“Last week? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it’s not a big deal. Nothing bad happened. We really like each other, but he had to move back to Michigan to take care of his sick mom. He has no idea how long he’ll be gone. And it’s not like I was gonna ask him not to go.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
Emmy had walked away when Evie started talking, giving us some privacy. Although my sister wasn’t being secretive about what she said.
“It’s okay. If anything, Ben showed me there really are some nice guys in the world. Speaking of, are there any single men at the club?”
I barely inhaled a breath to answer when Utah and Knox simultaneously shouted, “No!”
Knox then added, “Get that thought right out of your head, Evie. Not gonna happen.” His face started to turn red.
“Oh, calm down,” Evie retorted.
The pout on her face would’ve made me feel a little bad for her had it not been for the wink she gave me before she walked away. She did that shit on purpose just to rile our brother. She just so happened to also rile Utah, which was a win in her book too.
As the festivities got underway, I took a seat on the couch next to my man. Renner sat in the chair next to us, beer in hand and a smile on his face. Emmy was in the kitchen with Colton, laughing about something he said, no doubt.
“I never thought I’d see the day when you became domesticated, brother,” Renner said. “Talk about a surprise.”
“After the life I’ve had, that’s a compliment. Believe me.” They clicked bottles and took a sip, and then Utah squeezed my hand and locked eyes with me. “The love of a good woman will change a man.”
I became overwhelmed with emotion, blaming my unshed tears on the pregnancy, but the truth of the matter was every second with Utah was a blessing. If he wasn’t saying something sweet, he was going out of his way to do things to make my life easier. He was a wonderful father and would be an amazing husband when we took the plunge next year sometime. Although, with a baby on the way, we might have to readjust the timeline.
“It sure will,” Knox added, circling his arm around Kyla’s waist and kissing her temple.
They really were cute together. I’d asked my brother if they ever talked about getting married, and he said they’d discussed it but were in no rush. He did, however, ask if I’d go with him to help him pick out a ring when that time came, which I would be honored to do.
Now all we had to do was find someone for Evie, but apparently, it wasn’t going to be anyone in the club, as was evident from the responses earlier. But she had time. She was only turning twenty-four next month.
“Mom, I can take the baby.” I reached for my son, but she held him close.
“He’s fine with me.” She kissed his head of blond curls. “I remember when you kids were this little. Cherish this time. He’ll be graduating high school before you know it.”
“Let’s not jump that far ahead, Melinda.” Utah chuckled. “He just turned one.”
“Watch and see,” she said, snuggling our son close.
My mom’s words echoed in my ear, and as I cuddled next to Utah, surrounded by our friends and family, my heart swelled with the story that was still being written by us.
