It was quiet in the truck. Peaceful.
As much as I wanted to wrap my arms around my wife and son, I wasn’t much in the mood for Mom right now. She and Charlotte had been two peas in a pod since literally the first time they’d met, though.
If she’d come over from the main house, it was because Charlotte wanted her here, and whatever my wife wanted, I would give. Always.
Both of them smiled as I shut off the engine. My window for avoiding Mom’s rapid-fire chit-chat had officially closed. I climbed out, already being waved at like I was late to my own life by the time my boots hit the gravel.
“There you are,” Mom called. “It’s about time you got here. Charlotte’s arm has been going numb for the last twenty minutes and little Tyler is just as stubborn as his Pawpaw. He’s refusing to come to me.”
Charlotte laughed and extended him toward me before I’d even had the chance to kiss her properly. “Here we go. Your turn.”
Tyler made a soft, offended noise when I took him, but then he smiled when he saw me, just about making me melt right there in my boots. “Hey, buddy. You holdin’ court out here without me?”
He blinked slowly, looking for all the world like he was considering the accusation. My mother stepped closer, grinning at him like he was a prized show calf. “He’s got your jaw.”
Charlotte leaned into my side, pushing herself up on her toes to nuzzle my neck. “Sure, he does, but he has my attitude.”
“That’s unfortunate,” I said, lowering my head to the top of hers. “I love it on you, though. Won’t lie.”
My mother took a step back and smiled at us, apparently still smug about her role in making sure Charlotte stuck around Texas even this long after we’d gotten married. I wasn’t sure itwould ever wear off. “Oh, you three. You’re just the cutest darn family ever.”
I grinned. “All credit for that goes to my wife and child.”
She stared toward the porch steps, then stopped and looked back at me. “Before I forget, Theo finally set a date. They’re getting married in Arizona. Late spring. It’s about time that boy stopped dragging his feet, but if you want me to watch Tyler for the weekend, I’ll be more than happy to.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Theo’s actually doing it? He’s getting married? I honestly thought he might just be faking the engagement to get Alex off his back.”
“He wouldn’t have been the first.” Charlotte grinned. “I don’t think that’s it, though. He sounded pretty excited when I spoke to him.”
My mom chuckled. “Well, I’ll let you two get on with things. Don’t forget about dinner on Sunday.”
“I never forget about dinner on Sunday,” I said.
“That’s because I remind you every week,” she replied, walking down the steps. “Have a good one, darlings!”
When her little car finally disappeared down the drive, Charlotte exhaled and leaned fully into me. “Her ability to smell news is terrifying. I swear, seven seconds after I got off the phone with Theo, she was here.”
“She likes you more than she likes me,” I said. “Maybe she’s developed the ability to sense how you’re feeling all the way from the main house.”
She chuckled but shrugged as we walked inside. “That’s probably not impossible. I was pretty excited when I got the call. He sounds so happy.”
As I shut the door behind us, feeling Tyler’s head settling deeper into my shoulder, I smiled and kept my voice down, the way his body was softening telling me that he was probably going to be asleep any minute now.
“I’m glad,” I murmured. “He’s always seemed like the restless one. It’s good he finally found his place in the world.”
“Yeah.”
Charlotte glanced at Tyler, then spun and preceded me upstairs to the nursery. As I ascended behind her, I looked down at the first floor, the flowers on the kitchen counter and the blanket of the couch. In the living room, baby toys were strewn across the floor and a play mat sat next to the dining table.
Charlotte had made this place feel like home practically from the day she’d walked in here, but between her and Tyler, it was hard to even remember how empty it had felt before. When we reached the nursery, I laid him down carefully, then both of us lingered next to his cot a little longer. Charlotte’s fingers brushed his hair before she turned back to me.
“Let’s go,” she whispered. “I have more to tell you.”
I swiped my tongue across my lips and nodded, wondering if I should be bracing myself for yet another shock. Moments of peace were rare when one was part of the Westwood clan, and we’d been in a season of peace for a while now. We were probably due another media storm.
“Wine?” I asked as soon as the nursery door clicked shut behind us. “I feel like we’re going to need it. Do we?”
“If I say no, does that mean I won’t get any?”
