Raucous laughter fills the house when we enter. Gran at the center of it, chatting with Mrs. Crawley and another woman who has been her friend for more decades than I’ve been alive. Funny, I can never remember her name, though.
“Hey, Gran,” I hug her as she comes shuffling toward me.
“Hey, sweetheart. And there’s my future grandson,” she releases me, her smile spreading wider as she pulls Gray down into a hug.
He only bashfully smiles, attempting to balance the cake before Wilber snatches it from his grasp. “Dammit Addy, you about made the boy drop the cake, and that’s the only reason I’m here.”
“Oh, Wilber hush. It’s not. I’m the only person willing to be your friend after my hubby died, other than your wife. But she’s out of obligation.”
I can only laugh. This is how they’ve always been. Their endless bickering is always at the forefront of their interactions. The two are more like siblings than anything else. We’re all used to it by now, but Gray only stares dumbfounded. Stretching up on my toes, I whisper in his ear, “Don’t worry. This is normal for them.”
“Right.”
“Dr. River,” a male voice darkly chuckles from my right and my eyes press shut. The bit of light energy that found me when I walked through the door quickly evaporates.
Turning slowly, a tight smile pulls at the corners of my mouth. Warner has always been my least favorite sibling, so of course he would be the first to find me.
“Did you just get here?” Warner grins wide.
“Yes,” I reply through gritted teeth.
“Damn. I was hoping I wouldn’t be the latest Thompson. Too bad,” he snickers, eyeing the arm that drapes over my shoulder. Gray’s arm. My protection against this bullshit.
“Grayson Garrison,” Gray sticks out a hand to my brother, who only eyes him as if he has some sort of audacity doing so.
“So you’re the bull rider that’s been fucking my sister?”
Gray tenses beside me, but a smooth grin still spreads on his face. “I would prefer a less crude description. I’m the one in love with your sister. The man who worships at her feet and ensures everyone knows her value as much as she does. So if that’s the person you’re referring to, then yeah, I’m him.”
Warner’s jaw works. The reaction clear enough, Gray drops the hand my brother refused to shake.
“Where’s Mom?” Warner grumbles at me.
“Like I said, I just got here. I haven’t made it past this spot.”
“So you don’t know?”
My anger boils. Warner is always like this. He acts so childish when he gets his feelings hurt. “I believe she just said that. Excuse us, Gran has been waiting for her favorites to arrive,” Gray quips before turning us away from my brother and into the crowd.
If I thought I couldn’t love a man more, I was just proven wrong.
Chapter 31
Grayson
Thereareenoughbodiesfilling the house, it’s a mess, weaving through the living room just to reach the empty hall. Closing us in the small room her grandmother uses for her art supplies, a sharp breath finally enters my lungs. My palms press against the door, chest heaving as I stare down at the worn floorboards at my feet.
“Gray?” River whispers.
“Just—Give me a minute.”
I’m trying to find my composure. I don’t care if that asshole spoke to me like I’m horseshit under his boot, but I’ll be damned if I ever let someone disrespect River in front of me. I didn’t let Buckner, and I won’t let her brother either.
“Gray,” River’s voice is soft, her hand tentatively placed in the center of my back.
I spin so quickly she doesn’t have time to react beyond her yelp as I grip her face and kiss her stupid.
“I’m sorry. I just can’t handle when people talk to you like that.”
