And in the middle of that mix of giants and testosterone was her brother, who looked so small in comparison.
As if Lydia could read her mind, she said, “They’ll protect Leo, so don’t you worry. They’d never put him in harm’s way. They’ll mostly pound on each other.”
Which meant Grant could take a pounding.
Not that she thought Grant couldn’t hold his own, because standing out there in the field, sweat soaked and looking just as determined as his brothers, she was convinced he’d be victorious. But she couldn’t help the tiny feeling of trepidation that had crept in.
She didn’t want him to get hurt. And there was a small voice inside of her—call it competitive spirit—that really wanted to shout to him to kick his brothers’ asses.
A voice she decided would be prudent to keep silent. But when Grant came over to where they were sitting to grab a bottled water from the cooler, she went over to him, grasped his arm. “You’ll watch out for Leo?”
He smiled at her. “Of course. He’s not going to get hurt.”
“Okay. And Grant? Kick their asses.”
He grinned. “I intend to.” He gave her a quick kiss, which caused his brothers to whistle at him. He rolled his eyes, then headed back out on the makeshift field.
Katrina pulled up one of the chairs they’d brought out to the field. She and Lydia, Mia, and Anya had taken seats under a group of trees in the shade and sipped glasses of lemonade from the jug Lydia had prepared.
It looked like Easton, Barrett, and Leo were going to be on one team, and Grant, Flynn, and Tucker on the other.
They flipped a coin, and Easton’s team would have the ball first. After a quick huddle, Easton dropped back and threw, but Leo missed the catch.
Leo was disappointed, too. She could tell from the way his chin dropped to his chest.
“You’ll get the next one, kid,” Easton said, slapping him on the back. “Even the best receivers drop passes.”
“Dad’s right,” Grant said. “Brush it off and go after the next one.”
“Hey,” Tucker said. “Quit talking him up. He’s the enemy right now. Drop another one, Leo.”
That made Leo smile, and then it was back to the game.
After a series of downs, Easton’s side turned the ball over. Grant had the ball next, and as soon as he dropped back he threw a long pass to Tucker. Flynn and Barrett crashed into each other in an awful collision, and Tucker caught the pass for what Katrina assumed was a touchdown.
“Ha!” Tucker said, slamming the ball to the ground. “In your faces, all of you.”
“That’s only because you had me as protection,” Flynn said. “Without me, Barrett would have flattened you.”
“Whatever.” Tucker calmly walked back to the huddle. “Face it. I’m better than all of you. At any sport.”
Grant shook his head, then looked over at Barrett. “Even though he’s on my team, you have my permission to turn him into a pancake the next time he has the ball.”
Barrett nodded. “Consider it done.”
Tucker just laughed, but on the next play, Barrett did just that, slamming Tucker to the ground.
Tucker just stared up at the sky.
“You okay?” Grant asked, grinning down at him.
“Fuck off,” Tucker said with a slight wheeze in his voice.
Grant laughed, then helped Tucker up. “You never did know how to keep your mouth shut, dumbass.”
When it was Easton’s turn at quarterback again, he threw it right at Leo. Flynn and Barrett did battle again. Katrina could swear the two of them crashing into each other sounded like two freight trains colliding. Tucker went after Leo, but even Katrina had to admit, Leo was fast. This time he caught the ball and scored.
Katrina was out of her seat, screaming. It might be makeshift play and mean nothing, but these were all pro players. And the ego boost for her brother was going to be tremendous. She could see the joy on Leo’s face, and all the Cassidys celebrated with him.
“No one gets an easy score in this family, Leo,” Easton said. “You did good.”
There were several skirmishes, and the score seemed fairly even. Katrina kept her eye on both Leo and Grant. Her brother was filthy and seemingly having a great time. After every play, whether they scored or not, he came out of it grinning. He apparently was being accepted by the Cassidys, and she knew that, to Leo, it was all that mattered.
On one play, Barrett knocked Flynn to the ground, stepped on him, and flew into Grant, knocked him flat and took the ball, scoring for his team. He raised his hands over his head, then slammed the ball to the ground.
Barrett looked fierce. “That’s how it’s done, boys.”
Katrina held her breath, even reaching over to grasp Lydia’s hand.
“Grant’s fine,” Lydia said. “Trust me.”
Grant leaned over and glared at his brother. “I think you broke my rib.”
Barrett went over and held out his hand to Grant. “Don’t be such a puss.”
Grant shoved a shoulder into his brother, then laughed.