Patsy takes the basket of blondies out of my hand and sets it on the nearby counter. “You know how Mollie loves a party.”
“I couldn’t help myself.” Mollie’s eyes twinkle as she holds out her arms. “You’re here! This is happening! Can you believe it?”
Ryder chuckles. “Hell yeah, I can believe it. You know how hard this woman made me work for it?”
“Slash, I didn’t make him work for it at all.” I give Mollie a hug, feeling like my heart’s liable to burst right out of my chest.
Colt groans as he takes off Mom’s jacket. “I’d say to watch your mouth in polite company, but we’re not very polite company at all, are we, Mom?”
Mom meets eyes with Patsy and shakes her head. “And here I thought I raised them right.”
“You did, honey. It’s so good to see you. How lucky are we that we’re able to finally gather like this? I’m sorry Thanksgiving didn’t work out. But now we’ve got all these people together!” Patsy grabs Mom’s hand, and for a second, I think they’re both about to burst into tears. “I love the little family that’s forming here.”
Sawyer hikes Ella onto his hip before giving me a peck on the cheek. “It’s not so little anymore, Patsy. Listen to this racket.”
He’s right: Now that my family and I have arrived, the house is a scene of barely controlled chaos. Duke and Wheeler are here with the twins, one of whom is currently wailing while Duke sniffs her tiny little diaper butt. Dean and Junie are chasing each other down the front hall, their giggles echoing off the tall ceilings while Ella counts to ten somewhere nearby. The kids love playing hide-and-seek in this house because it’s huge and there’s tons of good hiding spots.
Cash and Colt are shaking hands, while Ava chats up Nash and Tate as they help her set out trays of delectable-looking appetizers: fried jalapeños, beef skewers, deviled eggs topped with diced pickles and bacon. We eat and chat, catching up on everything and anything.
Now John B is getting roped into a game of UNO by Junie and Dean, while Mack and Wyatt pop tops off Shiner Bock longnecks so Sally can hand them out.
The kitchen is loud and a little too warm. It smells divine—Ryder let slip that Patsy’s been smoking turkeys nonstop since she agreed to have us over for dinner—and it feels like home.
Not because the New House is particularly familiar, because it isn’t. But because the people that now fill it immediately fall into an easy, happy cacophony of conversation and toasts and laughter.
Dad and Beck are doubled over as Mollie tells them a joke. Cash says it’s time to feed Daisy, and literally eight people jump at the chance to offer their services. Mom and Tate take turns feeding the baby, while I tuck little Maggie inside the crook of my arm and rock her as I sip my beer.
Patsy announces it’s time to open the wine, but I can tell Mom is already drunk by how loudly she laughs and the way her face is flushed.
Mom tries to open a bottle of Napa Valley cabernet but remembers halfway through the process that she doesn’t actually know how to use a wine corkscrew. Wyatt takes over, patiently showing my tipsy mother how to do it properly.
Sawyer catches Ella sneaking sips of Sally’s wine. I catch Junie sneaking a chocolate chip cookie from the basket I brought with me.
“Please don’t tell my mom,” she begs, mouth smeared with chocolate.
Laughing, I grab a napkin and make quick work of cleaning her up. “Why don’t you grab an extra cookie, just in case you get hungry later?”
“I like you, Miss Bobby.”
“It’s Billie, but thank you.”
She wrinkles her nose. “Isn’t Billie a boy name?”
“I have five brothers. I think my parents just kind of gave up and started using a boy name for me too.”
We all help Patsy set out the food once it’s done. Then Cash has us gather around the kitchen’s island. It’s massive, but there’s barely enough room for all of us. I grab Dean and have him stand in front of me, keeping my hands on his shoulders.
It could have something to do with the tiny baby tucked against his enormous chest, but Cash looks handsomer than ever as he clears his throat. “A little more than a year ago, life around here looked a heck of a lot different. There was so much griefhappening. My brothers and me, we didn’t know how we were gonna hold onto Rivers Ranch through another season. Then a city girl with a big mouth and bigger attitude shows up.” He grins at Mollie. “And just like that, everything was turned upside down.”
“You were awful,” Mollie replies with a dreamy smile.
“The worst,” Cash agrees. “Youwere exactly what we didn’t know we needed. A swift kick in the—ahem, behind.”
Patsy holds up her glass. “Amen.”
“Mollie’s arrival brought life back to our little corner of paradise.”
“Ha,” Sawyer says.
