Allison Parr - Running Back

He let out a deep breath and leaned his head into his hands. “Before this week, I’d forgotten how much teens talked in italics.”

That startled a laugh out of me. “I don’t know, sometimes I think I talk in italics a lot. Or all caps.”

Two more women walked through the door, at a much more sedate pace. One had the same bright hair as Mike and Anna, and looked my age. The other, a pale brunette, wore jeans and what everyone else called a mom haircut, though my mother would never be caught dead like that. She smiled, and I saw an echo of Mike in her.

She kissed her son on the cheek. “Hello, dear.” She angled herself at me and smiled, clearly expecting an introduction.

Mike provided it, gesturing my way. “This is Natalie Sullivan, an...acquaintance from home. She’s—interested in local history.”

The second sister snorted. When we all turned to look at her, she covered it with a cough, looking a little red. “Sorry. Something in my throat. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Lauren.”

“And I’m Kate,” the mother said. “It’s so nice to meet one of Mike’s friends. Won’t you join us for dinner?”

“Mom—” Mike began in a low voice.

Kate blinked. “Unless you don’t want to, of course.”

I felt caught. I wouldn’t mind eating with a family, but not if Mike didn’t want me there. “I’d love to,” I said a little uncertainly, and then glanced at Mike. “I mean, if it’s okay with you?”

It only took half a second before he had that charming smile back on his face. “Yeah, of course.”

We ate in a comfortable, well-appointed dining room, where the wide windows let in the last of the day’s light and the other tables were filled with the rest of the inn’s guests. Eileen and her granddaughter brought out greens, a beet salad, hearty brown bread, beef stew and mashed potatoes.

Kate smiled as we all served ourselves. “So how did you two meet?”

Mike smoothed butter across his bread. “Natalie’s...considering working in the area.”

Lauren propped her chin on her hand and looked skeptical.

“Oh, I see.” Kate frowned into her food. “So where are you staying, Natalie?”

“Here, actually.” I pointed at the ceiling. “Third floor.”

Kate nodded. “Mike, isn’t that where you are?”

I glanced at Mike, who looked equally guilty. He cleared his throat. It was kind of charming to see a celebrity cowed by his mom. “Yeah. That’s me.”

Anna snorted.

“Hmm.” Kate paused to let a spoonful of stew cool. “I’d been hoping Michael was finally introducing us to a girlfriend.”

I started coughing on my salad.

“Mom!” Mike and Anna chorused. Lauren just let out a long, beleaguered sigh.

“What?” Kate didn’t sound embarrassed at all. “I was married by the time I was Lauren’s age. I don’t think it’s so unreasonable to want the same for my children.”

“Thank you, Mom, for pointing out your marital status at twenty-three again ,” Lauren said.

“Natalie is just a friend, Mom,” Mike added. “We’ve barely even known each other a month.”

Kate raised her brow. “If you insist,” she said, in much the same way my brother Evan said the lady doth protest too much.

Something hit my shin. “Ow!”

A horrified expression crossed Lauren’s face. “Oh my God, I am so sorry, I was aiming for Mike.”

Mike leaned his head back and groaned.

Anna laughed.

Kate held out the breadbasket in my direction. “Would you like another piece, Natalie?”

“That sounds great,” I said, and took one.

Mike pulled himself up out of his embarrassment to look at his mom. “So what’s the schedule? Did you see Patrick’s wife?”

Kate stabbed more forcefully than necessary at a beet, sending it skittering across her plate. “We’ll swing by Friday morning. Tomorrow we need to go shopping.” She directed a pointed look at her youngest. “Anna, despite bringing a wardrobe entirely in black, doesn’t have a single appropriate outfit for the—what’s it called?” She turned to her eldest daughter.

“The month’s mind.” Lauren looked at me when she explained. “It’s like a month after someone dies, family and friends go to mass and have a meal to remember the person. We missed the funeral, so we’re going to it instead.”

“He’s already buried,” Anna said. “I don’t see what the big deal is.”

Lauren rolled her eyes. “It’s a matter of respect.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? How is it respectful to skip out on the funeral and then run around town?”

Kate frowned. “ Anna. Do not swear.”

She slammed her fork down. “For Christ’s sake, Mom. What are you going to do about it? Ship me away from my friends and my boyfriend and my job for the summer? Oh, wait. That already happened.” She shoved back the chair and stomped out of the room, her combat boots heavy on the pale wooden floor.

Wow. I wished I’d been that ballsy at her age.

Kate turned to me. “I’m sorry. I wish I could say she wasn’t always like this...”

“ Is she?” Mike sounded surprised. “She definitely had an attitude when she visited New York, but I didn’t know it was this bad.”

Kate smiled flatly as she raised her drink again. “That, dear, is because you don’t live with her.”

Family politics were above my pay grade. With a smile and a flurry of pleasantries all around, I left them to their squabbling.

Back in my room, I video-called Cam, and to my shock and delight she answered. I could see her bed and posters behind her. She stared squealing immediately “You’re there! Oh my God! How is it?”

“Ireland’s gorgeous. Haven’t seen the village yet. As for the inn—well. I’m staying across the hall from Michael O’Connor. I met and then had dinner with his entire family just now.”

She started laughing and flailing her arms about. “ Ahh! I’m so excited!”

I couldn’t help grinning. “It’s so awkward. I actually like him as a person, but I feel weird about the whole Kilkarten excavation disagreement thing. How are we supposed to act?”

“You could try to get him to reconsider.”

“If only.” I paused, and then rushed my next words. “I did kind of have a thought.”

She raised her brows and gestured regally. “Do go on.”

“He has two sisters. And I kind of wondered... What’s their take on the excavation? Maybe they just have great poker faces, but when I said I was an archaeologist interested in the area, they acted like they’d never heard of me. Shouldn’t Mike have talked to them about the dig before he rejected it?”

She shrugged. “Maybe he owns the land outright and didn’t need their agreement.”

“Maybe,” I agreed, but that sounded dubious. I sighed. “It probably doesn’t even matter. Anyway. How are you?”

“I sat through a three hour meeting and listened to people argue about a color scheme. I was like, what does this have to do with anything? Why am I here?”

“How very existential.”

“Oh, but then I was thinking about the color red, and did you know it’s a biological turn on? Like, people are more likely to say they don’t like red lipstick or find red dresses too much, but they actually find it hot. So your football player is scientifically more sexy than others!”

“In Ancient Greece they thought redheads were vampires.”

“Well, that is a great tidbit that you should never mention again.”

I groaned. “His family’s also super nice. They invited me to have dinner with them. Who does that?” I sandwiched my nose and mouth between my palms and pulled them down. “I think I’m going to go knock on his door and try to de-awkwardize this situation.”