Page 36

Rubbing the back of my neck, I stare down at the ground, but none of them miss the smile on my lips. “Well, let’s just say that things have definitely progressed...”

Dallas holds a hand up, cutting me off. “Look, I’m glad that you finally figured out your shit, but that’s still our little sister.

And judging by the look on your face, I’m gonna say you’re probably thinking about shit I don’t want to know anything about.

So, for the sake of the weekend and so I’m not tempted to make Parker’s wild idea come true, let’s refrain from mentioning how entranced you are with Hazel, yeah? ”

Grady laughs as I nod. “Sounds good.”

Dal las, Penn, and Parker head back toward our camp to finish setting up the tents, leaving Grady and me alone.

“Since Hazel’s not my sister, if you need someone to talk to, I’m here.”

I blow out a breath. “Thanks. I just hope I’m not making a mistake—for Hazel’s sake.”

Grady’s brows draw together. “Care to explain?”

I push a hand through my hair. “It’s complicated.”

“Ha. It always is. But let me tell you from experience, when you find the right woman, she’s worth the fight, man.

My wife made me work for her—I mean , really work for her.

We had a long history, and she still didn’t want to let me in, even after I knocked her up.

” I have to rein in my shock at that admission.

“All I could do was prove to her that I wasn’t going anywhere, and eventually, she knew she could trust me. ”

“Yeah, but that’s the problem. I might have to go somewhere.”

“Like back to Florida?”

Without divulging too much information, I reply, “Something like that.”

“Well, whatever you have to deal with, just ask yourself if Hazel is worth the bullshit that comes with it— all of it .” He slaps me on the shoulder.

“And if the answer is yes, then embrace your marriage and be grateful that your aunt knew what the hell she was talking about, even though you were too stupid to believe it.”

***

“So, I was thinking a family of geese.” Dallas points to his left pec.

Parker claps loudly. “That’s fucking genius.”

“ Then I need a bag of frosting.” Penn points to his rib cage.

“Frosting?” I ask.

Penn waggles his eyebrows. “There’s a reason, but y’all don’t need to know.”

“Oh!” Parker nearly launches from his chair, but Dallas steadies him before he face plants into the fire. “Then I need rock, paper, and scissors.”

Grady stares at him. “That’s random.”

“More random than a bag of frosting?” I say.

The brothers keep talking about their tattoo ideas as I reach for another soda, trying to conceal the can as I pop it into my koozie.

“Hey, no need to hide that you’re not drinking,” Grady murmurs to me from his seat beside me.

“Tell that to the drunk triplets over there.”

Grady laughs. “Touché. But seriously, if you don’t want to drink, don’t let them guilt you into it.”

I conceal my drink and then sit back in my chair correctly. “Alcohol just makes me feel like shit, you know?”

“Oh, I get it. I avoided it like the plague back when I was playing professionally.”

“Sucks about your shoulder, Reynolds. Like I said before, I was a big fan.”

Grady shrugs as he stares at the fire. “It took me a long time to get over it, the anger mostly. I felt robbed, but at the same time, it was my fault. I knew something was off and I didn’t listen to my body.”

My heart starts pounding as he speaks because I know exactly where he’s coming from. I saw the signs too and didn’t want to believe it.

“But now? I look back on it with gratitude. I mean, hell, it wasn’t like I was going to be able to keep playing until I was seventy, right? And th en when Scottie came back into my life, everything fell into place. If I hadn’t lost baseball, I never would have found her again.”

“Are you still upset about it?”

“Not really. I get to coach now and watch Chase play, which just reminds me of how much I love the game.”

The embers of the fire glow as they drift up toward the sky, extinguishing as the breeze hits them.

“Well, I’m still fucking angry.” I admit.

“About what?”

“Fuck, now I want to go home,” Parker whines before I can answer him. “I miss Cashlynn, man.”

“You’ll see her in a few days,” Dallas says and then sighs. “But fuck, I miss Willow too. And Michael.”

Penn takes his phone from his pocket, holding it up toward the sky. “I wish there was better reception so we could at least call the girls.”

Grady and I share a laugh, but my chest aches with the thought of wanting to talk to Hazel right now too. I wonder what she’s doing… Is she editing on the couch? What socks does she have on? Is Blueberry on her lap or in his bed?

And that’s when it hits me.

I’m starting to get used to this life.

Fuck. That means that I now have something to lose.

“No, I’m going first!” Parker launches from his chair, stumbling over to where I’m sitting, lifting up his shirt. “Gage, you gotta tattoo me first, man!”

“No, me!” Dallas shoves Parker aside, lifting his shirt up now. “I need my Goose and goslings right over my heart, Gage! Right now!”

Penn comes up behind them. “Where do you think I should put the bag of frosting, Gage? I was thinking my ribs, but what about my butt c heek?” He starts to unzip his jeans, but Grady stands up to stop him.

