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“And I am happy.”
“But you’re not married and you . . .” Her voice trailed off again and she sighed. “Fine, let your brother Austin be the only smart son I raised. I give up.”
“Why do I not believe that, Mom?” I rolled my eyes. “Anyway, I’m going to watch some TV.” I didn’t even bother addressing her other comment. My brother Austin was the only one of her seven sons to be in a relationship and on his way to marriage, much to the chagrin of my mother. She was determined to fill the house with wives for all of us and lots of kids, but I certainly wasn’t interested in that. I had so many more things to think about.
“Yes, son. Enjoy yourself. Much better than having a family of your own to entertain.” She started rolling dough on the countertop in front of her. That was her way of dismissing me from the kitchen.
“Humph,” I grunted as I left the kitchen. I knew my mom wouldn’t stop, but at least she was on notice that I wasn’t interested.
I was thankful no one was in the living room. I loved my family and I loved being around my family, but sometimes I just needed peace and quiet. I sat on the old brown leather living room couch, staring at the TV, though I wasn’t really paying attention. I didn’t even know what show I was watching. I had so many different things on my mind, but I didn’t want to think about any of them.
I was about to get up and go riding when my brother Austin walked into the room, a secretive smile on his face as he took a seat next to me on the couch. Ever since he’d met his now-fiancée, Lucy, he looked like the cat who got the cream. I was happy for him, but I had to admit, he and Lucy were annoying me with all their lovey-dovey crap.
“How’s it going, bro?” His gaze moved to the TV, then back to me, an obnoxious look on his face. “Why are you watching The Bachelorette?”
“What are you talking about? Of course I’m not watching The Bachelorette.” I knew I sounded more defensive than I should, but for some reason, I was feeling annoyed. Well, I knew the reason. My mom riding my ass about getting married was getting old.
“Well, it looks like The Bachelorette to me.’” Austin looked back toward the TV, and my eyes focused as I stared at the screen. Sure enough, the bottom of the screen read The Bachelorette, and there were five different guys standing around a pretty brunette.
“I wasn’t watching that. It was just on. I guess Olivia or Lucy or someone must’ve been watching it.” I groaned inwardly. This was what happened when you had women in the house. Lucy’s best friend, Olivia, had come to visit her from New York, and even though she’d only been here a few days, she was getting under my skin.
“Sure, bro. It looks to me like you’re getting soft.” Austin chuckled. If he wasn’t my brother, and I weren’t a gentleman, I’d want to hit him. Not hard enough to give him a black eye or anything, but just enough to get him to back off.
“Trust me, I am the last one that’s getting soft.” I gave him a knowing look. “If anyone’s getting soft in this family, it’s you.”
“Why am I getting soft?” He grinned. “Just because I fell in love?”
“You fell in love with a woman that Mom sent for you.”
“What does that mean?” Austin said, giving me a pointed look. “You don’t think Lucy is good enough for me?”
Looked like I wasn’t the only one close to drawing fists. I stared at his handsome, familiar face, and I could have laughed at how alike we were. Anyone in the State of Montana could tell we were Hamilton men.
“I think Lucy is amazing. She’s beautiful.” I was in a bad mood, but I didn’t want Austin to think I had anything against her. She was a wonderful woman, and I was happy for him. She was the sort of woman that brought sunshine into your life. I was used to women that brought along thunderstorms, and I was fed up of thunder and lightning. Good sex wasn’t worth the possibility of getting electrocuted.
“Hey, hey, hey. Don’t be talking about my fiancée like that.”
“Oh my God, Austin. Really?” I shook my head. I’d never seen my brother like this before. It would be funny if it weren’t so sad. Austin was the first of my six brothers to settle down, and now our mom was more intent than ever on getting us all married off as soon as possible.
“What? I don’t want you calling my fiancée beautiful.”
“It’s not like I want her, dude.” I wanted to add, Because if I did want her, she would be mine, but I knew better than to antagonize my brother. He was really protective of Lucy, and I knew even the thought of me pretending to go after her would get his alpha instincts on high alert.
“Well, even if you did, you couldn’t have her.”
“You want to bet?” I said to him, laughing as his eyes narrowed at me. “I’m joking. What is it, bro? What do you want?”
“I came to ask you if you would be my best man for the wedding,” Austin said, “but now I’m starting to wonder if that was a good idea.”
“Why? Are you scared the best man is going to run off with the bride?”
“Not at all.” Austin shook his head. But even though his face looked stern, I could see that his eyes were laughing. He knew I was teasing. He knew I thought he and Lucy made the perfect couple. In fact, I’d known about our mother’s plan to bring Lucy from New York City to Montana so that they could fall in love. They’d both initially thought that Lucy had been sent for me, but that hadn’t been the real plan.
“I think Olivia’s going to be the maid of honor,” Austin said a little too casually.
My ears perked up at the sound of her name, but I didn’t let on. “Okay. And?”
“And she’s very pretty as well, isn’t she?”
