“Hey,” he said, glad when his voice came out smooth and easy. He embraced her and whispered, “I just want to say I’m sorry in advance.”
She pulled back slightly and looked at him. “You’re sorry?”
“I maybe didn’t tell anyone that you were coming until sixty seconds ago.”
“No wonder they’re looking at me like I’m fresh meat and they’re hungry lions.” She stepped all the way back and gave herself a little shake. “It’s fine. We can do this.”
He wanted to ask her, Do what?, but she put her hand in his and stepped forward, leaving him no choice but to go with her.
He remembered his Southern manners, and said, “Olli, this is my mother, Julie Chappell.”
“So nice to see you again, ma’am,” Olli said, a bright, white smile on her face.
His mother blinked, but she shook Olli’s hand.
Spur kicked himself into gear again. “I know you’ve met all the brothers at some point, but there are a lot of them. Let’s just go around.” He looked at Blaine, who stood closest to their mother. “Blaine. He’s one of the middle brothers.”
“Heya, Olli.”
“Ian’s the other one of those.” Spur turned around to point out Ian. Honestly, if he were Olli, he’d be confused already. They all wore blue jeans and cowboy hats. Heck, Ian and Duke were both wearing a red shirt.
“Then we’ve got the younger brothers. Duke is the wee youngest. His girlfriend will be here soon.”
Duke grinned and lifted his hand as if Spur was doing roll call. “Let’s see…Conrad is next. He’s talking to his girlfriend. Then there’s Lawrence.” He turned her back to Blaine. “And the older brothers are Trey and Cayden—he’s the same age as you—and me.”
“Nice to meet you all,” Olli said. “I mean, we’ve met, obviously, but yes. Nice to see you all again.”
Everyone seemed made of happy-happy smiles, and Spur didn’t know what to say next. His father’s truck came into view, and Mom sprang into action. “Conrad,” she said, marching toward him. “If you don’t hang up in the next five seconds, I will throw that phone in the duck pond.”
“All right, Mom,” he said. “Calm down.”
“I will not calm down.” She looked over her shoulder. “Spur, you and Cayden get down to the lot and help your father. If he gets re-injured, so help me…” She didn’t finish the threat, and Spur wondered why she couldn’t act normal for just one meal.
He met Olli’s gaze and asked, “See why I apologized in advance?”
She just blinked, looking like someone had hit her with a baseball bat.
Spur sighed. “Come on, Cayden. Let’s go make sure Daddy doesn’t get us in trouble.” He kept hold of Olli’s hand and towed her with him. He wasn’t going to leave her to the wolves dressed in his brothers’ clothing, that was for dang sure.
Katie had told him once that his family was a lot to handle, especially all at the same time. Spur had believed her, but he didn’t really understand until they got divorced. He’d always been around this massive group of people with loud voices and strong opinions, so he didn’t know what it was like to not fit in.
“Hey, Daddy,” he said as his dad opened the door. “Real quick, this is Olivia Hudson.”
“Oh, hello,” Daddy said, his smile genuine.
Spur reached for his arm, and Cayden darted into the open doorway too. Olli got jostled back as they tried to help their father out of the truck in such a way that he wouldn’t get re-injured. He’d had hip surgery only two weeks ago, and his recovery had been slow and somewhat painful.
They finally got him to the ground, Spur noticing just how heavily his dad leaning on him. His grip on Spur’s bicep was strong, and Spur made sure he didn’t let go. He found his feet and looked at Olli again. “It’s nice of you to join us. Did you make a cake or something?”
Horror washed through Spur. “No, Daddy, she’s here, because she’s my girlfriend.” He cut a glance at her and looked quickly back to his father.
“She is not,” Daddy said with a laugh.
“I didn’t think so either, Jefferson,” Mom said, and Spur looked at her too. She wore displeasure on her face, and Spur really wished she’d learned how to lighten up in the seventy years she’d been on this planet. “But that’s what the boy says.” She linked her arm through Daddy’s, and Spur fell back.
“I’m not a boy,” he called after them, but neither one of them turned around or acknowledged him. He felt like a misbehaving fourteen-year-old, despite Cayden’s clap on his shoulder. Dejected, Spur stood there, wondering what they’d expected to see between him and Olli that they hadn’t demonstrated.
Olli slipped her fingers between Spur’s, and the two of them stood there, watching as everyone came together for the picnic. Duke looked around, and he trotted down to the lot with a grin when Allison arrived. He pulled her from her car with a growl, and she squealed as he kissed her.