Chapter 4 #3
“Yes. He has six sons, seventeen grandsons, and four granddaughters. Most of us grew up together, and we’re all close in age.
My cousin Hawk, though, practically lived with us when I was a kid.
I think that’s why he asked me and my brothers to wear tuxedos.
Although my sister-in-law Eve is in the wedding party.
She’s married to my older brother Kane.”
“Hawk wants a woman to stand up with him?”
Luke shrugged. “Even though Hawk is older than Eve, they’ve been best friends for most of their lives..” His phone buzzed and he frowned at the Caller ID. “Excuse me, Holly.”
When he stepped away to take a second call, she got up on the pretense of looking for the restrooms. Instead, she found Kevin in another tent, behind a long folding table covered with various desserts, spooning banana pudding into plastic bowls.
He looked up, grinning. “Need more sweet tea, Doc?”
She smiled. “Actually, I was curious. You said you’re Abe’s best friend?”
“Since sandbox days.”
She waited for more, but he just handed her the pudding bowls, with white plastic spoons sticking out of the top, like he was allergic to elaboration.
“I heard about California.” From Mac and Charlie. “Was Luke a firefighter out there?”
Kev blinked. “For a while. He surfed, too.”
“That’s an unusual combo.”
Kev grinned. “Luke’s got a lot of lives. Lawyer, surfer, part-owner of this pit-stop—you name it.”
Lawyer? “Do all the brothers live around here?”
Kev looked toward the tent where she’d just come from. “It’s complicated.”
She followed his gaze. Luke was off the phone, lying on his back on the bench, one arm thrown over his closed eyes.
The sun had shifted and now that the clouds had broken, they rested on his rugged face.
He looked too big for the picnic bench, too relaxed for someone who was on his way home to see his family after being away for years.
“Luke doesn’t want to go home without his twin brother Abe.” She wasn’t sure why she’d said that aloud, but Kev’s confidences told her he’d understand.
“Probably.” Kev handed her some napkins. “Luke is a great guy, you know. He just gets quiet when something matters, is all.”
She smiled and kept her other questions to herself. Kev had already given her more than she’d expected. “Thanks for lunch. It was amazing.”
Kev winked. “Wait ‘til you try dessert.”
She returned to the table with the bowls of pudding. “Everything okay?”
Luke swung his feet off the bench and sat up. “Fine. Just enjoying the sun.”
“You live in Miami. Isn’t it sunny there all the time?”
“It is.” He took his bowl and dug in. “But it’s different here in the foothills. Softer. Less harsh. More golden.”
“We hardly see the sun in Boston.” She took a bite of her pudding—and stopped talking.
It was the best thing she’d ever tasted. Banana. Vanilla. Magic.
She glanced up and met his brown eyes, already glittering with laughter. Had she moaned out loud? Even if she had, she didn’t care. She just took another bite and seriously considered going back for seconds.
As she ate, she decided that despite all her questions about Luke, she’d stick to the plan:
Drive to Milltown. Move into her apartment. Get her phone from Abe. Start her new job. Forget this whole weird day. If she could do all that, then she’d be safe. Finally.
But something inside her hesitated. And instead of sitting quietly and eating, she asked, “So…you fought fires in California?”
His smile came slow and a little surprised. “Yep. That was my Uncle Gage’s idea.”
“Is Gage one of Caleb’s sons?”
Luke nodded. “Youngest of six. Just like me. Uncle Gage is actually closer in age to his nieces and nephews than his brothers. He recently retired from the army, came back home to Kingsmill, and somehow ended up marrying Lily, the love of his life, and taking over as mayor.”
She paused mid-bite and raised an eyebrow. “So your family does run the entire town?”
He laughed so loud, the people at the next table turned to look.
When he finally took a drink, he leaned in with a grin.
“Actually, Nana Ruthie—Lily’s great-aunt—she runs the town.
Nobody knows how old she is, but my brothers and I think she’s got a portrait aging in a hidden attic somewhere. She might be immortal.”
Holly smiled, already in love with the image of a tough-as-nails older woman keeping a half-dozen Mosby men in line. “I hope I meet her someday.”
“Oh, you will.” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “But a word of warning… if she ever corners you alone, run. Or you’ll end up running the Sunflower Festival, the Christmas Parade, and the Fourth of July Picnic.”
“Duly noted.” She smirked. “Now tell me about your firefighting days in California.”
As they ate and he told wild stories about smoke jumping, she reminded herself this was just normal small talk.
A polite way to kill time. But somewhere deeper, behind a door she kept locked tight, she knew better.
She wanted to know more about this man who’d apparently been to all fifty states before he was twenty-five.
And maybe even this town called Kingsmill, run by a woman who could keep her menfolk dancing.