Thirteen

Emery

" Y ou ready for this?" Colt asks as we pull into Beau's driveway.

I glance over at him, then back at Legend, who's been in full-blown chatter mode since we left the house, listing every question he plans to ask Colt’s brothers like he’s prepping for a job interview.

I take a breath and exhale slowly. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Beau’s house is exactly what I’d expect from a no-nonsense mechanic.

Solid, practical, with a garage big enough to house a tank and probably the tools to build one.

The place smells like bacon and coffee and something slightly greasy in a comforting, man-who-knows-his-way-around-an-engine sort of way.

Colt pushes open the front door without knocking. “We’re here!” he calls out like we’re stepping into a sitcom.

“About damn time!” comes a voice from the kitchen, gruff and already judging us for being three minutes late.

The house is buzzing. Voices overlapping, someone laughing, something sizzling on the stove. It smells like a Sunday morning should.

We step into the kitchen, and my eyes immediately dart to the brothers. They’re clearly cut from the same Boone cloth but styled in completely different patterns.

Jack, the oldest, is seated at the table with a gorgeous auburn-haired woman curled against his side like she’s always belonged there. He’s got that military stillness, not stiff, just deliberate , and when he smiles at us, it softens everything sharp about him.

“You must be Emery,” he says, rising to shake my hand. “Jack. This is Delaney.”

“Nice to finally meet you,” Delaney adds warmly. “We’ve heard a lot about you.”

I shoot Colt a sideways look. “Hopefully the flattering stuff.”

Delaney grins. “Mostly. He did call you ‘stubborn as hell,’ but it was said affectionately.”

That checks out.

Cade is leaning against the counter, looking like he just walked out of a flannel catalog. Messy hair, woodsmoke still clinging to his jacket. Next to him is a petite blonde with sharp eyes and a quick smile.

“Cade,” he says, tipping his chin at me. “And this troublemaker is Marley.”

“Hey!” Marley protests, smacking his arm. “I’m not the one who dragged you to that wedding with the ten-piece string quartet and gluten-free cake.”

“Best mistake I ever made,” Cade mutters, kissing her temple while she rolls her eyes.

And then there’s Beau.

The biggest of the brothers, standing at the stove like he’s running a diner during the breakfast rush, flipping pancakes with military precision. He’s got grease under his nails and a scowl that seems permanent until he glances at Legend.

Then something shifts.

“And you must be the famous Legend,” Beau says, voice like gravel dragged across a front porch.

Legend, who’s been suspiciously quiet for a kid hopped up on apple juice and adrenaline, sidles closer to Beau.

“Are you a real mechanic?” he asks, eyes narrowing.

“I am,” Beau answers.

“Do you fix police cars?”

“Sometimes.”

Legend nods like this meets his approval. “Cool. I’m a deputy now.” He points to the plastic badge stuck to his chest like it's proof of employment.

“I can see that,” Beau says. “Very official.”

Delaney leans toward me, voice low. “Beau says he’s not great with kids, but he made pancakes shaped like police cars.”

I glance at the plate Beau slides in front of Legend, and sure enough there are tiny pancakes in the shape of cruisers, sirens and all. They’re kind of ridiculous. And perfect.

Legend’s eyes go huge. “These are the best pancakes ever!”

“Told you he’d love them,” Jack mutters to Beau, who only grunts in reply, though I swear there’s the ghost of a smirk tucked into his beard.

The next hour is loud, messy, and surprisingly effortless. The brothers talk like they’re still teenagers, taking shots at each other over eggs and hash browns. Their partners roll their eyes in perfect harmony and pull me into the fold like I’ve always belonged.

Legend’s in absolute heaven. Every time he opens his mouth, someone’s listening, laughing, or handing him another slice of bacon.

Then Marley, cool as can be, drops a bomb between sips of orange juice.

“So... when’s the wedding?”

I nearly inhale my coffee. “Wedding?”

Delaney jumps right in. “Come on. Look at the way he watches you. Look at how he is with your kid. That man’s already planning the playlist.”

“We just—”

But before I can raise any kind of objection, Colt is dropping to one knee, being handed a small box by my own son. Jesus, they were both in on this?

“Sorry, babygirl, but I can’t let them beat me to the punch. I’d never hear the end of it. Marry me, Emery Rose Langston.”

I frown. “There’s a reason it’s called popping the question . You’re supposed to ask, not tell me what to do.”

“Marry him, Mama!” Legend is jumping up and down with a big ridiculous grin on his face, and I can’t help myself. I’m smiling right along with him, because there’s nothing I want more.

I nod, tears starting to well in my eyes as my throat closes up, but I manage to croak out, “Yes. Please.”

