Relieved that she didn’t have to wade any further into that, Nat met her sister’s gaze and shook her head. “No, not at all. He’s playin’ y’all something new he just wrote.”
“Oh, he’s still been writin’?” Will asked, her brows raised.
“He’s been sneakin’ in a bit of it when he can. Why do you sound surprised?”
“I didn’t realize he was still doin’ that, is all.”
“’Course he is. Why wouldn’t he be?”
“Well, I just…” Will glanced at everyone else before meeting Nat’s gaze again. “I guess I just assumed with the kids and all that he’d have to find something a little more practical.”
Funny how it sounded so different coming from her sister’s mouth than it had coming from her daddy’s. Nat knew Will was just looking out for them. Experience told her her daddy was just trying to control them.
Ever since that day they’d gone to her parents’, the whole practicality thing had been weighing on Asher a hell of a lot, which meant it had been weighing on her. He loved music like she loved photography, and she couldn’t imagine what kind of life she’d have if she had to give it up. His guitar was as much an extension of himself as her camera was to her. But the facts didn’t look great for pursuing a music career in a town with a population a fraction of one of the stadiums Asher had played on tour.
Mac cleared her throat and tipped her chin toward the camera clutched in Nat’s hand. “You know we’ve got somebody to do that, right?”
She blinked and glanced down, snapping herself out of her thoughts and the worries that would most definitely still be there to greet her tomorrow. With a shrug, she said, “Somebody who’s not gonna do it as well as I am.”
Rory rolled her eyes. “Maybe instead of worryin’ about makin’ sure we’re gonna get the perfect pictures, you should focus on gettin’ dressed so you don’t walk down the aisle in that.”
Nat glanced down at herself and then met her sister’s gaze with a raised eyebrow. “What, you don’t like my shorts and tank top? Are they not appropriate wedding attire?”
“Why do you insist on bein’ such a pain in my butt all the time? Would it kill you to be ready early so you don’t get Will all anxious for nothing?”
“Seems to me Will isn’t the one gettin’ all worked up,” Nat said from the balcony, snapping an overhead shot of the reception site set up below. “And relax. All I need to do is slip the dress over my head. Considerin’ you still need to pull the stick out of your ass before you walk down the aisle, I figure I’ll be ready ahead of you anyway.”
Mac huffed a laugh at the same time their momma said, “Aurora and Natalie, that’s enough. As if your sister doesn’t have enough to worry about today, now she’s got you two squabblin’ in her ear.”
Will waved her off and met their gazes in the mirror. “Honestly, Momma, I’ve tuned them out…haven’t heard a word they’ve said.” She closed her eyes and blew out a slow breath. “Can’t focus on them when it feels like I’m gonna throw up.”
“Throw up? Are you pregnant?” Nat asked sarcastically, since every woman of a certain age—read fifteen to fifty—couldn’t say she wasn’t feeling well without being accused of pregnancy.
“Would you shut up?” Mac said, slapping Nat’s arm. “She’s not pregnant. She’s just nervous.”
“Actually,” Will said, her hands pressed to her stomach as she looked at each of them in turn. “I don’t know if it’s nerves or the pregnancy. It could be either.”
There was a moment of shocked silence before everyone erupted at once, swarming around Will where she still sat at the vanity. It was a chaos of hugs and happy tears, everyone working hard not to ruin the makeup they’d spent hours applying.
“You brat,” Rory said. “When Daddy asked Finn the other week at Sunday supper, he said y’all use protection!”
“Yeah, and condoms are only ninety-eight percent effective, genius.” Mac rolled her eyes.
“Oh, sweetheart, this is wonderful.” Their mom hugged Will from behind, her eyes shiny with tears.
“Gettin’ in a little good trouble, I see,” Gran said as she squeezed Will’s hand.
“Not intentionally,” Will said. “But maybe that’s the best kind.”
“What’d Finn say when you told him?” Mac asked.
Nat raised her brows. “Haveyou told him?”
“Yeah. He’s…” Will glanced down, a small smile on her face. “He’s already ordered onesies with The Willow Tree logo on them.”
Her sister was always beautiful, but right then, she was stunning. Especially with all the women in their family surrounding her…supporting her. Nat held up her camera, needing to document the moment, despite that she wasn’t in it. That was the whole reason she’d gotten into photography in the first place. Wanting to capture those pockets of time that slipped past all too quickly. Ones they could never get back.
She snapped several shots, feeling a little smug that if she hadn’t brought her camera, this wouldn’t have been captured, regardless of the other photographer on the payroll.
