by Alicia Rae
My anxiety peaked. “How?”
Colton lifted his plate, picked up the fork, and aimlessly stirred his hash browns around before glancing over at me. “I’m not sure yet, but I won’t give up until I have a name.”
Part of me feared Colton’s underlying intentions, but at heart, I could attest to the fact that Colton was a great person, and I didn’t foresee him taking any extreme measures.
Colton and I fell into silence as we ate our meals. I tried to keep my feelings and fears to myself, not wanting to further worry Colton. After we finished our food, I helped him carry several bags of grain for the horses into the field.
The unmistakable noise of a tractor came up through the backyard as we completed our task at hand.
I beamed at my dad sitting up in the cab. He parked the tractor several yards in front of me and hopped down from the machine. Colton closed the pasture gate and paused at my side.
“I hear you’re in the midst of some demo work, son,” my dad told Colton.
Colton and my dad shook hands.
Colton agreed, “Yes, sir.”
Dad gestured to his tractor behind him. “I thought I’d stop by and get some of this rubbish out of your way.”
“I appreciate that, Dave.” Colton smiled broadly. “I could really use an extra set of hands.”
Dad glanced around the yard. “Where would you like for me to start?”
“I’ve been clearing out the horse barn first since I need to rebuild a larger shelter for them as quickly as possible, so they don’t have to stay under the lean-to anymore,” Colton answered, pointing to the remains of the building. Then, he gestured to the side of the house. “I had another large garbage container delivered. It’s just around the bend of the driveway.”
“You got it.” Beaming, Dad tipped his hat at Colton.
Colton extended his hand again. “Thank you, Dave, for taking some time off to come over. I’ll be sure to return the favor later tonight and help you finish any remaining chores you left behind in order to help me today.”
“Nonsense, son.” Dad waved his hand in the air before stepping in to give Colton a brief manly hug. “I just want to see you up on your feet and running again.”
We were all about to begin our tasks when a shiny black Suburban came up the driveway. It stopped several yards from us.
Kyle and Lily were visible through the windshield. I refrained from doing the happy dance at how perfect their timing was.
“I’ll be damned,” Colton breathed.
He gazed back at me with curious eyes, and I shrugged innocently, but my grin surely gave me away. Together, Colton and I neared the truck.
Kyle and Lily hopped out first. He came to his wife’s door, and she took his hand. Lily slid her sunglasses to the top of her head, keeping her long blonde hair from blowing in her face.
The two back doors opened, and Damon, Gail, Blake, and Audrey exited. Abbey came out of the SUV next with her husband, Jason, on her heels.
My eyes moistened at the sight of everyone. All our friends had come to help.
“This Suburban is a fuckin’ tank! I almost got lost in the backseat.” Jason laughed at his wife, wobbling his broad shoulders, while stepping down off the running board. “We have got to get one of these, sweetheart!”
Abbey turned back to Jason and countered, “It gets awful gas mileage though.”
“The size is well worth the sacrifice.” Jason grinned as he wrapped his arm around his wife. “Plus, if you get to keep your red-hot Camaro in the garage to use only for date nights, I can veto the minivan for one of these bad boys.”
Laughter filled the air at Jason and Abbey’s banter as they joined the rest of us. We all exchanged delighted hellos and many hugs as we embraced one another. It had only been a short time since we went camping, but we were always excited when the group was together.
As we all parted, the atmosphere suddenly shifted as Kyle, Lily, Jason, Abbey, Damon, Gail, Blake, and Audrey paused to finally take in the sight of the destruction behind Colton and me.
Their expressions went from a state of shock to disbelief to sorrow. If I hadn’t seen it for myself, I would have wondered how they could each be rendered speechless. Then again, I knew how they felt because I’d been staring at the scattered remains day after day now. The devastating loss never got easier to see, especially with the desolate look in Colton’s eyes.
Kyle’s gaze finally met Colton’s. “I don’t even know what to say.” His voice matched the grief in his eyes. “I’m so sorry, man. I would have been here sooner if I’d known.” He glanced at his wife, Lily, her cousins, and their wives. Then, he looked back at Colton. “We all would have.”
