Page 101 of Someday You Learn

“Thanks for having us. This property is gorgeous,” I tell her as I take in the open layout and the beautiful view of the ocean just a small stretch of sand away.

Dallas walks up behind Willow, wrapping his arm around her waist, admiring the view himself. “Thank you. This is our own little slice of heaven in Carrington Cove.” Then he turns to Parker and claps him on the shoulder. “How’s it going, little brother?”

Parker reciprocates the gesture. “It’s going. Busy, but making progress.”

I wish I knew more about what he’s making progress with, but alas, my fake fiancé is still locked up pretty tight. After my talk with Willow and Hazel earlier this week, I decided to continue to wait on him to open up to me, but he still hasn’t said any more about his mysterious Monday night appointments.

It’s seriously making me question if they’re a figment of my imagination.

“Hey, before I forget,” Dallas says, turning to his brother, “I wanted to know if you had plans next weekend.”

Parker turns to me for silent confirmation, and I shake my head, loving that he thought to check with me about our plans—even if I’m not entirely sure where our relationship stands. Just the thought of asking him about it has my anxiety building again.

“Not that I’m aware of,” he replies.

“Would you be willing to help me build a shed out back?” Dallas jerks his thumb over his shoulder. “I want to get it done before the baby comes, and Penn is tied up with a few jobs..”

“So, I’m second choice?” Parker quips. “The brotherly equivalent of a second-string quarterback. Got it.”

Dallas rolls his eyes. “If that’s how you want to take it, sure.”

Parker smirks. “Of course I can help you. I’m just giving you shit.”

Dallas blinks at him. “Wait a minute. Did you just crack a joke?”

“Jesus, don’t make a big deal out of it,” Parker grumbles. “I said I’d help you, didn’t I?”

Dallas turns to me. “Keep up whatever it is that you’re doing. I like the effect it’s having on my little brother.”

I laugh under my breath.If he only knew.

“So, how are the geese doing?” Parker asks Willow, changing the subject as we head toward the kitchen. Willow has a bottle of wine chilling for us and a sparkling water with lime for herself.

Willow smiles proudly as she pours the wine. “Mallory and Gary have been patrolling the yard, watching over the eggs for the past week. We started with two and now we’re up to five.”

“Mallory and Gary?” I ask.

Dallas groans. “Willow’s named every bird that comes within fifty feet of this house, like they’re her pets. Later, I’ll tell you how they started out as mortal enemies.”

Willow shoots her husband a glare, and then motions for us to follow her outside. We step onto the wraparound porch and head toward the side of the house, where a narrow path of tall grass separates their property from the neighbor’s. Near the edge of the grass are two geese—one sitting on the ground, covering the eggs, I’m assuming, and another patrolling the area.

The second we get too close, the one standing begins to voice his concern.

“Honk!”

Willow places her hands on her hip as she stares down at the bird. “Easy, Gary. Parker is just here to make sure you and Mallory are gonna hatch healthy little babies.”

Gary shifts his head, eyeing her, and then takes off toward his partner. “Honk!”

I giggle, watching the interaction. Parker takes a few steps closer. “I need to wait for Mallory to move to check them.”

“How exactly are you going to do that?” I ask.

He pulls a flashlight from his pocket, clicking it on and off. “I shine the light through them to check that they are viable. If Mallory has been sitting on them thus far and doesn’t move, they’re probably good to go. But if several aren’t viable, she might abandon the whole nest, and then the ones that could have survived won’t, so that’s what we want to be careful about.”

I look to my side to find Willow recording Parker on her phone. “Don’t mind me, just documenting him in action.” She winks in my direction, and suddenly, I think I know exactly what she’s up to.

“What if she doesn’t move?” I ask.

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