The Way We Score: A small-town, accidental pregnancy, sports romance. (The Bradford Boys)

“Here you are. I thought we were going to have to send a search party.” My little brother Hendrix weaves through the crowd of family, grabbing my hand and pulling me into a hug.

I say little brother, but it’s only because he’s almost three years younger than me. Hendrix is a six-foot-two rockstar tight end in Los Angeles, and trust me, he knows how to use it to get all the girls.

If my little brother’s head gets any bigger, I’ll be searching for a pin to prick him. The good news is, he’s got a shit-load of our dad in him, which is why he’s the best player out of all of us. The even better news is he’s got enough of our mom in him to keep his feet on the ground and give him some heart.

“Hendrix finally got here!” Dylan rushes forward, grabbing him around the waist in a hug.

He only laughs and noogies her head, which makes her squeal and pull away. These two are eighteen months apart, and I swear, if our mom hadn’t been so determined to have a baby girl, they’d have stopped with me.

I’m glad she didn’t, but it was pretty crazy having two little babies in the house.

“Can my honeymoon be staying right here in Newhope all week with my family all together?” Dylan holds onto Hendrix like she hasn’t seen him in years, which I guess is almost true.

It’s his first visit home since last Christmas.

“No.” I glance over to where my best friend looks like he just swallowed a Trinidad scorpion pepper. “Bruh, you nearly gave Logan an aneurysm. He’s finally taking some time off from the radio station.”

Logan walks to where we’re standing and pulls his girl into his arms. “All thanks to Zane. I’m finally getting to where I’m comfortable being gone.”

Our tall, quiet older brother stands on the periphery watching us with a satisfied smile like he always does. Rachel’s younger brother Edward stands beside him holding a gray cat. Miss Gina gave it to Dylan as a kitten, and now it lives at the restaurant eating scraps and mousing.

“I need to find my mom.” Liv’s voice is quiet, and she turns as if she’ll leave.

“Wait!” Dylan catches her hand before I can. “Will you come to my bachelorette party tomorrow night? It’s going to be here, and it’s going to be so fun. Just Rachel, Allie, me, you, and—Oh, come meet Raven! Raven, this is practically my sister Liv Bankston.”

“Hi, practical sister!” A girl a little taller than Dylan, but not as tall as Olivia steps forward. She has nice curves, and her brown hair has pretty golden highlights in the front. “I’m Raven Gale.”

Liv laughs. “Nice to meet you, Raven.”

The two shake hands. “You can call me Rave if you want. I’m testing out nicknames.”

“That’s fun—how do you two know each other?”

“Dylan and I chaperoned the senior cruise a few years back, and we just hit it off. We’ve been swapping pepper recipes ever since.”

“I haven’t met the new addition.” I walk over to where they’re chatting.

Raven holds the back of her neck squinting up at me with a grin. “Dude, how tall are you? Dang, I’ve never met someone so big.”

“Six-four, but there are guys bigger than me on the team.”

“I can’t even imagine how much they eat.” Her sparkling brown eyes are laced in gold.

“I’m so glad you’re here!” Dylan hugs her waist. “I hope it wasn’t an inconvenience for you to do this.”

“Are you kidding? I am so happy to be here!” Raven cries. “I’ve been wanting to visit ever since you told me about the restaurant and the Dare Nights. I’m so sorry I missed most of it.”

Dylan’s hand slides to Raven’s. “Come meet my brother Hendrix. You’ll be walking down the aisle together. Hendrix, this is Raven.”

Hendrix is talking shit to Zane, and when he turns around, his eyes flash. It takes every bit of strength in my body not to make a wisecrack. That boy is as transparent as a window pane, and I can tell he likes what he sees.

Somebody should warn Raven, because she seems like a nice girl.

“That’s a cool name.” He puts both his hands around hers, giving her that panty-dropping grin. He even adds a wink. “What do you like to do for fun, Raven?”

I really am about to drag him away, but she surprises me.

“Call me Rave.” Her chin lifts, and she shakes her hair back with a touch of defiance. “I’m a meteorologist, so I chase storms.”

“You’re kidding?” His voice rises. “Are you one of those poor reporters struggling to stand up in the hurricane while you tell everybody to evacuate?”

“That’s me!” She nods, laughing and ducking her head. “I almost ended up in the ocean one time, but as you can tell, I’m not so easy to knock down.”

She motions to her body, and I guess she’s trying to say because she’s not a stick figure she can stand up to 100-mile-per-hour winds. I think she looks good. I’m about to counter that I’m not sure a guy as big as me could stand up to a hurricane, but Jack walks in with Allie’s son Austin, distracting me.

Allie’s eyes light, and she skips over to meet him. “Here’s my guy! How was school? How did the extra practice go?”

Austin shrugs, making a noise as he glances around the room embarrassed. Total teenage boy.

He’s gotten a lot taller since I saw him last, and he’s filled out. He looks like he’s been pumping iron. Hell, he looks like he’s ready for college ball.

“Don’t be like that.” Jack’s voice is barely audible as he gives the kid a nudge.

I’m surprised it makes me nostalgic. I remember how many times Jack guided us after our parents died. Well, all of us except Zane, I guess. They were too close in age for that kind of stuff.

“Sorry, Mom.” Austin steps forward, leaning down to give his petite mother a hug. “It was good. Coach Jack helped me a lot.”

