Everett snorted. “Thanks for giving us the heaps to live in.”
I raised a brow. “You’ve seen our land. There’s nothing heap about it.”
“That is true,” Everett whispered.
“There’s a pool, a sunning area with a shit-ton of tile that’s perfect for photos according to the owner’s daughter. And then, on the other side of the acreage, there’s a winery with forested trails. There’s a tasting room, barrel rooms, a large building for all the equipment. It’s like its own business on the property.”
Roy nodded along as we went over everything again. “And it’s a lot of acres, more than I have. But then again, you need more land for the vines. Not that it’s a huge heap of vines, but a respectable amount for good wines in moderation.”
“It’s a shit ton, but pricing right now is good, and I think we can make it work.”
“I’m here if you need me, but it’s a good opportunity. Yeah, it’s different than what any of you guys did in the military, but hell, most of us were just handed an instruction packet once we joined, after we took a test to see what we were most suited for. Not that we knew what we were suited for, and then we went into that field. You can do that here.”
I nodded. “We can. And hell, this might be nice. Something completely different.”
“You’re jumping into hospitality, think you can do it?”
I sighed, looked at my brother. “I think I want to.”
“I don’t think, I know.” Everett grinned and then reached out and squeezed my other shoulder.
“Now to convince the others.” That made me wince but Everett looked unfazed.
“They’re not going to need convincing,” Everett said with a tight nod. “They’re already excited. Or at least as excited as they can be with their scowls.”
“I sure do love your family,” Roy said with a laugh. “And look, the garter toss is about to begin, go boys, go see if you’re the next to get wed.”
I blinked, looked at Roy. “I thought you said we needed to be casual observers.”
“True, but there aren’t as many single men here as there are single women, so go stand over there and fill the place so that way it’s not three guys vying for a garter.”
“Isn’t that kind of archaic?” Everett asked, and I snorted.
“What he said. I’m not going to go catch a fucking garter.”
“Go. Stand there. Don’t hold out your hands. Just stand there and look forward. Fill up the space.”
“I don’t understand you,” I grumbled.
“You don’t have to. You just have to do what I say.”
“He did outrank you,” Everett said with a grin, and I flipped my brother off before I lowered my head at Roy’s glare, and walked over to where the dozen or so men were standing, hands in pockets, looking for all the world they would rather be anywhere else.
“They needed men for this, my ass,” I grumbled, and Everett snorted.
“Hey, look on the bright side, the odds work in our favor now that we won’t catch it, which is good. We have enough on our plate without getting married.”
“My mom forced me over here, so I’m going to hide behind you,” a man in his early twenties said as he smiled over at us. “If that’s okay.”
“Fuck no, you’re not hiding behind me. I don’t want the damn thing,” I growled.
Everett just grinned, the asshole. “Nobody does, but here we are, at a place where love and happy ever after is the only thing that matters.”
I shook my head and stood there, hands in pockets as the bride sat down on a chair, and everybody started to cheer. Music began, and the groom went down on his knees, slid his hands up the bride’s dress, and slowly, very slowly took her garter down.
“Well then, I feel like we’re part of a peep show,” Everett mumbled out of the side of his mouth, and I elbowed him to keep him quiet. He let out an oof, and when the groom stood up, swung the garter over his head, I held back a sigh. Apparently, we would have to get used to this, because a big part of the income were events and weddings on the property. I was going to have to start enjoying shit like this if this is what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.
Everybody started shouting, laughing, and I looked up as the garter was flung from the groom’s hand and slapped me directly in the chest. On instinct, I reached out and gripped it and blinked.