Hal stepped toward him and grinned. “I would like to know. I’ve had a crush on Denise since first grade. She won’t give me the time of day.”
“Maybe your breath stinks,” Caleb quipped. Why should he be nice to Hal after he’d given him so much crap about Alaska? He had to show him he wasn’t a pushover.
Hal sucked his teeth. “It does not. I’ll have you know that I brush my teeth twice a day, and I use mouthwash. Scope, matter of fact,” he said, puffing out his chest.
“Your pits then,” Caleb said, enjoying the sight of Hal squirming. Caleb wanted to laugh out loud when Hal tugged at his shirt and sniffed his underarm.
“My pits are fine,” Hal said. “I don’t smell.”
“Whatever,” Caleb muttered.
“You want to come to my birthday party on Saturday?” Hal asked, causing shock waves to wash over Caleb.
“You’re invitingme?” Caleb asked. “I don’t get it. You don’t like me. You’ve made it pretty obvious.” Caleb stood his ground, folding his arms across his chest and sticking his chin out in mutinous fashion.
“You’re cool, Alaska,” he said with a nod. “If all the girls think so, then you must be all right.” It took Caleb a few moments to process what Hal was telling him. On his ownhe was a weirdo from Alaska, but when surrounded by a flock of girls, he was suddenly a hot commodity.
Because where he went, the girls followed. And it gave him street cred with the boys at school. Suddenly, he had value. Caleb puffed out his chest. He was a chick magnet. He was somebody!
Caleb might not be athletic like Xavier or a smarty-pants like Landon, but he was pure gold in the getting-girls-to-like-him department. All this time he’d been clueless about his own superpower, and here it was. It had fallen right into his lap, right out of the blue. And now that he’d discovered it, he was going to work it to his advantage for as long as he could.
CHAPTER ONE
“Are you really going to marry this guy?” Caleb asked his future sister-in-law, his voice sounding incredulous as he posed the million-dollar question. He was far from serious. He was punking his older brother, Xavier, and trying to get a reaction out of him. Although he was teasing Xavier, the truth was that his big brother getting married hadn’t been on his Alaska bingo card. When they had arrived in Moose Falls four months ago, Xavier had been wary of all women and any romantic entanglements because of being betrayed by his ex-fiancée. Honestly, he could relate due to his own experiences. Now, Caleb had fully accepted that Xavier had found love everlasting with True. They were endgame.
The Stone family was moments away from celebrating the happy couple, along with a host of friends, at their engagement party. He was playing with Xavier, but pushing his brother’s buttons was a habit he couldn’t quit. Doing so had been a way of life in their household growing up. Why would he stop now?
Xavier let out a sigh. “Yep, she’s marrying me. Unless you know something I don’t.”
“We’redefinitelygetting married,” True said, correcting him.
Xavier leaned over and brushed a kiss on her lips. “That’s right, baby. We’re getting hitched.”
“As in walking down the aisle married?” Landon asked, adjusting his glasses as he spoke. “With an actual official marriage license and everything?” Landon looked over at Caleb and smirked. They were tag-teaming Xavier, who remained oblivious to their joke.
True made a face. “You two are making me nervous. Why the shocked reaction? You’ve had weeks to get used to the news.” She leaned forward and whispered, “Is there something you’re not telling me? Blink twice if the answer is yes.”
Xavier stood up from the couch, throwing his hands in the air. “Okay, guys, I understand you might be surprised by this turn of events, but you’ve been grilling us for the last twenty minutes at our very own engagement party. The answer isn’t changing. True and I are getting married.”
“And I for one couldn’t be happier.” The sound of their grandmother’s voice caused all three Stone brothers to turn toward the dining room threshold. Looking resplendent in a gold ensemble and with her gray hair styled in a fancy updo, Hattie Stone always knew how to make a grand entrance.
She had a habit of appearing without making a sound. These days it was a little harder for her to pull it off due to her electric scooter, but at the moment she was walking under her own steam with the help of a fancy cane. Due to a terminal diagnosis, Hattie was “living with an expiration date,” as she liked to say.
Caleb quickly got to his feet and went to her side. He took Hattie’s arm and led her over to a velvet love seat. After she was seated, he lifted her hand and kissed it. “You look stunning tonight, Grandmother,” he drawled.
Hattie nodded her head slightly in his direction. “Thank you, my sweet charmer. It’s not every day that my oldest grandson gets engaged.” Caleb sat back down in his seat and looked over at the happy couple. Xavier and True were now snuggled up on the couch, whispering to each other and tightly holding hands.
Caleb and his two brothers, Landon and Xavier, had returned to Moose Falls four months ago after a nearly twenty-year absence. Granny Hattie was dying, and she wanted to make sure her company, Yukon Cider, was inherited by her grandsons. The catch was, they had a year to decide whether to keep the company and stick around Moose Falls or sell it to the highest bidder. The decision had to be unanimous or they would forfeit their inheritance.
Xavier had always been skeptical of staying in Alaska, but now that he was engaged to True, all bets were off. Since the three brothers had to be in agreement on the decision, he and Landon had some sway in the situation. Caleb could still go to Hollywood and pursue his dreams. Caleb knew there had to be a way to make casting agents forget about his disastrous appearance on the reality showLove Him or Leave Him. He wasn’t ready to give up on his dream. Not by a long shot. He was down, but not broken.
Caleb and Landon burst into laughter at the irritated expression etched on Xavier’s face. Seconds later Xavier caught on. “You two are messing with me, aren’t you?”
“Of course we are. For old times’ sake,” Caleb said, grinning.
“Call it an engagement present,” Landon told him.
Xavier shook his head. “Two knuckleheads.” The corners of his mouth were twitching with amusement.
