Page 102 of Somehow You Knew

“Do you want to see the picture of Hazel’s face?” Parker asks Grady, reaching for his phone from his pocket.

Grady holds his hand up. “Nope. I’m good. I trust that you enjoyed yourself, though.”

He smiles again. “I did. Worth every ounce of shit I’ll get from her for the rest of my life.”

***

“I don’t think you brought enough wood.” Parker stares down at the pile of scraps that Penn is continuing to unload from the truck.

Penn tosses one more piece on the top of the pile, the sound echoing into the forest around us. “Better to have too much than not enough.”

“It’s summer though. It’s not like we’re going to freeze to death.” Parker kicks one of the logs that fell from the stack.

Penn stands tall in the bed of his truck, placing his hands on his hips. “Let me educate you for a minute, little brother, since I know your precious hands don’t see much dirt or the outside.” Parker scoffs as I get comfortable, crossing my arms over my chest, waiting for Penn to teach the youngest Sheppard a thing or two.

And if there’s one thing I’ve learned since meeting these guys, it’s that Penn and Dallas grew up a bit differently than their younger brother did.

“Yes, it is summer, but that means that the bugs are in full force and once the sun goes down, it will get a lot cooler up here than you’re used to. So, the point of the fire is twofold—keep you from being a snack for the bugsandprevent you from complaining about being cold later.”

“If Cashlynn were here, I wouldn’t have to worry about being cold.”

Penn laughs. “Yeah, well you wanted a good old-fashioned guys trip for your send off into married bliss, so no girls are allowed.”

Just the mention of their women has me venturing back to thinking about Hazel for the hundredth time since we left for this trip this morning. After a seven-hour drive, you’d think I would feel more at ease about being away from her, but the opposite has happened. Right now, I want to be near her even more.

“Isn’t that right, Gage?” Penn’s voice pulls me from my thoughts as he hands me a beer.

Myeyes drop down to the silver can, taking it with the intention of sneaking it back into the cooler at some point. “Sorry, I spaced out.”

Parker slaps me on the shoulder. “Yeah, I could tell. What’s going on, man? Are you afraid we’re gonna bash you on the head with a shovel and bury you out here so our sister gets the full 10 million, or what?”

Dallas smacks Parker on the back of the head. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Ow.” Parker rubs the spot Dallas just hit. “Come on. You don’t think Gage has wondered that same thing?”

“Honestly, it never crossed my mind until you just said it,” I say, much to his dismay.

“Well, shit.” His eyes grow wider. “Uh, just so you know, that wasn’t the plan.”

I chuckle. “I sure hope not, especially since your sister is growing on me.”

Grady walks up to the four of us standing in a half circle. “I was wondering how long it was going to take before she made you snap.”

Rubbing the back of my neck, I stare down at the ground, but none of them miss the smile on my lips. “Well, let’s just say that things have definitely progressed...”

Dallas holds a hand up, cutting me off. “Look, I’m glad that you finally figured out your shit, but that’s still our little sister. And judging by the look on your face, I’m gonna say you’re probably thinking about shit I don’t want to know anything about. So, for the sake of the weekend and so I’m not tempted to make Parker’s wild idea come true, let’s refrain from mentioning how entranced you are with Hazel, yeah?”

Grady laughs as I nod. “Sounds good.”

Dallas, Penn, and Parker head back toward our camp to finish setting up the tents, leaving Grady and me alone.

“Since Hazel’s not my sister, if you need someone to talk to, I’m here.”

I blow out a breath. “Thanks. I just hope I’m not making a mistake—for Hazel’s sake.”

Grady’s brows draw together. “Care to explain?”

I push a hand through my hair. “It’s complicated.”

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