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It was seamless. Too seamless, even for me, so I was just spontaneously knocking on wood with every new excited proclamation, like a highly caffeinated woodpecker. It was of absolutely no surprise when I got a text from Brin that brought my momentum to a screeching halt.
Brinleigh
Um. So. My water just broke.
Noel
Of course, it did.
Brinleigh
*grimacing emoji*
Can you come in tonight? I don’t trust anyone else to make sure everything is set up and schedules are shuffled accordingly.
Noel
Already slipping into boots.
Brinleigh
God bless you.
The guys were still stainingthe arch when I got into the garage. Both men hesitated mid-brushstroke.
“What’s up, Red?” Rhyett was, naturally, the one to break the silence.
“Brin’s water just broke.”
“Awe, hell,” Jameson groaned, falling back on his ass and pulling out his phone.
Rhyett palmed his face. “Okay. This is fine. Worst case, we close tomorrow, no big deal.”
“I’ll make it work,” I promised. “I’ll call all our best girls.”
“Aren’t there only three?” Jameson pointed out, his phone already pressed to his ear.
“Plenty. Like I said, I’ll make it work.” I stepped out into the crisp afternoon air as Rhyett hollered after me.
“Be safe!!”
Jameson
“Where in the hell is Red?” I blustered, pacing back and forth in front of the truck. Rhyett and Brex had already headed up the mountain, the forecasted rain blessedly holding off. She was either late—one of my most hated things in a family perpetually behind—or something had happened to her. Much to my dismay, I was praying it was the former. My brain, of course, had already conceived a million horrible ways she could have been hurt or killed. Fallen off the docks. Slipped on a hike. Mauled by a bear. The idea of anything marring that cute little face was enough to make me ralph on my ridiculous leather dress boots.
“She’ll be here,” Axel said with a little too much endearing confidence for my fucking liking.
“That doesn’t answer the question.”
“She’s looking out for Brin, the Grind,andBrex. So she’s got her hands full,” Maverick added.
“Chill, James. It’s only ten past. She’ll be here.” Broderick reassured me, but the incessant way he kept shifting from one foot to the other, crossing the opposite over an ankle as he leaned against the hood, wasn’t entirely convincing. Hands in pockets, hands out of pockets. Arms crossed, uncrossed. Fingers raked through tightly cropped curls. Frantically patting at his hair like he’d fucked it up. He might have hidden it better than me, but he was getting squirrelly, too.
“Rhyett told her she could just close the damn shop. What the hell is she doing?” I demanded. The garage door opened behind us, bringing all four men to attention as if awaiting orders from a General. Mousy brown hair emerged, nicely curled and decorated with purple flowers; the owner of said curls was about as intimidating to most men as a freaking war hero.
“Okay, food will be ready at five, cake and pastries are in place, and music is good to go,” Elora said into the Bluetooth earpiece as she listed things out on her fingers, ducking under the door and turning for the keypad. “Leighton and Kaia have the flowers in their car, just out of the fridge and Red is on her way.” She was born for this shit. Either running lives or events, she was always corralling something. We’d given her buckets of shit for being bossy when we were kids, but damn if she didn’t own every inch now. Regardless of the source, relief washed over me just knowing she’d been in touch with Noel.Noel, whose real name had been playing on a loop in my mind ever since she’d shared it.
Expelling a vigorous exhale, my shoulders relaxed. “Great. Everybody get in the truck.”
