Page 31 of Harvest Brew With the Mountain Man
West reaches over the fence and lifts the boy up. Asher and the woman he looks very much with, walk through the opening and join us.
“I heard you were back in town,” Asher grins.
“Asher Hunter. Good to see you again,” I lean in for a hug, then extend my hand to the beautiful woman with deep honey eyes, almost like mine, and long brown hair with caramel highlights.
“Camille,” I smile. “Nice to meet you.”
“Sierra. And that’s my boy, Ryder.”
“He’s adorable,” I turn, watching West hold his body in the air and running around like Ryder’s a plane.
“Precocious handful. I adore him.” Her motherly smile speaks deeply of her love for her son.
“Daddy Asher, look! I’m a plane,” he yells, giggling hysterically.
Daddy?My face doesn’t hide the confusion.
“He’s started calling him that,” Sierra explains softly.
“It’s an honor I take seriously. I love him like he’s my own,” Asher declares, and my heart melts.
The way these two look at each other. My heart swells, being in the presence of such love. I’m so happy for Asher. For all three of them. I glance over, and West sets down an eager Ryder, but he’s staring at me.Could we be so lucky?
West winks, then gives his attention back to Ryder, who demands for him to look at every pumpkin Ryder points at.
“Camille,” Grace greets me with a hug. “Long time no see.”
Keeping close for only her to hear, I squeeze her arms. “I heard about your dad. Sorry I couldn’t make it to the funeral last year.”
“Thank you, and no worries. You know Dad wasn’t much about the fuss.”
“True,” I smile. “So you and the eldest Beckett, huh? Married.”
Grace’s eyes track Beckett, who’s helping gather one of the pumpkins Ryder wants. “Wild how the unexpected happens and becomes more than you could have dreamed.”
“It is wild,” I agree quietly, watching West chat with his brothers.
“Well then,” Grace smirks.
“What?” I ask.
The smirk turns into a full-on grin. “Okay. I’m here for this,” she nods.
Shit.I should stop making googly eyes at West. “I don’t know what you mean.” That was just a pitiful lie.
Grace scoffs a laugh. “Alright. I get it. We’ll play that narrative for now. But for the record?” She whispers, “West deserves a good woman. And you would be getting a wonderful man in return.”
“Now, if only I can keep him from getting pummeled by my over-protective brother, we’d be golden.” It feels good to be able to talk to someone without lying.
“He’ll come around. Those two have a deep history. And boys are stupid sometimes. But they catch up eventually,” Grace smiles, covering her eyes from the afternoon sun, watching Ryder wrap the Hunter brothers around his finger.
“I’m happy for you and Beckett. He’s come alive in a way I haven’t seen in years,” I tell her.
Her serene smile has her face glowing. “All of them are healing. One by one. I’m grateful to have watched it happen. And let me tell you, Camille Lane, people will have their opinions about the person your soul calls for, but in the end, all that matters is the two souls brought together by something greater than societal conventions.”
“Wise words, Mrs. Hunter,” I grin.
She practically giggles, then sighs. “Damn, that still sounds good, every time.”
