“As if your life isn’t interesting enough.” Codi scoffed and then emitted a half-laugh. “Your horses act like toddlers, you have a real-life toddler, and your wife is pregnant. If that’s not interesting enough for you, you need an attitude adjustment.”
Bryce laughed, because his wife wasn’t wrong. “Sometimes I still can’t believe this is my life.” He grinned over to her. “And I worry about my adult cousins.”
“I know you do, baby.” Codi squeezed his hand. “But you can’t save them.”
No, he couldn’t, no matter how badly he wanted to. Bryce frowned out his side window, though he knew she was right. “I wish I knew how to make my heart harder.”
“No, you don’t,” Codi said in her soft, powerful voice. “Your heart is one of your best assets.”
“One of?” He grinned over to her.
She grinned right on back. “Oh, come on. You know how hot you are.” She laughed with him, and they completed the short twelve-minute drive to Cash’s house quickly.
“Looks like we might be the last to arrive,” he said as he inched along the street and found all the trucks parked in front of the house where Cash was living, house-sitting for theMcClellan’s. “I’m going to miss him when he moves clear across town.”
“We have cars,” Codi said, and he could always count on her to be the level-headed, rational one.
“I’m going to pull in so you don’t have to walk in the cold.”
She didn’t argue, and Bryce pulled into the driveway and let his wife get out. She bustled up the front walk as Bryce backed out and went back the way he’d come to find somewhere to park. By the time he burst through the front door, the temperature had dropped at least ten degrees due to the increased wind and the sun ducking behind the clouds.
He breathed a sigh of relief as he scraped his boots on the mat inside the front door, basked in the heat blowing in the house, and shrugged out of his coat. He added his to the pile on the back of the couch and moved past the formal living room toward the back of the house, where plenty of chatter and laughter greeted him.
Bryce paused in the mouth of the hallway and took in the Youngs before him, that big heart of his blooming and blooming and blooming with more love than he thought possible. Cash worked in the kitchen, of course, doing something with a rubber spatula and a huge tray of meatballs.
Lark, who Bryce had briefly met that morning, stood only a few feet from him, working a hand mixer in a giant metal bowl. Since Bryce knew the menu was sweet and sour meatballs and mashed potatoes, he knew what they were doing.
Harry and Belle had joined them, and they chatted with Lark and Cash while Codi had found a soft spot on the couch where she could keep an eye on Matt, who played with Savannah in the living room. Kassie and Reggie sat on the same couch as her, while Adam and Joey cuddled on the love seat. Adam tapped on his phone, and Joey grinned at the babies in her usual bright way.
Boston and Cora hovered near the island where Cash and Lark worked, participating in that conversation, and since they hadn’t started lunch yet, Bryce didn’t expect to see Cole and his girlfriend, Rachel.
He moved toward the kitchen crowd, his smile stretching genuinely across his mouth. “Howdy, guys.”
All eyes came to him, and while he’d once hated that, now Bryce adored his family, and he could answer questions for hours.
“Hey, you.” Boston smiled at him and moved around Cora to give him a hug. Bryce grabbed on tight and held Boston close to his chest.
“How are you?” Bryce asked. “Ready for Thanksgiving?” He pulled back and watched Boston’s eyes. “When are you moving into that ranch you bought?”
“Not until we’re married.” Boston’s eyes crinkled at the edges as his smile grew. He fell back to Cora’s side and tucked her against his hip. “But it’s comin’ along. You’ll have to come see it sometime.”
“I told Lark the same thing,” Cash said. “I think we’re going on Wednesday, Bryce, if you want to come.”
He watched Cash and Lark, who both continued to work on the mashed potatoes and meatballs. “All right,” Bryce said. “I’ll see if I can get away. I’ve got a farrier coming on Wednesday for some of my most stubborn horses.”
Cash glanced up, grinning. “Sounds fun.”
“A barrel of monkeys,” Bryce said, which earned him a smile from everyone in the group. “What do you need help with?”
“Nothing,” Cash said.
“You can put ice in the glasses,” Lark said, glancing over to him. “Hi again, Bryce.”
“I forgot I roped you into potatoes.” Cash grinned at Lark. “Ice in the glasses would be great, Bryce.”
Harry actually pulled open the freezer, as he stood on that side of the island, and he extracted the ice bucket from below the ice-maker. He hefted it over the island to Bryce, who turned toward the table.
“Are we ready to eat?” Harry asked. “Should I round people up and get them to the table?”
