Page 39 of Nate Hayes

Three women and one sharp-eyed man.

One of them—his grandmother, if the “World’s Toughest Grandma” T-shirt was anything to go by—walked with a cane. Her friend Mable walked next to her with a walker. Nate told me all about his family. About how close they were.

Beside her was a tall, stunning woman with a no-nonsense ponytail, wearing black jeans, aviators, and a leather jacket in 80-degree weather, as if it didn’t faze her. Nate had warned me she was “intense.”

And flanking them both was a woman I recognized from photos—Maggie, who was Eloise, and Nate’s sister. Delicate features, a bold mouth, and a little smirk like she was sizing up every living creature within a ten-foot radius.

Trailing slightly behind them was Axel, who looked like he’d rather be punched than dragged through an herb stand.

They stopped in front of the table, and I wiped my hands on my apron.

“Willa, meet the crew,” Nate said, suddenly behind me, one arm slinging around my waist. “This here’s Grandma Hayes, her best friend, Mable, and my Aunt Jen, and that’s my sister, Maggie.”

Grandma stepped forward first. “You’re the one who wrangled his heart, huh?” She looked me up and down. “At least you look strong.”

I smiled nervously. “I lift goats daily.”

She laughed and smacked Nate’s arm with her cane. “She’s got wit. Keep her.”

Mable hugged me. “You’re lucky. Nate is hot, I’ve always thought so. But is all of his buddies.”

“Mable, don’t start talking like that again,” Grandma said, frowning at Mable.

“Oh, for crying out loud. I’m eighty-four, I know what a hot guy looks like. Every one of these SEALs is hot and you know it. Just because I’m old doesn’t mean I have to be quiet, you know how much I enjoyed Henry coming over and spending the night with me. He may not have been able to get it to work right, but he knew how to make me enjoy my orgasms.”

“I am going to cut my ears off if she doesn’t stop talking,” Maggie said.

“Mable, Henry has been dead for over a year. We are no longer talking about that drunk. Look at Nate, his face is all red.”

Maggie quickly changed the subject. She tilted her head slightly. “You made this soap?”

“I did.”

She picked one up and sniffed it. “Smells like clean rain and good decisions. Weird. Not sure I’ve ever smelled either. But I love it.”

Axel choked on a sip of lemonade.

“You okay?” Grandma asked, slapping him hard on the back.

“Fine,” he wheezed. “Just… swallowed wrong.” But his eyes flicked back to Maggie, and I didn’t miss the way she raised one brow in his direction.

“Well,” Aunt Jen said, “we’ve been hearing a lot about you, Willa. My nephew doesn’t usually smile this much.”

“Probably because I’m finally sleeping,” Nate said, kissing the side of my head.

Grandma made a noise. Lord save us, he’s soft.”

Maggie snorted. “Guess this means I can’t interrogate her now.”

“I mean,” I said, folding my arms, “you could try. But you’d have to go through Pancake first.”

At her name, the goat gave a majestic bleat from where she lay, unimpressed by the drama.

“You bring your goat to market?” Grandma asked.

“She’s the bouncer,” I said with a wink.

Nate laughed, and his family all smiled genuinely. Even Axel looked like he might have enjoyed himself.

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