"So what's his name?" my mom asks. “You should’ve invited him to join us tonight.”
I don't want to hear this. No, wait. I definitely do. That way, I can confirm it's him before I knock him out.
Ivy clears her throat as I grab my beer, feigning boredom.
"Winston."
I choke on the sip I took, and Dad smacks my back with a laugh.
"You okay?"
"Uh-huh." I nod. "Just went down the wrong way."
I avoid eye contact with Ivy but can't help the smug smile on my face knowing she gave them the name of her vibrator.
"So when can we meet him?" Hadleigh asks.
"Umm...I don't know. It's kinda new. We're just seeing how things go right now. Don't want to rush or scare him off with my big sister's ruthless interrogations."
I finally sneak a peek as Ivy flashes a grin in my direction.
"It's my job to make sure he's good enough for you. Has good values and morals and won’t corrupt ya."
"Oh, so like Knox?" Ivy counters, and everyone at the table roars with laughter except Knox and Hadleigh.
"Considering it brought me a grandchild, I don't really care to hear the specifics," Mom says, standing to take Hendrix from Hadleigh's arms so she can finish eating.
The rest of the dinner conversation focuses on the stud operation and Kaitlyn's horses. One of the Appaloosas she trained won a state competition last week, and now she's getting flooded with bookings. Though, she can barely keep up as it is.
"Why don't you ask Payton to help you?" I interrupt. "He's used to keeping up with the stables and boarding horses."
"Hey, no pawning off my guy," Knox interrupts. "Payton's mine. She can find someone else. In fact, why don't you go be her bitch?"
Kaitlyn rolls her eyes as I kick Knox's boots underneath the table.
"Payton would come help me in a heartbeat if I asked him, so don't tempt me," Kaitlyn threatens.
"You better not. I have him trained just the way I like." Knox gloats.
I snort. "Y'all talkin' about him like he's a dog."
"He might as well be with the way he follows Kaitlyn around." Knox chuckles, earning a fresh-baked roll to the face.
"Hey, no throwing food at the table," Dad scolds Kaitlyn.
"Yeah, only outside," I tease.
"Y'all are teaching Hendrix bad manners," Mom says, rocking him back and forth. "Don't you worry. I vowed not to let you turn out like my boys did."
"Hey!" Knox and I groan at the same time.
"You will be a pure angel child. No being a terror and definitely no pranking your mama at the grocery store," Mom explains.
Hadleigh chuckles. "If I hadn't known the twins my whole life, you'd be scaring me right now. But they've prepared me for the worst."
After dinner, Mama serves warm apple pie with vanilla ice cream. I try my hardest not to stare at Ivy, but it's nearly impossible with how gorgeous she is. Her dark-reddish hair is pulled back into a messy bun. Curly strands frame her face, and every time she smiles, her cute dimples appear.
Fuck, I get a chubby just thinking about her luscious lips being around my cock again.
Once we're in the living room, we take turns holding Hendrix. Poor guy is the only baby in our family and has probably never been set down in his entire two-month life. I watch as Ivy holds him, smiling down and squeezing his little chubby cheeks. Our eyes catch, and I flash her a quick smile.
"Wanna hold him?" she asks from across the room.
"Sure, I'll come sit by you."
"Oh, that's perfect. I need an updated pic of the godparents." Hadleigh stands and pulls out her phone. I'm tempted to put my arm around Ivy when I’m close, but I don’t want Hadleigh's fist in my face for being too close.
Ivy hands me the baby, and we smile for our mini photo shoot.
"Oh my God, that's so cute," Hadleigh gushes as Mom tells her to text her a copy.
"I will. I'll send it to you two as well," she tells us.
"Surprised you haven't announced baby number two yet," Ivy teases.
"Don't worry, we're tryin'." Hadleigh flashes her a wink.
"Every night," Knox adds.
"Alright, that's my cue to go if y'all are gonna start talkin’ about baby-makin'." I hand Hendrix to Knox, who's wearing a shit-eating grin.
"It's not my fault I can't keep her off me."
I roll my eyes as Hadleigh smacks his shoulder.
"You're on hump duty tomorrow," Knox directs as I give Mom a hug.
Lovely.
"Excuse me?" Mom pulls back to scowl at Knox.
"Hump duty," he repeats. "Someone has to make sure the horses are mating."
"You actually just sit and watch until they do?" Mom asks.
"Only because he makes me," I clarify. "A few mares are leaving in a couple of days, so he wants to be certain they took."
"You're basically a voyeur," Hadleigh teases.
"Have another ranch hand do it," I tell Knox, ignoring the way Hadleigh and Ivy are giggling.