Page 72 of Already Callin’ You Mine

“So that’s a yes,” Anton retorts.

“Not everything is about you,” Sawyer reminds him. Why she puts up with his ass, I’m still not sure. Because Dr. Sawyer Brown is smart, witty, and can run circles around most agriculturists I’ve met. As brilliant at his job as my older brother is, Sawyer has him beat. “But if you must know, Presley was telling us all about this little comeback war she’s entered with this new moonshine called Wink & Shine.”

“Wink & Shine?” I question. She did tell me this.

Presley nods, looking proud of herself. “Yup. They are new to the market, catering specially to women. One of their posts used the phrase party mode, and while I don’t think it was truly a jab at Southern Brothers, but just someone using the phrase, there was no passing up the chance. So I replied with the Southern Brothers account, and we’ve been trading comebacks every couple of days.”

Opening the app on her phone, she pulls up the post, handing it to me so I can see. I scan down the comments, laughing at each playful barb back and forth between my brother’s brewery and this other booze.

“You come up with all these yourself?” I ask, impressed by what I see.

“Yup. That’s kinda my job,” she teases.

Damn, my girl is impressive.

“Most importantly, people are loving it. Taking sides and joining in with their own creative one-liners. Exactly what you want to see—brand recognition and engagement. And it’s free.”

Well, I’ll be damned. Presley is really good at this. Admittedly, marketing is not my thing, and social media even less, but I can’t help but be in awe of the fact that she single-handedly recognized the opportunity and whipped up this magic.

“That’s incredible, Pres,” I tell her, letting my amazement show.

She shrugs like it’s nothing. “Don’t worry, it’s still not as popular as your stranger danger series. That one is on the verge of viral. So many likes and shares.”

I laugh, loving the excitement that is flowing off her. I do have to admit, she was right—stranger danger has been a gold mine of a topic. We have a list as long as our arm to still cover, and I swear I’ve already helped her make probably two dozen videos.

“That’s all you, baby,” I say, leaning in and pressing a kiss to her temple. She smells sweet, like cherry blossoms, filling my nostrils, rewarding me for giving in to temptation.

On the other side of Presley, Margeaux lifts an eyebrow, the corner of her mouth also tipping upward in unison, as if a single string was pulling them both. She totally saw me do that, and by the twinkle in her eye, she’s filing it away for future use.

“Are you going to do a what-not-to-do video for cooking safety for the holidays?” Anton asks. “Jace can give you plenty of inspiration. Actually, he can even star in it.”

Fucker…

I roll my eyes, that urge to pull Presley close morphing into one to smack my brother upside the head. Of course he would bring that up. As the instigator of the family, he’s always looking for ways to cause trouble. Based on that comment, he also saw me sneak in that kiss and views it as an open invitation to embarrass me.

“It was one time,” I mutter.

Presley whips her head to me, eyes wide. “One time what?”

“Jace didn’t thaw⁠—"

We’re interrupted by Gus crashing into the chair next to me. Thankfully cutting Anton off. Because however he was about to tell this story, that is not how it went down. At least not fully.

“Everything okay?” Margeaux asks, her concern flowing out of her like an open spigot. “You canceled Munch.”

“Yeah, everything’s fine.” He runs his hand over his face, the exhaustion becoming even more clear. “Auggie got a 911 text from Miss Belle⁠—”

“Is Mama okay?” Anton cuts our oldest brother off.

We both lurch forward, suddenly on high alert. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a flash of red hair, followed by a gasp, instinctively knowing that my sisters-in-law reacted the same way.

“She’s fine,” he assures us. This time, his voice is filled with exasperation. “Her dry ice is…broken, or incorrect, or something.”

Her dry ice. Our mother sent our father a panicked, emergency text over dry ice? Actually, that tracks. She takes the mini haunted house that Hayes sets up as part of Truck or Treat very seriously.

“Dad got the text, so Milo and I ran back to Magnolia Manor with him, thinking something was wrong. Really wrong,” he continues, shaking his head. “I don’t fully understand the chemistry behind why it won’t do what it’s supposed to, but Milo does, so it’s his problem now. I’ve got bigger things to worry about than the haunted house.”

“Not if that dry ice doesn’t work,” Anton quips. “Then we’re all going to have a problem.”