Carter chuckles as he scruffs her hair. “I had no signal, Short Stack. I woulda called if I could have .”
Now mom is in the foyer, crying, and kissing Carter like she hasn’t seen him in a year .
“How long were you gone anyway?” I ask with a laugh .
“Three months. You’d think I was a soldier returning from war,” he says as he gives mom a hug .
“Well, young man, you know how nervous we get when we don’t hear from you! Was it at least a worthwhile trip ?”
Carter brushes his hair out of his face and reaches into his bag, then hands mom and Anna little bags. They open them, and each one contains a different piece of handmade jewelry .
“It was. I saved five horses, and re-homed them on new ranches. One of them is actually coming here. It’s a pony for Gracie. She can’t breed, and they were going to put her down because of it. But she’s gorgeous. A Welsh pony. She should be easily trained by the time Gracie is old enough to ride her. Speaking of, where is my precious niece ?”
Like clockwork, Parrish and Gracie come through door, and Gracie shrie
ks with happiness when she sees Carter .
“Cawtah!” Gracie says as she toddles over to Carter, who picks her up and kisses her until she giggles. Parrish rushes over and gives him a huge hug .
“I can’t believe you’re back! And just in time for the party,” she says with a laugh .
“Party?” he asks. “Does this have something to do with that massive new stable in the back? I mean, guys. I leave for three months and everything goes crazy here .”
Anna blows a piece of hair out of her eyes with a huff. “You have no idea .”
Mom throws her hands in the air happily. “I’m going to go make a huge welcome home dinner for Carter and we can all talk about his adventures! Hawk, go find your father and tell him what’s going on while we get started .”
Carter waves at me. “Hold up, man. I’ll come with you .”
I nod, and Carter follows me outside, shutting the door behind us. We’re barely off the porch when Carter turns to me and says, “So, what the hell is going on with you ?”
I shake my head, shocked. “I don’t understand what you’re asking me .”
“I saw the way you looked at Parrish when she walked in. What has been going on here while I’ve been gone, besides the sudden appearance of a new stable ?”
I kick at the dirt under my feet and sigh. “I haven’t seen you in ten years. You couldn’t just ask about my job or the weather in California ?”
“I can look up the weather in California and you can tell me about your job later. I’d rather know what mess you’ve gotten yourself into .”
I scowl at him. “I forgot you’re like this. Maybe you should have been a psychologist or something .”
Carter rolls his eyes. “Stop trying to distract me, man. Just tell me what is going on .”
We walk toward the old stables, and wander in, where it is surprisingly quiet given the rustling of the horses and the flurry of activity still happening outside. I can tell that Carter is getting impatient with me, so I sit down on the bench we use to put on our riding gear .
“Since I got back, things have been… happening with Parrish .”
Carter just shakes his head at me again. “Hawk, dude. Assume that I know about high school and you don’t have to mince words .”
My jaw drops. “How do you know ?”
“You had sex with someone in the stable during a party with most of the fam in attendance. For Matt and Parrish’s sake, we all pretended it didn’t happen, or that we didn’t know. But dude, we knew. Everyone in this town knows everything. If I sneezed right now, the next time I go into Dylan to mail a letter, someone will say ‘bless you.’ So, something like two brothers boning the same woman isn’t a fact that is going to stay a secret for long .”
I flinch. “Come on, Carter .”
“I’m sorry. I’m just saying. I appreciate that this is awkward, but if you’ve come back here, and something is happening with Parrish, I think it’s better that you face it. Now. And not just run off again .”
I get to my feet and start pacing, panic setting in. “I’m not planning on running off. But what am I supposed to do? Move back here? Sleep in my old room under my football trophies? And I don’t know how she feels anyway. Every time I start to feel like we’re getting close, something happens. When I first got here, we were at each other’s throats. Now, every time I’m around her, I want to take her and …”