“You have arrived. Your destination is on the right,” the GPS informed him.
After turning, he approached the security gate and pressed the intercom.
“Can I help you?” a male voice asked
“I’m here to see Callie and Dylan,” Brett answered.
“Name, please.”
“Brett.”
“I’m sorry, there is no Brett on the guest list. I’ll have to check with the Talbots.”
Guest list? Damn, were Callie and Dylan having a party? “I’m her cousin,” he added, not that he expected the individual to open the gate without speaking to either his cousin or her husband first.
“One moment please.”
The intercom went silent, and Brett considered calling Callie rather than wait for whoever had answered to find her in the house. Before he got the chance, the gates opened. He didn’t wait for any further invitation.
He drove down the long, winding driveway. When he reached the house, he found several other cars already parked there. The only one he recognized was his brother’s car. All the others had out-of-state plates though, and since two were from Rhode Island, two were from Virginia, and another from New York, he assumed several of his family members were visiting. With so many relatives here, Brett had a feeling he’d be there longer than he’d originally planned.
Before he had a chance to ring the doorbell, the front door opened and a petite woman stepped toward him.
“I can’t believe you’re here.” Callie hugged him before he could manage a simple hello. “Everyone’s going to be so surprised when they see you.”
Brett hugged her back. “Having a party?”
“Don’t worry, it’s only family.” She closed the door behind him as she spoke. “Well, Lauren and her husband, Nate, are here too, but they’re like family.”
He’d never met Callie’s best friend, but he’d heard her talk about Lauren and her husband. Callie listed the other family members there as she led him through the house.
“Look who’s here,” she said, stepping outside before him.
All conversations stopped, and every head turned his way. Even the toddlers playing seemed to pause and look at him. Just as suddenly everyone started talking at once.
“Did you finally decide to go AWOL?” his brother, Curt, asked, coming over and giving him a hug and slap on the back.
“Nah, the Army decided they’d had enough of him and kicked him to the curb,” Trent, one of his many cousins present, said, giving him a hug as well.
Brett accepted the lemonade Callie handed him and took a sip before answering. “Thought I’d stop and visit on my way home. If I’d known you two were here, I would’ve kept on going.”
His younger brother shrugged and rejoined the woman he’d been sitting with. She’d been with
Curt at Kiera and Gray’s wedding in June too, although he hadn’t spoken much to her. He hadn’t had a chance. Before the ceremony even started, they’d left because she had an emergency at home. He hadn’t spoken with his brother since then, so he didn’t know what the emergency had been or how it had turned out.
“In case you don’t remember him, Taylor, this grouch is my brother, Brett,” Curt said to the woman next to him.
Ignoring his brother’s comment, he approached Curt’s girlfriend. “It’s nice to see you again.” Brett smiled and held out his hand.
Shaking his hand, Taylor smiled back. “Likewise.”
“So where have you been?” Callie asked.
He watched the toddlers who were playing with a young girl he didn’t recognize. He hadn’t seen any of his cousins’ children in several months, but it was easy to pick out James, Callie and Dylan’s son. He had dark brown hair like Callie and Dylan, and blue-gray eyes. Figuring out which child belonged to Trent and which belonged to Jake was another story. Both had the trademark Sherbrooke blue eyes, a trait his brother possessed as well, and dirty-blond hair. It didn’t help that Kendrick, Trent’s son, and Garrett, Jake’s son, were only three months apart in age.
“Nowhere,” he answered. For the moment, he gave up trying to figure out which boy belonged to which cousin and turned his attention to the young girl. She looked to be about seven or so. Since he knew she didn’t belong to any of his cousins, she had to be related to either Callie’s friend Lauren or Curt’s girlfriend. Curt hadn’t mentioned his girlfriend had any children, but the girl didn’t resemble Lauren or husband in the least either.
“Two seconds ago you said you were on your way back to Virginia,” Trent said.