“It’s been one hell of a long week,” Colton admitted solemnly. His expression turned to one of awe. “But I can’t thank you all enough for coming. You all being here means a lot to me.”
“There is nowhere else we’d rather be than here, helping a brother in need.” Kyle’s tone resonated with sincerity.
Blake stepped forward. His military background was evident in his powerful broad stance. “You just tell us what to do and consider it done.”
Colton retraced his steps back to my dad, who was standing a couple of feet behind us. Setting his hand on my dad’s shoulder, he said, “This is Dave Summers, Paige’s father. He and I will use our tractors to clear some debris. We can rotate in shifts, if you’d like a turn, while the rest work on foot.”
“Sounds good to me.” Jason came toward us.
“Yep. Let’s get to it.” Damon grinned, repositioning himself in line with Blake and Jason.
The eleven of us came together and got to work over the course of the next several hours.
Colton and my dad made trips back and forth from the fire site and carried bucketfuls of broken boards and thick black ashes to the garbage bin. Kyle, Jason, Damon, and Blake all worked together in digging up the lingering posts still buried in the ground. Lily, Abbey, Gail, and I stuck to the easier tasks of hauling away smaller pieces to the trash. Audrey stuck by Blake’s side, assisting with small things, and she brought everyone food and kept us hydrated.
Dad and Colton switched positions with Blake and Kyle as they took a turn at operating the machinery. With each tractor load carried away, the piled ruins became smaller and smaller. It gave me hope that there was light at the end of the tunnel.
Colton worked alongside me. When I lifted a board that he thought was too heavy, he would politely step in front of me and take it to the trash himself. By the third time, I was about to argue with him when I noticed Kyle doing the same thing to Lily.
The next moment when Colton grasped my load while Kyle did the same with Lily’s before simultaneously walking toward the trash, I came up to her side and quietly joked, “Why do our men seem to think we can’t carry a ten-pound board by ourselves?”
Lily tilted her head at me. “I tried to figure that out for years. I finally gave up the idea of ever understanding Kyle’s alpha ways.” She grinned, her bright blue eyes beaming in the sunlight. “But if you find a reason, please let me know.”
“So, there’s no hope then?” I laughed.
“Not with our type of men.” Lily thoughtfully shook her head, watching her husband from afar, as he and Colton sauntered back to the site. “You see, their love for us is no ordinary type of affection. They love us with their whole hearts, with everything they are inside, just as we feel for them.” She looked up at me again. “It’s in their nature to take care of us, to protect what they love so completely, so they become the men they were meant to be.”
I stood there, utterly rendered speechless, staring at Lily. It was no wonder she was a writer. “You surely have a way of stringing words together with such beautiful heartfelt emotion,” I admired aloud.
Lily smiled shyly and responded, “Thank you.”
Kyle playfully asked, “What are you two ladies talking about over here?”
“Our men,” Lily answered.
Kyle grinned, appearing to give Lily a certain look of adoration he reserved solely for her. He pulled her to him and kissed her temple. “And?”
“Oh, you know, just how handsomely irresistible and overbearing you are,” Lily challenged.
“Mmm…got that right, beautiful,” Kyle growled before zoning in to steal a kiss from his wife. His sentiment started off slow and tender and then quickly deepened into one of sizzling passion.
I felt myself blush, and I diverted my gaze to give them some privacy. My eyes landed on Colton to see his were riveted on me.
“Goddamn it, Kyle,” Jason grumbled as he caught sight of his cousin, Lily, embracing her husband. “How many times do I have to tell you to do that shit in private?”
Kyle drew back and smirked at his friend. “Keep your eyes somewhere else, and you won’t have to see it.” He tipped his hand and pointed his thumb at me. “Besides, Pixie over here started it by getting Lily to say sexy thoughts about me,” he teased.
I shot daggers at Kyle. “I did not.”
Kyle cocked his head sideways at me, grinning boyishly. “Did so.”
“Tattletale.” I laughed.
