Page 31 of Boston (Coral Canyon: Cowboys #12)

Surprise coursed through Cora, because surely that didn’t apply to her.

“It’s fine if you don’t have someone to walk with,” Joey said.

“We’ll work it out. But obviously Harry and Belle, Bryce and Codi, Kassie and Reggie, you guys will go together.

” Her eyes landed on Boston and Cora, and a certain awkwardness filled the air.

“If you guys would like to walk down the aisle together, that would be great.”

“If we’re still together by then,” Boston said, and Cora scoffed and bumped him with her hip.

“He’s always saying that like he’s trying to give me a way out.”

A few people laughed, and Joey smiled at the next people over, who were Matthew and Lynnie. “If you guys can come to the wedding, we’d love to have you in the party.

“And then, of course, Corrine, if you’re with Wells still and your parents think it’s okay….” She spoke slower and sort of trailed off, and then quickly added, “You can definitely walk in the party too.”

Something was definitely happening there, but Cora didn’t understand the family dynamics well enough yet to know what.

“And then we’ve got Liesl, Rosie, and Cole,” she said. “So maybe we’re only one man short.” She looked at Adam, her big blue eyes wide and full of hope.

It took a beat before he said, “I don’t know why you’re looking at me. I don’t have any friends.”

That caused a few people to laugh and Harry to say, “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“No, it’s not,” Adam bickered back. “You were my only friend for years, and I followed you to Coral Canyon, and now your family are my only friends.”

“Don’t forget Cash,” Harry said. “He could walk with Liesl or Rosie.”

“I ain’t walking down the aisle with my own brother,” Rosie said. “I’ll go with Cash.”

“What if I have a girlfriend by then?” Cole asked, and that brought every eye to him.

“Then we’ll find another female,” Joey said smoothly.

“You’ve got a girlfriend?” Rosie asked. “Why am I just hearing about this?”

“I don’t have a girlfriend,” Cole drawled, but his smile sure looked like he’d just eaten a whole package of cookies before dinner.

Cora looked at Boston, but he too watched Cole as if he were trying to read his posture or expression that would reveal something.

“Yeah, we’ll figure it out,” Joey said, as the conversation continued around Cole’s supposed girlfriend.

“I do have one thing I want to talk about,” Harry said over the last of the talking about who Cole had met. “And we’ve talked about it before.”

The group sobered, and they definitely viewed Harry as their leader. Cora could easily see why—the man oozed charm and charisma and wisdom.

“It’s about Eric and OJ,” he said, his eyes landing on Bryce. “I know he’s only eleven, and I know that some of us have real strong feelings about not projecting how we feel onto him.”

“I still feel like that, brother,” Bryce said. “I’m sorry, but I do.”

Cora wasn’t sure what they were talking about, but she noted the tightness in Harry’s jaw and the way he nodded. “All right. What about Eric? He’s only a couple years younger than Rosie, and maybe our get-togethers don’t always have to be a commiseration session.”

“That’s not what they are at all,” Boston said quietly. “Though I am grateful to have that space if I need it.”

“Me too,” Liesl said. “But I’d be okay if Eric wanted to come.”

Cora would have to ask him more about who Eric was, as well as OJ, and she really wanted to know more about what they commiserated about—though Boston had told her that this cousin night was between those in the Young family who came from first marriages, now that all of their daddies had been remarried and restarted families.

So maybe she wouldn’t ask him about that.

“Let’s do a nay vote,” Harry said. “Anyone who doesn’t want to invite Eric next month—he’ll be sixteen by the end of the month, and he’s quite a bit older than his other siblings, and he might have some real feelings about his place in his family. Anyone who doesn’t want to invite him?”

Cora obviously had no vote here, and she looked around the circle at those who did. No one raised their hand, and Harry smiled. “All right, I’ll add him to the list, and I’ll talk to him about it.”

“Just tell him what it is,” Bryce said. “He gets to feel how he wants.”

“I’ll tell him what it is,” Harry said. “I don’t need you to micromanage me about it.”

“I just don’t want you to project your feelings onto him either,” Bryce said.

“Maybe we could go together,” Harry said. “Would that satisfy you?”

“What would satisfy me is if you two would stop bickering about everything ,” Belle said.

A heated moment filled the area with only the crackling of fire behind them, and then Bryce, Harry, Adam, and Boston all started laughing at the same time.

That broke the mood, as well as the big circle, and Cora found herself mingling with the younger girls while Boston stood in a huddle with his male cousins.

Yes, she liked the feelings here and the way that they could bicker back and forth, and yet still got along and clearly loved one another. It reminded her of her family, though on a much larger scale.

A couple of hours later, she sighed happily as she got in Boston’s passenger seat and clicked her safety belt into place. He got behind the wheel and looked over to her. “So,” he said. “What do you think?”

“I think that was incredible,” she said. “Your family is amazing.”

He grinned and ducked his head, then started the truck and pulled away from the curb. “They are pretty amazing. Now the Fourth of July is next week, and I think you might be ready to move up a step.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yep. All the aunts and uncles,” he said. “And the little kids. Do you think you’re up for it?” Boston carried plenty of teasing in his tone.

Cora reached across the console and took his hand in hers. “I love the Fourth of July, and I like spending time with you, so if I have to take a whole mess of aunts and uncles and little kids to do both of those, I’m up for it.”

He grinned at her and lifted her hand to his lips. A thrill covered in sparks ran through her body, and Cora settled in for the short drive back to Silver Sage.

“You said you’d give me a hint tonight,” Boston said. “About where we’re gonna go in your sporty little car.”

Cora grinned at him. “Oh, right.”

“The first one was that I didn’t need bug spray,” Boston said.

“And the second one is,” she said, so much happiness prancing through her. “You also won’t need a fishing pole.”

He gave her a look out of the corner of his eye, and then looked back out the windshield. “That’s not a very good clue.”

She giggled, really enjoying this game with him. “Well, it’s all you get.”

“When will I get my next clue?”

“I’ll text you on Wednesday, so that you’ll get it when you get back up to the cabin to fix the roof.”

He kissed the back of her hand again. “I’m gonna miss you while I’m gone.”

She missed him already, but she didn’t say it out loud. The depth of her feelings surprised her, especially considering how new the relationship was.

So she simply said, “I’ll miss you too.”