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Alex breaks the silence. “I feel like we haven’t seen you two in ages.”
“I know. Between our trip and getting my seniors ready for college, I’ve stayed busy,” I answer.
Being a high-school guidance counselor is exhausting this time of year, and the parents of the seniors are more tiring than their kids. I’m glad it’s over for one more semester.
Mel pulls the lid from the baking dish and checks what’s inside one final time. I typically watch my wife, but right now, I’m watching Alex. He smiles at her as she turns and waves her hand towards the dining room.
“Go. Sit. Let’s eat. Nate, take their jackets, baby.”
The men divulge themselves of the weight they won’t need in our toasty dining room, especially since Melly has the fireplace lit, keeping the chill at bay.
“Have either of you looked at the weather this afternoon?” Alex asks me as I hang their coats on the hall tree in the mud room just past the kitchen. “Seems like it was getting worse on our way over here.”
I shook my head. “I haven’t had a chance. Got home a little later than I’d planned and started right in on helping Melly.”
“I hope the roads don’t get too bad,” Wyatt says. “But if they do, at least we know you won’t put us out in the storm.”
“Of course we won’t. You two are always welcome.” Mel blows a kiss towards our guests as she shuttles back and forth between the kitchen and the dining room.
“Can I help, Melly?” I ask, coming around the island and sliding a hand over her hip.
“This is the last one. How about drinks? Can you handle those?”
“Anything for you, my love. What’ll it be, men?”
Alex slides into his usual seat across from Mel, Wyatt beside him, his hand resting the back of his husband’s neck. I wonder what his hand feels like for a split second until Alex says, “The usual.”
Snapping out of it, but not before Wyatt sends me a questioning look, I answer, “Coming right up. Wyatt?” I ask, turning to reach for a glass for the bourbon.
Alex is a man of habit, nearly to a fault, but Wyatt has always been a wild card.
“Did Melly open a bottle of white?”
“What do you think?” she asks, pushing it towards him with a smile.
I hand Alex’s Woodford across the table before I sit down, forgetting for a split second about the bulb in my ass. I wince, the taut leather of the chair not giving very much.
Wyatt’s eyes narrow, and I shake my head before he can ask. “I’m fine. Promise.”
He hums his acceptance of my answer, at least for now. There’s no way he knows why I’m sitting gently. Right?
“How’s the local legal merry-go-round?” I ask Alex in an attempt to change the subject as we all fill our plates.
“Remember when I said earlier that it had been a day?”
I nod.
“Well, you’re never gonna believe what the citizens of Austin Ridge are up to now.”
Chapter 6
the elephant in the room
Melissa
“As usual, not a single leftover to be had,” I say, leaning over to rest my head on Nate’s shoulder.
A half an hour ago, the baking dish in the center of the table held a roasted chicken, potatoes, green beans, and onions, and now, it sits empty except for a few extra crispy pieces stuck to the edges. We drained one bottle each of white and red wine, not really caring if one paired better than the other.
