Chapter 15 #2
“Yes, ma’am,” I say. Then, I pull the door open and shout, “Your favourite person has finally arrived!”
“Cooper’s here?” my cousin Jamieson yells, looking around the backyard, bypassing me entirely.
I narrow my eyes. “Aye, asshole. Don’t you have a football to catch or something? Are you sure you’re okay to use that axe? We wouldn’t want you to get a callus on those precious hands.”
The wide receiver drops his head back and bellows a deep laugh.
His grip on the axe Dad keeps by the woodshed loosens as he drops it on the grass and then crouches to slip a stack of chopped logs into his massive arms before carrying and dropping them in front of the blazing fire.
It’s a bit out of control, but if I had to guess, someone probably started it with gasoline.
Something I’m sure Jamie’s firefighter older brother, Oliver, wasn’t entirely thrilled about.
“These hands see more hard work than yours, pretty boy,” Jamie teases me after brushing off the wood chips from his arms.
“When’s the last time you did anything even remotely labour-related, son?” My uncle Tyler grins at his youngest son.
“Probably around the same time you did,” Jamie returns.
Shaking my head, I take in the familiar scene of our big family spread throughout the yard.
Behind Jamie, Oliver and my uncle Ty are chatting with themselves, keeping watchful eyes on the fire while sitting on low-rise wooden patio chairs with beers in hand.
Adalyn attempts to toast a marshmallow on the blazing flames, her face twisted with concentration.
Tyler’s wife—my aunt Gracie—is busying herself with a long white table piled with food and presents. That’s the direction Mom takes off in, and a second later, Dad is behind her, wrapping his arms around her middle and pulling her back into him.
My heart warms at their affection. It’s the same type of love I’ve seen them show throughout my entire life. Suddenly, I frown. There is only one face missing from the crowd, and it’s one that has to hurt Mom the most.
“Where is Noah?” I grind out, facing Addie now.
Addie looks at me over the flames. “Toronto.”
“Toronto?”
“Look, before you blow a gasket, he didn’t go for no reason.”
“We’re celebrating Mom’s birthday, Addie. There’s nothing more important than that.”
She cocks a brow. “Really? You’re being a hypocrite right now.”
She’s right, but I don’t admit that out loud. “He went to see Tiny, didn’t he?”
“Of course he did, Dox. But he was here on Mom’s actual birthday, so just let him go see his best friend without the judgment. You should know how he’s feeling better than anyone.”
Slowly, I lower myself to the grass and pull my knees up, draping my arms over them. I don’t like him leaving like this, but my opinion means shit to my brother, anyway.
Tinsley Lowry—or better known to all of us as Tiny—is my uncle Tyler’s half-brother’s daughter.
While a goddamn mouthful, there’s no blood relation to me or my siblings as Tyler married into the family.
And thank fuck for that because Noah has been in love with her from the moment he laid eyes on her.
Dad always told us that Huttons are like penguins. We mate for life. And while I didn’t buy it when I was younger . . . I think he might not have been as out to lunch as I thought.
Hopefully, the tradition skips Adalyn because I’m so not ready for that yet.
Noah is different with Tinsley . . . warmer, kinder.
She’s the only one who has ever been able to get through to him, and while that’s great and all, she lives in Toronto with her family, and, well, Noah is here.
At least with him there for a while, I won’t have to worry about him getting into trouble.
“What did you get Mom for her birthday?” I change the subject, and Addie’s face immediately lights up.
“O-M-G! I got her a new luggage set for their trip to Greece. You know how Mom is when it comes to buying herself new things. I swear she’s had her old luggage since she was my age.”
I nod along with her. Mom spoiled us rotten when we were kids, but she hardly spent anything on herself. Dad made up for it, though.
“That’s great, Addie. She’ll love it.”
“Yeah, she will.” She flicks her gaze behind me briefly before looking back and batting her eyelashes. “So . . . theoretically, how mad would you be if Mom and me invited Braxton to the party today?”
I narrow my eyes. “Why?”
“’Cause, cousin. Little Braxton Heights is walking over here as we speak,” Jamie notes, and as I quickly get off the ground, I find him staring toward the back door.
“Adalyn,” I grumble, following Jamie’s line of sight to find Braxton stepping outside.
My lungs pinch as I take her in. A flowy yellow sundress with short sleeves and white lace flows down her body, hitting her mid-calf and cinching at her waist, showing off her curves and the swell of her tits.
A pair of white trainers and a twinkling diamond necklace that hangs just above the crease between her breasts in the shape of a heart finish the look.
Half of her hair is pulled back and secured with a clip, keeping it out of her face. My fingers twitch, wanting to remove that clip so her curls fall free.
“When did that happen?” Oliver mutters behind us, and I don’t know if he’s talking about our reunion or the fact she’s grown into a woman, but I get annoyed regardless.
“She’s not for you,” I snap.
“So, she’s yours?” he asks.
“It’s not your bus—”
“Women don’t belong to men, Oliver, but yes. Braxton is here with Maddox,” Addie answers for me.
I look over at her with questions in my eyes, and she mouths, “Go with it.”
Unease swirls, but against my better judgment, I listen to her. With three strides, I’m leaving them behind and am in front of Braxton, using my six-three frame to block her from view of anyone else.
One smile is all it takes to have me all twisted up inside. I try to grapple for self-control, but having her here, at my family home again, fuck.
“You look like the sun,” I blurt out. My eyes widen. “I mean, the dress. It’s yellow like the sun . . . sunshine. It’s bright. Yeah.”
The blue in her eyes is so clear I can’t look away. She blinks at me once, twice, and then asks, “Do you want to borrow some sunglasses?”