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Maize, Harper, and Hadleigh come over and join us. She’s holding Hannah who just turned two. After she was born, Hadleigh quit her job indefinitely to stay home since they now had two kids only thirteen months apart.
“The happy couple should be arriving at any moment,” Harper says, pulling out her cell phone from her clutch. I do the same. As soon as I unlock it and open the camera app, Kane and Ivy enter.
“Pleased to welcome Mr. and Mrs. Kane Bishop,” the DJ announces as the room hoots and hollers. My brother smiles at me, and we watch them like royalty as they have their first dance.
After it’s over, others flood the dance floor, and I make my way to the bar. As I’m grabbing my third or fourth glass, the alcohol hits me like a sack of potatoes.
“Okay, drunky,” Knox says from behind me. “You know, maybe you should join the convent to clean up your act.”
“And maybe you should get your dick chopped off so you’d be less cocky.”
He bursts into a roar of laughter. “Whoa, buddy. You’re fast with those comebacks tonight. I was kiddin’.”
I smirk. “Yeah, well, I wasn’t.”
“Don’t make me tell Mom and Dad on you,” he warns with a mischievous grin.
“What are you gonna say? Your adult daughter is drinking wine at a wedding? Fuck off,” I whisper.
He sips his wine. “No, I’d explain you’re gettin’ sloppy drunk, and we know how loose your lips get when you drink.”
I roll my eyes and find the table where my grandparents are sitting and join them. A photographer walks around and takes tons of pictures. I think I posed so many times that there’s a spot in my vision from the bright-ass flash.
“I’m happy I got to see Kane get married,” Grandma says, and I swallow hard as Grandpa agrees. My uncle John and aunt Mila are at the table too, but they’re having their own conversation about gardens and vegetables.
“Why wouldn’t you?” The words fall from my mouth, and I swallow hard.
“Because I’m not gettin’ any younger, sweetheart. So how ’bout you get married and start that family before I kick the bucket?”
I gasp. “Grandma!”
“What? It’s true,” she says. “Then I can finally die a happy woman.”
“Well if me not doing all those things means you’ll live forever, then maybe I really will join that convent everyone’s been suggesting.”
She shoots me a wink. “Honey, I ain’t gettin’ any younger, so chop-chop. I’ve had a blessed life, but I’m waitin’ for you to give me some more great-grandbabies. And if you don’t while I’m still here, I’m gonna haunt you for the rest of your life.”
I burst out into laughter. “That’s a deal I’m willing to make. Just let me find a man to knock me up.”
“Kaitlyn Bishop,” Grandma gasps.
Uncle John chuckles. “Don’t give the poor woman a heart attack with those kinda jokes.”
I narrow my eyes at him and smirk. “Who said I was joking?”
Grandma laughs and leans over to pinch me, but I’m too fast for her. Eventually, it’s time for dinner to be served, and I find my best friend Payton sitting with a few ranch hands. They’re all too young for me. Trust me, I’ve asked them their ages. “This seat taken?”
“Nope, all yours,” Payton says with a smile.
When I plop down, I nearly miss my chair but he helps me.
“Jesus Christ, Kate. How much have you had to drink?”
“Three glasses of wine? Four? Wait. Five? I’ve lost count. A lot.”
“You’re slurring,” he tells me, shaking his head. “You have to give a speech after dinner.”
I laugh and wave my hand. “I’ve got this. It’s fine.”
We eat, and I’m thankful pasta and bread were served because Payton is right. For a second there, I thought I was seeing double, but after I devoured a plateful of carbs, I’m fine. Still drunk, but not sloppy.
When it’s time for speeches, our parents start, Hadleigh and Knox say a few words, then I make my way to the front and look out at my family and friends.
“Saving the best for last, I see,” I say, holding the microphone in one hand and a new glass of wine in the other. “Did y’all know Kane was always my favorite brother?” I glance at Knox, and he laughs out loud.
“Caring, compassionate, and not a complete and total…well, you can fill in the blank. Any word would fit. But seriously, Kane, this isn’t a roast for your evil twin brother.”
Diesel yells out. “It should be!” And everyone laughs. I give him a nod and a grin.
“This is a celebration of love and commitment. Ivy, you’re beautiful, and my brother is so lucky to be able to spend the rest of his life with you.” Kane grins wide and looks over at her. He places a kiss on her cheek.
