Page 2 of More Than My Hometown

Problem with being the family introvert is that after a while if you don’t contribute, they force you to. Which only makes it worse.

“Because he’s the reason I have to pay up,” Milo responds, a silent duh at the end of his sentence.

“Still doesn’t make sense.” I shake my head, letting it go, since I know there won’t be any logic to it.

“Love doesn’t always make sense, baby bro,” Jace, the brother one up from me coos, as if he knows anything about it. Which he does not. He’s as single as I am.

In fact, of the seven of us, Jace and I—numbers five and six respectively—are the last two single Hayes kids standing. One by one our siblings have paired off, starting with our younger sister, Willa, with her now husband, Nash, which led to Milo falling for his fiancée, Brenna. Then Gus met his fiancée, Margeaux. Hux and Dolly—well, their story was decades in the making. Most recently, Anton even managed to find his match in Sawyer, proving there really is a lid for every pot.

“Like you have any room to talk, Jace,” Gus quips. “Those books you litter the coffee table with don’t make you an expert on anything.”

“Don’t act like you haven’t picked up a tip or two from them, August,” Milo teases, leaning back against the folding table, his trademark smirk plastered in place.

Gus rolls his eyes, his own trademark scowl fighting back. He has a point though—just because Jace is the family wild card who isn’t shy about his non-guilty pleasure of reading romance novels doesn’t make him an expert on love.

“’Specially since Ewan has a date to this event, and you don’t.” Hux points his beer bottle at Jace.

“What’s your point?” Jace shrugs.

“That later tonight, after spending the evening hanging out and dancing with a beautiful woman, he has the chance at going home to something other than his right hand,” Anton explains.

“It’s only Em.”

My response is immediate, reflexive. Almost too much so. Because the second I say it, I almost feel guilty.

And my brothers are right there to call me on it.

“You say that, but you two sure have been spending a lot of time together lately…” Gus says, no doubt fishing for something.

I don’t take the bait though. I’m not a trout.

“Gus…” Milo warns.

Thanks, Milo…

“What?” Gus claps back. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

He’s not wrong. I’m still not taking the bait though.

“It’s Hux’s wedding. We should be focused on him,” I say, deflecting again.

I’ve gotten good at deflecting. Comes from years of practice as not only the youngest brother and the family introvert, but also from years around the boardroom table with them. Because they aren’t just my brothers; we’re also the executive arm of Hayes Industries, the Fortune 500 company that our family has owned and operated out of our rural Georgia town since the 1800s. What started off as two blacksmiths making guns turned into crops and now is a major corporation, employing the majority of Hickory Hills, covering industries including guns and ammo, a paper mill, agriculture, a brewery, personal safety, and my bait and tackle shop. Our father, Auggie, is currently at the helm, although Gus is now executive vice president, so we’re all not-so-secretly expecting a retirement announcement out of the old man any day now.

My money is on shortly after the first pregnancy announcement from one of the three couples getting married this year. The second our parents are going to be grandparents, that is going to become their full-time focus.

Hux shrugs, glancing at his watch. “I still got twenty minutes until I’m allowed upstairs. Besides, I don’t think it would be the worst thing in the world for my bride to have one of her best friends and cousin end up with my brother. Just sayin’.”

Just sayin’…right…

I heave out a sigh, throwing my head back. Apparently we are going to have to go over this again. Despite my having discussed this—at length—with both Hux and Milo before.

Not to mention, Em isn’t the only one that description fits…

“It’s not like that.” I take a long swig of my beer, letting the crisp taste flow over my tastebuds. “Look, I’ve told y’all—Em is great. We all know this. She and I have a lot of fun together, and yes, we’ve been spending a lot of time together since Willa’s wedding last summer, but it’s just not like that.”

Don’t get me wrong. Emily is a beautiful woman. With her family’s trademark blonde hair, blue eyes, and a fun smile, someday she is going to make someone very happy. That someone simply isn’t me.

“Could it be though?” Anton asks, his normal button-pushing tone missing.