harper. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Tanner shot Izzy a look. “It’s so nice to meet you. Thanks so much for inviting us to dinner.”
“You’re very welcome. I’m sorry this has turned into a bit of a circus. When the girls heard that you were coming over, they insisted on joining us. At that point, I figured the more the merrier and asked Justin and his family.”
“It’s not a problem. I see that Hayley has already made a friend.”
Izzy watched Hayley reading out of Aiden’s book, none of her earlier wariness apparent. She was all smiles and waving her hands in the air as she spoke.
Mom cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention. “I’m so happy that everyone’s here. It’s been so long since I’ve had my entire family together. And Izzy has brought some guests today. Hopefully you all met Hayley…” Mom gestured to the floor. “…and Tanner.”
Serena grinned and threw a glance at Izzy. “Yep, we’ve met.”
Izzy glared at her sister. Talk about embarrassing, remembering Justin and Serena barging in on them the morning after they’d made love.
“Thank you, Maddie, for bringing your famous cinnamon apples. I think we can all go eat now.”
Tanner grabbed Hayley’s hand and squeezed Izzy’s with his other before following her mom to the dining room. He seemed completely relaxed now, especially since Hayley had broken free and rushed ahead to sit next to Aiden. Izzy pulled up short when Justin took the spot at the head of the table, the one Dad had occupied for all of those years. Someone had to, but she couldn’t help the image of her angry, drunken father superimposed over her sullen, frustrated brother. Something definitely had to change with Justin.
She shook her head. Dad had been gone three years. They had all moved on. That didn’t make seeing Justin sitting there any easier.
Tanner motioned to a chair in front of them. “Is this all right?”
“That’s fine.”
Tanner held the chair for her and sat to her right. Mom took her place at the end closest to the kitchen. Finally, the rest of them settled into chairs. She glanced at her brother and sisters, her sister-in-law and nephew, her mother, and finally Tanner and Hayley. A year ago, if you’d asked her where’d she’d be a year from now, this would never have been her answer. And for all of the times she missed her professional career, sometimes so deep that it ate at her soul, she couldn’t argue that this turn in her life was for the better.
Food was passed… and passed… and passed. An endless parade of high carb, high calorie foods that Izzy had always avoided. Growing up, she’d had to spend extra hours working out or in the studio to make up for all the fat and calories she’d consumed at one of Mom’s Sunday dinners. But she didn’t want to offend her mother, so she made sure she sampled all of her favorites.
After everyone had been served, Serena turned to Hayley. “How’s Blue doing?”
“He’s great. He chases after a ball when I throw it, but he doesn’t always bring it back. He thinks is more fun to chew on it. He likes to chew. A lot.”
“I have a couple pairs of sneakers that fell victim to him.” Tanner laughed. At least he didn’t seem too upset about losing his shoes to the new dog. Izzy had learned quickly with Freddie to shut away anything of value.
“He also”—Hayley lowered her voice— “peed in the house. But Daddy says we don’t talk about those things at the table.”
Izzy had forgotten that Hayley had already met Serena. That helped. It gave them something to talk about. Serena was as good with kids as she was with animals. It was a surprise to Izzy that she didn’t have a man in her life. Why was that? Izzy didn’t know, but she was going to find out.
“So, Tanner, I understand you run Jason’s House.” Justin had barely looked up from his plate since they’d sat down.
Tanner smiled at Izzy and then turned his attention to her brother. “I helped open it four years ago. I’m the director, but it takes a team of employees and volunteers for it to run successfully.”
Justin nodded. “I’ve heard of it. A couple of my players have hung out there before. You guys do good things for teens.”
“Thanks.”
“Tanner, do you have any siblings?” Mom’s sweet voice rang out from the other end of the table. Izzy still hadn’t forgiven her mother for ambushing Tanner and Hayley with a family dinner. What was it with the twenty questions? Couldn’t they just eat in peace?
“Yes, ma’am. I have four brothers and a baby sister. I’m the oldest.”
“Five boys and a girl. Your mother must have been a saint.”
“She was, ma’am, but she died when I was twelve.” The words fell from Tanner’s mouth with such ease. Just thinking about her father, much less talking about him, had the words sticking in Izzy’s throat. “I helped raise the rest of them until I went away to school. Everyone else still lives in Colorado.”
Well, that explained a bit why Tanner was so good with Hayley. Because of his sister, he knew what it was like for a girl to grow up without her mother. And he himself had grown up way too fast.
She snuck her hand under the table and squeezed his thigh. He covered her hand with his while he kept up his conversation with her mother. But his thumb whispered over her knuckles, and a small twinge built in her belly with each pass.
After Mom finally finished her conversation with Tanner, he leaned in and spoke in her ear, “Aren’t you hungry?”
She hadn’t even noticed her still full plate. An old habit, shoving the food around until a respectable amount of time had passed and she could leave the table before anyone realized she hadn’t eaten. A nervous habit built from years of watching her weight.
She refused to be that person anymore, to let food and her weight take control over what she wanted out of life. And so she picked up her fork and shoveled a big bite of mashed potatoes into her mouth. She swallowed and then grinned at Tanner.
By the time they finished dinner, her entire family had fallen in love with him and Hayley. How could they not? But Izzy was ready to get away from her family and find some time alone with Tanner. He’d been torturing her for most of the meal, drawing little circles on her knee with his fingers. When he inched his way higher, she’d had to grab his hand and tug it back down. Every once in a while, he’d leaned over and whispered in her ear. It started out innocently enough, him complimenting her outfit. But then his words became more suggestive, talking about what he’d like to do to her later. Her cheeks flushed so many times that her mother asked if she was okay, which made her blush even more.
Even her sisters had joined in on the razzing. Let them have their fun—she would have plenty of opportunities to get them back. And she would. That was how things rolled in this family.
She smiled as her twin sisters shared a private conversation that didn’t involve many words, and to the end of the table where Justin had put his head together with Maddie. The love was still there—that much was evident. Her heart broke for what the two of them were going through. Justin couldn’t take much more, and Izzy was afraid that it wouldn’t be long before he threw in the towel.
But for better or worse, this was her family, and as frustrated as Izzy was with Mom for thrusting Tanner and Hayley into the lion’s den, she wouldn’t have traded this meal, with everyone she loved in the world right here at one table, for anything.