“Harper! You’re finally here!” Sadie grinned as she rushed over from his dad’s yard where she’d been lip-locking with his brother. “I’ve missed you!”
Harper laughed “I missed you too, Cuz! It feels so good to be here.”
Squealing occurred from his flank. Cas turned to see Loni and Lori sprinting over, excitement lighting their faces.
The beautiful, dark-haired twins were identical and married to former SEALs, Dean and RJ, currently talking to Carter and the sheriff manning the grill in his dad’s yard.
“Harper!” Loni called out, waving enthusiastically as they approached.
“Welcome back,” Lori added, practically bouncing on her toes. “We’ve been counting down the days!”
The pretty blonde grinned, releasing Sadie just in time to catch a double hug from the twins. “It’s so good to see you both. I can’t believe I’m finally moving here.”
“We can’t believe it either,” Lori said, laughing. “It’s like we’re getting the band back together.”
Loni nodded. “It’s a big step. We know, having finally moved here ourselves a few years ago. But it’s so worth it. You’ll see.”
Cas watched a shadow cross Harper’s expression before she upped the wattage of her smile and nodded.
Sadie slid an arm around her cousin’s shoulder. “And don’t worry, we’re here to help with anything you need.”
“Especially the snacks,” Lori added with a wink, making everyone laugh.
The twins ran Champion Bakery in town, and their baked goods were legendary. Cas knew it was only a matter of time before Harper got to taste their popular treats herself.
A half second later, Dale approached, with a bunch of the guys on his six. His brother sidled up to Sadie and slid an arm around her shoulder.
“Hey, Dale.” Sadie’s gaze softened. “You remember my cousin, Harper.”
He smiled and nodded at the pretty blonde. “Of course. Nice to see you, Harper.”
“You, too, Dale.” Her smile was hesitant, her usual spark a bit dimmer, but there was still some warmth in her baby-blues. “’Bout time my cousin caught you.”
“Damn straight,” Sadie muttered, tugging his brother closer.
Cas’ chuckle mixed with the others before Loni and Lori introduced their husbands, who’d joined them.
Harper nodded to the men, her smile growing a little stiffer. “Nice to put faces with names. The girls have mentioned you.”
“And this is Mac, Cooper, and Gabe, who’s the sheriff,” Dale said, introducing the rest of the guys who’d followed him over. “And the guy taking over grilling duties next door is Carter.”
Out of the former military in town—not counting his brother—the only one Cas knew personally was Cooper because they’d gone through boot camp and then BUDs together. After receiving their Tridents, he was sent to the east coast and Coop to the west. They’d kept in touch though, and he knew of the rest of the men through Cooper and his brother.
Most of the guys at the party worked for ESI—Eagle Security and Investigations—the company Mac owned and operated in town. Half the employees were former Delta Force like Mac, but Cas didn’t hold that against them. They were good guys, and he was currently considering Mac’s job offer to join them. In fact, he fully intended to once he took a few weeks to get his head on straight and acclimated to civilian life again. The pace was a lot slower—too slow—and going in hot carried a different tactic. Yeah, he was going to need to work on that before Mac put him on any kind of detail.
The same offer had been extended to Dale, but the sheriff had also suggested his brother apply to become a deputy. Dale was a strait-laced, by-the-books kind of guy who never broke rules, whereas Cas never hesitated to bend them if it got the job done faster.
Number two on his list of things to work on.
“And I believe you remember my brother, Cas,” his brother said, regaining Cas’ attention.
Harper’s gaze met his, and her smile never wavered, but he could feel her tension rising. It radiated off her in waves, each one getting stronger than the last.
She did not like being the center of attention.
“Yes,” she replied. “I was just welcoming him home.”
He smiled. “Ditto. Now, what do you say you open the back of the van. You know we’re not going to let you unload it yourself, right?”
