Home Again with You

by Liza Kendall

  “I wasn’t sure I’d be welcome. Wasn’t sure at all,” Sue said frankly. She’d gone in for her iced coffee, and now she jiggled the cubes.

  “Declan asked me to invite you, if I hadn’t already.”

  “That’s Declan. Don’t know why that boy hasn’t settled down.” After a moment’s hesitation she asked, “Does Rhett know I’m coming?”

  “Yep. He said he appreciated your spirit.”

  Aunt Sue burst into peals of laughter. “Very politic.”

  Rhett had agreed that the Saddlery could stay in business, as long as her aunt took a fair cut of the consignment items, sold snacks and peach tea at a good markup, and worked to actively market her jewelry and leather goods so that the place started turning a profit.

  “You gonna be okay with him, Aunt Sue? Treat him right?” She turned and caught her aunt’s gaze square. “I’m in love with him, and we’re having a baby. I want you on our side.” Jules felt her face burn as she made the next confession: “We already got a license. I wanted to make up for turning him down so hard and the best way I could think of was taking him down to Dusty Hinckle at the city clerk’s office, signing my name on his heart, and showing him my intentions.”

  A host of emotions flickered in Sue’s eyes. She took a long draft of her coffee. “Well, I promise not to shoot him, anyways.”

  Startled, Jules choked on a laugh.

  “So did Dusty read you his crusty lecture on how marriage is a sacred commitment and all? Not to be entered into lightly or for the wrong reasons.”

  “Yep,” Jules said ruefully. “I told him everything was just fine. That I was marrying Rhett for his money.”

  Aunt Sue hooted. “You did not.”

  “I sure did. And then, when he looked shocked, I asked if there was a problem.”

  “I’ll be by your side, come what may,” said Aunt Sue, after she stopped laughing. “And maybe . . . maybe you’ll let me babysit some.” She stared into her coffee, her throat working.

  Poor Aunt Sue. She would never forget her unborn child. Never stop wondering who she’d have grown up to be. Jules put an arm around Aunt Sue and squeezed her. “Some?” she asked, to lighten the moment. “We plan to take total advantage of you as our unpaid nanny.”

  Sue laughed. “Oh, is that how it’s going to be?”

  “Uh-huh. You’ll see,” Jules said, shading her eyes and turning back to watch Rhett happy, laughing, messing around in the mud with his brothers and sister.

  Dad blew the whistle on a foul for Mick, and the game stopped for a moment.

  Rhett looked up to the porch.

  Jules waved.

  He mouthed I love you and pressed his palm to his heart.

  “What is this, a romance novel?” Aunt Sue called.

  He turned back to the game to find everybody watching.

  Jules laughed as they started hooting and hollering, messing up his hair, and pounding him on the back. He shot that mile-wide smile again, back up to her on the porch.

  Dad whistled to start the next play. “Focus! Eyes on the ball, not my daughter, young man.”

  “You two are disgusting,” yelled Grady. “Hike it, Lovesick!”

  Chapter 35

  The sun was already starting to go down when dinner was called. Rhett paused in the doorway to the great room as those he cared about most in the world streamed in around him with a smile, a kind word, or a shoulder squeeze. He stood with his hands shoved into his pockets and walked to the window, silently admiring everything Declan had done to the house. He couldn’t get over the scores of memories: Ace drawing beneath the trees, Lila crawling up into one to read her Anne of Green Gables books. Jake hanging the tire swing from the big oak in back . . . which was still there. He and Declan had built a platform in another one off the side of the house and created a rope ladder that they pulled up so that nobody could enter their clubhouse. He smiled.

  He ran a hand over the expansive old farm table that had been Mama and Pop’s—had come down from Mama’s own mama. Declan had sanded it down to bare wood and applied a beautiful new finish. It stood over a new, more modern rug that Lila had chosen.

  “Here you go,” his sister said, handing him a stack of plates. “You get to help.”

  Rhett nodded and followed her around the table as she set down place mats.