“I think you all need some water and food,” he says, leading Parker over to the picnic table that’s covered with snacks. We brought enough food for a small army, but none of us are small men, so I’m sure the majority of it will get eaten by the end of the weekend.

“Um, I think that’s a good idea. Besides, doing tattoos in the middle of a forest is not exactly sanitary, not to mention I don’t have any supplies with me,” I say, actually enjoying being the sober one as I watch my brothers-in-law act like children.

Fuck. I have brothers-in-law .

“Damn it, Gage. You should have brought your stuff.” Penn follows Grady and Parker pouting, but Dallas stays behind, staring down at me before I can stew on that realization for too long.

“Uh…you okay, Dallas?”

He arches a brow at me. “Are you in love with my sister?” he says, followed by a hiccup.

Trying not to laugh at him, I rise from my spot so I can look at him eye to eye. “I think that’s between me and her.”

He nods. “I respect that, but I want to make sure that you respect her .” He takes a step closer to me. “I’m so proud of that girl—how honest she is, how hardworking she is, how talented she is, and how hard she loves.”

“I agree with everything you just said.”

“Then care to explain these?” He holds up my pills, and my stomach instantly drops.

I pause before responding so I don’t overreact. “Where the hell did you get those?”

“They fell out of your bag when we were unloading.”

I r each for the bottle, but he holds it further away. “Give me back my fucking medicine, Dallas.”

We stare at each other, our jaws clenched tight, until he finally shoves the bottle into my chest. “I’m no doctor, but I know that if you’re taking those, there’s something going on that I’m guessing you’re not being transparent about.”

“Why don’t you mind your own business?”

He lowers his voice. “The second you married my sister, your business became my business. Does Hazel know about this?”

I don’t back down, looking him straight in the eye. “Not yet.”

“Are you planning on telling her?”

“When the time is right.”

“Which is? Before or after she falls in love with you?” I don’t say anything as the truth dawns on him. “Fuck, she already is, isn’t she?”

“I don’t know, but I know how I fucking feel.”

Dallas pushes a hand through his hair, stumbling a bit. “You’d better fucking tell her soon, or I will. Up until a few hours ago, I was rooting for this to work out. But this isn’t something you can hide forever, Gage. Hazel deserves to know what she’s signing on for if you two stay together.”

“I know, and I plan on telling her. I just need more time to figure some shit out.”

He nods. “You have until the wedding.”

“Dallas! Come eat!” Grady yells across the campsite.

Dallas glares at me a beat longer before he stumbles over to the others. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch, Reynolds! It’s going to make you suck at cornhole even more!”

“Good thing I’m not on your team for the games then, huh?”

“I don’t need your sorry ass to win!” Dallas fires back. “I’m the champion for a reason!”

“ Stop fucking yelling or you’re going to attract bears,” Grady grates out, looking over at me while crossing his eyes in frustration.

I try to laugh off his annoyance, but my worst nightmare just came true.

Time’s running out to come clean to Hazel about my health, and if I don’t figure out how to tell her soon, Dallas will do it for me—ruining any chance I have of a future with Hazel, even though I know I shouldn’t want one in the first place.

***

The line keeps ringing, making my anxiety build.

“You’ve reached Hazel Sheppard. I’m sorry I missed your call, but leave me a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”

I end the call again as I pace around our empty apartment.

The guys dropped me off about an hour ago and I was fully prepared to ambush Hazel and make up for lost time the second I walked through the door. But the only person—or should I say animal—that was here to greet me was Blueberry.

And it’s not that I wasn’t happy to see him but I’ve called Hazel three times without an answer, and I’m getting worried because I have no idea where my wife is and it’s getting dark.

Not to mention that the conversation with Dallas from the other night is still on repeat in my mind, and another letter was delivered and she wasn’t here to receive it. But it doesn’t matter since this one is only addressed to me anyway.

In a last-ditch effort to find her, I call someone I swore I wouldn’t lean on unless I absolutely had to.

“Gage?”

“ Hey, Catherine.” I run my hand through my freshly washed hair as I continue to pace.

“Is everything okay?”

“Well, I hope so. I, uh…I don’t know where Hazel is and she’s not answering her phone.”

I can practically hear the smile in her voice. “Oh.”

“Do you have any idea where she might be?”

Catherine grows silent for a moment. “You’re worried, huh?”

“Yes. She’s not here and I just got home from Parker’s bachelor trip, and I…” I blow out a breath. “I need to fucking see her.”

Catherine chuckles. “The only place I can think of would be the lighthouse, then.”

Fuck. Why didn’t I think of that?

“Thanks, Catherine.”

“Anytime, Gage. Glad to know you missed her.”

And even though it pains me to admit it, I say, “Yeah, I did.”