She smiles at me and I foolishly think she’s finished rattling off the guest list. Then she adds. “Plus, I asked Jace to swing by Sycamore and pick up Loretta and Evelyn and whoever else wanted to come.”
“Whoever else … ?” I run my hand down my jaw. “Mom.”
“What? We’ve got plenty. Most of those ranch families are bringing food. Oh! And I invited Vanessa Keele and Lacey James.”
“You …” I groan.
Garrett cracks up. “Nothing like a birthday to get fixed up with a local girl.”
“Mom …” I almost let it slip.I’ve already got a girlfriend. “They don’t think they’re coming as some sort of birthday bachelor setup, do they?”
“I merely said that you were still single and it was your party. They were both eager to celebrate you.”
“I bet they were,” Garrett says. He’s enjoying this far too much.
“Don’t give me that look, Cody. I’ve been in here all day preparing to celebrate your birthday.”
“I appreciate all of it, Mom. I do.”
All but the two women who were practically promised a date with me, and the crowd of neighbors gathering on my behalf. I don’t mind the spotlight when it’s something critical. I’m not shy. But I’d rather celebrate turning another year older on a horseback ride with Carli followed by a quiet meal with my family.
“This means a lot to you, doesn’t it?” I ask my mom.
“You mean a lot to me.”
“Well, thank you. I’m going to be on my best birthday behavior. And I appreciate all you do for me—for all of us. What can I do to help?”
Mom puts me to work, and a few hours later, the house is filled with people coming in the front and back doors, carrying casserole dishes and platters, hugging everyone and wishing me a happy birthday.
Carli shows up with her family and our eyes lock. We really can’t seem to help ourselves. I smile broadly at her, wink and step over to the foyer.
“Can I take that from you, Carli?”
She hands me a platter of brownies. “I baked those just for you, Cody. Happy Birthday.”
“Thank you,” I say just as McKenna steps up, looping her arm through Carli’s and tugging her away.
“Did you say you baked those for me?” Luke asks, swooping in and grabbing the tray away from me.
“You two can share,” Carli says over her shoulder as McKenna leads her out the back door.
The day I share anything Carli-related with my brother will be the day Hoss signs up for ballet lessons.
I’m tempted to follow my sister and Carli, but I know better, so I root myself in the living room while people approach me to talk.
David arrives with his wife Lynsey and his two kids, Anabella and Benjamin. I immediately offer to take the kids on an ATV ride out to see the calves.
Mom gives me a side eye. She knows an escape hatch when she sees one.
I lift Benjamin onto my shoulders and extend my hand down to Anabella. We walk out back. McKenna and Carli are on the porch swing. I turn to them and smile.
“Hey, Cardy,” Carli says with a smile that tells me I’m in for it.
“Did you just call my brother Cardy?” McKenna asks Carli.
She laughs. “Oh my gosh! Yes. Slip of the tongue. I meant to say Cody.”
“This Cody,” Benjamin says. “He Cody.”
