Chapter 21
KATY CONNER
“That’s going on my wall,” Sandra said as she looked at the phone I’d just handed her.
“Mine too,” I agreed as I took the phone back. “I can’t believe my girls are all grown up. To be honest, I wasn’t sure I’d survive this long.”
“Four at a time isn’t for the weak. Hell, twins aren't for the weak, and there are plenty of them in this family, but you’ve always been the competitive sort, so you just had to go bigger.”
“That was a fluke, and everyone knows it,” I reminded her. “The idea of twins was terrifying, then I thought I was having triplets for months. When May appeared out of nowhere, it shocked the hell out of everyone, including the doctor!”
“The look on Chess’ face when he came out to announce you had four was priceless,” Sandra told me with a grin.
I’d heard the story countless times but knew that the family’s shock at hearing our twins had miraculously turned into quadruplets wasn’t nearly as funny as my own.
“And then you just had to go and have twins!”
“No, what I had to do after Darrow and Duel was born was have my tubes tied. I wasn’t going to risk any more pregnancies.” I shuddered at the thought before I said, “If I ever had, I’d have probably had an entire litter.”
“And yet none of them are as awesome as me,” Demiree said as she sat down next to Sandra. She nudged her with her shoulder and said, “Hi, Nana.”
“Hi, baby girl. You look beautiful.”
“Not nearly as beautiful as you. Where’s Tinkie?”
“He’s out with the guys somewhere, probably complaining that he had to dress up.”
“Have you met all of those guests?” Demiree asked, motioning toward the table of men talking to Amethyst and Cydney’s husbands. “It’s like a buffet of gorgeous biker bad boys.”
“Your mother broke the cycle of falling for the hot biker, sweetheart, yet there you go lusting after . . .” Sandra turned to take a look herself before she let out a low whistle. “Good Lord. Where did they come from?”
“The land of bad decisions?” I suggested. Hoping to change the subject, I asked, “Where’s Conner?”
“He’s with his dad. Spruce and some of the other guys took the kids to the playground to get rid of all that energy they had pent up after sitting still during the service,” Demiree explained.
“Would you like another drink?” the server asked with a smile.
“Yes, please. It’s a sweet tea with lemon.”
“I’ll have the same,” Sandra announced.
When Demiree shook her head, the server announced that she’d be right back. Before we could say anything, a different server appeared with a tray of hors d'oeuvres for us to choose from.
“Aren’t you glad that I didn’t have this big of a celebration when I got married?” Demiree asked. She laughed bitterly before she said, “I guess that’s a good thing since it didn’t last long.”
“You and Spruce are better as friends and co-parents than you ever were as a couple,” I reminded her.
“He wasn’t your forever, but I think you knew that from the start,” Sandra chided.
“You’re right, Nana. We make much better friends than we did husband and wife.
” The table was quiet for a minute or two as we took in the people around us until Demiree announced, “I think I’m going to mingle before dinner is served.
They’re holding it until the photographer is finished with the wedding party. ”
“I can’t wait to see the pictures. Her dress was fantastic, and all of the bridesmaids were beautiful in the different shades of purple.”
“And the flowers went so well with everything. Cora did a wonderful job with them. And did you see the cake Janis made? It’s got some of the same flowers as we have here on the table,” Sandra announced.
“I didn’t get a good look at it. Let’s go check it out,” I said as I pushed my chair back. “If it’s anywhere near as fabulous as Janis’ other creations, it will almost be a shame to cut into it.”
“The girl has found her calling, that’s for sure,” Sandra agreed. “Let’s swing by and chat with Martha on our way.”
“I’m always down for that,” I agreed as I took Sandra’s hand. “I love her almost as much as I love you.”
“As long as it’s just almost,” Sandra said as she squeezed my hand and smiled. “I sure do love you, sweet girl.”
“I love you too.”
◆◆◆
VIOLET CONNER
“Where did Dad go?” Merida asked as she sat down in the chair next to mine.
“They got a call that Bella wanted all the men to take a picture with her,” I explained. “I think they’re going to recreate the picture from Bellamy’s wedding day.”
