Discovering You by Brenda Novak

her sometime.”
    Grady sat down and dug into his meal before the rest of them could get a plate. “Why not tonight?”
    Without Mack’s even asking, Natasha added a second piece of garlic bread to his plate, and Rod pretended he didn’t notice that whatever Mack received from Natasha was always the biggest and the best.
    â€œDyl’s getting home soon,” Cheyenne replied. “So I should head out.”
    â€œHave him join us,” J.T said. “He hardly ever comes over these days.”
    Rod suspected Anya’s presence had a great deal to do with that. Dylan liked her even less than the rest of them did.
    â€œCan’t,” she said. “He has a baseball game.”
    â€œWe should go watch him play,” Anya suggested, but no one chimed in to encourage her.
    Rod put Kellan down to accept his plate. “Thanks.” Since he wanted to speak to Cheyenne in private before she left, he hoped she wasn’t going to rush off.
    â€œHow’s your hand?” She nodded toward his cast.
    â€œThrobbing like crazy,” he admitted.
    â€œI made that apple crisp you like for dessert.” She winked. “Maybe that’ll help ease the pain.”
    He leaned over to drop a kiss on her forehead. “Dylan got lucky the day he married you.”
    â€œThat’s what I keep telling him,” she teased.
    â€œWill Aaron be at the game, too?” Mack asked.
    â€œShould be,” she told them. “Dyl talked him into joining the team.”
    Mack got up to get a beer and grabbed one for Rod, too. “Want to go over to the park?” he murmured so Anya and the others couldn’t hear.
    Normally, Rod would’ve enjoyed seeing the game. But after being up so late, and everything he’d dealt with today, he was ready for bed. “Not tonight.”
    Cheyenne put the dessert on the counter and started cleaning the spatula and serving spoons. “I’ll leave the rest of this here,” she said, indicating the leftover salad, lasagna and bread. “Just remember to take the dishes to Dylan tomorrow so he can bring them home.”
    â€œI will,” Rod said.
    She swung her son into her arms. “I’d better get going. I want to make sure Dyl has a chance to eat before he has to show up at the field.”
    Rod wasn’t finished with his supper, but he stood. “I’ll walk you out,” he said so the others wouldn’t find it odd when he left the kitchen after only a few bites.
    He caught up with his sister-in-law at the front door. “Before you go, could you do me a favor?”
    She turned in surprise. “Of course.”
    â€œWill you take a second to come up and look in my closet?”
    â€œWhat for?” she asked.
    He lowered his voice to make sure no one else could hear. Fortunately, they were all so busy eating, he didn’t think anyone was paying attention. “I have a date tomorrow.”
    â€œAnd you want me to tell you what to wear? This girl must be special,” she said. “You’ve never asked for my help with that kind of thing before.”
    He’d never felt so out of his element before. “She’s...different.”
    â€œSpecial,” she confirmed with a grin. “Do I know her?”
    He scratched his neck. “It’s our new neighbor.”
    â€œOh!” Her smile widened. “Why didn’t you speak up a second ago?”
    â€œIt’s one date,” he said with a shrug.
    â€œBut you’d like to impress her.” She wasn’t buying his nonchalance.
    â€œI need to dress up a little, that’s all,” he said. “Her husband—the man who passed away—was a heart surgeon.”
    â€œI see,” she responded. “So we’re going for sophisticated and respectable.”
    At least Cheyenne seemed to be catching on to what he needed. “Yeah. That sounds good.”
    She put down her son and linked her arm