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of barbeque. Christian was happy and that meant a lot to her. But it didn’t mean she wasn’t going to do all she could to razz him about it.
    Victoria raised a hand in a wave as she climbed into her car and Clara walked up the front steps to the house her Aunt still owned and she now occupied.
    Christian limped toward her.
    “Why don’t you go home with her?” Clara asked as he neared her.
    “She’s a very, very good girl. We’ve been discussing our future and it seems that perhaps sleeping in the same bed just might work out for her…soon.”
    Clara laughed. “She’s in her mid-twenties and works with athletes and is a virgin?”
    Christian’s face hardened. “I didn’t say that. I said she was a very good girl. Sometimes that means changing how you think about things and taking another path.”
    Clara nodded slowly. “She’s not going to sleep with you.”
    He huffed out a breath and walked past her into the house. “You know, Mom would appreciate and approve of us waiting until we’re married.”
    “You’re getting married?”
    “I’m thinking about it.”
    That did something funny to Clara’s stomach. She followed Christian into the kitchen and touched his shoulder. “Is that why you’re having a house built and you’re sleeping in my spare room?”
    “I’m not going to be a ball player much longer. In fact, have you seen me even play in a year? No, because I’m benched and can’t even walk the freaking plates.”
    “Chris…”
    “I’m washed up and I never got the chance to even be someone.”
    “That’s not true.”
    Christian shook his head. “Listen, I don’t have business sense like Ed. I don’t have talent like you. I could play ball and now I can’t.”
    She didn’t like when he got like this and if she kept pushing he’d fall down a pit of depression and she’d seen him do that too much in the past year. Victoria was the one person who kept him from hitting rock bottom.
    “I’m happy for the two of you. I think she’d make a wonderful wife.”
    His face softened. “I do too.”
    “I bet you’d have real cute kids too.”
    This time he smiled wide. “Her sister and Dave—our pitcher,” he said looking at her for confirmation that she did indeed know who he was talking about. “They have the damn cutest kids I’ve ever seen.”
    Clara laughed. “Christian Keller, I think you’re a goner.”
    “Yeah, I think I am.”
    Clara moved past him to the refrigerator. She made a space for the bag of barbeque and pulled out a bottle of water. She twisted off the cap as she heard footsteps moving up the back stairs toward the kitchen.
    “Hey, Tyler.”
    “Hey.” He stood before her jean clad and barefoot with no shirt. She noticed he’d gotten a new tattoo on his arm. The welts were still fresh.
    “New ink?”
    “Yeah. Kinda felt like I needed it.”
    She smiled. It was the infinity symbol that she had on her wrist and each of her brothers and Darcy had too.
    “I like it,” she said before taking another sip of her water.
    Tyler nodded as he rested against the wall, his thumbs tucked into the front pockets of his jeans.
    “Listen, I’m sorry I wasn’t there tonight to hear you sing. I was told it was amazing—as usual.”
    It had been a few months, but Clara saw the unmistakable pain in Tyler’s eyes. Ed, her oldest brother, had met a woman and they were going to get married. Who would have ever thought that Ed’s fiancée was the sister Tyler had never known about?
    Clara moved toward him. “This family is too tight for you to feel pushed out. You can’t go on forever blaming your mother for giving up Darcy and not telling you about her.”
    Tyler nodded. “I know. It’s just going to take some time. I love her. I really do. She’s been nothing but genuine and straight forward with me. I’m honored to have her as my sister. But it hurts.” He shifted a look toward Christian, who must have already had this conversation with him. “I think I’m going