“When?”
Her laugh was nervous. “Poppy and Jensen invited us out next weekend. They’ll grill.”
Hunger cramped my belly. I was waiting for my food, but it’d been forever since I’d had a beer on the back deck while a steak or burger sizzled next to me.
Her brows drew together. “Is that okay with you?”
“Of course you can go. I’m not your keeper.”
Her rigid smile fell. “You don’t want to go?”
“I’m invited?”
“We’re a package for the next two and a half months. I’ll warn you—it might be every Duke in town—or former Duke.”
The kindling of excitement in my belly was new. A big family gathering. That would be like going to the zoo and seeing how other mammals’ family units worked. “Okay.”
“Okay.” Her grin brightened like the sun. “There’ll be another get-together in mid-September. That one will be everyone.” Her gaze lifted over my shoulder, where Lyric and Stetson had gone. “And I do mean everyone.”
“By everyone, you mean…”
She set her phone down. “Pumpkin harvesting.”
“Like a pumpkin patch?” I’d never been to a pumpkin patch. Why’d that sound like the perfect weekend activity?
“Nope.” There was that sheepish smile again. “Violet’s husband raises pumpkins, and he supplies local breweries, pumpkin patches, and pantries. And it’s become like a yearly thing for him to invite his side of the family, and now Violet’s. And then the Knights.”
The Dukes and the Barrons. “Who are the Knights?”
“Lily’s sister-in-law.”
“The one who’s married to a Barron.” When she nodded, I ran through the families like I was doing calculus. “How big is their family?”
“There’s, um…” She rolled her eyes to the ceiling and figured out the equation in her head. “Five? Eight Barrons, five Knights, and, if Jasper makes it, six Dukes. Couples in total? Like, sixteen? Don’t ask me to tally the kids.”
“Holy shit.” I didn’t even think about the kids. “And they all get together in one place?”
“It’s a big property that Grandma Annie left Violet.”
Her family and her extended family and their in-laws were fascinating. Instead of getting a headache, I was invigorated. Her crew was…interesting. My life had been quiet for so long. “Did Violet have to be married to get her place?”
“Yes, but Evander rented it before that.”
“That’s how they met?”
“No, it was a one-night stand at the local motel.”
I coughed out a laugh. “Okay.” I liked my work, but this was all the social interaction I’d missed out on over the last couple of years. “Alder and Daisy? He kind of told me.”
“Really? Makes sense. He’s so happy he won her back. They were high school sweethearts who got married and divorced before Daisy was done with college. Then, fifteen years later, she needed a place to live, and he wanted the house.” She leaned over the table. “He wanted her back so bad.”
“He used Grandma’s trust to win his wife back?”
Her smile was triumphant. “And before you ask, yes, Poppy and Jensen were going to get married to get the house that she turned into her office. But they fell in love before they married.”
“And Jasper?”
Her grin faltered. “I don’t know. There’s a time limit from when Grandma passed. I think it’s two years from now, but Jasper would have to be married in a year. His property is a cabin by the river with some acreage.”
