“I told you!” she shouted to Baz. “I told you they were gonna get hitched.”
Brantley smiled, and for the first time in a really long time, he felt it throughout his entire being.
*
LATER THAT NIGHT,REESE FOUND HIMSELF ONthe receiving end of congratulations from Brantley’s family.
He hadn’t lucked out and only had to share the news with Frank and Iris. Nope. Brantley had gone and invited his brothers, sisters, nieces, and nephews over so he could knock it out in one fell swoop. Everyone, with the exception of Trey, who was still at the hospital with Ava and Magnus, had come to hear the big news.
“Have you set a date?” Bryn asked, beaming up at Brantley.
“What do you think?”
“I think that’s the first step.” She canted her head, studied her brother critically. “I’m not sure you’d make a good June bride, but a fall wedding might be nice.”
“Fall in Texas is just an extension of summer,” Killian noted, coming to join them. “Don’t really see much of a difference.”
“Have you told your mama?” Iris asked Reese.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“He texted her. Can you believe that?” Brantley joked.
Iris’s eyes widened as though he’d committed a cardinal sin. “I called her, too,” he said quickly. “This afternoon. So yes, she knows.”
“Maybe I could get her number,” Iris said, her eyes dancing with amusement. “See what her thoughts are.”
Before Reese could respond, Brantley was right there. “Of course you can. Then the two of you can get with JJ and nail down all the specifics. Y’all just tell us when to be there and what to wear.”
“You sure you wanna give them that much power?” Tori teased, coming to stand next to her husband. She glanced up at Killian. “Remember our wedding?”
He smiled, winked. “Some of it, but mostly the after.”
She smacked his chest. “Not in polite company.”
“Ain’t no one polite here,” Frank added with a wide grin.
“Well, we’ll get it figured out.” Iris looked at Reese. “Can I proceed on the assumption y’all will be tyin’ the knot this year?”
“Yes, ma’am.” If he was being honest, he didn’t care if they got married tomorrow. He just wanted to marry Brantley. The rest was semantics.
It was dark by the time they got back to the house. Reese made quick work of filling Tesha’s bowl, getting her settled for the evening. Once that was done, he went and changed into shorts, returned to the kitchen to find Brantley standing at the calendar on the wall.
“September seventeenth,” Brantley noted.
“What about it?”
“That’s the day we’re gettin’ married.”
Reese stopped. “Is there somethin’ special about that day?”
Brantley dropped the calendar pages, turned to look at him. “That’s the day after you kissed me for the first time.” He bobbed his head to the side. “I would’ve done it on the sixteenth, but that’s a Friday.”
Reese’s jaw was unhinged, his disbelief evident. Of all the things he knew about Brantley, he didn’t realize the man was sentimental. Not to this degree, anyway.
Brantley stepped forward, pressed a finger to his chin. “Unless you want me to fill that mouth with somethin’, you might wanna close it.”
“You remember the day you first kissed me?” he asked.
