“We’re not talking about this,” West said.
“Ever,” I added. Unfortunately, I knew plenty about my brothers’ sex lives, but they were mybrothers. Aria’s was uncharted territory I had zero desire to venture into. To me, she’d always be the baby twelve-year-old me held for the first time. The little girl my brothers and I swore to protect with our lives.
Her moving across the country was a tough pill to swallow. If something happened to her like it had over the summer, none of us would be minutes away to come to her aid. But I had to remember she was an adult who could take care of herself.
Mama reentered the room then, thankfully missing the inappropriate dinner conversation. My siblings stared expectantly at her, waiting for her approval to start eating now that I’d been served.
But Mama only stood there, surveying the room and frowning.
“What’s wrong?” Owen asked.
“We’re waiting for one more,” she said, then sighed. “But I guess you can dig in.”
One more?
I glanced around the room with a frown. The entire family save Owen’s wife and son were here. Who could we possibly be waiting for? My brothers and I exchanged concerned looks.
“She’s not…seeing someone, is she?” West hissed.
“Not a fucking chance,” Owen stated firmly.
Mama had always said Dad was the love of her life. In fact, in the decades since he died, she’d never even removed her wedding ring. They’d met in high school at the beginning of freshman year when she first moved to town from the other side of the state. Falling hard and fast for each other, they’d gotten married not long after graduating high school—when she was already pregnant with Owen. She’d always been certain she’d never find anything like what they’d had, and she had no interestin trying. Mama claimed she was more than fulfilled with her kids, the ranch, and her blossoming business ventures.
“Then who are we waiting for?” Crew asked.
There was a knock on the front door.
“Ahh,” Mama said. “That must be her.”
Her?
Oh no. Oh no no no.
She couldn’t have.
Shewouldn’t.
“Think I can leave without Mama noticing?” I muttered to Crew.
“Why would you—ahh.”
A familiar frame filled the doorway, and my fears were confirmed.
I remained frozen in place as Sutton raised her hand and awkwardly waved.
six
. . .
SUTTON
It became immediatelyobvious that no one outside of Birdie had expected me to show up at this family dinner. Fourteen sets of blue eyes locked on me, as well as a set of cinnamon ones and a green pair, but I only had eyes for the birthday boy.
Was my coming here tonight weird? Absolutely.
But when Birdie had called to invite me, I hadn’t been able to resist. In the week since, I hadn’t been able to shake off the awkward interaction with Lane at the hospital. I’d tried my best to convince myself he’d been acting the way he had because of the drugs, but I knew better. He’d been so clear-eyed, his words coming out so sure and steady. Lane was a big man, too big for the dosage of pain meds he’d been given to affect him that strongly.
None of that explained why he’d woken from acomaand decided he wanted to give us another try. The whole concept of a second chance with Lane made me dizzy.
