Page 47 of More Than My Hometown

13

MAISEY

As much as I wish there was a record scratch or time came crashing to a stop with my comment, it doesn’t. I mean, it was good, but it wasn’t that good.

Still, it was enough to leave Gus dumbstruck. Not something you see every day.

“I thought Ewan said you’re back in town because your contract was canceled,” he rebuts, as if that’s some kind of argument.

“It was.”

Ewan looks at me from over the back of the couch and I smile, reaching down and squeezing his shoulder. Something is eating at him—has been since Anton made that pub crawl remark—and while I know he’ll tell me when he’s ready, I want him to know I’m here. And we aren’t going to be playing the “let’s gang up on the baby brother” game today. Baby brother brought backup.

“So, you’ll eventually accept another, at which point⁠—”

“Gus!” Margeaux calls from the kitchen. It’s a mix of loving and chastising at the same time, in a way only a partner can pull off.

Holding up his hands in surrender, Gus throws himself back onto the couch. I can’t help but feel a small sense of victory.

“Fine, fine, we don’t have to talk about it now. Just promise me that before you accept anything and you two take off to parts unknown, we will have a discussion and make a plan. Okay?”

My victory fades at his words, quickly replaced by something else. You two…

My heart leaps, pulse skittering through my veins, making my head feel dizzy for a second. His concern wasn’t about me leaving Hickory Hills or Ewan. About breaking his heart all over again. It really is all about the business, because he thinks my leaving means Ewan leaves too.

The two of us. Together.

Tears prick at the corners of my eyes, trying to force their way out. I swallow hard, fighting to keep them back, and rush over to where Gus is sitting, throwing my arms around his neck.

It takes him a second, but he hugs me back, whispering, “I’m not a monster.”

“No,” I laugh. “Just a big brother.”

“The way you say that actually makes it sound worse,” he grumbles.

“Only some days. Not today though.” I squeeze him again before letting go, not wanting to make this too weird.

“Boys!” Willa exclaims, announcing her presence as the front door slams behind her. “Your assistance is required outside.”

“All of us?” Hux asks.

“Yup, Nash needs your help unloading the truck.”

“It’s raining,” Jace comments.

“You are not the Wicked Witch of the West; you will not melt, princess,” Anton snarks, shoving the second youngest brother as he heads for the door without question.

“Depending on which canon you subscribe to, Elphaba didn’t actually melt, you know.”

Wait…what?!

Dumbfounded, I look to Ewan as he stands to head outside, trying to make sense of what I just heard. Jace has always kept us on our toes, but that comment was straight out of left field.

“Jace reads romance novels, and likes to brag about it,” he tells me, squeezing my hip gently as he turns to go.

I start to reach for him, sensing a distance in him—a wall that he’s thrown up—and starting to worry that it’s more than just Anton’s comment. That somehow mixing me into family time isn’t working.

“Either way,” Willa continues, clearly annoyed her brothers aren’t following her orders. “There are dahlias, soil, and all sorts of other stuff that need out of the truck. And if you get a move on, y’all can have it in the shed before it starts raining again.”