Page 98 of The Promises We Broke
"Speaking of which," Blake said, pointing her fork at us, "you two need to start making some decisions. I know you want to wait, but if you're thinking fall or next spring, we need to start planning now."
"We want to give Delaney and Trace their moment," Billie said, squeezing my hand. "Their wedding should be the focus this summer."
"That's very sweet," Reece said with a grin, "but Blake's right about timing. Good vendors book up fast, even in small towns."
"Not if they get married at the swimming hole," Xander added, making Billie and me both blush.
"Who said anything about the swimming hole?" Billie protested.
"Oh please," Blake said. "Like you're going to get married anywhere else. That's where your love story started, and it's literally in your backyard now."
I glanced at the empty chair at the end of the table, at the spot I'd set for Dex even though he'd told me he couldn't make it. Again.
"I wish Dex could have been here," Billie said softly, following my gaze.
"He said he had plans," I said, trying to keep the frustration out of my voice.
I'd talked to Dex twice since Christmas, taken him out for drinks like I'd promised, but he'd brushed off every attempt toget him to open up. Insisted he was fine, just busy with work, nothing to worry about. But when I'd invited him to our first family dinner at the house, he'd made some excuse about having other commitments.
"I'm getting really worried about him," I said, voicing what we were all thinking. "He's not himself."
"That's what we're worried about," Booker said gruffly. "He's been pulling away from all of us."
"I'll try talking to him again," I said, though I wasn't sure what good it would do. Dex had always been stubborn when he decided to shut people out.
"Good," Jasper said from his spot at the head of the table, but his voice sounded strained. "Family takes care of family."
I looked at my father, because that's what he was again, finally, after years of being a stranger. There was something off with him as well. I could see the tension in his shoulders and the way he kept fidgeting with his napkin. We'd spent so much time together recently that I could read him as well as I could any of my brothers.
It still amazed me sometimes, having him back in our lives. The man who'd shut himself away for so many years, who'd been too broken by his own grief and guilt to see what Regina was doing to us, was now here at our dinner table, asking about our engagement, sharing in our joy. The divorce had been finalized last year, and while the wounds from our childhood would take time to fully heal, we were building something new. Something better.
He'd been fighting to prove himself ever since he'd finally opened his eyes to what our family had become without him. He helped with the house renovation, babysat Barrett when Trace and Delaney needed a break, even made sure to stay connected through our family group chat, sending awkward but heartfelt messages about how proud he was of us. But I could still see theuncertainty in his eyes sometimes, like he was waiting for us to decide we didn't need him after all.
We did need him. Maybe not the way we'd needed a father when we were children, but we needed the man he was becoming. The grandfather Cade, Barrett, and Amelia deserved. The father-in-law who'd already started treating Billie like the daughter he'd never had.
"Everything okay, Dad?" I asked.
Jasper cleared his throat and set down his fork, suddenly looking nervous. "Actually, there's something I wanted to talk to you all about."
The table went quiet except for Barrett's happy babbling.
"What's wrong?" Trace asked, immediately on alert.
"Nothing's wrong," Jasper said quickly. "It's just... Caroline and I have been talking, and she'd like to bring Leigh to visit Willowbrook. Next month, for a couple of months."
The silence stretched long enough that even Barrett seemed to sense the shift in mood, his babbling trailing off as he looked around with curious eyes.
"They want to meet you boys," Jasper continued, his voice gaining strength. "All of you. She... they know about our family now, about how we've been rebuilding, and they'd like to be part of it. If you're willing."
Booker was the first to break the silence, his voice characteristically blunt. "Why wouldn't we want to meet our sister?"
Relief flooded Jasper's face. "I wasn't sure how you'd feel about..."
"She's family," Trace said simply. "Of course we want to meet her."
"And Caroline," I added, surprising myself with how much I meant it. "They're both welcome here."
"What's Leigh like?" Cade asked with the straightforward curiosity only kids possessed. "How old is she? Does she like horses? Can she ride a quad bike?"
