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“It’s amazing.”
“Thank you,” he replies, softly pressing a kiss to my forehead. Whistles and catcalls fill the night air, and I’m glad for the dark of night so they can’t see my blush. “You did that in front of your brothers,” I whisper, mortified.
“I’m not hiding you, hiding us from them. We’re in this, right?”
I stare up at him, and there is no way I can deny him, not when my mind, my body, and my heart are all screaming yes. I nod, unable to speak over the lump in my throat. I don’t know what this means for my job, but right now, with his arm over my shoulders as we walk closer to the fire, I can’t seem to find it in me to care.
“Sawyer, you can sit with me.” Conrad pats his lap, and Royce growls, causing a chorus of laughter to fill the night.
Royce leads us to an empty chair. He sits and pulls me down onto his lap.
“This is new,” Owen comments.
“This is official,” Royce replies.
Marshall whistles. “That’s big, brother.”
Grant holds his bottle of beer up in salute before taking a big swig. “Good to see you pulled your head out of your ass,” he says, his eyes locked on Royce.
I can feel Royce nod from behind me. His arms wrap around my waist as he pulls me closer. With the slant of the chair, it leaves me leaning against his chest. “Mom and Dad coming?” Royce asks, continuing to hold me like this in front of his brothers like it’s no big deal.
“Nah, Mom said they were calling it an early night,” Owen tells him.
“Ack,” Marshall says like he has a bad taste in his mouth. “We all know what that means,” he says with a sour look on his face.
“Hey, just you wait. When you’re their age, you’re going to only hope that you have their—” Grants stops there. “Yeah, never mind.” He shudders.
“How in the hell do you think we all got here?” Owen asks with a laugh.
“No. No, no.” Conrad holds his hand up. “We’re not going there.”
“Con,” Owen says.
Conrad turns to look at him. “Our parents have sex, and by the fact that the five of us are sitting here tonight, they have a lot of sex,” he says with a straight face, but the white of his teeth is showing from behind his beard.
“Ah, man, you had to go there.” Conrad stands up, tosses his empty beer bottle into a tote, and grabs a new one from the cooler.
“Good for Dad,” Royce says.
“Not you too,” Marshall grumbles, and I can’t help the giggle that escapes me.
“Laugh it up, Sawyer,” Grant tells me. “Don’t think your parents don’t still do the deed.” He smirks.
“Fuck,” Royce hisses.
“I lost my parents a few years ago,” I tell the four sets of eyes watching me, aware the mood suddenly shifts. “You might not want to think about them doing… that, but I promise you you’ll miss even these conversations when they’re gone.” My intention isn’t to put a downer on the evening, but my words are honest.
“Fuck, sis.” Owen stands, and before I know what’s happening, I’m pulled to my feet even with Royce’s protest, and Owen wraps me in a hug.
Hot tears prick my eyes at his comfort. All too soon, he’s pulling away, and I’m thrust into the arms of yet another Riggins brother. Grant passes me to Marshall, who passes me to Conrad, and finally there waiting for me is Royce. The five of them passed me around to hug after hug, and some of the shattered pieces of my heart from the loss of my parents piece themselves back together. They’ve opened their arms and their family to me. I wish I could find the words to tell them what that means to me. What they mean to me.
“Let’s take a walk.” With his arm around me, we walk away from his brothers. “I’m sorry, Sawyer.”
“Why are you apologizing? They didn’t know. They didn’t offend me. It’s just hard to talk about sometimes, but your brothers… they’re amazing.”
“I just hate the thought of you in pain. I hate I wasn’t there for you.”
“You didn’t even know me then.”
“I didn’t say it made sense,” he says, pulling me in close and pressing his lips to my temple.
“Where are we going?” I ask as we get further away from the fire, and the voices of his brothers.
“I just wanted some time with you.”
“Are we going to get eaten by a wolf?” I ask when I hear howling off in the distance.
“Not a wolf, probably a coyote, and no, you’re safe with me.”
“What about bears? There are bears in Tennessee, right?” I ask, my eyes scanning our surroundings, but with nothing but the moonlight to offer me assistance, I don’t see a thing.
