Page 105 of Bailey

He pulled away and said, “I have something I want to talk with you about later.”

“Okay.” She tucked her hand in his and turned toward the crowd.

Luke pushed through Tex and Bryce and asked, “You two are staying for lunch, right?”

Bailey smiled at him and moved in to hug him. “Thank you so much for taking care of OJ and Reeves,” she said. “And all the other kids.”

Luke scoffed as he hugged her back. “Please,” he said. “I didn’t do anything. If we hadn’t had Reeves with us, I’m pretty sure that stream would have risen without me even knowing. We would have been swept down the mountain.” He chuckled as he stepped back, as if such a thing were laughable.

Reeves shook his head and chuckled too. He slid his arm around Bailey’s back and rested his hand on her hip. He looked at her, and then surveyed the crowd once more.

“Come on,” Luke said. “They’ll let us get our food first.”

“I’m not going to say no to that,” Reeves said, and he led Bailey through the crowd and back inside Luke’s house. She couldn’t stop smiling, which was far better than the sob fest that had come over her unexpectedly.

She gestured for her mother to come with them, and she did.

“Daddy’s on his way,” she said as she stepped to Bailey’s side.

“Great,” Bailey said, as she took in the massive number of pizza boxes on the counter, along with four giant bowls of salad. She couldn’t believe this much food could be consumed by any one family. Then she remembered who she was with, and she giggled as she looked at her mother. “I think there’ll be enough food for him.”

She and Reeves got in line behind Luke, Eric, OJ, Lars, and Corrine.

Reeves leaned down and pressed his lips to her temple. “I missed you, Bay,” he said, his mouth right at her ear.

She cuddled into his chest, wanting to be as close to him as possible.

The megaphone screeched with feedback, and then Sterling said, “If you’re under the age of eighteen and you aren’t sitting at a table, you need to go into the backyard to eat.”

“Snake’s alive,” Harry said from across the buffet that had been set up on Luke’s kitchen island. “Does she have to use that megaphone indoors?” He lifted a dark glare to Bailey’s face.

She only laughed. “They’re your family, Harry. I’m surprised you’re not used to it.”

“Oh, he is,” Belle said, as she pressed in beside her husband and reached across him to get a piece of all-meat pizza. She grinned at Bailey too. “It’s still just a little surprising, to be honest.”

“Where’s your baby?” Bailey asked. “I’d love to hold her.”

Harry looked around for a moment, and then focused on the pizza buffet once more, selecting a Canadian bacon and ham Alfredo slice.

“Kassie took her,” Harry said. “She gets a little overwhelmed by us Youngs too.” He grinned, his grumpiness over the indoor megaphone suddenly gone.

Bailey reached for a piece of supreme pizza, because she liked the peppers, onions, and olives that came with the meat. Perhaps she wouldn’t be holding Lyric this afternoon after all, not if she had to face Kassie to do it.

Why not? she wondered. She told herself she didn’t have to be afraid of Bryce’s best friend. She belonged here; everyone here wanted her here. She wasn’t the Bailey McAllister from fifteen years ago, and she needed to stop letting that woman dictate anything in her life.

She held her plate steady as Reeves piled cheese bread on it. “Is this all for me?” she asked with a laugh.

“No, that’s for me, sweetheart,” he said.

She giggled again, because she knew Reeves had eaten steak for breakfast and certainly hadn’t starved on the camping trip. She did enjoy this loud celebration, but she also couldn’t wait to be alone with Reeves, cuddled on the couch with their trio of dogs at their feet and his mouth against hers.

CHAPTER

FORTY

Surprise burned through Reeves that he even remembered how to tie a tie, but he got the garment knotted at his throat on the first try. Despite the jitteriness in his veins, he managed to pick Bailey up on time as well.

She came to the door wearing a light blue dress with white flowers embroidered all over it, with big, puffy sleeves and a V-neck. It screamed happiness, and Reeves smiled at her.