One in a Million

accidentally brush his hand against hers. Maybe they would sit close enough together that she could imagine what it would be like to be in bed and all tangled up with him. Not that she needed much help in that department. He was already the star of her intricately detailed daydreams.

What did she have to lose?

“We'd love to join you,' she said. 'What time do you want us to be ready?' This was not a date, Stephanie told herself that evening as she pulled off her red sweater and grabbed one in teal. It was an evening out at a pizza parlor, so there was no reason for her to sweat what she was wearing. Really.

She pulled on the teal sweater and studied her reflection. The color made her eyes look bluer, but the thicker cable knit made her look as though she didn't have breasts. Complicating the decision of what to wear was the thundering herd of elephants in her stomach and the faint tremor in her fingers.

The latter had caused her to nearly put her e^ye out while applying mascara.

A knock on the door was followed by Brett calling, 'Mom?' She gave her reflection one last glance and figured this was as good as it was going to get. She fingered her short hair, briefly wished (for the thousandth time in her life) to be tall, then told her oldest to come in.

He pushed open the door and stepped into her room.

“What's up?' she asked as she crossed to the dresser and studied her small earring collection. There were simple gold hoops, a pair of dangling enameled flowers in light pinks and reds and several inexpensive pairs she'd bought on sale. She picked up the gold hoops.

“Why are we going out?' Brett asked.

She glanced up into the mirror and studied her son's reflection. He stood beside her four-poster bed, both arms wrapped around a post, as he swung back and forth. His shoulders were slumped and his expression was solemn.

“Whoa-you're upset because we're going out for pizza?' she said as she fastened the first earring. 'Are you feeling okay?' He gave her a half-hearted smile. 'The pizza part is fine.'

“What about hanging out with your friends and playing video games? Is that what has you bummed?' The smile broadened. 'No.'

“Hmm, I don't think it's because we're letting your brothers come along. I know we talked about locking them in the closet when you and I want to leave, but I think it would hurt their feelings. The minivan doesn't have a trunk, so we can't leave them there.'

“Mo-om, I don't want to lock Jason or Adam in a closet.'

“Good to know.' She finished with the second earring and turned to face him. 'That only leaves Nash as the problem.' Brett dropped his gaze and stared at her bedspread. While she would admit that the floral print was very pretty, she didn't think it deserved to be studied with that much intensity.

She walked over to Brett and put her hand on his back. 'He's a nice guy. What can I say? He invited us to join him tonight. He's just found out he's related to the Haynes brothers. You know how many of them there are. Plus their wives and their kids.' She lowered her voice. 'Nash didn't exactly admit this, but I think he wanted us along because he's a little nervous. I think he wants us to be a noisy distraction. That's it.'' Brett looked at her. The concern had faded from his eyes. 'Yeah?'

“Yeah.' He smiled again. 'We're really good at being noisy.' She brushed the hair from his forehead. 'I would say you and your brothers are experts.' Nash held open the door to the large pizza restaurant. When Stephanie and the kids had entered, he walked in and saw the small desk up front. Thehostess there gave him a big smile. 'How many?' she asked.

“We're part of the Haynes party,' he said.

“Okay. Through to the back. There are two double doors. You can't miss it. Just follow the noise.' The twins raced ahead with Brett trailing behind them. Nash put his hand on the small of Stephanie's back and urged her forward. As they got closer to the room, the sound of conversation spilled into the main restaurant.

Stephanie leaned close. 'Sounds like little more than controlled chaos,' she said.

He looked at the dozens of people milling around in the huge room. 'I think controlled is stretching it.' They stepped inside where they were greeted by Travis and Kyle. He introduced Stephanie and her kids, then met several wives, two more brothers and three kids.

