“Thanks, Mom,” I whispered as everyone in the room had their eyes on Adele, Hale, and Holston.
“Hale did the inspection for you a few days after Christmas,” Adele said, beaming at Hale.
Yeah, weird shit was going down in our dining room. And not from me.
Holston hadn’t caught on yet. He rubbed his open palm against his forehead. “Did he fuck it up?”
“Holston,” our mom chastised him.
Molly, Haden’s girlfriend, kept her gaze on the silverware beside her plate and chuckled silently, but her chest moved, giving her away.
While Molly was trying not to laugh, Adele’s face turned a bright shade of red.
“No, Hale did great. The farm passed. You should receive the official paperwork in the mail soon.”
“Oh, okay. Good,” Holston said and sat back, looking a little lost. We were all confused.
Hale cleared his throat and waited for our mom to sit back in her spot. She patted Holston on the arm in comfort.
“I have something to say,” Hale said with another throat clear.
I jerked at the table. “No, you don’t.”
The roast sat untouched on my plate
He glared at me. “Yes, I do. You’ll have to wait your turn.”
“What is going on with you two?” our mom asked, glancing between her children.
Hale grabbed Adele’s hand. “Adele and I are dating now. I’m not answering questions or hearing concerns. Get over it.”
My mother dropped her head and whispered, “Lord,” under her breath.
Hale and the county inspector? Wow, did not see that coming. Although, his weird behavior made a lot more sense now. Hale really had been up to something while I was in Vegas getting married.
Holly pointed her finger at our brother and stood. “You two?” Her eyes were as huge as dinner plates as she glanced back at her boyfriend, Will.
Hale pointed a finger at her. “Sit down. You’re in love with a Causebay, so you don’t get a say. Besides, Hope has something to tell us, and it’s way more interesting. Trust me.”
I scowled at my new least favorite brother. “Ass.”
“Hope!” my mother yelled as she gave me the crazy mom eyes from across the table.
“He started it,” I said. Chance laid his hand on my knee, giving me the strength to continue. I had to get this out to the family.
“It’s now or never,” he whispered.
Hale raised an eyebrow at the exchange between us as he pulled out a seat for Adele in the open spot.
Fine.
I stood since that seemed to be the thing we were doing tonight. Chance followed and took a spot beside me.
“We didn’t go to Michigan to watch the game.”
“Where have you been then?” my father asked. His voice boomed in the now quiet house, and a dog barked in the other room.
I cleared my throat, sounding a lot like Hale earlier. “Our group made it to our layover in DC but the storm closed the airport in Michigan, so Chance and I went to Vegas.”
