by Lori Ryan
Aaron turned and saw his sister-in-law walking toward them, carrying a stack of dishes.
“Hey, guys.” Her eyes went from Aaron back to Kayleigh, studying them. No wonder Kayleigh didn’t want Maggie to know they were involved. Clearly, his sister-in-law had concerns in that area.
Maggie must have decided not to comment on why they’d come together. “Thanks so much for coming.” She silently studied Kayleigh. “You can come with me. The girls are going to serve. I’ve got your uniform inside.”
“I’ve never been a waitress,” she protested.
“You’re not taking orders,” she explained, “you just take the plates out when Lily tells you to. She’ll tell you what table they go to. There are only two entrée choices, so you can just ask people whether they had the chicken or the beef.”
“Okay, but I don’t want to be docked if I drop a plate,” she turned to Aaron, “or ten.”
He laughed.
Maggie turned and studied Aaron. He shifted on his feet. “Ben and the guys are at the back of the barn with the caterers, Aaron. You can help them plate.”
Aaron looked toward the back of the barn. “Where is it? I don’t see a tent.”
“It’s on the west corner, we set it up there so guests wouldn’t see it when they arrived. They’re almost finished with the cocktail hour so we need to move. I swear to God, it will be a miracle if I don’t kill your brother after this event is over.”
“Uh-oh,” Aaron said. He turned and saw Kayleigh’s eyes were dancing with humor.
“Come on, Kayleigh,” Maggie said in a stern voice, yanking on her wrist.
“See ya soon, cowboy,” Kayleigh said over her shoulder, waggling her fingers.
“Kayleigh,” Maggie tugged on her until Kayleigh turned and faced forward, walking behind her, almost stumbling.
Good luck with that, Aaron thought as he walked toward the back of the barn.
Aaron rounded the corner and saw a huge white tent pitched in the corner just as Maggie had said. Underneath were several work tables, stainless steel carts, and crates of what looked like dishes.
“Look,” he heard his brother Max say, “I’m just saying you’re a writer, so you should make the salads.”
“That makes no fucking sense,” Emmett said. “Why should I make salads just because I’m a writer?”
“Because he doesn’t want to,” Ben said, pulling trays of food from the carts.
Aaron stepped under the tent. “Hey guys. What’s going on?”
“Well, nice of you to show up, Queenie,” Max growled.
“Queenie?” Aaron glanced around at his other brothers.
“That’s what Max is calling you now,” Ben said.
“Why?” Aaron stared at Max.
“Because, Ma said we shouldn’t bother you because you’re here for rest and relaxation,” Emmett said.
“Must be nice.” Max rolled his eyes. “Queenie.”
“You’re just pissed because you’re not getting any right now,” Emmett said, sliding one of the trays on the table.
“Whatever,” Max said, shooting his brother the finger.
Aaron realized they were pulling the food from stainless steel warmers. “Where did these come from?” he asked.
“The caterer’s truck just dropped them off,” Ben said. “Get those plates over there.” He nodded to one of the crates.
Aaron picked up one of the crates and set it on the table.
“No!” All three brothers yelled.
Aaron stumbled back, nearly dropping the entire thing. “What the hell?”
“Nothing can be on the table except dishes and food,” Max snapped.
“Sorry.”
“You’ll be sorry if Lily finds out you contaminated the work station,” Emmett said.
“Are you serious?”
“Very,” Ben and Emmett said in unison.
“I always used to like Lily,” Max said. “Until these events started. Man, she’s a ball buster. I went up against some of the meanest defensive backs in the NFL but none of them scared me like Lily does when she’s in full event planning mode.”
“I’m pretty sure your fiancée is just as scary,” Ben said, talking about Max’s soon-to-be wife, Devlin. They were expecting twins in a few months.
“That’s true.” Max nodded.
“Again, you’ll feel better once you can have sex again.” Emmett shoved Max’s shoulder.
“Why aren’t you having sex?” Aaron asked.
Max cut his eyes and stared at Aaron.
