Page 85 of Forever Enough
Looking back at Mackenzie, I nodded. “So am I.”
Once the game began, I was positive I had never laughed so hard in my entire life. It was clear my father had known exactly what he was doing by planning this game. The competition to win was strong in this family, so seeing our parents with potatoes clenched between their ass cheeks, or the very tops of their legs, was nothing short of hysterical.
The girls ended up winning that game, in no small part thanks to Mackenzie, who gave pointers on how to properly clench the potato, then tapped in for Kipton, who was declared unable to play due to her “waddling.”
Uncle Tanner insisted the men would have won, had Uncle Ty not claimed he had a butt cramp and fallen to the floor on his last run, causing his potato to come loose and roll away. Watching him try to pick it up off the floor had everyone in stitches.
The next game consisted of each person being blindfolded, then sitting in front of a bowl and a big pile of cotton balls. The goal was to see who could get the most cotton balls into the bowl, using only a spatula. Since cotton’s practically lighter than air, it’s impossible to know when it’s on the spatula. I laughed so hard, even more than during the potato game, that I got side cramps. Lincoln was the winner on that one.
When the night was finally over, and all the goodbyes were said, Mackenzie and I headed back to her place. When we arrived, I reached for her bag, then her hand as we walked into the barn.
“I never asked you where Crystal was tonight,” Mackenzie said as we climbed the steps to her apartment.
“No clue. I’m assuming she went back to New York City.”
Slipping her shoes off at the door, Mackenzie walked into the apartment and flopped onto the sofa. “I’m exhausted. That was the most fun I think I’ve ever had. Your family is amazing.”
“They are pretty amazing, aren’t they?”
She nodded and yawned. I brought her bag into her bedroom, and when I came back out, Mackenzie was curled up sleeping.
Mr. Whiskers walked up to the sofa, put his front paws on the cushion to look at Mackenzie, saw she was sleeping, then looked over at me and started protesting not receiving any love from his owner.
“Sorry, buddy, she had a busy night with the family.” Walking over to her, I carefully picked her up and carried her to her room and gently placed her on the bed. I covered her up and then toed off my boots before heading into the bathroom to take a shower. After turning on the hot water, I stripped out of my clothes and quickly rinsed off. Afterward, I dried myself and wrapped the towel around my waist before making my way back into the bedroom.
I stopped to stare for a minute, enjoying the sight of Mackenzie sleeping so peacefully. It looked like she had a small smile on her face, and that caused my heart to feel like it skipped a beat or two. My phone went off with a text, disturbing the moment, so I quickly headed to the kitchen to retrieve it.
But a strange feeling crawled over my skin…and I paused before I reached for my phone. Like an internal alarm telling me not to read it. I was about to turn and walk away when it rang loudly.
“Shit!” I quickly answered it to avoid waking Kenzie, without bothering to see who was calling. “Hello?”
“I’ve texted you three times in the last hour, Bradly. Why are you not returning my calls?”
Exhaling, I rubbed between my eyes at the instant headache. “I was with my family.”
“And the new girlfriend?”
“Is this call work-related? If not, I’m hanging up.”
“Yes, it is work related. I need to know when you’re planning on flying into New York City. I’ll have a car pick you up at the airport, and I need to make hotel reservations for you.”
Frowning, I pulled the phone away from my face and stared at it before putting it back up to my ear. “I’m sorry, I have an assistant who makes my reservations for me. His name is Jack, in case you forgot.”
“I wasn’t sure if you wanted him to handle this trip.”
“Why wouldn’t I want him to handle it? He handles all of those details for me.”
“Well, did he tell you that there’s a fan meet-and-greet on January fifth at ten in the morning?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, he has. Crystal, what is this about? You’ve never wanted to know my travel arrangements before. Why the sudden need?”
“I plan on joining you on the road for the first few dates. I think someone needs to be around to make sure your head is in the right place. You weren’t acting right before your vacation, and now that you have a girl in the picture, things could get worse. I’ll be there to make sure you’re focused.”
Clearing my throat, I said, “There’s no need for you to be there. My head is exactly where it should be. Besides, my family and Mackenzie will be with me.”
There was a long pause.
“You still there?”