Page 99 of Love, Lies, and Whiskey

“Doc, did he call her Sugar?” Lucas asked.

“Yeah. That’s Gus, Ezra’s boy. He picked it up from how Dare used to talk to women,” Seeley said. “Don’t even think about calling a woman that.”

“I got to steer the UTV!” Gus bragged.

“That’s great, Gusto.” Sasha tousled his hair. “Thanks, Dad.”

“In a few years he’ll be coming out with me before dawn to check on the ranch,” Tiny said as he and Wynnie climbed out of the vehicle. His long gray beard brushed his chest, and he wore a blue bandanna tied around his hair, which was pulled back in a ponytail.

“Which means I’ll be sending Tiny out with extra biscuits,” Wynnie said.

“That’s Tiny’s favorite time to check on the ranch,” Gus announced. “Because everyone else is still asleep, so we can make sure everything’s shipshape and have special time with the horses!”

“That used to be my favorite time, too,” Sasha said. “It’s also a special time for you and Tiny.”

“Guess what else?” Gus said excitedly. “Tiny and Wynnie said I can call them Grandpa and Grandma even though you and Dad aren’t married yet!”

“We also said he could choose whatever names he wanted to call us,” Wynnie said as she made her way toward Juliette and Lucas.

“I like Grandma and Grandpa,” Gus said.

“Aw, I love that, Gusto.” Sasha looked at her parents with so much love, Juliette could feel it.

Wynnie smiled warmly as she and Tiny joined them. “Welcome back to the ranch, son, Juliette,” Tiny said.

“Thanks,” Lucas said.

“It’s been a long time,” Juliette said. “The place looks amazing.”

“We’re glad you made it. It’s nice to see you again, honey.” Wynnie hugged her.

“It’s nice to be here,” Juliette said. “Lucas, this is Seeley’s mom, Wynnie.”

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi, honey. I’ve been aching to meet you. Are you a hugger?”

“I guess,” he mumbled.

She hugged him and said, “You can call me Wynnie or Grandma or anything you want. I’m so happy to finally meet you.”

“You too,” he said a little tightly.

“Gus, remember I said we were meeting some special people today?” Sasha asked, and he nodded. “This is Juliette and Lucas.” She looked at Lucas and said, “This is Ezra’s son, Gus.”

“Hi, Gus,” Juliette said. “It’s really cool that you got to steer that UTV.”

“Hi!” Gus looked up at Lucas. “Sugar said we’re cousins! I don’t have any other cousins. Do you like the ranch? I grew up here. I can show you cool places, and if you don’t know how to ride a bike yet, Sully can teach you. I just learned how. Daddy won’t let me ride it anywhere alone yet, but I bet he’d let me go with you! We can go exploring, and you can go on trail rides with us to the meadow. Will you be eating with us, too? Dwight makes yummy food.”

Lucas’s brows knitted, his jaw tightening. He looked at Juliette with contempt.

Oh God. This is too much for you. She tried to ease the tension without causing a scene. “Lucas, don’t you want to say hi to Gus? He’s excited to meet you.”

“Hi,” Lucas gritted out, and crossed his arms, his fingers drumming.

“Excuse us.” Juliette leaned closer to Lucas, and as Sasha guided Gus a few feet away, Seeley stepped closer to Lucas, who turned his back to the group. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” She noticed his lower lip trembling.

“We were alone for all those years,” he fumed. “And you knew I had family the whole time!”