“This is never going to work,' a pretty woman with light brown hair said. 'It's only been ten minutes and your eyes are already glazed.' She reached into her purse and pulled out a plastic package. 'I thought this might happen so I brought name tags.' A petite redhead handed over a box of her own. 'Great minds, Elizabeth,' she said. 'I brought them, too.' The redhead turned to Nash. 'I'm Jill, Craig's wife. Craig's the oldest of the brothers.' She glanced around the room, then pointed to a tall, dark-haired man with gray at his temples. 'Craig's easy to keep track of. He's the best-looking of the brothers.'

“He is not,' Elizabeth said, then laughed. 'I guess we all have our favorites.'

“Fortunately that is usually the guy we're married to. Anything else would make these gatherings awkward.' Jill looked at Nash, then at Stephanie. 'Are we terrifying you? I guess this is really strange. We're such a close-knit family that we don't even think about it, but I remember when I had to meet everyone. It was a little intimidating.' She frowned slightly. 'Actually it was a lot easier for me back then. Only Travis, Kyle and Austin were married. There weren't as many kids. Did you know that Austin isn't officially a Haynes? It's more of a family member by adoption.' Nash shook his head. 'You can't start adding more people,' he said. 'Not without written permission.' As he spoke he spotted his brother, Kevin, across the room. Haley was next to him, staring at him with a look of love and devotion that made Nash feel he'd accidentally witnessed something personal. He turned away.

“Listen up everybody,' Elizabeth said loudly.

A boy of about fourteen stuck two fingers in his mouth and gave a sharp whistle. The room went quiet.

“We have name tags,' she continued, waving the box over her head.

“And pens,' Jill added.

“Right. Everyone come get a name tag. If you're an adult, put your name first, then a dash and your spouse's name. If you're a child, put your name on top and your parents' names underneath. If you'retoo young to write, come see me or Jill. Any questions?'

“Is there going to be a quiz?' Travis asked. 'You bet. And if you fail, you are in big trouble, mister. Don't be messing with me.' Travis looked pleased at the prospect.

“After you've filled out your name tag,' Elizabeth continued, 'take a seat at one of the tables. We want to save the big one at the far end for the adults. You kids can sit at the other tables with your friends.' Jill handed out name tags while Elizabeth passed around several pens. Nash saw Adam and Jason race over to stand with their mother. She talked them through filling out their tags. He waited until they had finished, then wrote his own name. It was only when he glanced around the room that he realized every other tag had either a spouse's name on it or parents' names. Kevin and Haley had put each other's names with theirs on the name tags, as had Gage and Kari.

“Getting ready to bolt?' Stephanie asked when she'd peeled the back off her tag. 'I'm fairly comfortable in crowds, what with running the B &B and all, but even I'm a little overwhelmed by all this.'

“I'm doing okay,' he said, taking the tag from her and placing it on her sweater, close to the ribbed neckline. 'I won't pass the quiz, though.' She grinned. 'I figured if they called on me, I'd cheat by saying everyone was a Haynes. At least then I'd be able to pass with about eight-five-percent accuracy.'

“Good idea.' His gaze fell onto the tag he'd just pressed into place and he saw that she didn't have a name after hers either. They were the only two unattached adults at the gathering.

Elizabeth waved them over to take a seat at the large table. Nash found himself seated between Stephanie and Jill. Kevin was on Stephanie's other side.

When everyone was settled, Craig stood. 'As the oldest of the Haynes brothers, I would like to thank all of you for coming.' He smiled. 'We are here tonight to welcome our new brothers.' He motioned across the table. 'Gage Reynolds, Kevin Harmon and Nash Harmon.' Nash found himself standing, along with Kevin and Gage. There was a round of applause. When they were seated, Craig continued.

“I know we're all anxious to get to know each other. I suggest we start by going around the table and stating our names, where we live and what we do for a living. Oh, and don't forget to introduce your children.'

“Yeah, don't forget us,' a little dark-haired girl said.

The adults laughed.

“As I already have your attention, I'll start,' he said when there was quiet. 'I'm Craig Haynes. My beautiful