“Morning!” I shout when I walk in the door. Maybe my voice is too chipper.
“Morning,” my brothers say in unison.
Ethan looks up, studying me with an odd expression on his face. “Give me whatever you’re sprinkling in his Cheerios,” he says to Mom.
“Good morning, sweetie,” she says, ignoring Ethan’s snark.
I walk over and place a kiss on Mom’s cheek, pulling a plate off the stack and loading it with eggs, sausage and toast.
“Looks good,” I tell her.
“Okay,” Garrett says. “What gives?”
I look around. All three sets of eyes are trained on me. Mom’s not paying them any attention.
“What?” I ask.
Luke looks between Ethan and Garrett. “I told you he was seeing someone.”
“What?” Mom perks up. She can go from completely uninvolved to overhearing every pertinent detail in a nanosecond. It’s a gift—or a curse.
“Luke thinks your baby boy here’s got himself a woman and he’s not sharing,” Garrett fills Mom in.
I shove the toast in my mouth and take a bite. Probably not the most innocent-looking maneuver in light of their accusation, but I’m working on the fly here.
Images of Carli in my arms on the blanket yesterday flood my mind.Not helping.
“See that?” Luke says, pointing at me. “That smile right there?”
“I see it,” Garrett says.
“Is it true?” Mom asks. “You can tell us. We won’t push. Who is she?”
It’s one thing to blow off my brothers. They’re nosy. I’m the youngest boy, meaning I’m the brunt of their overprotectiveness and teasing, even at this age. But lying to my mom? That never sits well with me. As much as I’d like to tell them—and they think they want to know—disclosing that I’m dating my younger sister’s best friend is not a bomb I should drop today. Not with McKenna’s wedding around the corner. Not with the farrowing season and calving underway. Too much hangs in the balance for both our families.
“Haven’t been out on the town in months,” I say, lookingat my mom. It’s not a direct lie, but it’s misleading enough to make my bite of toast sit like a ball in my stomach.
Mom’s face falls just the slightest, so I add, “You’re still my best girl.”
She smiles and Luke shouts, “Way to suck up!”
“You’re not her favorite,” Garrett declares, staring at me. “Is he Mom?”
“I have no favorites.”
“He’s her favorite,” Ethan declares.
I just smile around at my brothers. I feel like her favorite and that’s all that matters.
We all wash our dishes after a breakfast filled with shoptalk about cows and tractors and which bulls might be put up for sale. Ethan retires to the office with Dad where they’ll make final decisions based on post-breeding status. Luke, Garrett and I meet some hands out in one of the main pastures to run bulls through the chute for health checks.
Just before lunch, I shoot Jace a text.
Cody: Where are you?
Jace: Barns, why?
Cody: I’ll be there in a few.
