Charlie places a hand over her heart, smiling. “It’s so great to see him this chatty.”
She’s one to talk. He wasn’t peppering her with questions no uncle should ever have to answer. I blame it on all the potty humor books Walker keeps giving him.
“It’s been a remarkable transformation since he and Jensen came to Bluebell,” Briar says, beaming.
Jensen used to live in New York, where he was the CEO of a major cybersecurity firm. When he found out Caleb was his son who had lost his mom to cancer, Jensen stepped up to raise him. Caleb had stopped speaking after his mom passed, so Ma and I suggested that Jensen bring him here.
Jensen grew up in Bluebell, and we’ve been friends since we were kids. He spent most of his childhood at the ranch, and we figured a change of pace would be good for them both. Not long after moving back, he fell madly in love with Briar, and the rest is history.
I lean back in my seat, smirking at Briar, who’s shooting me a murderous glare.
“What’s so funny?” she snaps.
“You gotta admit, it’s pretty funny that Caleb knows aboutspecial time,” I say, using air quotes.
She exhales sharply as Jensen draws her against his side. “We forgot to lock the dooronetime, but it was dark, and we were under the covers, so it’s not like he saw anything.”
Charlie plugs her ears and starts humming a Dolly Parton tune.
“Uh, hellcat. What are you doing?” I ask, amused.
“Briar likes to give Birdie and me shit about making sexual comments involving you and Walker, so I’ve decided I’m implementing the same policy for her and Jensen,” Charlie answers.
“It’s not the same. He’s not your brother,” Briar counters.
Charlie holds out her left hand, flashing her ring. “He’s my brother-in-lawnow, remember?”
Fuck, it’s so hot when she shows it off—the ultimate proof she’s mine.
“Yeah, but you didn’t grow up with him,” Briar retorts, wrinkling her nose playfully. “As thrilled as I am to have you and Birdie as sisters, I’ll never get used to hearing about my brothers’ bedroom escapades with my best friends. Or the fact that you and Heath are married with a baby on the way and aren’t constantly bickering like you used to.”
“It’s weird, right?” Jensen agrees, gazing down at her. “Feels like an alternate universe where they went from frenemies to happily married.”
“Briar has made you watch one too many rom-coms,” I mutter.
“Don’t be fooled,” Charlie pipes up. “Heath and I still spar all the time. It’s all part of our foreplay. Isn’t it, honey bear?” There’s a mischievous twinkle in her eye as she gives my leg a squeeze.
Briar pretends to gag. “Great. I’m doomed to witness this sappy nonsense for the rest of my life. It’s tragic, really.”
Jensen chuckles, kissing her temple. “Don’t worry, darlin’. I’ll make sure you survive.”
“This is why I keep you around, cowboy,” she murmurs, tilting her head to kiss him.
“Please tell me we’re not this cheesy,” Charlie mumbles softly.
I nuzzle my mouth against her ear. “Hate to break it to you, hellcat, but we’ve hit peak ‘get a room’ territory.”
“Ugh,” she groans dramatically. “Quick. Say something annoying so I remember how good it feels to argue with you.”
A low whistle comes from the living room doorway, interrupting us and making everyone turn in that direction.
“Well, isn’t this adorable.” Walker muses to Birdie as he slings an arm around her. “Looks like we missed the memo that this was an exclusive couples’ retreat.”
“You missed Heath’s brilliant attempt at explaining the birds and the bees to Caleb earlier that somehow turned it into acattle-breeding metaphor that confused the poor kid,” Jensen drawls.
“Or the part where Briar and Jensen apparently don’t know how to lock their door,” I add, sending Briar a taunting look that earns me another glare.
“Damn. Next time, we’ll have to get here earlier so we don’t miss the action. We would’ve been on time, butsomeonegot a little distracted,” he says with a grin, pointing at himself. “Birdie knows I have a weakness for lace,” he adds with a wink at her.
