He hardly moved, the kiss sweet and tender. Beth’s pulse was the complete opposite of that for the first couple of seconds, and then she relaxed into the comfort of his simple touch.
He pulled away after only short time and whispered, “How about I bring some of that fried chicken from Cut and Cluck?” proving that the Lord had sent Trey Chappell straight from heaven.
Chapter Five
Trey entered the homestead where he lived with Cayden and Blaine. Until he’d gotten married a few months ago, Spur had lived there too. The four of them got along really well, and the four younger brothers lived in a house down the lane.
All of them were at the homestead tonight, though, even Spur.
Trey took a deep breath and adjusted the six boxes of pizza he carried. “Food’s here,” he called, knowing a roar would fill the house a moment later. When it did, he grinned at the enthusiasm of his brothers for something as simple as pizza.
Spur got out the drinks he’d said he’d bring, plenty of curiosity in his gaze. Trey ignored his oldest brother, because he wasn’t telling this story twice. He didn’t even want to tell it once.
You have to, he told himself, because he didn’t want to pretend with the people who mattered most to him. He didn’t want to lie to them, and every single one of his brothers would know something was up the moment he announced he and Beth Dixon were going to get married—in only seventeen more days.
He swallowed just thinking about it.
To tame the nerves, he flipped open the pizza boxes and named the kinds he’d picked up. He’d helped at Beth’s on Monday until all the peaches were done. He’d met her sister, and Sally sure was nice. Her eyes had rounded like dinner plates when Beth told her she and Trey were dating. She’d stared for a full minute before saying a word, and then she’d sputtered something about how happy for Beth she was.
Trey hadn’t seen Beth yesterday, but they’d texted a lot. This afternoon, he’d run by to take TJ home after finding him near the stables, fully dressed, with good shoes on his feet. He’d shown Trey and asked if he could have his hour at Bluegrass.
Trey’s first inclination was to say no, because he knew Beth wouldn’t approve and hadn’t given her permission. In the end, though, he honestly didn’t mind if TJ went around with him for an hour, and he’d just said yes.
Once she’d gotten him settled on the couch with a cartoon, they’d gotten out a calendar—he smiled just thinking of her with that paper calendar. He’d teased her that there were about a billion calendaring apps now—and chosen a date for their wedding.
His wedding.
“Quiet down, you animals,” Blaine said. “I have to leave in forty-five minutes, and I want to eat and hear Trey’s story. Let’s get started.”
The brothers quieted, and everyone looked at Trey. “Should we say grace?” he asked.
Every eyebrow went up, and Trey wanted to run from the homestead and never come back. In a couple of weeks, he’d pack up most of what he owned and move down the street. He really didn’t want to return to the ranch only six months later the way Ian had.
“You want to say grace?” Cayden asked.
“I don’t, no,” Trey said. “It’s—we usually do before we eat. That’s all.” He looked at Spur, silently begging for help.
“Lawrence,” Spur said, removing his cowboy hat. “Would you?”
“Sure,” Lawrence said, and he gave everyone a moment to take off their hats. Some of them closed their eyes while Lawrence prayed, but Trey kept his open. He looked around at the others, wondering how they all got along as well as they did. The hard work helped, as did their dad’s no-nonsense rule for no fighting among the brothers.
“Amen,” everyone said, and Trey repeated it a half a beat too late.
“All right,” Blaine said. “Let’s hear it.”
“Should we get pizza first?” Trey asked.
“Yeah, let’s get pizza first.” Cayden picked up a plate and then four pieces of pizza, one from four different pies. Trey went through the line last, and there was plenty of pizza left. He sat beside Spur at the huge family dining table and popped the top on his soda. He took a long drink, letting the carbonation burn his throat.
“Any day now,” Spur murmured. “You’re going to cause Blaine to pop that vein in his head.”
Trey looked at Blaine, who sat just below him in the child order. He did look a little perturbed as he took the largest bite of pizza Trey had ever seen someone take.
“All right,” he said. “Might as well get this over with.” He put down his slice of pepperoni and olive pizza. “How do I put this as succinctly as possible?” He looked at Cayden and then Lawrence, wishing he’d run his speech by one of them so they could help him refine it.
“I’m going to marry Beth Dixon on October eighteenth so she can enter one of her horses into the Sweetheart Classic.”
Surprise ran through him that he’d been able to boil it down so easily.