  “Grab some silverware?” she asked as she added an absolutely horrific centerpiece of a jester reclining on a bunch of fake fruit.

  “We have to look at that while we eat?” he protested.

  “No—it has to look at you, nimrod.”

  He grinned. They’d always be siblings, no matter how many years went by, no matter how adult they were supposed to be.

  “Of course we have to look at it while we eat: This is a Feast of Fools,” Lila said.

  Declan appeared with a couple of bottles of wine for the table and stopped short upon sight of the jester. “No. Really? That’s just plain awful.”

  “Tackiest thing I’ve ever seen,” agreed Lila cheerfully. “And it stays.”

  “Awfully bossy, aren’t you?” Deck set the bottles down on either end of the table.

  “You bet. Mama is up there laughing. She always did love creating the jesters for Fool Fest. So this is actually in her honor.”

  Jake and Charlie strolled in and winced. “Dear Lord,” was Charlie’s only comment.

  Mrs. Holt emerged from the kitchen with a massive baked ham, took one look at the centerpiece, and surprised them all by laughing. “Oh my. Beverly would have loved it.”

  “Right?” Lila nodded.

  Mia followed her with a huge pan of scalloped potatoes that had Rhett’s mouth watering.

  And Jules brought in a green bean casserole the size of a football field.

  They set down the food and backed away from the jester.

  “Does it bite?” asked Jules.

  Lila shook a finger at her. “Only when it’s disrespected and maligned.”

  “Tell me that there’s a dessert that gets flambéed,” suggested Jake. “So that it can accidentally catch on fire.”

  “That’s really not funny,” Declan said.

  Soon the rest of the guests had arrived and they were all seated and helping themselves to food: Coach and Mia, Jake and Charlie, old Kingston Nash and Aunt Sue, the Holts, Rhett and Jules, Lila and Declan at each end of the table. Grady and Old George flanked Deck. Mick and Rafi flanked Lila.

  Mrs. Holt asked her husband to say grace. Billy did so, garnering a great cheer when he added that he’d already been blessed: His treatment was working and his prognosis was excellent, a best-case scenario.

  After order was restored, Lila asked everyone to think of something foolish they’d done and share it with the group.

  They went around the table.

  “Not bringing enough Baileys to drown out the sight of that hideous jester,” said Aunt Sue.

  “Letting my granddaughter plant my truck bed full of bluebonnets,” growled Kingston. “She won’t take ’em out, and now Progress gets watered every day!”

  Charlie shook with laughter.

  “Trying to make mole,” admitted Lila.

  Everyone laughed—though Rafi made more of a choking noise.

  And so it went.

  Then Declan surprised everyone by clinking a fork against his wineglass. “That was great. But I’d like to propose next that we each come up with a toast. And here’s mine: To all of you, for being here at Silverlake Ranch with this fool.” He gestured to himself, and his mouth worked. “I can’t even find the words to tell you how much it means to me.”

  “Hear! Hear!” They all raised their glasses.

  Everyone had a say; some of the words were funny, some bittersweet, some downright mushy, and others deliberately trying to get a laugh.

  At last it was Rhett’s tu
rn. He’d thought about making a joke and saving his words for a more private time. But everybody he loved in the world was in this room, at this table.

  “I don’t think there’s a way for me to explain just how happy I am to be here with all of you,” Rhett finally said. “This is a perfect day.”

  He looked around at each face, his eyes pausing on Declan, Jake, and Lila. “I’m home in Silverlake, and, no foolin’, I’ve got my family back.”

  He found Grady’s face, and the storm in his best friend’s eyes had retreated. He smiled over the platters of food and got a smile back—with an eye roll, of course. “My best friend doesn’t want to kill me anymore. At least not as much as he used to, and I like to think it’s getting better all the time.”

  Soft laughter filled the room, with Grady joining in.

  Rhett nodded at the rest of the crew scattered around the table. “You can’t have too much family, and everybody here is here because . . . somebody at this table cares a whole helluva lot about you.” He locked eyes with Aunt Sue. “I look forward to getting to know all of you better in the future.”

