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They finally let me go, and I walked around the side of the house where the patio was, water literally dripping off me. Dad, Gray, and Agatha were out there, drinking and talking, but when they saw me, they burst out laughing.

Wiping his eyes, Gray said, “Just like when you all were kids.”

I smiled. “Grow up, don’t grow old, right?”

Gray nodded. “That’s right.”

Out of the corner of my eyes, I think I saw Agatha giving him a warm look, but it was gone before I could be sure. She had a reputation for dating the worst men when I was younger, but I couldn’t remember seeing anyone for years. Maybe both counts would change soon.

Dad said, “I have some extra clothes you can borrow.”

I saluted him and walked past them, taking off my sopping-wet boots at the door. Mom let me go without questioning about Maggie, probably just so I wouldn’t mess up her floor, and I went back to the main level primary bedroom, pulling some sweats and a T-shirt out of Dad’s drawers. Thankfully, Mom had just bought him a pack of underwear, so I pulled back the plastic, getting out a fresh pair. Something about having my balls in the same place Dad’s had been gave me the willies.

Ha. Willies.

I shook my head at myself, finished dressing, and tossed my wet clothes in the hamper. We’d call it a trade.

When I walked out, my hair was still damp, but Mom smiled at me. “All dry?”

I rubbed my hair. “Mostly.”

She smiled at me as Fletcher and my brothers sat at the table, drinking their beers. Fletcher said, “The kids came in bragging that they got you.”

The tips of my ears warmed. “Yeah, but I got them first.”

The guys chuckled, and Mom shook her head at me.

She reached into the fridge for a beer and handed it to me. “Maggie couldn’t make it?”

After all the levity earlier, I found myself quickly sinking back to the depths I’d been in before I arrived. “Actually... well, Maggie...”

The front door opened, and we turned to see Maggie coming in, holding a glass pan covered in foil.

She smiled nervously and said, “Sorry I’m late, Deidre. I had to finish making a side for tonight.”

I took her in while Mom fussed over her and the pan.

Maggie was here, which meant...

We had a chance.

37

MAGNOLIA

I could feelRhett’s gaze on me as his mom took my pan of cheesy potatoes. My heart was in my throat, and my stomach was full of butterflies, because we both knew what this meant. I was going all in on what could be the start of happily ever after or a really big disaster.

But I was stronger now than when we first broke up. I knew I could survive heartbreak, forge a life for myself, even date and love other men.

Still, there was a part of me that knew what Rhett said was true. In some unexplainable way, we were linked to each other.

While his mom brought my pan of food to the back patio table, Fletcher leaned back and said, “Well, well, well.”

“Shut up,” Rhett muttered, coming to me and putting his arm around my waist. He looked down at me, hope and wonder in his eyes, and he kissed me in front of his brothers and his brother-in-law like we were the only two in the room.

His embrace left me breathless, like it always did.

“Want to get out of here?” he asked low.