“Okay!” She blinks up at him like he hung the moon, even though he didn’t give her any additional information. “Are you hungry? Thomas has burgers on the grill, and Dylan made this deliciously spicy blueberry sauce to go over ice cream. Help yourself.”

She tries to reach up and muss his hair, but he turns, headed for the kitchen. I want to say something, but Jack is on it.

“He’s doing really good.” His voice is low, and he gives Allie a tight smile.

“That’s good!” Allie leans her arm on the bar, rising onto her toes in front of my oldest brother.

She hangs on his every word, sliding a lock of hair behind her ear, and lightly biting her bottom lip. The tension between them is palpable from all the way over here, but my oldest brother is all business.

“I think he’s ready to be QB-1.”

“Oh, Jack!” Allie gasps. Her hands clasp, and she raises them to the bridge of her nose. “You’re so good to him.”

I swear, if she cries…

“He’s got a lot of talent.” My brother wipes a hand across his jawline. As a high school football coach, he’s accustomed to dealing with emotional parents, but still. “Austin’s a good kid. He works hard, and he takes instruction well.”

She’s blinking up at him, and I’m about to groan from the pain of wanting to push them together, when I notice Liv slipping away.

Shit. I want to walk her to her car.

Turning to the group, I do a little wave. “Nice to meet you Rave. Save some of those hurricane stories for me.”

“Will do!” she calls, and I hustle over to where Liv is helping her mom get the walker over the doorstop on the floor.

“I didn’t think you’d be back so soon,” Ms. Plum mutters fussily. “Your lipstick’s still in place.”

Liv’s brow furrows. “I don’t know what you thought would happen tonight.”

“I thought I’d catch a ride home with Rachel and Miss Gina so you two could have some alone time, but they left while I was getting more spicy blueberry sauce.”

“How many did you have?” Liv softly scolds, but when she sees me approaching, she blinks away fast. “Nevermind, I need to get you home. You’re tired.”

“I’m not tired.” Ms. Plum sounds like Kimmie when she needs a nap, and I can’t help but chuckle remembering what Liv said about her mom treating her like a servant.

“Can I offer you ladies some assistance?”

“Oh, no, it’s okay—” Liv starts, and I wish it didn’t feel like she was retreating from me again.

I’m pissed as hell over what she’s been through, and I want her to feel safe talking to me. I want her to know I’ve changed, and I wouldn’t treat her like the clowns she’s been dealing with these last few years.

Or like the clown I was in college.

“That would be lovely, thank you, Garrett.” Ms. Plum puts her hand on my forearm, nodding overtly at her daughter. “You never know what might be lurking in a dark parking lot.”

“I doubt there’s much more than a opossum or a raccoon, but that gravel can’t be easy for you to manage with this thing.”

She exhales a frustrated huff. “I’ll be glad when I’m off this walker.”

“That makes two of us.” Liv follows beside me, carrying all their things—her mom’s purse and her sweater.

She’s wearing a pretty red dress with a cherry pattern on the skirt and some kind of little ballet shoes with straps. I just noticed her in her signature color with her namesake fruit. Hell, I haven’t been able to tear my eyes from her pretty face or her soft hair or her sad smile all night.

“Y’all just let me know if you need any help.” I stop at the gold Lincoln Towncar her mother has driven for years. “It doesn’t take me any time to walk to your house.”

I used to do it all the time when we were in high school. I’d climb in her window after dark and sneak out before dawn. My stomach tightens at the memories, and I wonder if Liv still remembers. I wonder if it aches for her, too.

“We will!” Ms. Plum sings out, and I expect I’ll get a call.

“Thank you, Garrett.” Liv reaches out to touch my arm. “For everything.”

It sounds so final. “We’ve got all weekend. Dylan’s got all kinds of fun stuff planned.”

“Right.” She nods, helping me help her mom into the back seat before going to the driver’s door. “I’ll see you at the wedding.”

“If I don’t see you first.” I don’t want to let her go this way.

Luckily, she takes the bait. Her cute, upturned nose wrinkles, and she squints at me. “I’ve never understood that reply. Does it mean you’re going to avoid me?”

Exhaling a light laugh, I shake my head, reaching up to slide my thumb along the side of her cheek. “Not me. I’d never avoid you, Cherry. I’ll be looking for you.”

Her cheeks flush, and she looks down to open the door. “Goodnight, Garrett.”

I step back to let her go, softly bidding her goodnight. For several minutes after they’ve left, I stand in the parking lot watching the taillights fade. My stomach is tight and I can’t decide if this was a good night or not. Was that a final goodbye or a longing one? How could I know for sure?

Laughter echoes from the restaurant, but I don’t feel like going back inside. Instead, I turn and walk up the hill to our family home where Dylan and Logan now live, and where I’m staying for the wedding.

Zane and Rachel briefly lived with them as well, but now they have their own place with Edward a little farther north, closer to Miss Gina’s.

I’ve just reached the door when my phone buzzes in my pocket.

The chat falls silent, and I continue upstairs to get ready for bed. Energy is in my veins, and I’m sure I won’t sleep. I only want to see her again. My arms ache to hold her, and I want to kiss her pain away, remind her how things used to be.

Truth be told, I want to do a little more than that. I want to see if we still have the chemistry we had so much of all those years ago. Back when we used to say I love you.

My phone vibrates, and I look at the screen.