"Sorry," Heath replied with a smirk, "must have slipped my mind."
"Oh, here," Drew said, remembering the bottle in her hand. She held it out to Lana. "It's not wine, it's sparkling juice. So the girls can have some too if they like."
"Aw, thanks," Lana said, taking the bottle. She smiled at Drew. "You guys go on out back, I'll go put this away. I've got iced tea, lemonade, soda…?"
"Lemonade sounds great," Drew replied.
"Sure thing. Heath?"
"What she said," he answered.
"Okay. Connor and John and the girls are all out there. I'll be out in a minute."
Drew let Heath lead the way outside. She immediately saw the two little girls playing with a large golden lab in the yard. Connor was standing at the grill and an older man, tall and stocky, lounged against the deck railing as he watched them play.
"Hey, guys!" Connor exclaimed, catching sight of them.
"Hey," Heath replied.
"Hi," Drew said shyly, smiling and waving at Connor. She jumped in the next instant when an ear-splitting shriek met her ears.
"Uncle Heath!"
Drew let go of his hand in enough time for two small bodies to rush toward him; he managed to scoop one of the little girls into his arms while the other hugged around his waist. Drew couldn't help grinning.
"Hey, you," Heath said to the little girl he held, accepting an enthusiastic kiss on the cheek. He ruffled the hair of the girl who hugged his waist. "And you. What you guys been doing? You been good?"
"Of course we've been good!"
Heath turned toward Drew, still holding one niece and maneuvering the other. "This is my friend Drew," he told them. "Can you say hi?"
"Hi," the girls chorused together.
"This is Maggie," Heath said to Drew, indicating the girl in his arms. "And this is Lucy." He smoothed his hand over his other niece's head.
"Hi, girls," Drew said, smiling at them.
"Aren't you the ballerina?" Lucy demanded.
"I am," Drew replied, smiling at them. "I heard you guys are ballerinas, too, though."
"Put me down," Maggie ordered, pounding on his shoulder. "I wanna show her my steps."
"What?" Heath asked, feigning hurt. "I just got here, I haven't seen you in a couple weeks, and already you're done with me?"
"Yes, you're not a ballerina," she informed him.
"Maggie, sweetie, Drew just got here," Connor called to his daughter. "Why don't we let her get comfortable first?"
"I wanna show her my shoes," Lucy said. Connor sighed.
"Fine. Go get your shoes." The two girls ran into the house.
"Hey, son," the older man spoke up. He'd been standing back quietly, watching the interaction between his son and his granddaughters.
"Hey, John," Heath replied a little stiffly, accepting his father's pat and squeeze on his shoulder with a nod. "How you been?"
"I been good, I been real good," his father replied. His eyes shifted to Drew and she met them. They were a bright, twinkling blue, crinkling at the corners when he smiled just like Heath's did. She smiled back.
"And who's this lovely young lady?" his father asked, removing his hand from Heath's shoulder and reaching out for Drew's. She took his hand and shook it. He patted the top of it with his other hand.
"I'm Drew," she said shyly. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Riley."
"John, please," he insisted. "Just John."
"John," she amended.
Lana reappeared just then carrying two sweating glasses of lemonade. She handed them to Heath and Drew. Drew took a long sip of hers.
"Mm. This is some of the best lemonade I've ever had," she said sincerely.
"Aw, thanks," Lana said with a smile. "It's my grandmother's recipe."
"It's all right," Heath teased. Lana rolled her eyes and laughed.
"How do you put up with him?" she asked Drew jokingly, shoving at Heath's shoulder. "He's always such a damn smart ass."
"It's a challenge at times," Drew replied, smiling at him. He waved her off in mock dismissal.
"Burgers and brats are done, guys!" Connor suddenly exclaimed. "Let's eat."
Drew accepted a plate from Heath as Lana went to go call her children. There was a large round patio table with an umbrella attached to it and enough chairs for everyone to sit underneath it. It was so unlike family dinner at Drew's house; her mother always insisted on setting a nice table in the dining room. Drew liked how casual it was with his family. She filled her plate and sat down in a seat that allowed the sun to warm her back and smiled as Heath sat down next to her. He seemed to be relaxing a little more, and as his nieces argued over who was going to be sitting next to him, he loosened up even more. He pulled his smallest niece onto his lap to sit there while he ate while the other got the seat right next to him.