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The dishes piled high on the counter, the clean-up crew gathered around the sink, loading the dishwasher, scrubbing pots, drying whatever was hand-washed, and doing general kitchen cleanup. The rest of the group had retreated to the back porch to watch the kids playing in the fields. He was going to have to arrange for that baseball game he’d mentioned to Sandra.
“You’ve got that look on your face again.” Owen came to stand beside his brother at the railing.
Having Sandra on his mind so much had thrown Paxton. So many things were dancing around in his head. “How did you know that Connie was the one?”
Owen blinked. “The one? One what?”
“You know.”
“No. I don’t.” A buckle formed between Owen’s brows. “Wait. You mean as in the only woman for me?”
Paxton couldn’t bring himself to say yes, he merely kept his gaze on the horizon and shrugged.
His brother chuckled softly, then slapped his brother on the shoulder. “What did I miss?”
“Nothing. Just thinking.” He wasn’t ready to share everything with his brother yet.
“Thinking.” Owen sighed and leaned over the railing, the toe of his boot resting on the bottom of the railing.
“There was something about her that drew me to her and I couldn’t imagine living the rest of my life without her.” Owen shrugged. “Even if she was annoying as all heck when it came to design ideas.”
Connie walked onto the porch and up to her husband. “What has you two looking so serious?”
“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” Owen shot back without skipping a beat.
“Comedians.” She rolled her eyes at her husband.
“Sorry, couldn’t resist. Just telling my brother about how I fell head over boot heels in love from the moment I saw you.”
“Aww,” Connie cooed, leaned in for a quick kiss, and then chuckled. “Maybe it was the second moment.”
As much as Paxton had been happy for all his brothers who had found their someone special, for the first time he actually envied their easy relationship.
Leaning back, Connie smiled at her husband. “The coffee is brewing. Do you want a cup?”
“Sure.” Owen nodded, his gaze fixed on his wife, his eyes twinkling with sheer happiness.
Connie spun around. “Paxton, would you like a cup?”
“No thanks.”
As Owen’s wife made her way into the kitchen, Adam got up from the rocker a few feet away and stood at Paxton’s other side. “Couldn’t help overhearing. You thinking about settling down?”
“I didn’t say that. Was just curious how you all knew that your spouse was the one?”
“Just curious, huh?” Adam chuckled. “When I first saw Meg, I thought she was an angel.”
“That’s right.” Paxton snapped his fingers. “She was broken down on the side of the road in her wedding dress.”
“And feisty as hell.” That brought a smile to Adam’s face. The same sappy smile all his brothers wore, and yet Adam had been married for a lot more years.
“That’s when you knew?” Paxton really wanted to understand.
“Not that day, but she sure stuck in my mind. Like all the time, finally it struck me that I didn’t want to live without her at my side. When I couldn’t imagine going through the day to day without seeing Meg, I knew.”
Paxton mulled that over. He certainly was spending more time than was reasonable thinking of Sandra, and even David. He did know one thing, he loved getting to see Sandra Lynn every day, and the thought of losing that when the build ended gave him an unpleasant kick in the gut.
Apparently, he must have a sign over his head flashing confused man, because Dale, his cousin Hannah’s husband, joined in the conversation. “What’s got everyone smiling like fools?”
