“What about your grandma?” I whisper to him.
“I promise, she already ate.” He grins at me. “She was just wanting to get you off alone somewhere.” Picking up a biscuit, he tears off a piece and chews thoughtfully. “Pretty sure she was a detective in a past life.”
Clyde laughs, slapping Sawyer on the back. “He’s right. She likes to find out all the tidbits.”
“I’m gonna grab drinks,” Sawyer whispers, pushing himself back up.
“Nosy Nelly,” Dixon grunts from across the table. “Mason, remember that time we all got in a fight at school, and she knew about it before we were even in the principal’s office?”
Mason leans back, his smile reminding me of Sawyer’s. “Yep. Boy, she tanned all our hides when we got home.”
“Can you imagine all the scraps this lot will get into?” Blue asks from the corner, although his eyes never leave his wife.
“I’m gonna have to build a community center,” Mason laughs.
As they all slip into banter about all the kids, Hazel brushes in, her hand landing on my shoulder to sit next to me.
Sawyer grins from the kitchen and rolls his eyes.
“Family first, right?” Libby pipes up.
There’s a mutual rumble of agreement in the room.
“So, speaking of family—” Sawyer drops his elbows onto the counter in the kitchen, a wad of food stuffed into the corner of his cheek. “—I saw a guy that was a dead ringer for Dad.”
Mason stills, tilting his head. “You did?”
Sawyer chews, nodding. “Yep. Thought it was you in a different get-up. When I went to talk to him, he took one look at me and left.” He pauses. “Crazy thing is, when he looked back, his face was all messed up on one side. Kinda freaked me out for a second.” He shakes his head and looks down.
I know it upset him. I’m glad I was able to distract him for a few hours.
But this morning he was still dwelling on it.
“Sounds like Cade,” Clyde says hoarsely.
“But if he’s in town, why didn’t he stop by?” Hazel looks at her husband, then the rest of the room.
“‘Cause he ain’t welcome here,” Mason grunts.
“Wait.” Wade glances between them. “He has scars?”
Dixon nods slowly. “Yep. From the, um, accident.”
Everyone falls quiet.
“Dixon—” Wade’s face goes through several shades of red. “—you knew that picture could have been Cade and didn’t say anything?”
“Doesn’t matter.” His lips thin beneath his mustache. “You got the guy.”
Wade glances around. “Maybe? But he keeps denying it.”
“Cade is a good boy,” Hazel says quietly next to me.
“Bullshit,” Mason coughs. “Hell, it was him that started that fight in the schoolyard. His scrawny ass picked at the biggest kid there, then he ran to us to squash it.”
I catch Lori’s fingers tighten slightly on Mason’s shoulders, then he takes a deep breath.
“Anyways.” His palm raises as if he’s waving the subject away. “There’s other news.”