  She smiled gratefully, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

  Rhett finally looked to Jules sitting next to him, her hand in his. Her smile was radiant, her grip strong and sure. “And you, Jules. You remind me every day what sort of man I want to be. I couldn’t be happier sitting here at a table next to you, surrounded by the fields and the lake, the livestock, and everything under the sun that I’ve loved all my life right here in Silverlake. I cherish you more than anything in this world.”

  Jules buried her face in Rhett’s shoulder; he could feel the warmth of her breath, the shape of her smile before she pulled back. “I love you, too. I wish we could get married today, right here, right now.”

  “Do you, now?” Rhett asked softly. “Do you mean it?”

  “Are you kidding?” Jules asked. “It’s everything I could want. You know me. You know who I am.” She opened her arms wide, taking in the beloved people sitting around the table. “What else do we need? We even have the license already.”

  “Holy moly, my heart is pounding,” Lila squeaked from her place down at the far end of the table.

  Coach cleared his throat. “You know I’m an ordained minister, right?”

  The idea hung for a moment in the atmosphere, everyone collectively holding their breath.

  Rhett looked down the table at Coach, and he smiled and inclined his head. He cupped Jules’s face in the palms of his hands. “Well, then, Jules. What do you say? Right here, right now?”

  Jules pursed her lips. “Well, maybe after a slice of Sue’s pie.”

  Everyone around the table burst into peals of laughter. “Yes,” Jules said with a grin. “Right here, right now. Actually, pie afterward, though. We don’t have a wedding cake.”

  “Or a ring,” Rhett said, frowning.

  “We have a ring!” Lila said, holding up her hand. The Pet Rock he’d bought for Jules sparkled madly from her forefinger.

  “Not that one,” he said, shaking his head.

  “Well, I would rather keep it,” she conceded.

  Everyone laughed.

  “Okay, okay. I have an idea.” She waved Rhett to her, then steered him away from the dinner table that had turned very suddenly into Wedding Planning Central; everybody was getting involved.

  She led him to a closet and took out an old mahogany box that used to rest on Mama’s vanity. Lila opened the box and Rhett sucked in a breath. He didn’t recognize all of it, but among the pieces of jewelry there were some he distinctly recalled her wearing.

  “Didn’t this all go to you?” Rhett asked.

  Lila shrugged. “Sometimes I come over and open the box and just look through it, but I’ve never worn it. I don’t know. It makes me a little sad. I think it would be nice if you picked something out for Jules. Something Mama wore. Don’t you?”

  “That’s generous of you,” Rhett said softly, hugging his little sister.

  “Least I can do,” she said, waggling the Pet Rock again. “You sure I can keep this?”

  “Yup. I want Monty to have the sale.” He made his choice from Mama’s jewelry and slipped the ring in his pocket. “And it’s still nice of you, squirt.”

  “Maybe. Or maybe I’d do just about anything to make you want to come home, big brother.”

  The siblings shared a hug, which was interrupted by a ruckus coming from outside.

  “What the—?” Rhett said, heading back out to the living room with Lila in tow.

  He stopped short. Jules stood in the living room surrounded by Mia, Charlie, Aunt Sue, and Mrs. Holt, all of them putting the finishing touches on a wildflower bouquet and twining some blossoms in Jules’s hair.

  He must have made some sort of sound, because they took a step back, and then it was as if everyone else disappeared. Jules stood waiting for him in a pretty flowery dress and a pair of cowboy boots, holding a cluster of Mama’s doorstep bluebonnets. He’d never seen anything lovelier.

  “Your honeymoon suite is ready and waiting,” Jake murmured, pressing the key to the fishing shack into Rhett’s hand. He laughed. It was a perfect honeymoon suite for a girl like Jules.

  And there was Coach on the porch, the good book in his hand. “We’re ready when you are,” he called.

  Jules held out her hand and Rhett took it, his heart so full it felt like it could burst.

