“You ready?” Rhett asks.
West’s truck is outside, so he’s already here. Mav and Ava are, too. My stomach flutters with a wave of anxiety. I haven’t been around Weston while with Rhett, hardly at all. Rhett has had to take the majority of the heat. West has avoided my house. Most of our meetings have been run-ins at our parents’ or when he visits me at work. All Rhett-free spaces.
Things will have to get better. There is no way it will stay like this forever. The start will involve acting like things are normal. My brother is a wonderful person; I know he will come around. I think seeing me being happy next to Rhett will help. So, I’m going to walk in there with my head high.
“Yes.”
He walks over to my side of the truck and helps me out. It’s pretty hard to get out of it now. Doesn’t help that by six PM my energy levels are one with the floor, so I need all the help I could get.
We walk through the door hand in hand. The smell of garlic bread wafts through the air. I hear my mom’s laugh floating from the kitchen and those nerves I was feeling fizzle out. This is still my family, and it’s okay if it’s not perfect right now. No family is picture perfect at all times.
I look over and see Weston holding baby Grace while Willow frets over both of them. It’s incredibly cute.
“Getting your baby-holding practice in?” I ask.
His eyes lift from the baby to me and then to where Rhett and I’s hands are linked together. His smile falters but only for a second. “Yeah, we’re going to have babies overtaking the joint soon, figure I better get it figured out before we’re outnumbered. Did you guys have fun at Target?”
Rhett asks, “Define fun?” Poking fun at his own hatred of shopping.
I hip check him lightly. “WE,” I overly annunciate, “had a great time. Lots of items added to our wishlist. And I got a coffee.”
Weston rolls his eyes. “I’ve seen your Amazon wishlist; I think you’ll be set for life.”
“Well, if you’re nice to me, when it’s your turn, I can give it to you and save you from shopping,” I offer.
“You’re right. Have I ever told you you’re pretty?”
“Kiss ass,” I mutter. Internally, it feels like flowers are blooming in my chest because this does feel normal. Poking fun at each other, laughing together.
I look around the room and realize Ava and Mav are missing. “Where are the other two?” I ask.
My mom’s head comes into view over the kitchen breakfast bar. “They’re in the spare room sleeping. Can you actually go get them? The spaghetti is about done.”
Rhett volunteers. My guess is he wants to scare the shit out of Mav, which isn’t a joy I want to take from him.
I walk over and take a seat on the armrest of the couch my brother is sitting on. “Did I just see you halfway initiate a conversation with Rhett?”
West rolls his eyes, the fake annoyed one that all brothers do. “Wow, you are so in tune with the room. I am so proud of you,” he deadpans before continuing, “We talked the other day and it helped. It also helps that you’re annoyingly happy.”
“If you weren’t holding my favorite girl, I would smack you for that sarcasm.”
“No hitting your brother, Aspen,” my mom hollers out from the kitchen. “Also, you are getting too old for me to be yelling at you from the kitchen,” she tacks on.
I lean into Weston, a bit more lovingly this time. Also, this belly is heavy and makes it hard to balance, so this is easier. “Thanks for trying. It means a lot to him. And to me.”
“Anything for my annoying little sister,” he jokes, but his weight shifts into me, an armless hug since his are occupied.
My entire pregnancy I've been chasing a sense of peace. With Rhett’s health, with our relationship, and then with Weston, and for the first time, I feel a bit of it trickle in, like a soft blanket; it covers me and warms my heart. My baby is going to be so damn lucky to have this family. I know that, because I feel like the luckiest girl in the world right now.
Chapter 35
Rhett
I’ve wanted this day for a really long time, and there was a point where I never thought I’d come. But tonight I get to take Aspen out on a real date. We’ve gotten lunch and run to the diner in town a couple of times, but none of that is a real date. At least, not to me. This one, it’s probably the most out-of-the-box first date, but I think it is something that she will really enjoy later on.
I carry the bouquet of flowers in my hand. We don’t have a local florist, but if you buy three different bouquets, you can kind of piece together a pretty one. I only put in colored flowers. Bright pinks, soft yellows, and vibrant purples. She deserves that: the prettiest flowers, shiniest jewels, whatever the hell her heart wants, I’m going to give it to her.
Being that I know she will want to look her best for what I have in mind, I gave her a week’s notice. There’s still a good chance she’ll need another twenty minutes when I get to the door, butit’s alright; I’d wait a hundred lifetimes if it meant I finally got to have her.
