“Oh, thank God,” Sage announced, planting her hands dramatically on her hips. She was wearing her gardening overalls and rubber clogs, with her auburn hair tied up in a bandana. “He brought her.”
Lo Lo peeked over her shoulder. “Do not swarm her. We promised.”
“We promised we would try,” Sage corrected. “We did not promise success. Hey Hattie. Good to see you again.”
Hattie offered a small wave and edged a little closer. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Lo Lo said warmly, sliding past Sage to pull her into a hug. “You look so adorable. I’m going to have you sit right next to me at dinner.” Hattie sidled closer to me, but Lo Lo hung on. “We won’t let Wade interrogate you either. He’s already been lectured.” She kept talking and walking, dragging us forward as Hattie looked over at me in concern. “East is pretending he doesn’t know how to talk to people today, so we’ll have to work on that, and Lila made two pies because you were coming. Hope you’re hungry.” She added the last bit as if there was ever a shortage of food at the Holt household.
Maggie appeared behind them, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel. “Girls, let them come in.” Her gray hairwas pulled into something that wanted to be a bun but had already escaped in three directions. She never failed to make me feel better just by her presence. She had a way about her that settled me.
“You must be Hattie,” she said.
“Yes,” Hattie replied, voice steady in a way that told me she was pushing herself past old fears. “Thank you for having me.”
“I have been hearing all about you. I’m so excited to finally meet you.” She cupped Hattie’s hands briefly in hers.“Come in. Tell me all about your podcast and how you fell in with this reprobate.” She gave me a wink. “I want to hear how you like the cabins. He’s very proud of them.”
Inside, the house smelled like roasted tomatoes, fresh herbs from Maggie’s garden, and warm bread that had always felt like the true currency of this family. The dining table was already full. East sat at one end, looking like he had been forced there against his will. Wade lounged next to him with the smugness of a man who had already been munching on pre-dinner snacks and still planned to eat two full servings.
“Fish,” Wade said with a dramatic sigh. “You are the only person in this house I truly love.” Fish snuggled up against his legs, tail wagging. Wade shot me a triumphant look.
“He’s such a traitor.” I gave him a disgusted look. “Come on, Trouble. Let me introduce you. You’ve met Lila already. She’s East’s better half. You met this one at the door.” I grabbed Chloe in a playful hold and ruffled her hair as she tried to escape. “She’s the baby of the family.”
“Kippers,” she whined.
Hattie’s eyes turned over to me with glee as she snorted. It was adorable. “Kippers. I should start calling you that.”
“Please don’t.” My dick would be soft forever if she called me that. Not only did I hate the nickname, but it was definitely a family name that my sisters, in particular, taunted me with.
Phiny chortled. “Sage started calling him that, I think, and they tease him about it mercilessly. Hi, I’m Delphina. We’re pretty fond of nicknames here, though, so I usually go by Phiny.”
My notifications were pinging nonstop as everyone was texting like crazy.
Lo Lo
She’s so pretty. Wow.
Phiny
She smiled at me, and I almost confessed my sins.
East
Why does she look like she has secrets?
Wade
Because she does.
Lo Lo
She looks like the kind of woman who knows where the bodies are buried.
Sage
Don’t say that out loud.
Lo Lo
