I’m nervous as I’ve only mentioned the additional invites to a few of my family members. Not that the art of surprise will win over Stone, but I figure he won’t make a scene in front of the entire Sylver clan.
Or Mary Haven, Trinity, and Clint, with his daughter, Ruby James.
As Ford’s daughter June and Ruby James are pals, I figured there is no harm in them being included.
And it’s been too long since Mary Haven has come around.
During one of our first public dates, where Cort took me dancing at Shenanigans in Rogue River, he told me he’d mentioned to his mother that I was his girlfriend.Cort’sgirlfriend. We’re in no rush for other labels, even though he hinted to Hudson that one day we might marry.
I’ll be saying yes faster than a cat leaps off a hot tin roof.
The family slowly makes their way toward the former penned-in area, once used for horses we didn’t have when I was a kid, but now an official baseball diamond thanks to Ford’s vision and my brothers’ determination to bring one more family member back to the fold.
Anxiously, I await my extra guests.
When Cort arrives, he approaches me, cupping the side of my neck and giving me a kiss that lets everyone know we are together.
When he releases me, my face is heated, and I don’t dare risk a glance at Stone. Hudson, however, has seen Cort give me more chaste kisses around his practices and ball games, and he’s come to simply roll his eyes at the public display of affection.
Cort glances over my head and nods once. “Stone.” He doesn’t take his hand off my shoulder blade, but turns toward his mother, who is already approaching my oldest brother.
“Stone Sylver, it’s been too long.” Mary Haven steps right up to my brother and opens her arms, like she’s welcoming home a long-lost son. There’s no doubt that Stone has seen Mary over the years but I’m not certain if they’ve ever spoken about what happened.
“Thank you so much for having us,” Mary says, still holding onto my brother’s shoulders, keeping his attention on her a second before he glances over at me.
“Of course,” he says rather tightly, knowing that I might have,maybe, included Mary Haven in this invitation to smooth rough water.
Stone eventually greets Trinity, along with Clint and Ruby James, who quickly runs off to find June.
“Now, where is Trudy?” Mary questions. “I heard she and I are team moms. One for each team.”
Stone smiles softly at the mention of Trudy.
Cort chuckles. “We’re a little old for team-moms.”
“Says the man hiding behind his,” Stone mutters.
I’m certain everyone near enough to hear holds their breath before Stone swipes a hand down his face like he didn’t mean to say the words aloud.
“Don’t be a dickhead, dickhead,” Cort says, without a hint of malice in his tone and surprising everyone. He said it like one of my brothers might say to another in jest.
Or like old friends might say to one another as a joke.
“I’m not a dickhead, dickhead,” Stone says, his expression serious for only half a second before the sliver of a smile cracks his mouth.
“Okay now,” Mary interjects, swinging her head from one grown man to the other. “That’s enough talk about dickheads.”
“Mom,” Trinity scowls while laughing.
“I brought my famous lemonade with me.” Mary winks at Stone. “One for the kiddos and one for adults who aren’t dickheads.”
Hudson used to be a swear-word sheriff, charging by the word, and thank goodness he isn’t close enough for this interchange or he’d be making bank.
“I call Mary,” Stone hollers, breaking a little bit of the tension while spinning to face the rest of our family, who have been standing around in various positions near the newish baseball field watching this slightly awkward arrival. Stone slips his arm around Mary and leads her toward everyone else.
“Mom for the win,” Cort scoffs, shaking his head. “But now she’s the enemy.” Because Stone isn’t going to pick Cort to be on his team, and their old competitive streak is about to kick into high gear.
As self-appointed team captains, Stone and Clay each head up the two halves of our family, keeping the teams as equitable as they can. It’s exactly how they raised us, because the bottom line is I was raised by my brothers, mainly the two at the top.
