Page 30 of Blue Jean Summer

“I figured it might be nice to make dinner for everyone since it’s Catherine’s first day here. Mason and Levi will be up if I crack a window and let the smell from the oven get down to the stables.”

The kitchen door opened, and a floppy-haired teen snuck in.

“Hey, sweetie,” Hallie said as she glanced over her shoulder at Zach. “How was school?”

Zach glanced at me, then hunched farther into his hoodie and stared at the floor as he turned for the stairs. “Fine.”

“Can you be polite and say hello to Mr. Wilder?” she pressed.

I gave Hallie a look that said it was unnecessary. If Zach didn’t want to talk to me, that was fine. I knew what it felt like to be the kid in an unfamiliar place with a chip on his shoulder.

“Hi, Mr. Wilder,” Zach muttered without looking at me, then trudged up the steps.

When he was out of earshot, Hallie sighed. “Two more weeks of school and then I have no idea what I’m going to do with him all summer.” She blew a piece of hair out of her face. “You’d think since we live on the estate, he’d have plenty to do to keep him out of trouble, but I swear, I can’t get him out of his room.” She let one more forlorn glance at the stairs slip, then steeled her expression. “I’m hoping that, with Catherine around, he’ll come out of his shell. They get along great.”

Saying Catherine’s name must have conjured her. She skipped down the stairs in a pale yellow dress that hugged her breasts and waist, then flared out in a fluttering skirt. A pair of high heels were tucked under her arm as she fastened on an earring. “How’s this?” she asked.

“Perfect,” Hallie said with a nod of approval.

Catherine had put on a little makeup, but the flush on her freckled cheeks was all her.

She was so fucking pretty.

I glanced down at her bare feet as she tiptoed across the kitchen. Catherine held on to the edge of the kitchen island and slipped her heels on, hiding pink-painted toes.

“Let’s do this,” she said when she straightened.

Hallie dried her hands and grabbed her phone.

The engagement ring on Catherine’s hand glinted in the sunlight as we walked to the rose garden.

“Alright, kids,” Hallie said as she mother-henned us down one of the narrowest paths and took her place on the other side of a rosebush. “Scooch close. Show me how much you love each other.”

Catherine laughed.

“Kids? You do realize that you and I are the same age, right?” Hayes said.

“Hush!” Hallie said, flapping her hands together to get us to move in closer. “Cuddle up and smile.”

Catherine turned her body toward mine and placed her hand on my abdomen, showing off the ring to Hallie’s lens.

I glanced down, but she was already smiling at the camera. A breeze drifted by, blowing a lock of hair into her face.

“Hold on,” I murmured as I tenderly tucked it behind her ear.

Catherine looked up, her eyes widening ever so slightly as I cradled the back of her head, keeping her hair from flying all over the place.

Finally, the breeze died down and we silently assumed a stoic pose.

Well, I did. Catherine was a natural.

“You know, Hayes, you’d be prettier if you smiled,” Hallie teased.

I frowned. “Has that ever made anyone want to smile?”

“Not among the female population,” Catherine said.

I glanced down again. She looked so relaxed. “You’re good at this,” I said as I rolled my head back and forth, trying to ease the tension in my neck.