Our cousin, who’s more like a brother, gives me a grin. “A woman.”
“Are you boys just going to stand there, or are you going to start bringing food to the table?” Our mother claps her hands. “We can’t make Mariah wait. She’s got babies to feed.”
“Babies who are gonna like me best.” Tucker shoulder checks me as he grabs the platter of roast chicken. “Hope you didn’t think you were gonna be the favorite uncle, Toby.”
“And how the fuck do you reckon you’re gonna be the favorite uncle?” I shove at him as I reach for the sweet potatoes. “You’ve never even held a baby.”
“So?” Tucker kicks at my left foot, trying to knock it out from under me as we round the island. “Neither have you.”
“Yeah, but I’ve got a dog. Kids love dogs.” Copper has been my partner in crime for almost a decade now. I’ve bought her the best snacks, the most expensive food, and I let her hump just about anything she wants. It’s time for her to pay me back.
And she can do that by being the reason Titus and Mariah’s twins want to come to my house all the time.
“Copper’s old, and the only things she’s interested in is humping throw pillows, and cheese.” Tucker steps in front of me, attempting to block my path. “No way is she gonna put up with a couple toddlers pulling on her ears.” His lips twitch. “Plus all the humping.”
Fuck. He does kind of have a point. Which pisses me all the way off.
Enough I fall behind and he beats me to the table, placing the chicken right in front of Mariah with a dramatic flourish. “Here you go, Miss Mariah.” He looks pointedly at her belly. “And babies.”
I don’t miss the way my mother watches my youngestbrother with mild interest. Or maybe that’s calculation I see in her gaze.
Thank God Tucker beat me to the punch, because the last thing I want is her looking at me that way. I know her meddling worked out well for Titus, but my situation is different. My situation is all my own doing, and there isn’t shit I can do to change it.
Not now, anyway. It’s way too late for that.
Everyone grabs a seat, and I let Tucker take the spot at Mariah’s other side, choosing instead to sit as far from my mother as possible. Let Tucker have Mariah’s attention. My mother’s comes with it. Plus, it’s not like the babies in her belly can hear or see what’s going on.
But it’s becoming clear I’m going to need to bring my A-game if I want to be top uncle. I’m not too worried about Trevor. No way will he want kids running around his house, fucking up all his fancy shit. I know he’ll love them, and be a great uncle, but he’s not competition. I don’t know that Walker is either. My cousin likes kids, but he appears to be doing his best to lay low. It seems like something’s on his mind, I’m just not sure what it is.
Probably figuring out how to keep my mother out of his business.
Everyone passes the food around, and thankfully conversation moves into discussions of work and tasks that have to be done around the property as the weather warms up. There’s always way too much shit to do between running McKinley Security Systems and maintaining the three hundred acres where we all live. But I like it that way. I like the distraction.
It keeps me from thinking too hard about where I could be if I wasn’t such a dumbass.
As the dessert Mariah brought is being passed around—tonight it’s some sort of insane molten chocolate pudding cake and homemade butterscotch ice cream—my future sister-in-law circles back to my mother’s current favorite topic of conversation. “Maybe we can get together this weekend to finalize some plans for the baby shower.” She grins. “I can bring over cookies and we can figure things out.”
The table gets quiet. I glance up from where I’ve been shoveling in mouthfuls of sweet, gooey, chocolatey goodness, and catch my mother’s eyes as they bounce from me to Mariah. The tension in the air has me sitting up straighter, trying to figure out what in the hell is going on.
My mother clears her throat, reaching up to tuck a loose bit of hair behind one ear. “I actually won’t be in town this weekend.”
“Oh, that’s fine.” Mariah doesn’t seem to notice the weirdness at the table. “Are you going somewhere exciting?”
My brothers won’t look at me, and my mom won’t stop shooting strange glances my way.
What the fuck is happening?
“Ted and I are actually taking a quick trip to California.” My mother reaches for her wine, swallowing down what’s left of it in one go.
I wish I could do the same, but I learned pretty quickly alcohol doesn’t help my cause any. I’m grateful my mom’s explanation is brief, because whatever is going on with my ex-girlfriend Brooke—since I’m sure that’s why she’s going to California—is none of my business.
That’s actually probably what’s going on. Business. Brooke’s wealthy fiancé owns some vineyard out there, and he pitched a partnership with my mother to create a few namesakeblends. Which is fine. Brooke and my mother have remained in contact, and developed a friendship. I’m happy for them.
It’s fucking great. Fabulous. Amazing.
It doesn’t make my life more difficult at all hearing my mother talk about the woman I’ve never been able to forget.
“That sounds like fun. What are you doing while you’re there?” Mariah continues on, oblivious to the waters she’s wading into.