Jason playfully shoved Kyle, pushing his way over to me, where he came to set his arm on my shoulder. He scoffed, “Hey, don’t pick on my sweet, innocent Paige.” Jason motioned between Kyle and Lily. “You two, get back to work. Kyle, keep your grabby hands off my cousin.”
“Maybe I don’t want him to,” Lily quipped. She gathered her arms around the center of Kyle and snuggled into him, peering back at Jason. “I happen to love my husband’s grabby hands on me.”
Jason raised his hands and placed them on either side of his head, shaking it from side to side. “My ears have just been permanently damaged.” He sighed theatrically and looked at me with sad eyes. “Do you see what I have to put up with on a daily basis? It’s ridiculous.”
I really wished Colton and I lived closer to our friends. They were a riot.
Chuckling, I answered, “I do. However, I think you’re fighting a losing battle. After all, you did marry Kyle’s sister, and I’m sure he has to watch you two smooch, so payback is only fair.”
Kyle fist-pumped the air. “You tell him, Pixie!”
Jason set his hand on his heart, acting as if I’d wounded him. “And here I thought we were friends, Paige.”
“We are.”
Colton came up behind Jason, shoved him out of the way, and wrapped me in his arms. The sound of his laughter had me smiling. “Go grovel somewhere else, and get away from my girl.”
I rolled my eyes in mirth as we all settled in for a day of work, except it didn’t feel like work at all with our friends here.
After my father said good night and headed home, we all finished eating a late dinner outside on the patio while enjoying one another’s company.
I brought out another round of beer for the guys as they chatted among themselves, and I overheard them talking about reconstructing the barn.
“Yeah, now that a good chunk of the horse barn is finally gone, I feel like I have a fresh slate to rebuild,” Colton said in a quiet voice.
His statement was originally spoken to the guys, but when he caught sight of me, his gaze flickered up to my eyes, appearing as though he were in deep thought.
I softly smiled at him as I distributed the drinks in my hands.
My attention was redirected to Damon and the drawing pad on the table in front of him, reminding me that he was a skilled architect.
Damon told Colton, “I think you should switch the placement of the new horse barn and equipment building around, so you don’t have to walk to and from the horses so far every day. It would save you time and energy.”
Colton nodded considerately, contemplating Damon’s advice. His eyes focused on me as he quietly asked, “What do you think?”
I mentally deliberated over the layout of the area. From the backyard, the pastures were off to the right, and the barn was the only object in the center of it. “I have to agree with Damon. It would be much more convenient to have them centrally located. We could also reposition the equipment building to the middle of the horse and cattle fields.”
“Exactly,” Damon chimed in, picking up the pad and rapidly sketching on the paper.
Colton grinned at me. “It would also open up the view of the tree line, so the sunset would be visible from this patio every night.” Colton looked between Damon and me. “I like it.”
“Hey, lady!” Gail piped in. “I thought you were bringing us drinks, too?” she teased.
“Oh, sorry.” I spun on my heels for the door. “Coming right up.” I went into the kitchen and grabbed a couple of bottles of wine along with wine glasses.
Returning to the girls, I set down a glass for Lily, who was closest to me. “Would you like red or white?”
“Red, please.” Lily lifted her glass.
As I poured wine for her, I asked the girls, “So, how long are you all in town for?”
“Unfortunately, us girls are only in town for the weekend.” Abbey frowned as I moved to fill her glass. “But we aren’t sure about our husbands. They have yet to work out a plan of action.”
“Well, however long it might be, I’m really glad you guys came to visit.” I smiled fondly. “Colton and I can’t thank you enough for coming all this way and helping out.”
“We were happy to.” Gail smiled as I poured her cup next.
When I went to pour Audrey some wine, her hand darted over the rim of the glass to prevent me from doing so.
“No, thank you!” she exclaimed hastily, causing me to nearly drop the wine bottle from my hold. As if realizing her outburst, Audrey swallowed tightly and blushed. “I mean, I’m just not in the mood for any wine tonight.”
The guys’ conversation came to a halt. Everyone stared between one another in bewilderment, seeming to assess the situation.
“Holy shit!” Gail called out.
Abbey’s attention darted from Gail to Audrey to me back to Audrey again, giving me whiplash.
