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My mom chuckles at that because Damon does not look like he could fix a fence, and we don’t have sheep. But god, I’d love to see him try. I bet it would go viral.
“I’ll grab some snacks for our guests,” Kristy says, her expression stern as she stands up quickly and signals for Bridgette to go with her. Bridgette gives Mom a big hug, winking at me before following our oldest sister into the kitchen.
“Do you want to lay down, Mom? I know it’s been a long morning,” I say and she seems to be thinking it over, the wrinkles around her eyes seemingly doubled since the last time I saw her.
“No, rude, Bennet,” she says, looking at Reed, Carter, and Damon.
“Oh, hush. None of that. You need your rest,” Damon says quickly, already grabbing the wheelchair to wheel her to her room, not that he knows where it is, but he’s gonna take her. “We’re staying for a couple of days so don’t you worry. We’ll have plenty of time to catch up and get to know each other.”
A couple of days?
The camboys are stayinginKansasfor days? Oh fuck.
“Okay, quick nap,” my mom says as I take over for Damon and wheel her with Jasper next to me to her room to get settled. I swear as soon as her head hits the pillow her eyelids flutter shut and she is snoring.
“That’s normal, right?” Jasper asks, looking concerned.
“I think so,” I say because I need to believe it. It’s been a long-ass journey. She’s bound to be tired.
When we arrive back to the living room my sisters are still in the kitchen—I’m sure Kristy is having a mini freakout and Bridgette is trying to calm her. My eyes swivel around the room, glancing at Reed, Carter, and Damon, who are all situated on the couch now.
“So did you guys really come out here because of the tornado?” I ask as Jasper and I lower ourselves onto the small loveseat.
Carter’s worried eyes meet mine. “Of course we did. You could have died.”
I manage a small smile because it’s really sweet that they did this, and I’m honestly not surprised. We’re close, really fucking close. I’d do the same if it was any of them. “It really wasn’t a big deal. Just a little bit windy. We’re fine.”
“Well. We needed to see it with our own eyes,” Carter says. I smile to myself, knowing how much they care. It’s nice. Really nice.
“Yeah, I get that. Thanks for coming, but where are you going to stay?” Kristy and Samantha will probably stay over now that Mom is home, and there’s no way we’ll all fit in the trailer. Plus, to be honest I want my time alone with Jasper. I’m a selfish fuck when it comes to that.
“Oh, we found an adorable little hotel. Like thirty miles from here. We’ll be fine.” Damon says excitedly.
“A hotel?” Jasper asks, looking skeptical.
“Well, more like a motel,” Reed says.
“We’ll be fine. Don’t worry,” Carter says, leaning into Reed. I can tell that he’s been worried, the purple under his eyes giving it away, but I bet he’s been trying to stay tough for Reed. And I get it. He had to see it with his own eyes. It hits me how much I care about these guys, how they’ve really become my family since I moved to California. And honestly, how much I’ve missed them.
“Does this mean we could have stayed in a motel?” Jasper asks, and I reach out and thread my fingers through his hair. He wets his lips, inching closer to me, and fuck, I wanna kiss him right now.
“It’s thirty miles away in the next biggest town, which has a population of like three thousand…so yeah, we could have, but it would have been a drive every day.”
“But there could have been a Starbucks.”
“There is no Starbucks,” I say, and Damon pipes up at this.
“There is not. I checked and it seems like we’re the only ones staying at the motel too. It’s very…different out here. I can’t wait to see what else is weird.”
“Everything,” Jasper mutters, meeting their stares.
They’re all eyeing us, the way I’m touching him, the way he’s leaning into me, but no one says anything, and I don’t feel like explaining. Maybe because I don’t really know what’s going on either.
“So, please tell me there’s a bowling alley around here?” Damon says, apparently itching to get the team back together. It has been a while since we’ve played together, and Jasper and I have missed our most recent meet-up due to my mom’s stroke.
I snort. “Of course there is. It’s Kansas. We probably invented the damn sport.”
Damon looks pleased at that. “Excellent news. And now, the really important question,” he says, leaning forward a little bit, playfulness in his gaze. “Where are the big, strapping farm boys at?”
