Page 56 of Always Will
“Uh, could I talk to everyone first?” I ask.
Looking between us, lips pursed perceptively, she calls over her shoulder, “Trevor requests a family meeting!”
Skittering footsteps fall behind us as I lead Willa into the family lounge. This room is reserved for game nights and family meetings, two of the most intense gatherings we ever hold. The recessed lighting in the white coffered ceiling feels like a hundred spotlights when I flip them on.I have no reason to be nervous, but this is the biggest news I’ve ever shared. Willa settles on the powder blue loveseat, and I perch next to her on the arm of the sofa. She rolls her lips together, grabbing at her fingers the way she did on the plane. Her parents didn’t take this news well at all. I get why she thinks mine will react the same way. They won’t. Might tease me about bringing home a surprise baby, but they’ll be excited about this.
“Hey,” I whisper in her ear. “There’s nothing to worry about. Do you want to hold my hand?” Willa stills her fingers, then quickly reaches for mine. I give a little squeeze right as Dad walks in the room.
“So what? You get back in town and think you can tell us what to do?” Dad’s wide smile as he shakes his balding head completely invalidates the sarcasm. He strolls across the room and playfully puts me in a headlock, rubbing his knuckles into my scalp. “Glad you’re back, son.” Turning to Willa, he sticks out a hand. “Asa Jones. I’m sorry you have to deal with this knucklehead.”
She laughs and drops my hand to shake his. “Nice to meet you.”
“Uncle Tre!” Harper and Hazel barrel through the room, almost knocking me over with a tackle. Their twin unison act is really coming along too. My sister Lainey files in with a not-so-little baby Holland on her hip, both wearing hooded pink dinosaur onesies.
“Uh-oh… I think you two are taller than I am by now,” I say to my nieces. “You get into the cattle feed again?”
“Ew!” The girls shriek, making faces with their tongues out.
I glance around the room for my older sister. “Where’s Maya?”
“I’m right here,” Maya says from behind me, closing the patio door and leaning a broom against the wall. “That damn cat got stuck in the tree again.”
Sprinkles, our mostly blind Tabby, used to be a barn cat. But once she started going blind, mom moved her inside the house for safety. She tries to live that outdoor cat life whenever she can slip outside, where she usually ends up stuck in a tree. Maya peels the twins off my legs, directing them to the tiny rocking chairs Dad made for them last year. Then she crushes me with a hug, suffocating me with her auburn curls. “Hey, T.”
“Missed you, My.” I hold her close, letting out a breath.Now it feels like home. For as long as I can remember, Maya’s had a soothing presence. She’s seven years older, and since we’ve been through a lot together, she’s always been a main source of comfort. Keeping everything from her has been wearing on me.
“Maybe if you came home more often, you wouldn’t miss me so much.” She drives a soft punch into my stomach.
“Where’s Ben?” I ask.
“He got called in, so he’ll be here after his shift. Now what’s with the family meeting, and why haven’t you introduced me to the pretty woman sitting next to you?” She steps around me and smiles at Willa. “Excuse him. He was technically raised in a barn.”
“This is Willa,” I say. “That’s what the meeting’s about…” I clear my throat, and everyone takes it for the beacon it is, turning to look at me. “Willa and I are?—”
“Engaged!” Lainey calls out.
“Married!” Eli joins in with a smirk.
“Will you two shut up? Let him talk!” Maya glares at both of them. “Go on, T.”
My parents sit in their armchairs next to the fireplace, eyes twinkling as they watch us.
“Uh, we’re having a baby.”
“Oh!” Mom squeals, jumping out of her seat. Her hands flap vigorously as she bounces across the room, tears welling in her eyes. She stops in front of us, unable to decide who she should hug first. “Trevor. Anthony. Jones. This better not be a joke!”
“See, I told you she’d do the Jazz Hands,” Maya slips in.
“This is great news,” Dad says. “But don’t get it twisted, son. Willa’s doing all the work here. All you did was wield your willy.”
“Pops…” I slap a hand over my eyes, hiding the cringe on my face as I groan my amusement.
“You grew up on a farm, Tre. I taught you about the birds and bees myself. You know what sticking your will?—”
“Dad!” Maya shifts an icy look across the room, nodding toward the girls.
“Ooh, I love birdies!” Harper’s dark brown ringlets bounce as she shakes excited fists in a little happy dance.
“Mommy, what’s a willy?” Hazel asks, her rust-colored corkscrews falling over her eyes as she stares down Maya.
