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“Queso!” a voice added. Probably Finn’s.
Flash. Flash.
“Fromage!” said another. “Formaggio!” “Käse!”
Flash.
“I can’t think of any more.” Bran’s voice came from the middle of the group.
“Jarrett should know some more,” Finn said. “He’s the cheesiest one of us.”
“Very funny,” said Jarrett. He’d taken quite a bit of good-natured teasing from his friends after Juanita had shared her video. Four years later, he was still the butt of their jokes, though Rylie had it on good authority his buddies were just as sappy, if not quite as eloquent.
Flash. Flash. Flash. “Okay, that’s a wrap!”
“Yay!” Ford and Gabe bellowed as they raced for the back door where their soccer ball awaited.
“Ford looks like a mini-you,” Rylie told Branson, as the group spread out like spilled marbles.
“So I’ve been told,” Bran said, smiling. “I have no idea whether that’s a good thing or not.”
“It’s a good thing,” she assured him, eyeing their sons through the back windows. “How do you feel about having a new baby?”
She could’ve sworn his broad chest puffed out another inch or two. “I’m a lot more excited than Steph is. Of course, I don’t have to carry her for nine months or give birth.”
“This crew is really growing,” Rylie said. “I love that you guys always make the effort to get the families together. It really means a lot to Jarrett, too. He’s not too open about his feelings, but he really loves all of you. You’ve been there for him during his worst moments.”
“Thankfully, we’ve been there for his best ones, too. Like your wedding. That was something we’d all given up on ever happening.”
“If I’m not mistaken, all of you played a part in bringing us together.” She let Hazel slide down to the floor, watching to make sure she didn’t get stepped on as she crawled away.
“I didn’t do that much. But Steph and I would never have gotten married if the guys hadn’t interfered. I owe them. I’d be a deranged hermit if they hadn’t dragged me off to Vegas.”
“That’s one of my favorite stories.”
“The thing is,” Bran said. “We’re family. We’ve always been there for each other, and we always will be.”
Rylie sniffed. She’d started weaning Hazel, and her hormones were going crazy. But even without the hormones, the blessings of being a part of their multifarious family might’ve brought her to tears.
Branson’s hand squeezed her shoulder, his eyes appearing to focus on hers in his uncanny way. “We’re really lucky, aren’t we?”
“Blessed,” she whispered.
“Yes.”
* * *
Jarrett finally found his wife in their bedroom, sitting on the bed with a tissue in her hand.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She dabbed at her eyes. “It’s just all the stuff out there.”
“What stuff? What happened?” Had someone hurt her feelings? None of his friends would do that on purpose, but Carlie might’ve made a thoughtless comment.
“Just… just…” Her hand circled in the air above her head. “Just everything! All those friends and all those babies and more babies coming and it’s getting so big. What if it gets too big? What about when we all have teenagers, like Ellie, and we’re all busy with activities? What if we aren’t close anymore?”
Rylie was way more emotional than normal. Jarrett’s stomach lurched.
