As my luck would have it, my mother had turned dinner into a family affair. Lara's van was in the driveway, and my brother Chuck's truck was parked near the barn. Chuck lived ten hours away. I prayed that his presence was a coincidence.

I saw the curtains in the formal living room flutter as we walked up the steps. There was no doubt in my mind that my mother had been perched at that window like a kid waiting on Santa. The front door flew open and she sailed out onto the porch with her arms stretched wide.

"You made it!" she cheered.

My father was standing behind Mom with his hands stuffed into his pockets and a look in his eyes that said he had nothing to do with it. I kissed Mom's cheek. "Hello, Mother." I stepped to her side. "Mom, this is Shannon."

"Oh!" Mom stepped forward to greet her with a hug. "It's so nice to finally meet you, dear!"

Finally? It's been like three weeks!

I leaned toward my dad. "She's killing me," I whispered.

He winked. "Which one?"

We both laughed.

"I brought pie," Shannon said, holding out the dish we'd picked up at the supermarket on the way. "I would have baked something myself, but Nathan's kitchen isn't exactly equipped."

Rolling my eyes, I looked at Dad. "I have a can opener and a frying pan. What more do I need?"

Shannon giggled and looped her arm through mine.

"I'm sure this will be wonderful," Mom said, taking it from her. "Come on in out of the cold, you two."

Once we were inside, loud squeals erupted down the hallway. The family door nearly flew off its hinges and smacked back against the wall as Carter tore down the hallway wearing Spiderman pajamas, a Batman mask, and ginormous green Hulk fists on his hands.

"Unca Nate!"

I laughed and caught him around the middle as he charged me. As I draped him over my shoulder, I looked at Shannon. "Shannon, this is my nephew, Iron Man."

He kicked his legs. "I not I-won Man!"

"Oh, I'm sorry!" I smacked myself in the forehead. "I mean Superman."

"I Spida-man, Unca Nate!"

"I think you're confused," I said, carrying him down the hallway.

He was still flailing over my shoulder. "No, I not!"

Shannon practically had cartoon hearts bulging from her eyeballs. I put Carter down and he took off running again. She slipped her fingers between mine.

"Go on into the living room," Mom said behind us. "Your brother's here."

I pushed the swinging door to the family room open and let Shannon go in first. My brother, Chuck, stood when we entered. Lara was beside him. Chuck looked like a lumberjack compared to the rest of us. He had a thick brown beard and was, like usual, wearing camo. By comparison, I was short, scrawny, and blond but so was everyone else in the McNamara clan. So if anyone was adopted, we all knew who it was.

"Hey, little brother," Chuck said, closing his arms around me. "How the hell are ya?" He thumped me so hard on the back, it triggered a cough.

"I'm good, old man. What are you doing here?" I stepped back and looked up at him.

He nodded toward Dad. "We're going to the game this weekend."

Tossing my hands up, I looked at our father. "Seriously, I'm never invited!"

Dad shrugged. "You're always working. I asked you to go weeks ago."

He probably did and I didn't remember. Nevertheless, I shook my head. "Whatever."

Chuck squeezed my shoulder. "I got you a present." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small fabric rectangle. "It's for your hat." He flicked the brim of my ball cap.

I looked down at the velcro patch. It had a picture of an assault rifle on it and it said, 'I Plead the Second'. I laughed. "That's pretty funny." I showed it to Dad.

Lara cleared her throat. "Nathan, aren't you going to introduce your friend?"

"Oh, sorry!" I turned toward Shannon. "Shannon, this is my sister, Lara, and my brother, Chuck. You met Carter when we came in and"—I looked around the room—"where's Rachel?"

"Rachel has dance tonight." Lara offered Shannon her hand. "It's nice to meet you." Lara's tone was warm and kind, but she was taking a close inventory of Shannon who was wearing a casual gray dress and heels opposed to my sister's yoga pants and Wolfpack sweatshirt.

"Thanks! You too!" Shannon chirped a little too eagerly.

Chuck caught my eye and mouthed the word 'wow' as he gave a discreet thumbs-up.

Mom held up her hands to get our attention. "Shall we eat before dinner gets cold?"

Chuck rubbed his hands together. "I'm starving!"

Mom looked at Lara. "Or should we wait on Joe?"

Lara checked her watch. "No, let's go ahead and eat. I'll save him a plate."

Gently, I touched the small of Shannon's back and nudged her toward the dining room door. I looked back at my mother. "Dining room, Mom?"

She nodded. "Of course."