“What?” Aaron asked
“Devlin had some spotting two days ago.”
“Oh, shit, Max.” Aaron stopped and stared at his brother. “I’m sure she’s fine. Women expecting multiples can sometimes expect more spotting because the uterus—”
“Enough,” Ben shouted. “I’m working with tomatoes right now.”
Emmett laughed, but Max stepped closer to Aaron.
“You mean it, Aaron?” Max asked, his tone desperate.
Aaron could see the worry in his brother’s face. “Yeah, it’s not uncommon. Has she seen her doctor?”
“Yeah,” Max nodded but didn’t seem pacified. “We drove to Vail. Her OB/Gyn is there.” It was thirty minutes without traffic from Canyon Creek, so in an emergency they might need to rely on Doc Olson.
Aaron focused only on Max for the moment. “Did the doctor do an ultrasound?”
“Yeah, she did an ultrasound and said it all looks good, but I don’t know…” Max ran a hand through his hair. “Said Devlin needs to rest and we should go back in a few days for another check.”
“That’s the wisest thing to do,” Aaron said.
Max nodded but didn’t look like he was at all calm about the situation. “I’m just…”
All his brothers stopped and stared at Max. Max was the strong one, the brave one. The mighty NFL player was afraid for his unborn children, about to be knocked to his knees.
“I’ll call my buddy at Northwestern in Chicago this evening and tell him what’s going on. He specializes in high risk pregnancies so he’s seen it all. He won’t mind talking to you.”
Max stared at him. “You’d do that?”
“Of course,” Aaron said, wondering why his brother sounded surprised.
“Does the clinic have an ultrasound?” Aaron asked.
“I don’t know,” Max said. “They don’t have a huge budget, so I don’t know if they keep all that kind of stuff.”
Aaron made a note to find out what Doc Olson’s equipment inventory was on Monday and see how he could make sure he was adequately supplied. Surely the town could afford an ultrasound. At least a used one. It wasn’t just pregnant woman who could use them.
“Guys!” Lily’s shrill voice rang through the air and they all jumped. “You should already be plating, come on.” She tucked a clipboard under her arm and pulled more trays of food from the warming carts. “The cocktail hour is over and the guests are being seated. We’ll be serving soup in less than fifteen minutes.”
“So, what’s on the menu?” Aaron asked, reaching for a plate.
“No!” Lily screamed.
Everyone stepped back.
“Do not touch anything on this table without gloves, Aaron.”
“Shit, Lily,” Aaron clutched his chest. “You scared the crap out of me. I thought I’d done something horrible.”
Her brows furrowed. “What could be more horrible than inadequate food preparation?” He couldn’t see her foot but he was pretty sure she was tapping her designer high heels as she glared at him.
Emmett stood behind her, shaking his head, giving Aaron the zipped-lips sign.
Max circled a single finger around the side of his head.
Yeah, their cousin was seriously crazy.
“Hey, everyone,” someone said behind them.
Aaron turned to see Shawn Braddock behind him. He’d been the contractor for the wedding barn buildout. “Your mom texted and said you could use some he
lp.”
Lily froze for a split second but Max jumped in.
“You can help Emmett with the salads,” Max nodded toward the front of the table when Lily said nothing.
“I’ll get the plates,” Aaron said, trying to end the awkward silence.
“Gloves, Aaron,” Lily scolded, apparently over her momentary lapse of muteness. She reached under the table for a box and held it out to him.
Aaron dug inside and pulled on the loose fitting plasticky gloves, noting how different they were from surgical gloves. An ache hit him square in the chest. The only gloves he’d be donning from now on would likely be food prep gloves, or whatever the hell these things were called.
“Thank you for helping,” Lily said.
Aaron looked up and almost responded but saw Lily, staring at Shawn, holding out the box to him.
Shawn pulled out a set and put them on, his eyes never leaving Lily’s. “You’re welcome,” he finally said.
Lily cleared her throat. “Okay, let’s get going,” she said, scanning the area. “Where’s the soup pot?”