“No way,” Abbey breathed. “Audrey, are you pregnant?”
Occupying the seat next to Abbey, Gail shoved her shoulder. “Jesus, Abbey. Way to be subtle about it.”
Abbey rolled her eyes and then narrowed them at her friend. “Says the one who shouted curse words loud enough for anyone within a five-mile radius to hear.”
All the while, Audrey sat there, nervously biting her bottom lip, as her cheeks went from a bright shade of pink to a smokin’ hot red in seconds. “Uh…um,” she stuttered, looking at Blake for help.
We all redirected our gazes to Blake, who was already en route to his wife. He gently laid his palms on her shoulders, comforting her, as he bent forward at the waist to kiss Audrey’s temple.
Leaning into him, Audrey raised one of her hands and weaved her fingers with Blake’s while rotating her head to glance up at him with adoring eyes.
A precious moment seemed to pass between them, and Blake smiled the most brilliant doting smile I’d ever seen.
“So, should we tell our friends we are pregnant or that we heard two heartbeats at our first doctor’s appointment last Tuesday?” Audrey asked Blake.
Lily startled us all as she jumped out of her seat. She clapped her hands together and screeched, “Eep!” She looked as though she was ready to burst at the seams.
“Two heartbeats?” I asked in awe.
Audrey locked eyes with me. As the sunlight hit her eyes just right, I could see the moisture glistening in them. My heart swelled so tight within my chest that it was hard to breathe.
“Yes,” Audrey answered, her expression mirroring her husband’s. “The doctor not only confirmed that we are expecting, but Blake and I are also having another set of twins.”
My vision blurred with tears, and I blinked them away.
Jason came to stand at Blake’s side. He set his hand on his brother’s shoulder and squeezed it as he grinned. “Congratulations, brother. It looks like you’ll be n
eeding that Suburban more than me.”
Blake briefly threw his head back and laughed a sound resonating with complete happiness and wonder. “It would seem so. Thank you.”
Kyle, Lily, Abbey, Damon, Gail, Colton, and I each took turns congratulating and hugging the parents-to-be, elated at the addition to our expanding family of good friends.
As our chatter came to a lull, Abbey retrieved her glass of wine and a plastic bottle from the patio table where she pivoted back to face the group. “I say this calls for a toast!” Abbey giggled, handing the second item to Audrey. “Except for you, sweetie. You get water.”
We tried to keep our laughter modest, but it was pointless.
“Thank you.” Audrey grinned up at Abbey.
“Anytime.” Abbey winked before wedging her way over to stand next to Lily before discreetly nudging her arm. “Ahem, this one’s all you, Lily.”
“Oh, jeez. Thanks,” Lily whispered at Abbey before exhaling a deep breath. “Okay, a toast. To our dear friends, whom we love as our family and who are always there for us, no matter the day or reason. To our husbands, whom we love and who love us deeply, completely, and eternally. And to our babies, who capture our hearts forever with just one look.” Lily paused briefly and appeared to be winging it. “May we all make lots of babies!”
Before we could cheer, Kyle leaned into Lily and said, “You just tell me when, beautiful.”
“Kyle…” Jason gritted out, failing to hide his underlying mirth.
“Sorry.” Kyle coughed. “Not sorry, ever, for loving my wife.”
And then we all clinked glasses, laughing our asses off.
While Colton went outside to assist Kyle, Jason, Blake, and Damon unload their luggage, Lily washed all the dishes, and I dried and put them away. We made small talk along the way as she explained balancing working on her next book with motherhood. I didn’t know how she could do both jobs at the same time.
“You must have some serious superpowers,” I told her as I wiped down the counter with a washrag.
“Not really.” Lily laughed, glancing sideways at me. “I like to think that I’ve learned to…juggle. Plus, Kyle helps tremendously when he’s home.” She grinned as she dried her hands on a towel. “I’ve even taught him how to help out with laundry, showing him the system of separating the darks, whites, and dress clothes. He no longer throws a huge pile of clothes in the washing machine at once. It was a process of trial and error, including shrinking several of my blouse tops, but he got the swing of things.”