Page 15 of Ruined
He bumped his shoulder against mine. “How ‘bout next weekend?”
“Sounds good.” I took another long swallow from the bottle. “Only us guys tonight, then?”
He made a humming sound, “Yeah, Harper and Lizzy went over to Kenzie’s to talk wedding dresses.” He side-eyed me, his dark eyes glittering with mischief. “I keep tellin’ her she’ll look good even if she wears a burlap bag, but she ain’t havin’ it.”
“Yeah, how dare she want to look all pretty and stuff on her wedding day, right?”
A loud, robust laugh that came straight from his gut filled the room. “When you put it like that—” The rest of his sentence was lost as he brought his beer to his lips.
I turned my attention back to my backyard — my new backyard. A few months ago I’d decided to purchase this piece of land because it was as close to living on the ranch as I was going to get. As much as I loved living in town, it never gave me the same sense of peace as the trees and foliage surrounding my property did.
There was a lot of work to do, but I looked forward to doing them with my family by my side. Out of nowhere, my mind conjured up an image of Zoe, her big hazel eyes peering at me through her dark lashes.
I would have liked to say that I was relieved to hear the women had decided not to come tonight, but that would have been a lie. I’d wanted to see Zoe again, to check whether that sadness that’d veiled her features was still there.
It bugged me to no end that she refused to vacate my thoughts.
Logan’s shoulder bumping mine stopped me from falling deeper down the Zoe-hole. He gave me a questioning look but voiced nothing.
I was on the verge of telling him about her when Brett, Liam, and our youngest brother, Chase, entered the room beers in hand, sports talk heavy. “Are we grilling steaks or staring at the garden like a bunch of girls?” Chase queried.
“What’s wrong with girls, Uncle Chase?”
I loved how my baby girl could make a grown-ass man’s cheeks go red. My brother dropped to his haunches in front of her. “Absolutely nothing,” he explained. “Especially if that girl is you.”
Molly planted her hands on her hips, giving him her best I-don’t-believe-you glare. “Is that why you don’t have a girlfriend, Uncle Chase? You don’t like girls?”
I almost choked on my beer as I tried to stifle a laugh. Next to me, Logan was having the same problem. “Hey! Your dad doesn’t have a girlfriend either.”
“He doesn’t need one,” was her immediate reply. “He has me.”
Laughter erupted as my brother, clearly defeated, straightened and swallowed down most of his drink. Unfazed by everyone’s amusement, Molly padded to where I was standing to ask whether she and Flynn could watch a Spider-Man movie.
When I got back from putting on the movie for them, the boys had already set up the chairs and the grill on the lawn. I took the open seat next to Chase. Leaning back, I took in the scene in front of me. Logan and Brett were in the middle of discussing how much their lives had changed since their women had moved in.
Logan had gotten an instant family when he’d met Harper, which was the silver lining to his black cloud. They had yet to get married, but that was only because Mama would remove his left nut if they didn’t give her a big wedding.
Beside me, Chase and Liam were chatting as if they’d been friends for years. Starting over in a new town had to be daunting as hell, inviting him into our circle of friends had certainly been the right decision.
My gaze traveled to the house and, not for the first time, I wondered how things would have been if Molly had a mom who could guide her through life. What things was she missing out on? I’d seen the way Flynn had come out of his shell, becoming more confident in himself. There was no doubt in my mind that my brother had a hand in that. It also had me wondering if the life I was giving Molly was enough.
“Yo, you with us man?”
I dragged my fingers through my hair, doing my best to seem convincing. “Yeah, just wondering about Mom and these headaches.”
Chase got out of his seat and pulled another round of beers from the cooler box next to the grill. “She always gets them this time of year.” I took the beer he offered, searching his face for a single ounce of concern. There was none. “I’m more interested in the incident at the diner.”
Unscrewing the cap, I frowned at my little brother. “What are you talking about?”
“Well—” He handed drinks to each of the guys before taking a seat again. “Rumor has it you got baptized in coffee.”
Bringing the bottle to my lips, I took a long swallow to hide my groan. “Did the town’s rumor mill run out of gossip topics?”
“What’s this now?” Logan sat up straighter, his lips lifted into a grin.
Much to my dismay, Chase recited what had happened at the diner that morning, even adding that I’d stormed off. I had a suspicion that Lizzy might have been the one gossiping today. “—apparently, Kenzie’s friend was on the receiving end of Eli’s colorful mood.”
“Who, Zoe?” Brett asked. When Chase nodded, he added, “She didn’t say anything this morning.” He went on to tell us about the fire I already knew about, and that Zoe would be staying for a while.Great. That was exactly what I needed. With Willow Creek being as small it was, chances were that I’d run into her.
Hopefully whatever spell she’d put on me would have worn off by then.
