Page 14 of Sterling Stone

I never invite someone to stay because I’m afraid they’ll never ask me the same thing.

5

May

[Stone]

“What’s up, man?” My brother, Clay, only fifteen months younger than me, claps me on the back as he rounds my seat and takes his own at the table inside Milton Roadhouse. The bar has an old-time saloon vibe with dark, wood-paneled walls and wagon-wheel chandeliers. The three-sided bar has a large standing-room-only space surrounded by a smattering of tables, which are a mix of low barrels with circular surfaces and high tops.

My brothers and I try to get together at least once a month, just the guys. No offense to our one and only youngest sister, Vale, but men have guy things to share. And lately, my brothers are fixated on their love lives.

In the past two plus years, Sebastian stumbled into Enya. Ford met her sister, Cadence. Knox reunited with his high school sweetheart, Halle. Clay was rescued by Mavis. Only Judd and I remain standing, although we aren’t exactly certain what’s going on with our reclusive brother and the woman he’s suddenly claiming as his fiancée.

Honestly, compared to that last man standing cliché, I’d like to take a seat. Preferably back at a bar in Tennessee next to one mystery woman I call Delilah in my head.

“Hey,” I grunt as Clay takes a seat beside me. While I’m still dark in features, Clay has more gray with scruff on his face that matches the color of his short hair. His skin is weathered from years of outdoor work for our family business, Sylver Seed & Soil. The place was our mother’s dream, and after her death, and our father subsequently running it into the ground, Clay rebuilt the business. Eventually, we roped Judd into being the chief accountant for the business in an effort to keep our quietest brother close. Judd’s the one we most feared might slip between the cracks after the way our father treated him.

Knox also works at the Seed & Soil in the landscaping department, specifically in brick patio builds. He also volunteers for the fire department. Knox is built like me, more broad than tall, compared to Judd or Clay. We share the same dark features, but my brother is starting to gray near his temples.

He joins us next.

“Gentleman of the Round Table,” he teases about the low top I’d snagged. Milton’s isn’t particularly busy for a mid-week evening, yet all the high tops were taken. He claps hands with Clay. The two of them have grown closer since his retirement from the Navy. Plus, Mavis and Halle have formed a special friendship.

“I need a beer,” Sebastian huffs, falling into a chair, which slides from the force and bangs into Knox.

“You don’t drink,” I remind him, arching a brow, wondering what would prompt him to say he needs what he’s given up for good.

“I know.” He scrubs both hands down his face, tattoos on display, reminding me of how my brother has had a tough life until recently.

“It’s just . . . the estrogen is so high in my house.” He grunts, but then slowly smiles. His wife Enya is good for him, and along with their daughter Adara and their newest addition, Annabelle, he’s surrounded by love he greatly deserves.

“Don’t I know it,” Knox speaks next, bumping his elbow against Sebastian, who sits too close to him. “Violet is still giving Halle a run for her money most days.”

Knox’s stepdaughter had trouble adjusting to life in Sterling Falls when she first moved here. She’s turned herself around, also working at the Seed & Soil and babysitting for anyone in the family who needs one. She’s a good kid, but on the cusp of going off to college.

“She’s so like her mother.” Knox slowly smiles as well, shaking his head. He dated Halle when she was seventeen, so his seventeen-year-old stepdaughter brings back memories.

“How’s Dutton?” Sebastian asks Clay. His son likes to wear pink and paint his nails.

“He’s good,” Clay adds, his own smile joining the rest of them. “He’s slowly growing into a Swiftie.” Clay air-quotes the term used for a certain cultural icon in pop music and her enormous fandom.

“Speaking of Dutton . . . heard Winnie got in another fight at school,” Sebastian informs the table.

Clay shakes his head. “Ford told me.”

Our brother Ford’s daughter, Winnie, is best friends with Dutton, acting as his silent bodyguard at school and often in trouble for it.

“Where is Ford?” I ask, glancing over my shoulder, like I expect him to appear. He doesn’t go out as often as the rest of us. His three girls and pregnant wife keep him home, but after a successful career in professional baseball, he’s happy to dedicate more time to his family.

“Cadence has him by the throat.” Knox imitates being choked with his hands.

“You mean the balls.” Sebastian mimics juggling a set in his hands.

“He’s just in love,” Clay drawls.

“Aren’t you all?” I remind them as the sole man at the table not in love but still missing a woman who was never mine to miss.

“You know you could be,” Clay counters. He arches a brow, when he knows Emerson Milton and I are nothing more than friends. The entire town thinks we are more, but we aren’t.