“Now, you stop that, Walker Rose. You know damn well to wash them hands of yours.”
Walker scrunched up her nose and made a pouty face at her mom, the motion accentuating the dark freckles flecking her nose and cheeks. I nearly burst out laughing when Mrs. Lane made the same face right back at her.
“Go on, go wash them hands and make sure the sweet tea set up well.”
Mr. Lane, who’d remained so quiet this entire time that I’d completely forgotten he was here, finally spoke up, his voice gruff and stilted, like he wasn’t used to talking. “Maybe, uh, Miss Quinn can, uh, help you.” He shared a look with his wife before training his gaze on Hux. “Your mother and I need to speak with you, Huxson.”
I could feel the tension ripple through Hux at my side. It was like a shift in the air. He seemed to straighten a bit as he let go of my hand. “Yes, sir.” To me, he said softly, “I’ll be right back.”
“Be right here,” I offered.
My stomach tightened a bit, but I pushed it away. I’m sure this was about last night, and wanting to get the facts straight before we sat down for dinner and wasted the whole time talking about that. And it’s not like I couldn’t spend a few minutes getting to know his sister. She seemed nice, reminding me a little bit of a younger, somehow more playful Whit.
Hux followed his mom and Dad out of the room. Leaving me alone with Walker. She pounced quicker than a cat on a mouse.
“So, you and my brother, huh?” she asked over her shoulder as she washed her hands.
I probably should wash my hands too. Walking around the island, inhaling the mouth-watering scent of the cobblers, I replied, “Yeah.”
She turned to take me in, her whiskey eyes appraising. They still held a playful edge to them, but there was a seriousness in the depths that hadn’t been there earlier. “He’s never brought a girl home before.”
I scoffed. “What? I don’t believe that.”
A playful smirk pulled on her lips as she faced away from the counter and rested her elbows back on it. “I’m tellin’ the truth. He has this rule about girls and meeting Mama.”
“What is it?” I asked, stepping up to the sink and nodding to it, silently asking permission.
She dipped her head and looked toward the hall her family had just disappeared into. “Mama gets attached to things real easy and she feels things a lot deeper than most. She don’t deal well with loss. He promised her he’d never bring a girl home unless he intended to marry her.”
My chest squeezed. For, like, so many reasons. First, because that was so precious and considerate of him. And second, that meant… He wanted to marry me?
We’d hadn't even been together a few weeks. People would think we were crazy. Like totally crazy. But, I mean, it’s not like bringing me to his parents was literally him getting down on one knee and asking me right here and now. It just meant that someday, maybe a few months or a year or two from now, he intended to.
I washed my hands in silence for a long moment, trying to get a hold of the wild beating of my heart against my ribcage.
“Are you that serious about him,? Or is he just a few minutes of fame, or better yet, a charity case?” she asked, her tone full of accusation. Like she had me all figured out.
“What, no?” I rocked back at her words. “I would never.”
“You’d be surprised how many girls tried to weasel their way into his heart for all sorts of reasons. You seem different—you’re kind and warm and you don’t look at him with any sort of expectation or pity. I just…he’s my big brother—” Her words wobbled a bit. When I looked at her, I noticed how glassy her eyes were. “He spent so much time when I was growin’ upwatchin’ over me. I wouldn’t be a good sister if I didn’t do the same for him.”
I grabbed the hand towel and faced her fully, meeting her dark stare. “I’ve never felt something like I feel with your brother. I don’t need money, I don’t want fame. I didn’t even know who he was when I first met him. And while that part of him is amazing, it’s not the part of him I fell for.”
A single tear slipped down her cheek, even as a bright smile pulled on her lips. She moved with lightning fast reflexes, drawing me into a hug. “I knew I liked you,” she whispered into my hair.
A blanket of relief settled around me, easing my worries, as I let out a giggle. “Thank God.”
She pulled back, the seriousness in her gaze that had been there only moments before vanishing entirely, warmth and excitement replacing it as she hopped up onto the counter and said, “So, not gonna lie, I kind of insta-stalked you. Your entire aesthetic is such a vibe and I’m so here for it.”
I laughed once more. “You sound so much like my best friend.” I leaned against the island opposite her. “So, what do you? Are you in school?”
“I just graduated from Texas A&M with a Bachelors in Kinesiology. Probably gonna take a semester off then go back for my Masters.”
“That’s awesome. What made you choose that?”
She glanced once more toward the hall Hux disappeared down. “Him. I took him to therapy a lot after his accident. I wanna be able to help others in situations like him.”
My chest tightened at the love and thoughtfulness in her tone and words. “I love that. I think you’ll be amazing.”