Aaron watched as his three brothers stared anywhere but at Lily.
“Oh, God,” she slapped her hand to her forehead, looking up at the ceiling of the tent.
“It wasn’t me,” Max said.
“It was totally you, asswipe.” Ben said.
Emmett nodded. “It was.”
Max stood up straighter. “Fuck y’all, man. Look, Lily, I really—”
She held her hand, stopping his explanation. “Doesn’t matter now. We don’t have time.”
“Well, if we had more room,” Max mumbled.
“Don’t talk to me about space. I’m not the holdup on that one.” Lily glared at Ben.
Ben rolled his eyes. “We’re not expanding yet, Lil. The loan still isn’t paid off.”
“I was going to ask,” Aaron started, “why isn’t there space in the barn for a prep kitchen?”
All eyes went to Ben.
“Look, we all know, we’ve still got another twelve months payout on the nearly two-million-dollar loan.”
“Don’t blame him,” Maggie said, walking up behind him. “It’s me. I wanted to start construction at six months, but I lost at strip poker.”
“This entire build-out, or lack thereof, was decided on a game of poker?” Lily said, clearly exasperated.
“Strip poker,” Ben said, arms going around Maggie. “She lost.”
“Which means, you won?” Max held up a hand.
Ben slapped it.
“I will never understand you two,” Lily huffed.
“Don’t worry, Lil.” Maggie stepped next to her. “We play again in another three months. If I win, we move up the build-out schedule.”
Lily rolled her eyes. “You suck at cards, Maggie. I’ve played with you.”
“Gee, thanks,” Maggie said.
“I could teach you,” Aaron said.
Ben cut his eyes to his brother and Aaron heard his silent warning. Ben didn’t want to incur any more debt yet.
“Forget it,” Lily said. “We’ll make do.”
Maggie chimed in. “It’s all taken care of, Lily. Max texted when he spilled the soup. I talked to the groom’s mother and explained the situation. Since we also have a salad course, she’s not worried about it, and I told her we would discount the bill for her.”
Lily nodded. “Thank God for sane mothers. It’s a blessing when we get one at a wedding who doesn’t freak out over the smallest detail.”
“By the way, Max, you owe the lodge and barn seven hundred and thirteen dollars.”
Max raised a brow. “What for?”
“Spilled soup,” Maggie said. “I’m going to finish getting the girls ready.” She head toward the barn. “See ya, baby.” She reached up on tiptoes and kissed Ben.
“Are you shitting me, Lil?” Max said. “That’s how much you charge for one pot of soup?”
Lily shrugged. “There may have been an add-on fee.”
Max scrunched his face. “For what?”
“It’s called the dumbass fee, dumbass.” Emmett snorted.
“Ben,” Lily said, ignoring them as she pointed to Aaron, “you guys can plate the shrimp salads. It should be simple.” She stepped around the table and showed them how to put all the ingredients on the plate. “Please make it aesthetically pleasing.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Max asked.
“It means, make it look appetizing,” Lily said as she prepped another example, “not thrown together. If you follow these samples precisely, you won’t have any problems.”
“So you don’t want it to look like a Happy Meal?” Max said with a snort.
“If you’re referring to a McDonald’s children’s meal, then no. But I would like it to look happy.”
“Can food look happy?” Emmett asked.
Max held up a limp carrot. “This little guy doesn’t look happy. He looks like Emmett’s dick.”
All five of the men burst into laughter.
“Oh, dammit,” Lily shouted, scooting between Max and Shawn. “What happened?” She dug through the container. “They’re all limp.”
Max laughed. “Yep, Emmett’s dick.”
“Stop.” Lily hit his shoulder. “We need to get these in ice water,” she said. “We can use the carrots from the Tuscan garden salad now and let these ones soak. They’ll be good to go when we’re ready to build the Tuscans.”
“The what?” Shawn asked.
