chapter twenty-six
Silas
“On three, ready?”I squeeze Posey’s hand, waiting for her to give me the approval.
“On your count or mine?”
“Mine.” Definitely not counting Mississippis while my balls are freezing.
Even though the weather’s nice for mid-September, we’ve been jumping in and out of the cold water for the past hour.
“Okay, ready!”
I count us down, then we run and jump off the cliff. Posey screams the entire way down until we crash through the water.
Warren and I used to cliff jump into the Willow Falls River every summer growing up. It separates the ranch from the resort and has a huge waterfall up the mountain where people can jump or dive from. But once Maisie left, it took nine years for him to get back in since it’s where he proposed.
As soon as we swim to shore, we run out and do it all over again.
Landen and Ellie jump in after us, then Bodie, Bellamy, and Colton go after them.
“Warren and Maisie, your turns!” Posey says.
“I don’t think I can…” Maisie shakes her head. “I’m beat.”
“C’mon, one more time!” Bellamy adds, then starts cheering. “Maisie! Maisie! Maisie!”
Soon, all the siblings are shouting her name.
“Oh my God, fine…” she drawls, but smirks at Warren before letting him drag her up the mountain.
After they jump, Warren pulls her against his chest and kisses her before they slam into the water.
“Fuck, that one kinda hurt,” Maisie groans once they make their way back to shore with the rest of us.
Since we made plans with Landen and Ellie tonight but also needed to talk to Warren, we met at his house and ate dinner with the newlyweds. He made lasagna with cheese bread and after it settled in our stomachs, we decided to invite the rest of their siblings for a late night swim.
It was nice getting to see my best friend again because although we live on the same property, we haven’t seen much of each other. He works at the stables, which is miles away from the goat farm. Even after work or on the weekends, he’s usually spending time with Maisie since she only returned for good a few months ago.
The good news is Warren didn’t punch me in the face once Posey told him we were dating.
The bad news is he gave me the silent treatment during dinner.
By the time we got to dessert, he got over it.
No one can stay mad while eating homemade cheesecake.
“Now that Posey and Silas are shackin’ up, who’s next?” Maisie teases, looking at the other three single siblings.
“Got any older single friends?” Bodie leans back on the grass, waggling his brows.
“Yes, but they don’t date minors. Sorry!” Maisie grins and everyone cackles at his expense.
“Dude, I’m twenty-one!”
“Your prefrontal cortex hasn’t developed.”
“I can still date older women,” he argues. “I can even buy alcohol.”