“Wrong, you have a crew right here.” He throws his thumb to his sons.
“I appreciate that, but the same goes for you. This is a weekend for family.”
He slices his eyes to my dad, who dips his chin in some kind of agreement.
“You guys into this?”
“Son, have you heard Ashlyn and Janie talking this week?”
I shake my head. “I’m usually at work. I know they have plans each day.”
“Well, let me fill you in. Tomorrow, those women are going Black Friday shopping. Why the hell people do that shit with the internet available is a mystery to me, but they’re going. Then tomorrow night, we’re all being dragged to some historical holiday shit. Saturday, the girls are doing a baby shower. I’m not here to shop and I’m sure as hell not here to sit in a hotel room when there’s work to get done.”
“What the hell is she shopping for? We’ve had so many deliveries in the last three weeks that we had to stack them in the office.”
“Considering she let go of ninety percent of her old things and everything she owns fits in your garage, there’s no telling.”
“So instead of enjoying the time off, you want to work?”
“Miller, for years I was forced to stay quiet while my daughter changed into another woman. She was almost a stranger. I would have done anything to get a glimpse of the girl she once was. Now she’s back, and if she wants to be in her home for Christmas, I’ll do whatever I can to make that happen.”
“Us too,” Andrew throws in.
“All right, I’ll set us up for tomorrow.” I ease back in my chair, feeling comfortable that I’m off the hot seat. If the Rhodes men want to spend their time helping, it’s an advantage for me.
“Brace, brother,” Evin says under his breath, sliding a bottle of Jack and empty glass on the table between us.
Pierce looks entirely too smug sitting across from me. His eyes go to the area where Cole is alternating between watching the game and playing a game on Pierce’s phone. “Cole, do me a favor and go check on Darby.”
Cole’s head pops up with a look of anxiety. “Is it time?”
“Hope not, buddy, but she’s been doing a lot today. Make sure she’s good. Sit with her if she needs you.”
He stands, shaking his head. “We shouldn’t have let her go to work this morning. It was too much.”
It amazes me how much my nephew is like my brother. Those are words he would have heard directly from Pierce’s mouth. No doubt he knows Pierce’s opinion on Darby working this morning to help her team prepare for the Thanksgiving dinner at Brasher.
“Just make sure she’s okay,” Pierce instructs him again.
“Am I going to miss the good part?” Cole looks crushed.
“Yep, I’ll fill you in later. While you’re in there, grab your sister and call your mom.”
His shoulders slouch as he goes to the house, clearly more excited about checking on Darby than calling Connie. I can’t blame him.
“Pierce, tell me you handled it. Annie and I are not pleased Darby went in this morning,” Edward states when Cole is in the house.
“It’s handled. Plus, she’ll be pregnant again next year.”
My side of the family takes this in stride, fully aware of Pierce’s goal to add five more children to his family. Darby agreed to three more. I’ve got my money on Pierce.
The Rhodes men don’t seem fazed by his statement, all three of them focused on me. The hair on the back of my neck prickles, and Pierce’s expression slides back to smug.
“Jesus, do I have to pour it for you, too?” Evin utters, filling the highball glass nearly full.
“Speaking of pregnancies, what’s the next step in your plan?”
The bluntness of Austin’s question brings it all together. Evin’s oversized pour now makes sense.
“Are you asking me if your sister is pregnant?”
“Not now, she’s not. That’s obvious. But do you plan on having kids?”
“Yeah, I want kids. Ashlyn does, too.”
“When can we expect them?”
“Maybe you should talk to Ashlyn.”
“I’m not talking to Ashlyn. I want to keep my balls intact.”
“Let me jump in here. We’ll get back to the kids. I want to know what happens next. You’ll finish her house and then? You plan to let her move out and live alone? Date a while? Slow this bullet train down?” Andrew’s disapproval bleeds through his questions.
“Not my intention at all. These past three weeks are as slow as I get in my relationship with your sister.”
“Then what’s the damn plan?”
I cast a glance at my brother, who’s openly smiling. “You enjoying this?”
“Fuck yeah. Karma is a bitch. What goes around comes around.” He’s still bitter about us ganging up on him last year on this same day about Darby. I wouldn’t be surprised if he planted the seeds to instigate this.