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People appeared above tables where they must have been crouching. Evie stared at her family members, her mom, dad, her brothers Lane and Holt. Macie and Ruby. And even Carson’s grandad. Becca waved from her spot with a huge smile on her face.
“What are you all doing here?” Evie asked, and then two others stepped forward from the back of the group.
Her brother Knox, and her sister Cara.
“Oh my gosh!” Evie’s eyes filled with tears. “What’s going on?”
“We’re celebrating your new job offer,” her mom said in a wavering voice, coming forward to hug her.
Evie embraced her mom. “I don’t understand, I just had my interview.”
Her dad chuckled. “Seems that Carson thought you stood a good chance of getting the job.”
Evie’s mind was spinning in ten different directions. Cara moved toward her next. They hadn’t talked much since Christmas, and their only communication had been on the family email or text strand. But Cara’s smile was wide, and her dark blond hair in its signature knot. “Congrats, sis,” Cara said before hugging Evie. “You’re amazing.”
Now, Evie couldn’t swallow properly. She couldn’t remember the last time her sister had given her a true compliment. There’d mostly been teasing.
“Hey, sis,” Knox rumbled to her right.
And in an instant, she was hugging her brother, who’d only recently started interacting with family again. But somehow, he was here, for her. Even though Evie knew it had to be hard for him to see his ex-wife with Holt.
Knox’s daughter was glued to his other side.
“My daddy came to see me,” Ruby announced.
“He sure did,” Evie said in a choked voice as she drew away from Knox and kissed the top of Ruby’s head. She would never correct the little girl, because despite the limited time that Ruby saw her biological dad, she certainly idolized him.
“I can’t believe you’re all here,” Evie must have said a dozen times as she hugged each person in turn. When she got to Becca, she said, “Were you in on this?”
She hadn’t even seen Becca since coming back from spring break. Becca had said she’d be going straight to class when she got to campus that morning.
“I might have given Carson a few tips, but he did all the work.”
Evie wiped at her cheeks, because it was impossible to hold back the tears. “How did you all get here so fast?”
“Speaking for myself, I flew in,” Knox said, his tone amused.
Cara smiled. “Me, too.”
Evie looked over at Carson, who was leaning against one of the tables, his arms folded. His knowing grin told her everything.
“We wanted you to know that we’re so happy for your success,” her mom said, “and that we’re excited to hear all about your new career.”
“Well . . .” Evie cleared her throat because emotion was starting to take over again. “They want me to start part-time as soon as I can, and full-time once I graduate.”
“Good for you,” Lane said, nodding. “I’m not surprised.”
Macie stepped close and grasped her hand. “We’re coming to visit you a lot,” she said. “Ruby made me promise.”
“I’d love that,” Evie said, looking around at everyone. “And of course, I’ll always be at Prosper for the holidays, or random weekends.”
Her dad slung an arm about her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “Whatever you decide, sweet pea.”
“I thought I was your sweet pea,” Ruby said in a clear voice.
Her dad chuckled. “You’re both my sweet peas, how’s that?”
“What about me?” Cara said with a laugh.
