Chapter Twenty Seven
THREE MONTHS LATER
ASTON
The Texas sun doesn’t just shine. It bakes into the earth, leaving the smell of dry cedar and dust. The sky goes on forever, a massive canopy of blue that makes the high-rise concrete of New York feel like a completely different world.
I keep one hand on the steering wheel of the truck I rented, my elbow propped against the open window as the hot hair flows across my skin.
My other hand is locked with Eva’s, my thumb tracking the small, smooth knuckles of her fingers.
She’s wearing a peach sundress that makes her skin look tan, and her dark hair is pulled back into a loose clip.
She looks as gorgeous as ever. But I can feel the slight tension in her grip.
“You good?” I ask, smiling.
She nods and gives me a tight smile. “So good.”
I chuckle at her exaggeration, but I don’t tease her about it.
“We’re almost there,” I say, nudging my chin toward the windshield as we clear the crest of the hill, the main gates of my family’s ranch coming into view. “I can’t wait for you to see it.”
She lets out a soft laugh, her shoulders finally dropping as she leans her head against my shoulder.
“I’m excited too. Really,” she says, looking out the window.
“This place is … it’s a whole different scale.
My dad’s estate in Long Island has manicured hedges and a security gate, but this looks like an entire kingdom. ”
“Nah, it’s just a little dirt and cattle, Honeybee,” I say, pulling her hand up to my lips to press a deep, lingering kiss against her skin. “And a lot of loud people who’ve been waiting five months to interrogate us in person.”
When I pull down the long driveway toward the main house, I look out the window at all the wide-open space.
I’ve missed this. As we get closer, I see at least six massive pickups parked along the grass, the tailgate of Archie’s dropped open to reveal three large coolers.
A massive banner, strung between the pillars on the porch, reads Congratulations, Austin!
The second my boots hit the gravel, the silence of our drive is completely obliterated.
“He’s here!” my nephew Duke roars, dropping a football into the dirt as he bolts from the porch steps.
Behind him, his sister, Lainey, and little brother, Tucker, come running toward me.
“Uncle Aston!”
I don’t even have time to shut the door before Duke hits my knees.
I catch him with one arm, lifting his entire weight effortlessly into the air, while my other hand reaches down to scoop up Tucker by the waistband of his little denim shorts, and I swing them both until they shriek with laughter.
When I stop, Lainey wraps her arms around my legs and tucks into my side.
“Man, you guys have grown a whole foot since I saw you last.” I laugh, dropping my head to press a rough kiss to Duke’s dusty hair before setting them down. I look over the tops of their heads, my eyes finding Eva, who’s standing by the passenger door, her eyes wide and her lips smiling.
“Come here,” I murmur, reaching an arm out to pull her into my side.
The kids go quiet, staring at her with curiosity that only kids have.
“Guys, this is Eva.”
“Are you the girl from the TV trucks?” Lainey asks.
“I am,” Eva says, and the effortless grace in her voice has my chest instantly tightening with pride. She squats, even in her long dress, as she looks Lainey in the eye. “And you must be Lainey. Your uncle says you’re the real boss around here. Is that true?”
Lainey’s eyes sparkle as she nods.
“All right, clear out, you little monsters!” Archie’s voice booms across the yard as he steps off the porch, a longneck beer in one hand and a grilling spatula in the other.
He looks exactly the same as he always does—broad shoulders, sunburned, and his hair a little longer again since I saw him in February. Behind him, his wife Emma is walking down the steps, wearing the easy smile she always has.
“Hey, Aston,” Emma calls out, but steps right past me to pull Eva into a hug. “How are you, Eva? I’m so glad you came. We need some more estrogen around here to balance out all these boys.”
“Ahh, come on, Em. You know you love us,” Aiden shouts from the porch rail, leaning back with his ankles crossed, barefoot, wearing a smirk on his face.
“Yeah, yeah,” Emma says, waving him off.
Aiden walks down the steps and meets us at the bottom.
“Welcome home, brother.” Aiden pulls me into a one-armed hug, his hand slapping my back twice. Then he turns to Eva, his smile genuine. “Good to see you, Eva. Glad you could make it down to this fiery paradise we call home.”
“It’s definitely a different kind of heat from New York,” Eva says, reaching over to give Aiden a hug with an easy confidence, like she belongs here.
Because she does belong here with me and my family.
