Rhett leans close to me and lowers his voice. “You’ll like their story. When his brother passed, Brady inherited his baby niece and a lavender farm. He was planning to sell the property and move back to Boston, but then he fell in love with Kat.”
“And he couldn’t bring himself to leave.”
“Pretty much.”
I know the feeling. If the cheer camp in Boston offered me a position tomorrow, I’d turn them down in a heartbeat. There’s no way anything could entice me to leave Rhett or my life at the ranch.
Bunching my hand in his t-shirt, I pull him down to me and kiss him. “I love you, cowboy.”
His eyes twinkle, and he pats my ass. “Love you too, baby.”
Feeling like a contented cat in the sun, I call out to our crew. “Food’s on. Come and get it. Guests and little men first.” I wave over Brady and Kat. “Help yourselves.”
Kat grins. “I’m starving, and this looks amazing.”
Then I crook my finger to Austin and Gabe. “Come here, you two.” I help the boys wash up before I grab paper plates and help them make their nachos.
When my brothers-in-law wander up, I point to the sink. “Kindly wash your hands. I know y’all are filthy.”
“In the brain,” Jace says with a silly grin as he hugs Baylee. “Hey, troublemaker. Great to have you over.”
“Thanks.”
“Did I hear you were gonna bring a date?” He lifts an eyebrow. “Not sure how I feel about this. You’re like our little sister. He’d better pass muster.”
She rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. “He couldn’t make it, but you’ll like him. He’s a good guy.”
I hand out napkins. “There’s brownie sundaes for dessert and beer in the ice chest next to the TV.”
Beau reaches over to give me a noogie. “Have I mentioned how much we love having you? Marrying you is the best thing Rhett ever did.”
I grin. “You’re just saying that ’cause I feed you.”
“Nah, we genuinely love you.”
“Aww, thanks, bro.”
We all settle around the TV with our food. The screen flashes Florida’s logo meshed up against the Lone Star State Bronco, and a familiar pride for my alma mater fills me, reminding me of all the games I cheered at during college.
Those were great times, but this afternoon is special too.
I’m sitting between Rhett and Baylee. Kat and Brady settle on the other side of my husband while Beau and Jace take the short end of the L-shaped couch. The boys sprawl out on the floor in front of us so they can use the coffee table to hold their plates.
I glance at the faces of people I love, and my heart overflows with affection. This week might’ve been hard because of Amber,but I’m realizing I’ll take all the tough times if it means I can have these moments.
During the outro to commercial, the camera pans to the cheerleaders.
Rhett leans close. “Is it hard to give that up?”
“It’s bittersweet. There’s really not a career path for cheerleaders after graduation, aside from coaching. I miss the squad and being on the field. I mean, look at my team. How could I not be obsessed with the Broncos? I love those guys, and their coach is amazing. He’s a hardass, but in a good way.”
He nods. “I like Coach Santos. He keeps Mav in line. My brother needs that.”
“I’m friends with his daughter Roxy. She’s the one who interviewed me for that news segment.”
“I still can’t believe I only saw that recently,” he grouses.
The disgruntled look on his handsome face makes me laugh, and I lean up to kiss him. “Well, I promise if I do any more interviews, you’ll be the first to know.”
