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Beck: Then you be the Wolfe siblings with five or six kids. Not me.
Zach: Hell no. Five mini-me’s running around would fucking drive me bonkers.
Abby: Zach will have ten. That’s a nice even number.
Zach: Noooooo. Besides, wasn’t Nolan the one who wanted all the kids?
Me: Since when?
Beck: Since that one night we went drinking a few months ago. You mentioned it. I hope Katie’s on board with the plan.
Me: I don’t remember any of that.
Abby: Katie loves kids. She’s also really good with them. So you’d better get started, Nolan. You have that big house in Malibu to fill.
Me: What time do I have to be there on the 23rd?
Zach: Someone’s changing the subject.
West: By 1 p.m. It’s a lunch surprise.
Me: Fine. I’ll be there. Maybe Aunt Lori’s surprise is an arranged marriage for Zach.
Katie stayed at my place for only a day and a half before she demanded I take her home. She slept most of the time, so we didn’t have time to talk or tease or even strategize about New Year’s. However, I’d managed to sleep next to her both nights. I’d wanted to hold her in my arms, but kept my distance so she could get her rest.
However, just being there when she was vulnerable and her trusting me to take care of her had made me more determined than ever to be with her for real.
Although, as I pulled into the parking lot of my family’s place, I pushed those thoughts aside. When it came to Aunt Lori, a surprise could be anything. One year for Christmas, she’d bought Victorian clothes similar to what you’d find in any of the A Christmas Carol movies and made us go caroling.
Granted, we’d all been younger back then and less likely to tell her no. Even so, the sky was the limit.
Since my family exchanged presents on Christmas Day, I didn’t have to lug anything to the door. Before I could even knock, Aunt Lori opened it. “You’re here! Finally.”
“I’m two minutes late. I had to wait for a cow to cross the road.”
“Yes, yes. Come in! You’re going to love this, I promise.”
She tugged me down the hallway and into the living room. I noticed everyone but West’s little family had arrived and then did a double-take at the man wearing an arm cast. “Zane?”
My younger brother smiled. Even though he and Zach were fraternal twins and only looked a little alike, Zane had the trademark Wolfe dark hair and height. His eyes were hazel, and there were a lot more lines around them than I remembered. Plus, he now had a scar on his cheek.
I walked over, clapped his shoulder, and gave him a one-armed hug. “It’s good to see you, brother.” I leaned back. “But how?”
Zane readjusted his arm in a sling and maneuvered slowly into the armchair. “All I’m allowed to say is there was an explosion, I was hurt pretty badly, and I was honorably discharged.”
I frowned. Zane had joined the SEALs at seventeen, and it had been his entire life for the past ten years.
Zach sat in the chair next to his twin. “It sucks, as I know how much Zane loved the SEALs. But hey, it means I might get to see my brother more than once every year or two.”
Abby rolled her eyes. “Right, because seeing you is the only thing that matters in his life.”
Zach grinned. “Damn straight.”
Beck sat on the couch, his arm around Sabrina next to him. “Zane’s going to stay here for a while, until he figures out what to do next.”
Aunt Lori spoke. “And he still hasn’t decided whether he’ll stay in Starry Hills or not, no matter how much I ask.”
Not wanting Aunt Lori to start guilt-tripping Zane, I changed the subject. “Just how hurt are you? Can you go out?”
