Page 73 of Love Me Back
“He picked two he wants to take home with him.”
I hated the fact that my uncle used Grayson’s business as a ruse to come here. But at least he bought a couple of horses. I knew Grayson didn’t sell them cheaply.
I looked around the yard at all the people who milled around. The old ladies sat with Patty, whom Carson had invited. Grayson said he had been spending some time with her son, Tyler, at the hardware store. Trudy had also come along. She said she’d had to force Patty to close early so they could come, but Patty needed to get out and spend some time with people, rather than always being cooped up in the kitchen.
Abby and Mark were walking back from the baby barn with Chrissy, Tabby, and Charlie. The young boy following behind, I assumed was Tyler.
The men stood around talking. Bikers and cowboys mixed together. It was a book club dream. The only real difference between them was that half of them wore cowboy boots and hats, and the other half wore biker boots and leather cuts.
“What are you thinking about that has your smile so big?”
“Just thinking about what life could be like living here. Our babies in their cowboy boots, and Ellie and Ryder’s babies in their biker boots.”
I chuckled thinking about it. When I looked at Grayson, his face was serious. My smile dropped, and he swallowed hard before he spoke.
“You want to have my babies?”
“Do you not want babies?” I asked him, worried I had read everything wrong.
“Baby, I want all the babies. I just wasn’t sure you did.”
“And what if I didn’t?”
“Then we wouldn’t have any. We’d be the cool aunt and uncle they all came to when they needed bail money.” He smiled so brightly that I barked out a laugh.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Grayson
Sunday afternoon family dinners were something my mother started when Carson turned eighteen and graduated high school. He’d been spending less and less time at home, and she missed him.
She’d demanded twice a month that all her children be home for dinner on Sunday afternoon so we could catch up. The only exception was when Hudson was in college. After their deaths, he came home and never went back.
It was something we continued knowing firsthand how short life could be and how quickly you could lose someone you loved.
Garcia had met with King. From his demeanor when he returned, I assumed all had gone well. Jessie spent the morning with her father and brother, visiting and catching up until she insisted on helping Addie with preparing the meal.
When her brother said he wasn’t hungry, she assured him she was the prep chef; her job was cutting up vegetables, and she wouldn’t actually be cooking anything. He sighed exaggeratedly, going so far as to swipe his hand across his forehead and shake it as if removing nonexistent sweat. She flipped him off as she left the room to roaring laughter.
Tonight, we were using the formal dining room. The table sat fourteen people. My mother bought it before she passed away. She said she needed a table large enough to hold her six children and their spouses. Addie placed the last platter of food on the table, and I thought about what Jessie had said about her and school as she took her seat between Tyson and Jessie’s brother Jamie.
Bowls and platters made their way around the table asconversation buzzed quietly in the air. I squeezed Jessie’s hand and said, “Addie, if I ask you a question, will you promise to tell me the truth?”
I saw Jessie turn to me out of the corner of my eye, but I kept my gaze focused on my baby sister. Addie looked up at me, her eyes wide, and I wondered if she knew what I was about to ask.
“Um,”—she looked around the table before coming back to me—“sure?”
“Are you happy being in school?”
Carson set his fork down and leaned onto the table, eyeing my sister, who wiggled in her seat.
“All I’ve wanted was to become a vet, Grayson. You know that.”
“That doesn’t answer the question, Addie,” Hudson countered. He had also sat back, waiting to see how she responded.
“Now is hardly the time to discuss this. We have guests,” she argued.
She was avoiding my question, and I knew Jessie was right. Addie didn’t want to go to school. At least not for that.