Colt slips the ring on my finger before I even finish replying, like my answer was already written in the stars. And perhaps it was. The others erupt in cheers and hoots, but this moment is just for the three of us. Me, my son, and my Daddy.

“There’s something else,” Colt says, looking uncertain. “And you can say no if you want to, but it’s something just for you, babygirl.”

He pushes a slip of paper into my hand, and when I read it I’m still uncertain. “That’s this Thursday. But what’s Parker’s Room?”

“Parker’s a buddy who owes me a favor,” Beau chimes in, but it’s not helping solve the mystery, and I think Colt reads that on my face.

“It’s a recording studio, baby. And ignore the date, this one’s an open invitation. Whenever you’re ready, whenever you feel you want it, you just say the word and we’re there. You have a fantastic voice, and I want to support you.”

“This has all been so quick,” I mumble. “But it’s perfect.”

“Quick nothing,” Jack says with a grin. “When a Boone man knows, he knows. And our baby brother knows. ”

Colt lifts a brow. “Baby brother? I’m taller than two of you.”

“You’re still the baby,” Cade says, not missing a beat. “You cried when they took your pacifier.”

“I was two.”

“Still counts.”

After breakfast, the women migrate toward the kitchen with dishes while the brothers launch into a debate about football that I suspect could last until next Sunday. I find myself beside Beau at the sink, and for a moment, it’s quiet enough to speak without being overheard.

“Thank you,” I say softly. “For the pancakes. For all of it.”

He shrugs. “Family’s family.”

“He already loves you. Legend, I mean.”

Beau glances over at the living room, where Legend is now showing off his badge to Cade like he’s in charge of security. “Kid’s got sense,” he says simply. Then, after a beat: “You make Colt happy. Haven’t seen him like this... maybe ever.”

“He makes me happy, too.”

Beau turns toward me, still scrubbing a plate. “Good. ‘Cause if you hurt him, I’ll take it personal.”

I offer a smile that isn’t fake. “Fair warning received.”

“Good.” He hands me a dish towel. “Dry faster. You’re slow.”

“Wow, now I really feel welcome.”

Before he can respond, Legend’s voice echoes from the living room.

“Mama! Look what Uncle Beau gave me!”

I turn to see Colt with Legend perched on his shoulders like a human backpack, his hands proudly gripping a small toy wrench.

I raise an eyebrow. “Uncle Beau?”

Beau shrugs. “Kid decided. What am I gonna do, argue with a deputy?”

As we’re getting ready to head out, Legend makes his rounds like a tiny politician on the campaign trail, hugging everyone, thanking them for the pancakes, the juice, the badge compliments.

When he gets to Beau, he wraps his arms around the man’s massive legs without hesitation.

“Thank you for the pancakes, Uncle Beau. And for my wrench.”

Beau’s face stays gruff, but his hand lands gently on the top of Legend’s head. “You’re welcome, kid.”

“Will you teach me to fix cars someday?”

“If your mama says it’s okay.”

Legend turns to me with that look, the one that combines big eyes, soft voice, and emotional manipulation no adult is immune to.

“Can he, Mama?”

I sigh, already defeated. “We’ll see,” I say, which is universal mom-speak for yeah, eventually.

Legend’s in the backseat as we drive home, still chattering away. He’s now naming everyone in Colt’s family like he’s trying to memorize them for a school test. Colt’s driving with one hand on the wheel, the other resting on my thigh like he’s claiming me quietly, without needing to say a word.

“So,” I murmur, glancing at him. “That went well.”

“Told you they’d love you.”

“Love us, ” I correct.

He nods. “Yeah. They do.”

“Your brother Beau—”

“Is a big softie under all that gruff,” Colt says. “Kid’s already got him wrapped around his finger. Hell, me too.”

“And Jack and Delaney—”

“Rock solid. She keeps him grounded.”

“Like Marley does with Cade?”

“Exactly,” he says, eyes on the road. “Like you do with me.”

That pulls something tight in my chest. “I love you.”

“I love you too, baby girl. Both of you.”

From the backseat, a small voice chimes in. “Are we gonna live with Daddy Colt now?”

Colt and I exchange a look. We haven’t had that conversation yet. Not out loud, anyway. But I guess if he’s at the proposal stage then he must be at the living together stage too.

“Would you want that?” I ask my son.

“Yes!” Legend says instantly. “Then we’d be a real family.”

Colt doesn’t even hesitate. “We are a real family, buddy. Doesn’t matter where we live.”

“But if we all lived together, it would be even better .”

I glance at Colt. He’s smiling slightly, already running the logistics in his head.

I reach back and squeeze Legend’s little foot. “We’ll figure it out.”

And we will.

It’s not if anymore.

It’s just when.