"Oh, the grown-ups' table." Chuck laughed. "This must be a very special occasion."

Shannon looked over her shoulder at me. "The grown-ups table?"

We all filed into the formal dining room. The table was set with the good china. I stopped at the chair next to mine and pulled it out for Shannon. "When we were kids and Mom threw dinner parties, this was always the grown-ups table and all us kids had to eat in the kitchen."

Chuck pulled out his chair. "Even as adults, we never eat in here except on Thanksgiving or Christmas." He winked at her. "You must be a very big deal."

Dad sat down at the head of the table. "It's not every day that Nathan brings a lady home."

"Or any day," Lara said, helping Carter into his booster seat.

I threw a cloth napkin across the table at her.

Mom clapped her hands together angrily. "Stop it, you two! This is exactly why you still have to eat in the kitchen!"

Everyone laughed.

The meal was fit for a holiday: honey glazed ham, scalloped potatoes, broccoli casserole, homemade rolls, fruit salad, and even though Shannon was supposed to bring dessert, Mom baked a cream cheese pound cake.

"You've really done too much," Shannon said, her nerves still causing her voice to be way too chipper. "I hope you didn't go to too much trouble for me."

My mother waved her hand toward Shannon. "This is nothing, my dear. We have family dinners quite often." She reached over and squeezed my dad's hand. "We're very close like that."

Shannon smiled at me. "Well, I hope this won't be my last invitation."

I wasn't sure why she was looking at me; I didn't invite her, period.

Lara might have been reading my mind across the table because when I looked at her, her eyes were as wide as mine felt.

"So, Shannon," Chuck said with a mouthful of potatoes. "What do you do?"

She put her napkin beside her plate. "I'm a reporter for WKNC in Asheville."

He nodded, impressed.

Shannon was fidgeting. "My daddy wanted me to go into banking like he did. He's one of the biggest investment bankers in Asheville."

Well, that was random. And awkward.

Mom and Dad exchanged glances. "Well, that's lovely," Mom finally said. "What about your mother. Does she work?"

"Not exactly." She shifted on her chair. "But she does organize the Ladies' Social Auxiliary at the Brook Diamond Country Club."

Mom stopped chewing. The only social club she'd ever belonged to was the PTO.

Shannon flipped her blond hair back off her shoulder. "And she manages the household staff."

Staff? I could hear the sound of a plane crashing in my head.

Chuck plucked a stray piece of ham from his beard. "I hired the neighbor's kid to cut my grass during squirrel season last summer."

The room erupted in laughter.

"You hunt squirrels?" Shannon asked.

I leaned toward her. "He hunts anything with fur or feathers."

Her nose scrunched up. "Do you eat them?"

He smiled. "Sometimes."

She visibly shuddered.

Lara kicked me in the shin under the table, and I flinched.

"Unca Chuck said I can eat da sqwa-wills bwains!" Carter chimed in.

Chuck pointed his fork at him. "Only if you skin it, remember?"

Mom shook her head. "Enough of that talk at the table!" She dropped her hands into her lap. "I swear you all don't know how to behave when we have company."

Chuck pointed at Carter. "He brought up the brains."

I covered my mouth to keep from laughing.

"Charles Mason McNamara!" Mom scolded.

He just shrugged and shoved a forkful of ham into his mouth.

I leaned into Shannon. "I should've warned you about my family."

She smiled and dabbed her napkin on her lips. "I like them."

Looking around the table, I wasn't sure if they would say the same.

Deciding to change the subject, I looked at Dad. "So about this game...are they playing UNC at home this weekend?"

Chuck rolled his eyes. "Would I have driven all the way from Tennessee for any other game?"

I slammed my napkin down on the table. "Damn it."

"Nathan! Carter's here. Watch your mouth!" Mom yelled.

"Damn it," Carter echoed, then burst into giggles.

Lara clamped her hand over his mouth and shot me a hateful glare.

I held up my hands. "Sorry." I leaned an elbow on the table. "I wonder how much scalped tickets are going for."

Lara smirked. "You're going to buy illegally scalped basketball tickets, Mr. Law Enforcement Officer?"

I shrugged and sat back in my chair. "It's the biggest game of the season."

No one argued.

Mom cleared her throat. "Nathan, are you forgetting about your houseguest?"

Oops.

I looked at Shannon. "Do you like basketball?"

She smiled. "I'd love to go to the game!"

Well, that's a point in her favor.

Then she spoke again.

"I really hope the Tarheels make it to the championship!"

And that was all she wrote for Shannon Green.

*************