Page 114 of Already Callin’ You Mine

“Anton made the same joke,” I say, ready to tell Hux to get new material.

“It’s not a joke.”

“Noooo…” I look between the brothers, gobsmacked. “Jace, you didn’t…”

“Oh, he did.” Hux smiles mischievously. “And it would make a great what-not-to-do instructional video.”

“It was one time!” Jace defends. “I thought it was thawed all the way. I made a mistake. And apparently I’m never living it down.”

I bite back my giggle, wanting to show some solidarity. But it’s not easy.

“Yeah, and almost burned the house down,” Hux retorts.

“Okay, next year, we’re totally putting that series together. We can do a whole bunch of household safety tips for the holidays. Hux, you’re in charge of reminding me this summer so we have enough prep time.”

Excitement rushes through me, despite whatever Jace mutters under his breath in protest. The gears in my brain start to crank, already making a list of ideas to cover. There are so many great topics and ways to make them funny and engaging. This could be even better than stranger danger.

“Otis, my guy,” Milo greets as we walk over to where the group of brothers is standing in front of the little white house with a wraparound porch. “What’s up?”

“Hi.” Otis waves, his own excitement growing.

“You owe me a rematch.” Milo reaches out, easily transferring Otis from Jace’s arms to his own. “But this time, you’re gonna let me win, right?”

“Noooo!” A giggle escapes along with his squeal. His smile is bright enough to light a room, and my heart squeezes as I watch.

“We’ll see…” Milo turns, heading toward the side of the house.

Otis giggles again, then starts to ramble about something, but I can’t make out their words as they walk away. So I simply watch, happiness taking over.

Every inch of this moment feels surreal. We have a family. A big one.

“Whatcha thinkin’ about, Mama?” Jace whispers, slipping his arm around me.

I snuggle into him, sighing as I let the scene around me settle in. Hux has turned his focus back to the deep fryer, chatting with Gus and Anton. Milo is not far away, tossing a small foam football back and forth with Otis, the two of them laughing each time Milo “misses” his catch. Ewan is nowhere to be found, but Maisey’s car is here, leading me to believe that she’s inside, and I’m sure that at any moment she or one of the other gals will steal me away to join them. And I can’t wait until they do.

Because this is perfect. Exactly how it should be.

Turning to look at Jace, I exhale fully, stretching my diaphragm. “That this is everything I wanted and more for Otis in moving back to Hickory Hills.”

“What about for you?”

His question hits hard. What about me? Honestly, I don’t know. I was so focused on getting the hell out of Raleigh and away from the whole mess with Cody that all I really cared about when it came to myself was a job. A way to make sure that I could support Otis and keep a roof over our heads.

Then Jace Hayes walked back into my life. Actually, it was more of a crash-bang than a walk, but either way, I’ll take it.

“More than I could have ever wanted for myself too.”

“Good.”

“Presley!”

The front door to the house slams shut, Brandt’s voice echoing through the cool fall air. I look up, my gaze landing on the tall, dark-haired man with a six-pack in each hand. He’s as jovial and easygoing as I’ve ever seen him, strolling toward us like he’s the grand marshal at a parade.

“You’re gonna be so proud of me.”

“Oh, yeah?” I ask, secretly wondering what on earth could possibly make me “proud” of Milo’s best friend and business partner. Don’t get me wrong. Brandt is a nice guy, but I don’t really know him well enough to have much of an opinion past that.

“Yup. I did what you said and finally downloaded the U2 app.”