  * * *

  Coach led the two of them in a pair of short, simple vows, the kind the first settlers of Silverlake might have said. Rhett slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a simple gold band with a small horseshoe fashioned from diamond chips.

  Jules sucked in a breath. Rhett looked at her, a worried expression flitting across his face.

  “Rhett, it’s perfect.”

  “It was my mama’s,” he said softly. “Oh, Jules, she would have just loved knowing we were together.”

  “She does,” Jules said, blinking back tears. She looked up to the sky. “I know both your parents are watching right now.”

  Rhett met the eyes of each of his siblings, taking time to acknowledge that truth with Lila, Jake, and then Declan. He slid the sweet horseshoe ring onto Jules’s finger, and then stared down at his boots for a moment, composing himself before he nodded for the coach to continue the ceremony.

  “Oh,” Jules said, flustered that in all the fuss to get her ready for the wedding, she hadn’t thought of what to do about a ring for Rhett.

  But suddenly Grady stepped forward, pulling off the white metal band he wore on his thumb. He handed it to her. He clapped Rhett on the shoulder, saying as he moved away, “I’ll always have your back, knucklehead. Take good care of my sister.”

  Thank you, Jules mouthed to her brother. She slid the ring onto Rhett’s left hand.

  And then with Rhett smiling down on her, so much like the image in her mind of that boy from long ago, Coach said, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

  Rhett’s arms came around her and he dipped her low, his mouth on hers. Everyone cheered like crazy and they had to end their kiss, they were laughing so hard.

  “I love you,” Jules said, pressing her cheek to his heart.

  Rhett brushed his lips softly against her ear, whispering, “I love you, too.” Then he swept her up in his arms and walked to the porch steps.

  The firefighters had formed a saber arch using equipment from the ranch: Mick with a rake and Rafi a hoe. Old George had a broom, while Jake and Grady had their arms slung over each other’s shoulders, their free hands hoisting the end of a garden hose and a rolling pin.

  Everyone cheered, and Aunt Sue, Mom, Charlie, Lila, and Mia tossed the extra wildflowers as Rhett carried Jules down the steps and headed toward the trail leading to the fishing shack.

  As they passed Scarlett, Rhett burst into laughter; th
e boys had used shaving cream to write JUST MARRIED across the back windshield and used string to tie the empty beer cans to the bumper of his car.

  The shack wasn’t far from the main house, and in no time at all, Rhett had whisked Jules to the threshold. Pausing to take her mouth with his, Rhett kicked open the door with his boot, and carried her inside.

  Jules pulled his head to hers and they kissed until they could hardly breathe. Rhett tossed her on the bed, quickly pulling off their boots and joining her on the homey quilt. He wrapped his arms around those new soft curves of her body. He pressed kisses into her neck as Jules smiled, running her fingers through his hair.

  The fire glowed in the little cabin’s fireplace. A plate of the homemade pie sat on the small table. Rhett’s cowboy hat rested on the chair by the door.

  “God, I love my family. My whole, big, old, and new extended family,” Rhett whispered. “You know how they say you can never go home again?”

  “Yeah,” Jules managed to say as Rhett’s fingers undid the buttons of her dress and found a new swath of skin to make his own.

  He took her mouth, slowly and sensually releasing her only to press a kiss to her neck. “They were so wrong.” He added a kiss to the underside of her wrist. And a kiss to her inner thigh. “I am home again—with you.”

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Thanks to Megan Frampton, gifted and wise beta reader, for reading and vetting early drafts—without laughing too hard.

  Thanks always to the editorial, production, art, marketing, and sales teams at Berkley/Jove. We couldn’t do it without you!

  Continue reading for a special preview of the next book in the Silverlake Ranch series,

  Hometown Hero

  Available in Summer 2020

  The radio was still playing. That was the surreal thing. Andrew “Ace” Braddock, center fielder for the Austin Lone Stars, was suspended upside down, hanging by his seat belt . . . and AC/DC was still blasting.