“It’s not that big a deal. We’re not teenagers.”
“If it’s not a big deal, why didn’t you tell him?”
Drew would have walked away, but there really wasn’t anywhere to go and he didn’t want Ryan’s family thinking they were arguing. “Why didn’t you tell him?”
“My brother, his best friend and my sister? You couldn’t pay me to jump into that drama, thanks.”
“But you’re in it now.”
Ryan turned and leaned against a tree, so his back was to his family. “Because you’re not doing as good a job as you think of hiding how you feel about her. And if things blow up in your face, it’s going to make Rosie and Aunt Mary unhappy. Nobody wants that, especially this week.”
Since Drew wasn’t really sure how he felt about Liz, he didn’t know what it was he wasn’t hiding. “Liz and I are friends. There was a thing. It was short and it’s over and it hasn’t happened again.”
“But you want it to.”
What he really wanted was to throw Ryan over the side of the hill, but he shoved his hands in his pockets and smiled at Lauren, who was watching them from across the clearing and probably wondering what Ryan was talking about so intently. “Who wouldn’t want to? She’s hot as hell, you know.”
“Shit. No, I don’t know. Don’t want to.”
“Hey, you brought it up.” Drew chuckled when Ryan gave him a sour look. “But I’m looking to get married and start a family. That’s no secret. Your sister’s enjoying her life as it is right now and has no interest in a relationship. So, like I said, we’re friends.”
Ryan stood up straight, shaking his head. “But seeing Mitch and Liz together is making you feel guilty and I’m telling you that you need to bury it. Bury it deep and then bury the shovel, or it’s going to be an ugly mess.”
“Trust me, if I could bury the guilt deep enough, I would. It feels shitty. But it’s not a onetime thing I can shove under the bed. Every time I see her, I want to see her more, which makes my guilt as far as Mitch is concerned ongoing.”
“If you think you and Liz might go somewhere, which I have to admit is a little weird, it’s on you to pull him aside and talk to him. Don’t blindside him.”
Drew would have said more, like maybe reminding him that Mitch’s feelings were pretty damn important to him, too, but Kevin and Beth were gravitating toward them now and this wasn’t a conversation he cared to have overheard.
“Having a good time?” Drew asked them when they got close enough.
Kevin nodded, even though his face scrunched up a little. “Pace is a little slow, but it’s still better than working.”
Kevin owned a sports bar in the city as well as being a partner in a restaurant in snowmobile country, so work wasn’t too much of a hardship for him. “How about you, Beth?”
“Still not sure I’m a fan of four-wheeling, but I’m a fan of getting a break from Lily.” She sighed. “I should feel bad about leaving her. She’s a handful.”
“Emma and Paige can handle Lily, Brianna and Johnny.” Kevin looped his arm around his wife’s shoulders. “Even if they just throw them all in Liz’s tent and zip it up.”
They all laughed, but still didn’t miss Leo yelling, “Let’s pack it up!”.
Drew shoved himself off his rock and made himself useful helping pack up the debris of their picnic before reuniting with Liz at the machine they were riding.
She grabbed her helmet from where she’d tossed it on the rack, but paused before putting it on. “You and Ryan looked pretty serious for a few minutes. Everything okay?”
He ignored the fact she’d been watching him and focused on the conversation he’d had with her brother. There was no reason to make things any more awkward. “Just business stuff, I guess. The ATV trails back home and stuff.”
Fortunately, she seemed to believe him. “Time to ride them now, not talk about them.”
“You want to drive for a while?”
She laughed, then shook her head. “I’m a bit rusty, so I probably shouldn’t have a passenger.”
He was relieved. Not only because he preferred to have control of the machine himself, but because her sitting between his legs seemed even more intimate than him being between hers.
Once she was settled behind him, he fired the engine and waited for the others to pull out. After a couple of miles, he felt her relax against him. Her hands rested at his hips and he found himself seeking out the smoother paths on the trail, avoiding rocks and ruts, so she wouldn’t pull herself back from him again.
Ryan’s advice about the shovel ran through his head, but it was hard advice to take when Liz’s body was draped against his. The aches and pains of water ball and tent sleeping were forgotten and he could have ridden all day.