Page 59 of Through the Storm

ben

FAMILY DINNER

Present Day

If you’d askedme a year ago what my biggest fear was, I would’ve said pissing off my coach.

Now?

Family dinner at Grandma Patty’s.

Especially considering the last time I came, I got maced by Ella, my own cousin.

So, when Katy invited me,invitedme, like with actual words and eye contact, I couldn’t believe it.

“Friday,” she’d said. “You should come on Friday. To dinner.”

Notif you want. Just… come.

It was the first timeshe’dinvited me.

So yeah. I showed up ten minutes early with flowers and a knot in my stomach that wouldn’t let up. I’ve faced stadium crowds with less adrenaline than this.

Danny, my cousin’s golden retriever, answers the door.

By answers, I mean he launches himself at me like I’ve been withholding affection from him for weeks. Even though I literallysaw him this afternoon. I’m in charge of his midday walks while Ella’s working.

“Hey, buddy.” I laugh, dropping to my knees immediately because I have no spine when it comes to him. “Missed you too.”

He licks my face like I’m his favorite person.

“Traitor,” Ella mutters from behind him.

Declan’s voice carries from the kitchen. “Ben! You made it!”

He’s grinning, relaxed, genuinely happy to see me. Which is wild, considering he could snap me in half if he wanted to. And he would. If he knew what I did to his little sister.

“Good to see you, man.” He claps my shoulder. “Thanks for coming.”

Katy appears behind him, and my brain short-circuits the way it always does now. She’s in leggings and a tank top that hugs her belly, her hair pulled back in a ponytail, her face soft with no makeup on. She’s not wearing her armor. It’s just… her. My favorite version of her.

She gives me a small cautious smile. “Hey.”

“Hey,” I reply, suddenly aware of my posture, my breathing, and the fact that Danny is once again glued to my leg.

“You brought sunflowers,” Grandma Patty says approvingly, swooping in to take them from my hands. “Well done.”

“Uh. Thank you?” I’ve never been more relieved to pass a floral test I didn’t know I was taking.

She squints at me. “Relax, Benjamin.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And stop it with the ma’am nonsense. I’ve known you since you were five.”

“Right.”

Katy bites her lip to hide a smile.