I mouthedthank youto my sister, and she winked.
As I was useless in this situation, I wandered out to the front porch and sank onto one of the rockers. The mid-September air was unseasonably warm, but the temperature nosedived when the sun went down. While the weather remained temperate, the trees on our land had started to change. The verdant green of summer was now dotted with spots of yellow, orange, and red. The scent of fall, of softly decaying things, hung in the air, and I inhaled deeply, letting it soothe me.
I wasn’t sure how long I sat there, staring out at the land, lost in contemplation, before I was brought back to reality by the clopping of horse hooves approaching the house.
“Happy birthdayyyyyyy!” West crowed as he reined his horse, Rogue, to a stop at the old-fashioned hitching post at the edge of the gravel drive, a holdover from generations past. He dismounted, looped Rogue’s reins over it, and climbed the steps to the porch.
“Thanks,” I grumbled. “Where’s your partner in crime?”
West stuffed his thumbs in the front pockets of his Wranglers and turned in a slow circle, surveying the surrounding area.Then he pointed at a figure in the distance, approaching from the big red barn.
When Finn neared enough to see us, he shouted, “Happy birthdayyyyyyy!” using the same tone as his twin, and I dropped my face into my hands.
“Gotta be a new record,” West said to Finn. “We’ve been here three seconds and he’s already annoyed.”
Finn chuckled. “In that case, our work here is done.”
I looked up in time to catch them dap each other before they blessedly disappeared inside and left me alone.
The silence didn’t last long as, one after the other, my remaining two brothers pulled in. Once they both parked, Trey approached, with Crew, Aspen, and Reagan—who they must’ve picked up on the way—not far behind.
My brothers tossed “happy birthday, bro” comments my way as they entered the house, but Crew and Finn’s better halves stopped, leaning down to gently hug me and hand over a gift I was instructed to open later when I was alone.
I quirked a brow at Aspen. “Should I be worried there’s a bomb in here?” I asked her, studying the small, wrapped box she’d given me.
Aspen smirked. “One way to find out,” she tossed over her shoulder then headed inside.
“They’re cigars,” Reagan murmured with a wink before following.
Since my lung had collapsed when I’d gotten shot, I definitely wouldn’t be smoking these anytime soon, but still, I grinned at the sentiment as I got up to join my family. They were something to look forward to.
When I walked into the dining room, I found a spot next to Crew. My brothers dug into the spread immediately, only for Mama to walk in and scold them all, saying I was to receive the first serving of everything. Instead of rolling my eyes, I stood andleaned over the table, Crew holding my plate aloft as I loaded it up with food.
“So you’re staying in our old room?” Crew asked almost conversationally. But there was something in his tone that had me glancing sidelong at him, and when I did, I noticed a weird gleam in his eye.
“Yes…”
Across the table, his wife smirked and winked at him, and my suspicions rose.
My worst fear was confirmed when Crew said, “Well, I’m sure Mama washed the sheets since we stayed here.”
With my good arm, I reached across my body and socked him in the shoulder.
“Ow!” he yelped, drawing the attention of the rest of the table. “What was that for?”
“You’re disgusting,” I told him. Then I directed my attention toward my sister and demanded, “Aria, trade me rooms.”
Aria snorted. “Not a chance in hell am I entering that sex dungeon. Iheardthings, Lane. I might never recover.”
Crew rolled his eyes, and Aspen chuckled. Both of them remained unperturbed.
“Don’t be so dramatic,” Crew said. “It’s not like you’ve never had sex.”
In an impressively and unintentionally synchronized move we’d normally see from the twins, both Owen and Trey lifted their hands and stuffed their fingers in their ears. Owen even went so far as to start humming loudly to himself, and Trey said, “I’m not hearing this!”
Aria smirked. “You’re right, big brother,” she said to Crew. “A virgin, I am not. But I’ve never fucked anyone in this house.”
“Jesus Christ,” Finn mumbled, a sentiment I agreed with.
