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Then that’s where he needed to go. After setting out food for his highness Mojo, and a quick trip to the bathroom to piss and brush his teeth, Keaton threw on sweats, a t-shirt and hopped in his truck. The drive over to Ford’s was about ten minutes and in that time, he received approximately fifteen messages and calls, all of which he ignored.
Keaton pulled up to the ranch-style house in the middle of nowhere and as he approached the door, he could hear the sound of laughter coming from inside the house.
Ford, Ivy and Iris’s dad, had been a confirmed bachelor while raising his twins. He’d been married to the twins’ mom after finding out she was pregnant, but she took off when the girls were three. His oldest cousin had then sworn off relationships completely and actively tried to stay single and unattached. About a year and a half ago he moved to Whisper Lake and six months later he met Chrissy, who was a package deal with four kids of her own.
He'd seen his cousin do his best to fight his feelings for Chrissy, but ultimately, he caved and was now happily married and living his best life as a stepdad and husband. Their relationship was just another example of the real, soulmate love that Keaton had seen.
He knocked twice on the door before letting himself in.
When he stepped inside, he found his family all gathered at the large farm table in the dining room. All heads turned toward him. His Aunt Laney, her new boyfriend Michael, Ford, Chrissy, her four kids Fiona, Connor, Cassidy, Kimber, and his niece Ivy. Everyone looked at him in surprise.
Everyone, that is, except Iris, who looked down at her plate sheepishly.
“Hey!” Chrissy smiled widely. “I didn’t know you were coming for breakfast.”
“Actually, I just need to talk to Iris,” he said.
“What did you do?” Ford asked his daughter.
“Nothing.” Iris shook her head and lifted her hands in mock surrender, the picture of innocence.
“What did she do?” Ford turned his question to Keaton.
Keaton pulled up one of the articles and handed his phone to his cousin. “This.”
Ford glanced down at the phone, and he saw that there was a moment of confusion before he realized what had happened. “Iris.”
“What?” Iris asked indignantly.
“Did you say that your uncle was going to be on your show?”
“It’s notmyshow,” Iris quipped back. “And he said he would.”
“No,” he quickly set the record straight. “I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did,” Iris maintained.
Iris was a lot of things, impetuous, spontaneous, its-better-to-ask-for-forgiveness-than-permission, but she was not a liar. Or at least, she hadn’t been until now.
“When? When did I agree to be on the show.”
“We were at the bar and I was telling you that Sabrina Denton, my boss”—she motioned to her sister—” our boss…”
“Don’t drag me into this,” Ivy said.
Iris ignored her sister and continued, “I was telling you what a huge fan Sabrina is of you. Remember, her brother got her into MMA and they saw you fight twice. I was telling her about you because I got a text that a few contestants had dropped out at the last minute. I told her I was at a wedding talking to you and we took a selfie and sent it to her, remember?” Iris tapped on her screen and turned the phone around which had a photo of the two of them smiling at the camera.
Shit. He didn’t remember taking that at all.
“She said how amazing it would be ifyouwould do the show and I said I would ask you. So I did. And you said yes.”
Had he?
His recollection was fuzzy, but the details were starting to come back to him. Iris had mentioned her boss and told him that she was a fan and wanted him to do the show. He’d laughed. That was it. That was where his memory faded.
Had he agreed?
“I did?” he must have.
