“Oh. My. God!” a feminine voice screeched from the hallway. “Savannah!”
“Hi, Aunt Mary.” She was wrapping me in a tight bear hug before I got all the words out.
“Let me look at you.” Holding me out at arm’s length, she examined me from head to toe. I could feel my face blushing. I wasn’t shy by any means, but this was a bit too much. “You are so beautiful,” she mused.
“Thanks.” Aunt Mary stood there for what seemed like ages just smiling at me, making me feel a bit uncomfortable. With her short, dark brown hair, cut around her face, her large brown eyes were piercing me.
“Hi.” Uncle Keith’s deep baritone voice broke through my panic. Letting go of Aunt Mary, I moved over to him.
Trying to wrap my arms around him was a bit harder. He was much larger and built like a linebacker. I don’t remember him being like this before. His blue eyes and short brown hair were the same, but his broad shoulders were new. He was very handsome.
“Hi Uncle Keith.” I tried to not let my shyness come through in my voice, but I heard it. I hadn’t seen him in so long; I couldn’t help but wonder what he thought of me.
“How are you baby girl?” His voice was deep and calm.
I looked up into his eyes and saw warmth and acceptance. “I’m doing great. Glad to be home.”
“We are so happy to have you here. We missed you so much.” At his words, I actually believed him.
“Me too,” I whispered.
Meeting his family was awkward to say the least, but it was nice to be around family.
Movement caught my eye. Turning toward it, I felt my mouth drop. Z was standing in the doorway with a huge grin on his face. His dark brown hair cut close to the sides, but was a bit wild on the top. His upper body was covered in a white t-shirt that stretched across his broad, muscular shoulders. His gray eyes met mine. “What are you doing here?” I asked, still in a state of shock.
“Hey Vann,” was all he said as he swooped in to give me a hug.
“You two know each other?” Uncle Keith boomed from behind us sounding a bit accusatory.
Z let me go. “Umm … we met the other night. Right, Z?” I didn’t know why I felt so nervous all of the sudden. It just all seemed too strange.
“Yeah, Uncle Keith. Vann’s an old friend of Deke’s. I saw her at Sully’s the other night.” Z crossed his arms over his chest, stretching his t-shirt tighter.
“You didn’t answer my question. Why is Z here?” My clipped voice caught Grams’s attention. I knew I was treading a thin line and Grams didn’t think twice to call me out on it.
“Savannah,” she snapped. Making eye contact with her, I stopped collecting my thoughts. I knew I shouldn’t be upset, but he was just another painful reminder of Deke. “Zander is Mary’s nephew, and he came to live with them right after you left town. He is part of this family.”
“I apologize. I guess it just caught me off guard, that’s all,” I murmured quietly.
“Vann, it’s cool. I thought for sure we were coming to see you when Uncle Keith kept telling us all we were meeting Savannah. I had to see it to believe it. I can’t believe we’re cousins.” He smirked.
“In a way, I guess.” I wanted to yell, not by blood, but kept my thoughts to myself.
“Look, just ‘cause Deke’s my best friend doesn’t mean there needs to be bad blood between us.” Z’s eyes softened.
“It’s fine. No worries,” I said on an exhale.
“Great! Come here, cuz.” Z pulled me into a huge bear hug, which I reciprocated.
“Let’s eat!” Grams yelled from the dining room.
Dinner went by fairly smooth. Z made no mention of Deke, which put me at ease. I thought for sure he would ask me about him, and I didn’t want to talk about it, especially in front of my newly acquainted family. I did learn that he’s on the police force, a fact I will keep near and dear to me.
I also learned all about Kate and Ben—where they went to school, what their plans were, and every single sports or extracurricular activity they were a part of. It was actually nice getting to know everyone.
The only negative of the night came when Uncle Keith asked about Mom. I was very vague with my answers, knowing full well that he really didn’t like her. They may be blood, but that was about all they were to one another. I was already at odds with her so adding fuel to the fire just wasn’t worth it.
After getting all the dishes cleaned up, I needed a break. This entire evening was a bit overwhelming, which was how I ended up sitting under Grams’s old oak tree in the backyard.
The night sky turned a beautiful navy blue. The stars were bright, and I loved being able to actually see them. In Cali, there were so many lights everywhere it was difficult to see the stars.
I heard his feet rustling through the grass before I actually saw him. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Z sat next to me under the tree, picking a blade of grass before he began to twirl it in his hand. I sat there quietly.
“So? We’re family, huh? Funny. Deke’s never gonna believe this.” Z laughed. He really did have an awesome laugh—the kind that made you want to laugh with him, except this time.
“Why tell him. Just let it go.” I didn’t need Deke anywhere near my life or me at this point.
“Hell no,” Z barked.
“Why?” I asked, wondering what the hell he was up to.
“I love getting on his ass.”
“I bet.” I snickered.
Z pushed my arm playfully. “Not like that.”
“Whatever.”
“Seriously, I know things are rough with the two of you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t hang out with us. I don’t want it to be weird or have you avoid me just because Deke’s with me.”
I looked out over the garden. “It’ll be fine.”
Silent moments passed before Z spoke up. “You know it was five years ago.”
I looked at him, shocked. How does he know anything about the situation? “I know.”
“Why let him get to you?”
I softened a bit. “I don’t know, but I’m good now.”
Z eyed me wearily. “We should all hang out sometime. You, Kinsley, Sawyer, and Deke, and me.”
“Are you nuts? Deke hates me. Why would I want to hang out with him?”
“It’ll be fun. Come on. He doesn’t hate you. I think it just shocked him to see you in town.”
“Shocked is one word for it,” I mumbled.
“Let’s just try it out. But you have to be sure to bring Sawyer.” I didn’t miss the wiggle of his eyebrows.
“You have a thing for Saw, huh?”
“She’s hot.” Z’s eyes brightened and the gorgeous smile broke free.
“She won’t sleep with you for the fun of it.”
Z’s smile dropped. “Damn it if I don’t already know that,” he grumbled.
“Fine. Whatever.”
“Great. I’ll set it up.” Z slapped my leg as he stood to leave. “I gotta run.”
“Wait!” I yelled, needing the answer to a question of my own.
“What?”
My eyes drifted up to his face. “You still living with Uncle Keith?”
Z laughed. “Hell no. I’ve got my own house about five miles away from them. I only lived there in high school. I went to the academy right after high school. You think a hot guy like me still lives with his auntie?” He raised an eyebrow.
“That’s the way it seemed. So, you’re a cop?”
“That’s what they tell me.”
I thought about telling him what was going on with me, but fear ripped through me in the thought of him telling Deke. I didn’t know how he would take it, so I shut up.
“Gotta go. Later.” Z didn’t give me a chance to ask him any more questions, and he was off.