Chris snorted out a laugh. “Noah’s the middle child. That comes with a whole host of its own issues.”
“Thank God I’m an only child,” Hailey said, getting into position.
“Me too,” Grace said.
“I have four sisters,” Fiona said. “I love them but you should be thankful.”
Even in the later evening, the sun baked their shoulders and the sand toasted their toes. By the time they’d played two rounds, thankfully each team winning one, Hailey was exhausted.
“Moving in the sand is so much harder than on a gym floor,” she said as they walked back down the path that led to Noah’s house.
“There’s a women’s league at the rec center near you guys,” Noah said. Hailey searched for a polite way to say “pass.” Instead, she just smiled.
“Speaking of,” Noah said, turning to Wes. “Your coding class is full. Twelve teens. It’s a good sign.”
An expression of happiness—different than the others she’d witnessed—crossed over Wes’s face. “That’s great.”
When he saw Hailey looking at him, he gave one of those little almost smiles. “Noah works closely with a community center. They try to offer a variety of classes for preteens through adults.”
“We’re looking for all sorts of people to offer their specialties,” Noah said. “Magazine writing, salad making? Gracie does a course on interior design.”
Grace swung Noah’s hand between them. “That sounds lofty. I do a Saturday morning session with ten-to twelve-year-olds. We use Legos to create cool spaces.”
“That’s fabulous. I’d love to get involved, though I’m not sure how popular salad making would be.”
Noah shrugged. “You never know. Any other talents you’re hiding?”
“Noah.” Wes’s word was an almost growl, making Noah laugh.
“Legit question, man.”
Hailey thought about what her other talents could be. “No real talents but I love reading. Do you have a book club?” She narrowed her gaze at Fiona in a teasing way. “My cousin talked me into one that doesn’t read books.”
Fiona leaned back. “We regret nothing.”
Hailey laughed. “Fair enough.”
“A book club could be a great idea,” Wes said. “You could involve local bookstores, libraries.”
“A lot of authors have started offering online workshops and visits,” Everly said, her voice so quiet Hailey almost missed it.
Hailey nodded excitedly. “I went to an online event that featured three of my favorite rom-com writers. It was so fun. They answered all these questions and played games. I was so surprised they just gave up their time like that.”
Everly smiled. “For some authors, not doing in-person events lessens their anxiety while making them feel more accessible to their audience.”
“We had one of Evs’s favorite nonfiction authors on our podcast. It was very enlightening,” Stacey said.
“You do a book club and I could do a writing workshop,” Fiona said.
Hailey glanced at Wes then met Noah’s waiting gaze. “Absolutely. That sounds fun. Sign us up.”
The afternoon and evening had yielded so many wonderful things. Hailey felt the fidgety pieces of her soul begging to settle in and claim, “We’ve found our place.” But it was never that easy and things weren’t always as they seemed. The blind optimism of her early twenties had turned into cautious hope. That was what filled her now.
When they sat around the fire table, Hailey stifled a yawn.
“You okay?” Wes asked.
She nodded. “Great actually. Thanks for inviting us today. It’s been awesome.”
“We’re happy Wes has made a couple friends,” Chris said. “If nothing else, it’ll get him out of his carefully scheduled programming.”
“There’s nothing wrong with a schedule,” Wes said, leaning back in his chair, at ease with his brothers’ teasing.
“Nothing wrong with taking it as it comes either,” Noah said.
“To each their own,” Rob added, lifting his beer.
“What are you working on now, Fiona, other than the house article?” Everly nestled into the crook of Chris’s arm.
“I have a list of ideas so there’s always a lot going on in my head. The next one is ‘How Not to Date Your Ex.’ It’s about not making the same choices in the next partner.”
“I’m glad I took the dating apps off my phone,” Wes said.