Page 39 of Talk About… History

“What happened to your uncle?” His eyes shadowed again, like they did before.

“He got sick. At first he was just a bit weak then my Aunt Clara said he collapsed. He went to a treatment facility and they found cancer. She is really cagey on the details and doesn’t want anyone to see him like that. I checked in recently and she said he looks frail. I write, but…”

The way he trailed off, eyes sad and voice broken, had me pulling him into a hug. He easily melted into the touch, his arms circling me and holding me close while his nose teased against my neck.

“Do you know where the facility is?” I asked quietly. “We could ignore her protests and simply go visit. Maybe he’d like that.”

“If she’s the one calling the shots, she likely blocked that from happening.”

He sounded so broken and my heart shattered all over again.

“Uncle Glenn was always so full of life. I’ve been such a coward, afraid to push and ruin the image I have of him.”

“That’s not cowardice, that’s self preservation, and sometimes that’s how we cope.”

“Pizza!” Sidney’s voice echoed over the room and we took a step back, releasing each other.

“Shit, I didn’t mean to bring down the mood on a night of celebration,” he said, wincing. “Sorry, Avery.”

“Don’t be. I’m glad you told me,” I reassured him. My stomach growled and he took that as an opportunity to keep the night moving, leading me to the bar where my brothers were setting everything out.

“A toast!” My mama called out, raising her glass in the air. “To Avery and her willingness to bring Rockwood Valley back to life like it deserves. This town has been quiet for far too long.”

“To Avery!” Everyone raised their glasses while my face burned at being the center of attention.

Even I could admit that seeing this many people celebrating you and your success was humbling. Maybe it was time to think about other things in my future, like a new car and having someone look at my property so I could move forward with building my own place.

“Thanks, Mama,” I said, raising my own glass before taking a drink. “Now, let’s eat.”

We were like a pack of starving animals, everyone snagging a plate and pizza, clearing box after box. Within thirty minutes, Mav was carrying out the empty boxes while Nash wiped down the counter.

“We open in fifteen. If anyone wants to escape before the crowd comes, now’s your chance.”

“That’s my cue,” my mama said quickly.

“Mine, too,” Sidney said, rushing by and tugging me away from Cohen. “Sorry, girl time.”

She stopped in front of the music kiosk and set the music to country music she could dance to. I’ve never been as coordinated as her but she didn’t care and tonight, I didn’t either.

When we were on the dance floor, she cast me a grin. “So, details. How is the new mate thing going?”

I groaned. “I couldn’t even admit it to my family yet.”

“Oh, girl,” she laughed. “They know. We all know you better than you realize.”

I rolled my eyes. “Trust me, if they knew they’d corner him.”

She stopped dancing and raised an eyebrow. “Like right now?”

I whipped around to take in Cohen standing calmly between my brothers. He seemed at ease but there was a tick in his jaw.

“Don’t intervene. They need to have this moment and he needs to know just how involved your family is.”

I gritted my teeth and tensed my muscles, refusing to let myself take a step toward them. She was right. My life was chaotic at best now and my family and I were always close. That had only gotten worse since I’d been back.

They were more protective than ever. He needed to see all my crazy and I think I needed to see how he’d handle it.

Sidney and I just watched, ignoring people coming in for the night and the crowd moving around us. They weren’t yelling and no one was getting worked up.

---