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Holden shrugged, unabashed.
It was that exchange that swayed me. These two men weren’t like Archer’s friends in Dallas. They were arrogant, and they were guilty of excluding the people their parents told them to, but they’d grown up. Wilson and his wife got off on making me feel like crap; they liked their control over Archer.
Archer’s cousins liked grilling, and they didn’t seem to mind me. We weren’t teenagers anymore. And Cameron wouldn’t be there.
I leaned into Archer’s side for support. “We can bring a salad.”
“I’m grabbing a dessert too.” Stetson pulled a pack of cookies off the shelf without looking too hard at what he’d gotten.
Holden held up a bag of peaches. “I’ve got dessert handled.”
Stetson huffed. “Something you don’t have to grill.”
“Challenge accepted.” Holden’s grin was sly. “I can grill cookies.”
“Fine,” Stetson conceded. “But I’m getting whipped cream. The spray kind.”
Holden glanced at us. “Come on over when you’re done.”
They wandered off, grumbling to each other about the sweets. I’d gotten a glimpse into the real them, and I wanted to laugh. The guys had been so far above me my entire life. Stetson had been a football star, and when he and Holden had been on the same team, Coal Haven had gone to state. They were the guys who girls sighed after as teens, and they were the county’s most eligible bachelors as adults. Never had I thought I’d witness them bicker about whether grilled peaches were a proper dessert.
“Sure you’re okay with this?” Archer asked. “Give me a sign and we’ll leave when you need to.”
I grabbed a pack of fudge-striped cookies to throw into our supplies. “No. I think this will be different.”
It had taken several months to keep from feeling like an outsider when it came to my hometown. And the town was starting to embrace my husband. Would that change anything?
* * *
Archer
Holden had grilled his peaches—which were fucking amazing with whipped cream piled on top. We were sprawled in lawn chairs on his front porch, the pinks and purples of the setting sun painting the horizon.
After we’d eaten, Stetson had made the mistake of asking me what I do. I’d glossed over my job the other night when the rest of our family was here, but Stetson wasn’t asking for a fluff answer.
But twenty minutes later, I thought I should shut up. The wind had died down, and the night was pleasant, if still warm, but perfect as long as we weren’t working. I finished up telling them about the different reports I gathered and how detailed I decided to get about the weather cycles over a certain property.
“So, anyway. That’s what I do.” I prepared for an awkward pause, a reaction like the playful eye roll Briony gave when I slipped and geeked out about my job. It wasn’t my job per se that got me excited. Reports were reports. It was digging into the personality of the land. The way I was born and raised seeped into everything I researched.
Mineral rights had given my great-grandparents and grandparents wealth, and I dealt with them in Texas. Water rights were another issue. Oil didn’t mean a damn thing if the property owners couldn’t get access to a water supply.
Stetson took a swig of his beer, a thoughtful look on his face. “Dan Anderson could use a guy like you.”
Surprise lit Delaney’s eyes. “Dan’s selling?”
Holden nodded. “They don’t have any kids to take over. Which is a damn shame. Those eggs of Alice’s are phenomenal.”
“I used to ride to his draw all the time,” she said wistfully. “It’s so peaceful.” She spoke to me. “Dan’s place is across from Bruce’s place.”
Holden grinned like this draw was a secret only they knew about. “Evander and I used to go there too. Dan chased us out twice, thinking we were partying.” He snorted. “Those were the only two times we weren’t up to no good.”
Stetson opened the package of cookies, the plastic crinkling. “They’re moving so Alice can be somewhere warm. Arthritis or something. I hope they get as much for that place as possible. I wouldn’t be surprised if that property is all they have for retirement.”
A steady list of everything I’d do and the questions I would ask this Dan ran through my mind. I couldn’t shut it off. I had told Delaney I was working my dream job, but I wasn’t talking about the Truitts or the paycheck. I liked all things land.
Land was a finite resource. Wars were fought over it. People stole it and died for it. What was done with it determined our survival, so I took my job seriously. I’d seen how poor stewardship destroyed families like mine. I wanted to position the right buyers at the right time. I wanted to make sure people like Dan and Alice were taken care of after they’d dedicated their lives to growing food for countless others.
“So.” Holden gestured between me and Delaney with his beer. “What’s with you two?” Stetson slapped his shoulder, but Holden held his hands up like he was innocent, his longneck dangling from a couple of fingers. “The whole town is wondering. What’s the point of being family if I can’t be nosy?”
