He looks exactly the same as he always does—broad shoulders, sunburned, and his hair a little longer again since I saw him in February. Behind him, his wife Emma is walking down the steps, wearing the easy smile she always has.
“Hey, Aston,” Emma calls out, but steps right past me to pull Eva into a hug. “How are you, Eva? I’m so glad you came. We need some more estrogen around here to balance out all these boys.”
“Ahh, come on, Em. You know you love us,” Aiden shouts from the porch rail, leaning back with his ankles crossed, barefoot, wearing a smirk on his face.
“Yeah, yeah,” Emma says, waving him off.
Aiden walks down the steps and meets us at the bottom.
“Welcome home, brother.” Aiden pulls me into a one-armed hug, his hand slapping my back twice. Then he turns to Eva, his smile genuine. “Good to see you, Eva. Glad you could make it down to this fiery paradise we call home.”
“It’s definitely a different kind of heat from New York,” Eva says, reaching over to give Aiden a hug with an easy confidence, like she belongs here.
Because she does belong here with me and my family.
Bruce Carrington squashed the headlines about Eva and mequickly, barely leaving a mark on her reputation, and pretty much eliminating any interest in us as a happy couple. And once I got home from Ace’s and my family knew everything was good between us, they welcomed Eva with open arms.
The front screen door bangs open, and my mama steps out onto the porch, her eyes instantly locking onto the two of us. Behind her, my dad stands with his hands tucked into his belt loops; of course, he’s wearing his Wranglers and boots, even in this heat.
My mama doesn’t say a word to me. She just walks by me and takes Eva’s hands in hers.
“Look at you,” my mother says, her voice carrying that unbending Texas warmth that’s anchored my entire family. “You look absolutely beautiful. It’s been so long since we’ve seen you. I’m so glad you could come to our home with Aston.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Griffith,” Eva says, her voice catching on a breath.
“None of that,” my mom corrects, pulling Eva into a crushing hug. “It’s Alicia. Now come inside, out of this heat.”
The party is a chaotic blur of Griffith noise. We have enough brisket and an entire buffet full of salads and desserts to feed an army.
We watch as Austin and a group of his friends act like eighteen-year-old boys, ready to take on the world.
Austin is going to Walker University in the fall, and instead of football, he’ll be playing baseball for the Stallions. A few of his teammates from his travel league will be joining him there, and I hope he has as much fun as we did.
My youngest brother, Jesse, who’s going into high school in the fall, tosses a football with Duke, and little Tuck waddles along beside him. And I swear Jesse’s grown about three feet since I saw him last. He might just be the biggest of us all.
Seems like both of my younger brothers are growing up way too fast, and I’m missing it. I need to make a point to come home more often throughout the year.
The only one missing from the crew is Ace. His flight from Florida was delayed due to a storm.
I’m sitting with a plateful of food, listening to my dad give a twenty-minute speech about the value of beef, which has my mother rolling her eyes the more animated Dad gets.
Through all the noise, I keep my eyes locked on Eva.
I watch her sit at the long picnic table between Archie and Aiden, laughing until her eyes crinkle as they tell her about the time I got my head stuck in the cattle chute when I was twelve. She doesn’t look like a media princess or the boss of a network program. She just looks like my girl who’s letting my niece braid a long piece of grass into her hair. And the backdrop of the western horizon paints the sky in deep shades of orange and violet, making her look like an angel.
“She’s it for you, son,” my dad’s voice cuts into my thoughts.
I turn from her and look at him.
“I know she is, Dad,” I say with a smile.
“Then you give her everything you have, Aston,” he says, his heavy calloused hand coming down to rest on my shoulder, giving it a firm fatherly squeeze.
“I will,” I say. “With everything I’ve got.”
By nine o’clock, the kids are getting dragged up to bed by Archie and Emma. And the new graduates and now a handful of Jesse’s friends are in the garage looking at a loose alternator onAustin’s four-wheeler. I catch Eva’s hand under the table, tilting my head toward the dark trail that leads down to the eastern pasture.
“Come on,” I whisper against her temple. “Let’s go for a walk.”
