Playing for Kinley (Cruz Brothers Book 1) Read Free

I took, editing the best ones and eliminating the worst.
    My brain needed a break.
    Rita came back from the kitchen with a gravy boat in her hands and sat down, at which point Mitch grabbed the gravy from her hands, slathered his food in it, and started shoveling away his dinner without a word.
    This was one of the best parts about this job: meeting so many different people. I had made friends and connections all over the place, but it was people like Rita and Mitch who were my favorite.
    “Men like a little something to hold onto, you know,” she continued with a devious glint in her eyes. “Don’t forget that.”
    “Well, you definitely have plenty to hold onto,” Mitch cracked as he reached over and squeezed his wife’s side.
    Three days ago I would have been surprised at that, fully expecting the woman to be offended. But I just grinned when Rita squealed at his touch, laughing out loud as she slapped his hand away.
    “Enough out of you,” she said to him, the love in her eyes making them sparkle. “Eat your dinner and don’t embarrass our guest here.” He just smiled to himself as he crammed more mashed potatoes into his mouth.
    I wasn’t really embarrassed. They were one of the most adorable couples I had ever seen, and I admired them for their thirty-nine-year marriage. Even more, I admired that they could still be playful and tease each other at their ages. You just didn’t see that very often these days.
    It made me envious.
    They were living proof that love still existed. It just didn’t happen for everyone like it had with them.
    I was living proof of that .
    “So, you have someplace to go for the holidays, eh dear?” Rita asked.
    If you ever wondered if Canadians really did use the word “eh” as much as the jokes claimed…well, they do.
    “Assuming this weather cooperates, yes.”
    The wind had picked up in the last hour, blowing the trees outside the windows back and forth. I was watching the weather channel closely to make sure I could still get out of here and make my flight on time tomorrow.
    She waved me off. “Oh, this is nothing. You’ll be fine. You have family to visit?”
    I swallowed the bite of stuffing in my mouth before replying. “My parents live in Washington, D.C., so that’s where I’m headed tomorrow. I’ll spend Christmas with them, along with my brother and his girlfriend.”
    “How nice,” she said, smiling. “Our son and his wife should get here with our grandchildren tomorrow. It’s been too long since I’ve been able to spoil those little rascals.”
    “You saw them last weekend,” Mitch mumbled.
    “Yes, but I didn’t get to cook for them.”
    Mitch just rolled his eyes and continued to eat.
    An hour later, I was in my room packing when my cell phone rang. I picked it up, smiling at the screen, and answered. “Hey, Mom.”
    “Hi, hon,” her soft voice came over the line. “How are you?”
    “I’m good. How are you? Keeping Dad in line?”
    My father was notorious for thinking he was a Jack-of-all-trades. He always had some project around the house that he was working on and even more now that he was a retired State Representative. He’d had more self-inflicted injuries over the years than any person I’d ever met. My mom had to start taking blood pressure medication just to deal with all of his trips to the doctor.
    She laughed. “He thinks he’s going to re-tile both showers before Christmas. I just kept my mouth shut. It’s only when I tell him not to do something that he puts in the extra effort to get it done.”
    “And it’s only taken you thirty-four years to figure that out,” I replied as I cleaned up the bathroom counter, packing away all of my toiletries.
    “Yes, well. I’m using it to my advantage now.” I heard water running in the background and figured she was doing dishes at the kitchen sink. “How’s the weather up there? You still going to be able to make your flight tomorrow?”
    I looked out the window, though I