Bruce Carrington squashed the headlines about Eva and me quickly, barely leaving a mark on her reputation, and pretty much eliminating any interest in us as a happy couple. And once I got home from Ace’s and my family knew everything was good between us, they welcomed Eva with open arms.
The front screen door bangs open, and my mama steps out onto the porch, her eyes instantly locking onto the two of us. Behind her, my dad stands with his hands tucked into his belt loops; of course, he’s wearing his Wranglers and boots, even in this heat.
My mama doesn’t say a word to me. She just walks by me and takes Eva’s hands in hers.
“Look at you,” my mother says, her voice carrying that unbending Texas warmth that’s anchored my entire family. “You look absolutely beautiful. It’s been so long since we’ve seen you. I’m so glad you could come to our home with Aston.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Griffith,” Eva says, her voice catching on a breath.
“None of that,” my mom corrects, pulling Eva into a crushing hug. “It’s Alicia. Now come inside, out of this heat.”
The party is a chaotic blur of Griffith noise. We have enough brisket and an entire buffet full of salads and desserts to feed an army.
We watch as Austin and a group of his friends act like eighteen-year-old boys, ready to take on the world.
Austin is going to Walker University in the fall, and instead of football, he’ll be playing baseball for the Stallions. A few of his teammates from his travel league will be joining him there, and I hope he has as much fun as we did.
My youngest brother, Jesse, who’s going into high school in the fall, tosses a football with Duke, and little Tuck waddles along beside him. And I swear Jesse’s grown about three feet since I saw him last. He might just be the biggest of us all.
Seems like both of my younger brothers are growing up way too fast, and I’m missing it. I need to make a point to come home more often throughout the year.
The only one missing from the crew is Ace. His flight from Florida was delayed due to a storm.
I’m sitting with a plateful of food, listening to my dad give a twenty-minute speech about the value of beef, which has my mother rolling her eyes the more animated Dad gets.
Through all the noise, I keep my eyes locked on Eva.
I watch her sit at the long picnic table between Archie and Aiden, laughing until her eyes crinkle as they tell her about the time I got my head stuck in the cattle chute when I was twelve.
She doesn’t look like a media princess or the boss of a network program.
She just looks like my girl who’s letting my niece braid a long piece of grass into her hair.
And the backdrop of the western horizon paints the sky in deep shades of orange and violet, making her look like an angel.
“She’s it for you, son,” my dad’s voice cuts into my thoughts.
I turn from her and look at him.
“I know she is, Dad,” I say with a smile.
“Then you give her everything you have, Aston,” he says, his heavy calloused hand coming down to rest on my shoulder, giving it a firm fatherly squeeze.
“I will,” I say. “With everything I’ve got.”
By nine o’clock, the kids are getting dragged up to bed by Archie and Emma.
And the new graduates and now a handful of Jesse’s friends are in the garage looking at a loose alternator on Austin’s four-wheeler.
I catch Eva’s hand under the table, tilting my head toward the dark trail that leads down to the eastern pasture.
“Come on,” I whisper against her temple. “Let’s go for a walk.”
I stand and pull her up by the hand.
The air has cooled, and the grass is heavy with dew against my shoes as we walk hand-in-hand past the putting green my dad put in for Emma and the kids and then past the barns.
The stars down here don’t even compete with the city lights.
They dominate the dark with millions of white diamonds scattered across the velvet sky, which feels so close you can reach up and touch them.
“We just wandering, or are we going somewhere in particular?” Eva asks, her fingers tightening with mine as we approach a small cabin. We have mostly used it as a party house, but over the years, after Archie and Emma got married, it’s now mostly used as a guesthouse.
“The Shack,” I say, pushing open the heavy wooden door.
The interior is rustic, but simple. There’s a small stone fireplace, a leather sofa, and a king-sized bed in the bedroom in the back of the cabin.
“We threw parties out here, growing up. Pretty sure Austin and Jesse bring their friends here too. But we use it as a guesthouse more than anything now with the family growing.”
Eva walks around, her hand tracing the rough mantle of the fireplace, and a sigh leaves her lips. “It’s adorable. I love it. So homey and quaint. Like a nice little escape from reality.”
“It is.” A deep, identical voice comes from the open doorway behind us.
We both turn and see Ace leaving against the doorframe, his hands tucked into his shorts, looking tired but completely relaxed.
“Acer,” I say, stepping forward and wrapping him in a hug. “You finally made it.”
When we part, he looks at Eva, a soft smile touching his lips as he comes into the cabin. “Hey, Eva. You surviving the Griffith family?”