Page 73 of Bailey

“I know it’s a lot,” Cheryl said.

“It’s not too much for us,” Tex said, and with her two boys, and him and Trace, they managed to get everything over to the red umbrella in only one trip.

Harry had arrived with Belle and his new baby, which had stolen the attention of all of the women in the vicinity. Trace immediately detoured over to his new granddaughter, and Tex figured it was time to get food for his wife and his kids as he saw others who had plates with sandwiches, fruit, and brownies.

Behind him, laughter rode into the air, and Tex turned toward Blaze and Jem, who stood with Wyatt Walker, his daughter Rachel, and of course, Cole. Tex grinned at them and moved in that direction, thinking the food could wait just a little bit longer.

Then his eyes landed on a couple several yards behind Wyatt, and Tex once again changed course. He wanted to check and see where Bryce stood, and if OJ and Otis had made it to the group yet, because Bailey was currently walking toward them with her hand secured in that of a dark-eyed, dark-haired cowboy who wore black everywhere except for in the light gray T-shirt, which bore an American flag waving across the front.

“Bailey, hey,” Tex said, when he was only a few steps away. She’d seen him, of course, and she smiled. He pulled her straight into his chest and held her tight. “How are you? How are things at the clinic? How’s your farm going this summer?”

Bailey laughed. “That’s a lot of questions, Mister Young.”

“You don’t have to call me Mister Young,” he said, as he stepped back. He looked at the young man next to her. “Howdy,” he said. “I’m Tex Young.”

“Yes, sir,” the man said, and he shook Tex’s hand heartily. He had a good grip and a good spirit about him. “I’ve seen you play with Country Quad. Your online tour a couple of years ago was genius.”

“Thank you.” Tex looked between Bailey and her boyfriend, his smile only growing. “I think Bryce told me your name is Reeves.”

“I can’t believe OJ hasn’t told you everything about me,” Reeves said with a laugh.

Tex’s chest collapsed again, and then expanded. “Well, I don’t spend as much time with him as Graham and Laney.”

Bailey’s smile fell from her face, but Tex kept his perfectly in place. He heard a very familiar voice, one that he’d toured with and traveled with and sang with for decades, and he turned to find Otis approaching with OJ as well. “Come on,” Tex said cheerfully. “Are you planning to sit with us?”

Bailey looked past him to the fray of Youngs spread out across the lawn. “OJ did invite us,” she said. “I wasn’t sure if we would, but⁠—”

“Hey, Bay,” OJ chirped as he stepped off the sidewalk and landed next to Bailey. He didn’t act like his daddy had kept him back for a lecture, but that was also classic OJ.

She put her arm around him and gave him a quick squeeze. “Hey, you.”

“Are you going to sit with us?” he asked.

Bailey looked at Otis first, and while Tex’s brother wore a dark look, it cleared as he nodded at Bailey. “Yeah, we can.” She leaned over to OJ, who now stood as tall as her. “But remember, Reeves is a closet celebrity, buddy, and we just want to hang out in the background.”

OJ blinked like he had no idea what hanging out in the background meant, and Tex did everything he could to control his laughter.

“All right.” OJ stepped out of the group and continued toward the rest of the family. Tex heard his momma’s exclaims over the boy, and he too turned and gestured for everyone to follow him. He had no doubt Bailey and Reeves would sit by Harry and Belle, Bryce and Codi, and Adam and Joey, as that was their age group, their peers, and who she would certainly be most comfortable with.

Tex fell back to Otis’s side and let them go ahead, though he had no idea what to say to his brother. “He’s a closet celebrity?” he finally asked.

“He runs a YouTube channel,” Otis said. “It’s really popular—millions of views, tons of comments. It’s how he pays his bills.”

“He pays his bills with a YouTube channel?” Tex couldn’t believe that real people did that.

“Hey, we pay our bills by playing the guitar.” Otis chuckled, and Tex’s heart grew wings, because he was so glad to hear the happiness in his brother’s voice.

“If there’s anything you need me to do with OJ….” Tex let the words hang there, because he wasn’t quite sure how to finish the offer.

Otis sighed and shook his head. “He’s my favorite boy on the whole planet,” he grumbled. “But he also drives me to the edge of madness.”

Tex burst out laughing, because that summed up teenagers perfectly. “Well, he’s got a good momma and daddy,” Tex said, and Otis turned fully toward him. He wore a look of pure vulnerability, almost like he couldn’t quite believe what Tex had said.

“We think he’s seeing too much of Bailey, but she doesn’t seem to mind, and we don’t know how to tell him no.”

“I heard she babysat for Bryce and Codi,” Tex said, watching as chairs got shuffled to make room for Bailey and Reeves among Harry, Bryce, and Adam.

“Yeah, we’ve heard that too,” Otis said. “A couple of times now. I heard OJ was there this last time.”