“The Tuscan garden salads,” she repeated as if he was an idiot. “It’s romaine lettuce, radicchio, baby cherry tomatoes—”
“Yeah, don’t really care, Lily. Sorry,” Max said. “Just tell me what we need to do. This entire process is pretty much emasculating me. It’s like a fucking rectal exam.”
“No, a rectal exam would be better for you,” Ben said.
“How do you figure?”
“At least you’d be getting some action.” Ben laughed.
All four men burst into laughter, again.
“Boys!” Aunt Sally yelled from behind them.
Oh, shit. Lily had called in the cavalry.
“Listen to Lily.” Aunt Sally walked around the table decked out in a feminine version of a tuxedo.
“All you need is an eye glass and a walking cane and you’d look like that Mr. Peanut dude.” Emmett laughed.
Aunt Sally grabbed a small steak knife, raising her eyes.
Emmett held up his hands. “Got it. Lily, what do we need to do? And make it simple so Max can understand.”
“Please, focus,” Lily said. “This is a very important event. These people are friends of the governor of Colorado. They could bring a lot of business to the lodge and the wedding barn.”
“Heads out of asses,” Aunt Sally said. “Watch Lily, do everything she says or I will use this knife in a way that guarantees none of you will ever cough the same again. Capiche?”
All the men collectively swallowed. “Yes, ma’am,” they mumbled. “Show us what to do, Lil,” Max said. “No more teasing.”
“Lily,” Aunt Sally waved her hand toward the head of the table, “they’re all yours.”
The older woman walked away, but turned back and glared at all of them. “Behave.” She held up the knife. “Or else.” She sliced the knife through the air and all five men groaned and covered their junk. They knew where Sally would aim if she had to wield that thing.
“Dude, I think she’s serious,” Shawn said.
Lily raised one brow. “My mom is totally serious.”
“Totally,” he and his brothers echoed.
They all worked together to plate each entrée. Just as they finished the appetizers, all the women came out to collect the plates on trays.
Kayleigh walked toward him, decked out in a tuxedo like Sally’s except she had on a mini skirt and black hose.
He walked toward her, helping her load the tray. “I thought you were going to fight the mini skirt?” He eyed her body up and down.
Aaron’s eyes traveled the length of her. “I approve.” He smiled, leaning in closer. “Do you still have your magic bra on?”
Her face scrunched. “What magic bra?”
“The one with the zipper that leads to heaven.”
She pressed her lips together, holding in a laugh. Or maybe it was a moan.
Aaron set her tray to the side, pulling Kayleigh outside the tent and around behind a truck. “I’m coming home with you tonight.”
Her eyes darted around the area and he thought he’d gone too far.
“Okay,” she said, her blue eyes landing on his, a broad smile on her face.
“No interruptions. No phones. No family.”
She nodded and pushed up onto her toes, placing a kiss against his lips.
He grabbed her face, his tongue parting her lips, asking for more.
Her hands snaked around his neck, their kiss deepening.
“Aaron!”
The voice was close.
Aaron released Kayleigh and she stumbled to put a step between them.
“What the hell?” Max asked, coming around the truck. He stared at both of them, a questioning look on his face.
“Uh, I, uh, just lost a button,” Kayleigh said, dropping to the ground. “Aaron was helping me.”
Aaron looked down at the ground like he might be searching for something.
“Did you lose it in your mouth?” Max asked. “Because it looked like Aaron was digging around in there pretty good.”
“Fuck you, Max.”
“Don’t think it’s me you want to—”
“Stop,” Kayleigh said, shooshing Max. She glanced at the tent then back up at Max. “You saw nothing.”
Max grinned, crossing his hands over his chest. “What’s it worth to you?”
Kayleigh searched the area, trying to think of something. Her eyes brightened. “You know Mr. Taylor’s Yorkshire Terrier that’s expecting puppies?”
“Oh, God,” Max rolled his eyes. “Don’t remind me. Devlin wants one so bad.”
“Well,” Kayleigh smiled as if she were the brightest person in the world. Aaron was beginning to believe she was. “I can make it so that none of those puppies are available for adoption.”