blood now made of wine, I knew I could make my cookie dough, so I went to work, mixing and measuring and trying to stop Danika from eating it all. I swore I swatted her hand at least twenty times, but nothing stopped her.
“I’ll double the recipe, and then I’ll bake half of it and leave the other half in the fridge for you to eat, okay?”
“Can you quadruple the recipe, so I can freeze some and have it forever?” She sat in a barstool for a second and gave me a funny look. “I need more water.”
“Are you going to be sick?” I asked, suddenly concerned.
“No.” She waved me off. “I just need to stop being so buzzed. Why won’t it go away?”
“We need more bread,” I suggested, and she nodded furiously before hopping up, grabbing a fresh loaf and some butter.
With whatever luck and magic we’d pulled out of our asses, Danika and I ended up making a pretty decent Thanksgiving meal. I had no idea how much time had passed. The day blurred. She grabbed the turkey and his bathtub from the oven just as the doorbell rang.
My head shot up as I wondered who might be here before I remembered that it was her dad. “I’ll get it!” I ran to the door, pulling it open and giving Ralph Marchetti a giant hug before he knew what hit him. “Hi, Other Dad!”
“Hey, other daughter,” he said back with a huge grin as he stepped inside. “It smells incredible in here.”
Chance and Mac stood up from the couch, walking over to Ralph, and they each shook his hand.
“Happy Thanksgiving,” Ralph said, giving them a firm shake.
“You remember my teammate Mac, right?” Chance asked, reintroducing them to one another.
“First baseman,” Ralph said, and I noted how Mac’s entire face lit up.
“Yes, sir. It’s nice to see you again,” Mac said, sounding extremely polite and professional. It was so hot.
“You too. Excited for the season to start?” he asked, and I had forgotten how much of a baseball fan Ralph Marchetti was.
“I can’t wait,” Mac said, and I couldn’t wait either.
I was looking forward to watching him play, knowing that he was mine when he stepped off that field.
“You’ll be great,” Ralph said, sounding confident before he looked at Chance. “Have you talked to your parents yet?”
“Not yet. I sent my mom a text this morning, but she hasn’t called yet.”
“I’m excited to go out there for Christmas,” Ralph said as he pulled five bottles of wine from a bag he carried. Danika’s and Chance’s families had blended so easily without any kind of awkwardness. They all got along great, like they were always meant to be together.
“Dad, why’d you bring so many?” Danika asked, her eyes wide as she spooned the mashed potatoes into a giant bowl.
“We don’t have to drink them all today, sweetheart,” he said, giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “But you should always have wine at the house.”
“They’ve had enough wine already,” Mac teased, and my jaw dropped.
“Hey! That was hours ago!” I complained as I reached for one of the bottles and opened it before setting it on top of the dinner table.
Everything was almost ready.
“Dad, will you carve the turkey? I have no idea how to do that, and I’m not going to even pretend to try,” Danika asked, and Ralph started rolling up his sleeves.
Dinner went off without a hitch. The food was not only edible, but actually good too. The five of us sat at the table, rubbing our stomachs, as the TV played low in the background. Danika and her dad talked about the new business division Danika had started, both of them incredibly excited and proud, which made me excited and proud as well. It sounded really interesting, and when Danika said I’d be the perfect fit to work there with her, I blew it off, not thinking she was really serious even though she’d mentioned it before.
And when they started talking about Chance’s baseball with the same level of pride, it amazed me how at home it felt, being here with them. I’d thought that it might feel a little weird, being away from California and my own parents for the first time, but if anything, it was the exact opposite. I liked it here. And it seemed like Mac did too. He looked more relaxed than I’d seen him in a long time. Maybe getting away from Fullton and the stress of