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Boone (one monthlater)
“A backyard wedding sounds so intimate,”Angela said from the seat next to me. She squeezed my hand.
I turned left onto Case’s street. “You haven’t seen the size of their backyard.” Pris had mentioned tents and setting up a dance floor on the grass.
It was Case and Jordan’s wedding day. He’d been the first of us to find love and pull the trigger on marriage—a big step for our generation.
As we approached the drive to the old Cleaver place between Waylon’s and Case’s properties, I looked over at my woman. Angela’s hand had been in mine the entire drive, and it made me wonder if Waylon or I would be the next brother to fall into wedded bliss.
It would probably be Waylon, because Angela had only been back in my life for a short time and I didn’t want to scare her off by moving too fast. Even if I knew what I wanted for the future, that didn’t guarantee she felt the same. It had to be difficult to commit to a relationship so soon after escaping one as damaging as she’d experienced. Some wounds took longer to heal than others, and I wanted her to have all the time she needed to feel ready.
Walking the lakeside path or hanging out at the beach and talking had become our thing as we both learned more about each other and the years we’d missed being together.
I felt confident enough to commit, but when would she?
Angela’s eyes followed the balloons tied to Case’s mailbox as we passed. Several cars had already parked on the main road.
I pulled into the next drive. Pris’s truck was already here, and I stopped next to it. Angela leaned forward to see the full height of the house through the windshield. “I like old houses like this. But are you sure it’s okay to park here?”
“Yep. This is Nadine Cleaver’s old house. Case does her physical therapy, and she offered it. I’ll introduce you. She’s…unconventional.”
That seemed to satisfy her, and Angela finally let go of my hand. “You said Waylon lives just one house farther down?”
I nodded and pointed to the left. “Yep. He and Anna are right through those trees.”
“Do you think we can take a look at what he’s working on?” she asked. “Maybe after the ceremony?”
“He’s only let me in his workshop once, and that was years ago. But you never know. Maybe if you ask nicely.”
“Hmm… Maybe I’ll ask Anna and see what she says.”
That was a smart move right out of Relationship 101. My brother couldn’t say no to his girl. Waylon called himself a wood artist, using only a chainsaw to turn massive logs into sculptures people paid good money for. Although I’d always given my brother a hard time about his chosen profession, there was no denying his talent.
Angela pulled out lipstick and reapplied it, something I’d never seen her do before. I turned off the engine and stepped out. She joined me and walked toward the two-story house in front of us. Then she went over and looked down the side. When she returned, she had that I’ve-got-an-idea smirk on her.
“What?”
“This house is beautiful. You know, if you bought this place, all three brothers could be together. That would be sorta neat, don’t you think? Maybe even rename the street Benson Lane.”
“No way. I need more time around them like I need jock itch,” I scoffed. “Besides, from the looks of this place, it’s probably haunted.”
She cocked her head with a grimace. “Yeah, there is that. I can see how you’d be scared of ghosts.”
“I’m not scared. It’s just… I value my sleep…and you’d keep me up with your screams.”
“Right.” Sarcasm dripped off the word. “We could go inside and be daring.”
I walked back toward my truck. “I don’t want to be late. We can be daring later.” I grabbed the present from the backseat, just as the all-too-familiar flashing blue lights came down the drive.
An angry-faced chief of police got out after skidding to a stop. “You can get yourselves and your piece-of-shit truck off my aunt’s property right now, or I’ll cite you for trespassing.”
I moved in front of Angela. “We have Nadine’s permission.”
“I don’t believe you.” Earl had been doubly pissed at all of us since I made him suspend Devlin. Now he had to get out from behind his desk some of the day to cover the patrolling, or whatever the hell Devlin usually did.
“She’ll be at the wedding next door, if you want to check with her.” Earl may have been a relative, but Nadine liked Case a lot better than him.
Old Earl fumed and turned back to his car.
