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“See?” I wave a hand. “We’re doing great.”
“Oh right, shoulda warned you ’bout that damn prissy dog. Never let me sleep in when I lived there.” Tyler shakes his head.
“Stop worryin’, big brother.” I dramatically grab Archer’s hand so everyone can see. “We’re gonna be one big happy family!”
I glance at Archer, who’s more amused than anything. Luckily, he doesn’t scare easily and tends to go with the flow.
While I know he needs time to adjust, I have a feeling my head and body are going to struggle to keep my distance.
CHAPTER FIVE
ARCHER
Sitting with Tyler’s friends and family is surreal.
I’ve never experienced a real Thanksgiving dinner, not even as a child, and being here makes me feel included for the first time in my life. A family.
I could get used to this.
But the guilt of not being with my sister eats at me. I wish I lived closer to Annie and Sadie, but I didn’t want to be a burden. I would’ve had to sleep on her couch and didn’t have a job lined up there. I’m grateful to Tyler and Everleigh for giving me the tools to start over.
“Where’d you live before?” Owen speaks up over the chaos. “Before you lived with Aunt Everleigh?”
She’s not really his aunt, but I think it’s cute, considering how close they all are.
Everyone stops talking and looks at him, then at me.
“Um…I lived in Nevada.”
“Did you not like it there? Is that why you moved here?” he asks.
“No, I didn’t like it.”
“Do you have any siblings?”
“I do. A younger sister named Annie. And a niece. Sadie’s five.”
“Are they in Nevada?”
“No, she moved to Wyoming before Sadie was born.”
“Oh. Did you get to see her a lot?”
“Owen, sweetie…” Katie grabs his attention, but I don’t mind the questions. “Do you want more turkey?”
“No thanks.” He redirects his focus back on me, and I stifle a laugh. Owen’s a curious one.
“She’d come and visit me once a month,” I tell him. “So, I got to see Sadie, and then we’d talk on the phone once a week.”
“Will they come visit you here?” he asks, shoving a forkful of potatoes in his mouth.
“I hope so, eventually.”
“How much younger is Annie?” Gemma asks.
“Three years. Just turned thirty,” I respond.
One of the twin babies starts crying, so Katie excuses herself. Noah follows as they go to where they’d been sleeping.
