Page 97 of Barbed Wire Fences
“Rae’s already planning my bachelorette,” I tell her.
“Then whatever you do, don’t let her make it Halloween themed,” Lydia warns, dead serious.
“One event,” Rae mutters. “One. And frankly, it was amazing.”
"It was pretty nice," Molly says with a nudge to her sister-in-law's hip.
“Well, I’m in,” Lydia says, stabbing her finger skyward. “I’ve never gambled in my life but I'm ready to risk it all.”
Regan laughs. "You don't even drink, Lydia."
“I’m not much of a gambler myself,” I admit.
Rae hooks her arm around my waist in a squeeze. “Trust me. This is going to be a blast. All of us together in Vegas.”
“What’s going to be a blast?” Dani asks, poking her head into the circle.
“We’re doing Vegas for Rhett and Jael’s bachelorette!” Rae shrieks just before Cash scoops her up around the waist and slings her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
“Jenni’s begging to playThe Game of Life. Colt, Molly, you in?” Rhett calls out, referring to one of the older kids from the community center that Molly and Colt became close with years ago when he first served his parole.
Molly laughs. “This is a trap, but fine. She has our son anyway.” She loops her arm through Colt’s and follows them off.
“Sorry we’re late. My sister’s in town and we got caught up talking with her,” Dani says with an eye roll as she steps in.
“That’s okay, you didn’t miss anything,” I tell her, smiling as she pulls Lydia into a hug.
Dani exhales. “Issues with her long-term boyfriend again. And honestly? I think she’s having an existential crisis. She’s been a surgeon on the West Coast for years, but lately… I don’t know, she’s questioning everything.”
“Invite her to the bachelorette,” I joke. “Might be the kind of break she needs. Plus, Vegas isn't too far from California.”
Dani snorts. “That sounds like a nightmare.”
“Congrats again,” Lawson says, sliding in for a quick hug.
He’s the only one Rhett confided in before proposing, and watching their brotherhood grow, turning into something more like best friends than two friends who didn't know their past history, makes me ridiculously happy. Especially since I never had siblings of my own and I know Rhett always wanted that.
“Heard about Vegas.”
I laugh. “Already?”
“Whitewood Creek’s mayor has a big mouth,” he says, joking about Rae.
I grin, cheeks aching from all this smiling.
“Hope you don’t mind,” Lawson adds. “I just got off the phone with our cousin Austin. He’s been out in California, working as a firefighter for years, but he’s planning to move back to North Carolina now due to some family stuff. I invited him to Vegas.”
I shrug. At this point, what else can I do but accept it? This is my life now, a family so big it’s bursting at the seams. A family that celebrates us, claims us, loves us. Something I never thought I’d get.
“Sounds like a blast.”
“Austin's moving to North Carolina?” Lydia asks from beside me, her already pale face draining another shade whiter, her blonde hair practically blending into her skin.
“Oh right,” Lawson says, snapping his fingers. “I forgot you met him a few years ago when he came in to help out with the farm after Colt got locked up.”
“Yeah,” Lydia says, forcing a smile. “That was… a long time ago.” Then she walks off before I can ask what that’s about.
“We’re gonna go play some games. You two joining?” Dani asks, her fingers laced with Lawson’s.
