His face brightened. “Hey.” He moved into the East Wing, and closed the door behind him. “Thanks for inviting me.”
“Yeah, of course,” Wilder said, his eyes catching on Chaz’s. He paused, seeing something there. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” Chaz turned away and continued into the apartment. Before Wilder could follow and press him further, the door opened again, and Heather, Sunny, and Robbie all entered. They each carried a bag in each hand, and Wilder blinked at them.
“Aunt Etta,” Heather said by way of explanation.
“She heard we were having a little party tonight,” Sunny said. “She wanted to send some food.”
“It’s not a party,” Wilder said.
“It kind of is,” Robbie said as he lifted the bags he carried onto the counter. He worked as a truck mechanic in town, and whenever Wilder had a question about their farm equipment, he went to Robbie first.
“No, it’s not,” Wilder said. “If it was a party, I’d have invited everyone.” He looked at Chaz again, wondering if that was why he was glad to be invited.
“Well, Judy wishes she could be here,” Betty said. “And she’s going out with Trooper again, so that’s saying something.”
“She’s going out with him again?” Fawn asked. “What is this? Like, date four or five?”
“Five,” Betty said. “She seems to like him, and he’s totally in love with her already.”
Wilder so didn’t want to hear about yet another cousin who’d found Their One—unless it was him. He wasn’t sure why this bothered him so much, only that his blood felt like it had been lit on fire.
Jealousy never felt good, and Wilder pushed it away. He was only twenty-five years old, had a great job, an amazing family, lived in his own place, and literally had nothing to complain about. Absolutely nothing.
“She might take him home to meet Aunt Ida and Uncle Brady for Christmas,” Georgia said.
“Wow, already?” Sunny asked as she pulled out an aluminum casserole pan and took off the lid. “This is tater tot casserole.”
“I have the cheesy chicken tenders.” Heather started opening drawers to find the utensils. Wilder hadn’t realized he’d be hosting a dinner party tonight, but he really should know better by now. He was a Glover, after all.
He came from one of the smaller branches, though, and his parents had done a great job of creating a smaller bubble for just him, Fawn, and them. Four people was such a far cry from the whole Glover clan.
“I’m telling you, you guys,” Betty said. “Trooper really likes her, and they talk all the time.”
“I thought they just started dating,” Heather said.
“A couple of weeks, yeah,” Georgia said. “But they’re to date five already. He comes over a lot too.”
“Already?” Wilder asked, and he realized too late how aggressive he sounded. Thankfully, he masked it by stepping around Robbie to help Heather find the plates and silverware. He let the conversation continue around him, latching onto a meditation technique he’d used in the past.
I am a window, he thought as the voices around him chatted.Things just move through me. They don’t bother me. I’m transparent, and everything just moves through me.
He went through the line and got food, because no one in their right mind passed up food Aunt Etta had made. Once they’d all sat down somewhere—either at the dining room table or in the nearby living room—Pearl Jo said, “All right, guys. We need to come up with two or three really good ideas I can take to Gun.” She popped a tater tot into her mouth. “Otherwise, I think I might choke him next time he shows up and starts pining over Camila.”
“He’s pretty bad,” Fawn said. “And he stayssolate.”
Both she and Pearl Jo worked around the ranch, and yes, that required an early morning.
“Yeah, because he comes over after he drops her off.” Pearl Jo sighed. “I told him to just ask her already, but he says it has to be a whole production.”
“He’s not wrong,” Smiles said. “A buddy of mine just proposed to his girlfriend, and they rode a pair of horses out toBald Rock, where he had a three-course meal served by waiters in tuxes.”
“You’re kidding,” Chaz said.
Wilder, too, found that to be absolutely ridiculous. “Why can’t we just buy a diamond and get down on one knee?”
“A diamond, Wild?” Fawn shook her head. “No, thank you.”
