“On a Wednesday?”
“Yeah. There’s a twenty-first birthday celebration going on, and it’s always entertaining to watch.”
“You should go,” I tell him. “I’m here to look after Jackson after he’s asleep.”
Wes considers it for a whole two seconds. “Honestly, I feel bad going out.”
“Don’t. I’m here, and if you put Jackson to bed then it’s not like you’re missing out on time with him, which is what I think you feel bad about, right?”
He smiles. “Right. They have been bugging me for ages. And I’ll only stay for an hour.”
“Stay as long as you’d like. I have a wild night planned and having the law here is going to cramp my style.”
Wes laughs. “Then maybe I should stay.”
I gather the plates from the table and take them to the sink. “It’s going to get crazy up in here. It’ll start with me singing off-key to Def Leppard and will end with tea and a few more chapters of a rather steamy werewolf-vampire romance.”
“You like Def Leppard?”
“I do. Motley Crue, KISS, and Skid Row will be on repeat as well.” I turn on the sink to rinse the dishes. “You sound surprised. Are you judging me, Mr. Dawson?”
“I am. I am judging you hard, and I will admit you do not look like someone who’d be a fan of 80s hair bands.”
“Looks can be deceiving.”
“Apparently so.”
I laugh and start loading the dishwasher. “Don’t be mad if I teach Jackson the words to Pour Some Sugar on Me.”
“Oh, he already knows them.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.” Weston comes up behind me and grabs a plate from the sink to put into the dishwasher. “Add in Bon Jovi, Poison, Van Halen, and Ratt and you’ve pretty much named my whole playlist.”
“Did we just become best friends?”
“You like 80s rock and you made a Stepbrothers reference? It’s like you’re not real.”
I laugh, finding twisted humor in his words. I’ve never been this real with someone before.
“I’m not. You’re imagining everything right now. It’s all a dream.”
“At least it’s a good one.”
Dammit, Weston…if only you knew.
His phone rings, and he wipes his hands on a towel with a sigh.
“Your brothers really want you to go out.”
“They won’t stop until I do.”
“It’s cute, you know. And nice to see you all still be close as adults.”
“So close I’m going to send this call to voice—oh, it’s my mom. Never mind.” I finish loading the dishwasher as he talks to his mom, and it sounds like she’s stopping by to drop something off.
“Remember how I said my mom likes buying Jackson clothes?”
I start the dishwasher and grab a rag to wipe down the counter. “Yeah.”
“She’s bought ‘a few things’ and is bringing them over.”
“Awww, that’s so sweet.”
“Hey, Jackson!” Wes calls, and Jackson comes in from the living room. “Grammy is bringing you something.”
“A kitten?”
I can’t help but laugh.
“No, not a kitten.”
“Oh, man!” Jackson throws his head back dramatically. “But I really, really want one.”
“You should let him get a kitten,” I say, flashing Wes a sweet smile. “We played with them yesterday and they’re so sweet.”
“I’ll think about it,” Wes says flatly, and Jackson starts jumping up and down. He runs back into the living room to look out the window for his grandma.
“The kittens are cute,” Wes agrees.
“They are so stinking cute and oh my God, your sister’s house is huge,” I blurt, and it feels good to finally say it out loud.
Wes laughs. “Yeah, it’s…it’s something.”
“She has enough room for more cats.”
“Don’t encourage her,” he chuckles and goes to get the vacuum. We work together to get the kitchen cleaned up, falling into a rhythm without even meaning to. The front door opens and Mrs. Dawson steps in, carrying two large shopping bags.
“Hi, Scarlet,” she says, setting the bags down. Jackson drags one into the living room and dumps it out, sorting through his clothes. There are new figures for his farm set at the bottom of the second bag, and Jackson races up the stairs to put them in his barn.
Wes’s phone starts buzzing again, and this time it is his brothers.
“Who’s texting you so much?” Mrs. Dawson asks, trying to look over Wes’s shoulder at his phone. He’s too tall to get a look.
“Dean, Logan, and Owen. They’ve been annoying me all night about going out with them.”
“You should!” Mrs. Dawson says right away. “Both of you should. I’ll stay and put Jackson to bed.” She looks at me and smiles. “He told me you’re more fun, but I do miss that little rascal.”
“It’s a school night,” Wes counters.
“I know. I can get him to bed. You should go out. You don’t,” his mom says gently. “And you should.”
“You’re encouraging me to go to a bar on a weekday. Such good parenting, Mom.”
Mrs. Dawson laughs. “Take that as a sign of how much you need to get out of the house. And I’m sure Scarlet would appreciate it too, right?”