“No, of dirt from the outside of the cabin that the MLB pitcher likes to stay in. I want some of the ground he’s walked on.”
“You are so weird.” She rolled her eyes at him, and it was ... spectacular. For a split second, they were fifteen and bantering over brownies. She was team middle. He was team edge. He didn’t realize they were leaning toward each other until Meredith interrupted them.
“Hey, you two! Stop flirting and come try this. It may be my best pie yet.”
Bronwyn pinched her lips together and looked down at the increasingly shrinking space between them. “I don’t suppose there’s any point in ignoring her?”
“Sadly, no.”
“I heard that.” Meredith glared at them from the opposite edge of the firepit.
“I meant for you to hear me.” Bronwyn blew her a kiss.
Meredith pretended to swat it away. “If you don’t eat this while it’s hot and melty, you won’t experience the full effect of my culinary genius.”
Mo stood and pulled Bronwyn to her feet.
“I didn’t know she had any culinary genius.”
Bronwyn’s stage whisper had Meredith pointing tongs in her direction. “Watch it, Beep.”
And for the next hour, Mo didn’t worry about blackmailers or backstabbing. He didn’t think about the future, and he definitely didn’t think about the past.
He stayed in the present. And in the present, a beautiful womanwho he knew better than most and simultaneously barely knew at all slowly but surely shortened the distance between them. When she stood on the opposite side of the fire with Meredith and Landry, she included him in their laughter. When she sat on the edge of the firepit and helped Eliza roast yet another marshmallow, her smile drew him into the moment. And when they settled back around the fire, and it was time to divulge what he suspected, he was surprised but pleased when she tucked herself against his good side and smirked at his sister and cousin with an expression that said, “Go ahead. Say it.”
But they didn’t say anything.
He put his arm around her shoulder and waited.
Gray and Meredith sat in their two-person chair, and he played with her engagement ring as it flickered in the firelight. “I guess I’ll start.”
“Please.” Meredith gave him a light kiss. “If someone doesn’t start, we’ll all end up staring at each other all night. It could be weird and awkward, what with Mo and Bronwyn sitting over there like they’ve been dating for three years already and all of us wondering what happened but not wanting to ask because we’re afraid we’ll mess it up somehow.”
Landry rubbed her stomach. “I don’t think there’s anything we could do to mess them up. They’re pretty good at managing it all by themselves. Looking at them right now, I feel like I do when I’m working with a freshly thrown vase. If I put too much pressure on it, it will fold in on itself and I’ll have to start all over.”
Cal pressed a kiss to her temple. “Have faith.” He looked from Mo to Bronwyn to Meredith. “This was always how it was supposed to be and we all know it. Let’s be happy we’re here now and figure out how to keep Bronwyn and Mo from getting shot.”
“Again.” Meredith glared at Mo.
“Why are you mad at me? It’s not like I asked to be shot.”
“No, but you need to figure this out faster.”
“He’s working as fast as he can.” Bronwyn’s response had an edge of ... something. Protectiveness?
“I know, Beep.” Meredith, to his surprise, backed way off. Her voice was gentle and even a little apologetic. “I didn’t mean to imply anything else. I’m . . .” She blew out a breath and collapsed into Gray’s side.
“We’re all on edge.” Cal tucked Landry closer to him. “We’re exhausted and frustrated, and if we aren’t careful, we’ll start taking it out on each other. Let’s not do that.”
“Hear, hear.” Gray raised his iced tea toward Cal. “It’s like when Meredith drags me off on some twenty-seven-mile hike.” That earned him a gentle swat. He caught her hand and kissed her fingers. “When I don’t think I have it in me to walk another step, she tells me we’re almost there and that it will be worth it.”
Everyone laughed because they’d all heard Meredith say that.
“The thing is, that last push is usually brutal. Straight uphill on legs that are jelly, lungs burning for oxygen, and fatigue making me question all my life choices. And then we reach the top.” He threw his hands in the air like he’d just won a race. “And it’s all there. The money shot. The view. The payoff. The reason for the journey. And it’s so worth it.”
Landry leaned into Cal. “Did you know Gray had such a philosophical side?”
“I blame Meredith.” Cal grinned at his friend. “But yeah, you’re right. It does feel like that. Like we’re close to something amazing ... if we don’t quit.”