“That’s so sweet. I bet Uncle Finn will love that.”
I wasn’t around when Bella and Dylan were born, but I’d heard about it from Lena who was front and center on that joyous but horribly sad day.
With the twins' birth, Finn had to say goodbye to his twin sister, but my husband and his brothers had kept her memory alive as well as that of their other sister, Greer, who died in the same accident.
Over the years, I had wondered if living with Bellamy’s memory so front and center ever bothered Lena, but she assured me that Bella was her daughter in every way except for DNA.
Knowing how much the men had adored their sisters just made the love they had for Bella and Dylan even more special.
I couldn’t imagine life without my sisters, especially since we were still living so close to each other.
London lived right up the street! Liberty and Luke didn’t live too far away, and I saw them often - at least once a week when we had our progressive family dinner, shifting houses in between courses so it wasn’t too much for any one couple to host so many at a time.
The first few years were tense after our behavior when Liberty announced she was marrying Luke, but she had forgiven us much easier than we ever forgave ourselves.
Luckily, Luke was just as forgiving and had welcomed us into his home repeatedly over the years.
He made us a part of his family just as much as the rest of the people he loved.
“Is Dad ready to give the toast?” Merida asked, pulling me back into the present.
“He’s worried he’s going to break down in front of the crowd, which he may, but it won’t matter because there won’t be a dry eye in the house.”
“Did he tell you the songs they picked?” Merida asked. When I shook my head, she said, “They wouldn’t even tell Bella no matter how much she pouted about it.”
“She can usually get them to spill anything, so it’s impressive that they were able to resist.”
“I’m so happy that she found Matteo, and at a wedding no less!” Merida laughed as she looked around before she smiled at me and said, “Maybe I should go mingle and see if lightning can strike twice.”
“Maybe you should!”
“Have you gotten a look at the cake yet?” Katy asked as she walked up to our table.
“No. I saw it from a distance, though, and it looked beautiful.”
“We’re going over to get a closer look. Come with us?” Katy asked.
“Yes! Merida was about to abandon me to mingle.”
“Demiree is orbiting that table of bikers,” Katy explained with an eye roll as she shook her head.
“I think I should join her,” Merida announced with a grin. “You know, to make sure she makes good choices and all of that.”
“Oh, good grief,” I muttered as my daughter walked away in search of her cousin. “I swear, when the kids were younger, I wondered how I’d make it to old age without losing my shit over their stupid decisions. Yet here we are, and they’re adults . . .”
“Who don’t listen any better than they did when they were children!” Katy finished for me.
Sandra laughed before she said, “Believe me, no matter how old they get, you’ll still want to try.”
“But we’re all settled now, right?” Katy asked as she smiled at Sandra.
“Yes, thank God. Now we’ve just got to get the next generation settled so I can have some peace and quiet.”
“You and Martha wouldn’t know what to do with yourselves if you didn’t have some kids in your hair.”
“Maybe not, but we’re willing to try and figure it out!”
◆◆◆
LEARY ‘OKIE’ GRANT
“I can’t get enough of the food around here,” Dice said before he took another bite. “Every time we come to Rojo to visit Cyd’s parents, I gain five pounds.”
“How long are you guys staying this time?” Ajax asked.
“We’re going to stay a few more days. Cydney’s been busy with all of the wedding festivities, so she hasn’t had much quality time with her parents. Once things are calmer, she’ll have time to hang out with them. That’s important since we won’t see them again until Christmas.”
“I think Rosie and I are going to take off tomorrow,” Rooster explained. “She’s going to bring Mads back after Christmas, but I’ll be staying in Red River to deal with the New Year’s party crowd.”
“We’re going to visit Fish and his girl for the holidays,” Ajax announced. “I think he’s got some of the guys from up north coming down too.”
“He invited me to come, but I don’t think I can make it,” I explained.
“Did you try the coleslaw?” Dice asked, looking at my plate.
“I had a bite, but it’s not on my diet.”
“He’s gotta watch his girlish figure,” Tiny teased.
My friends knew I was diabetic but still liked to crack jokes because if you couldn’t laugh about a possibly debilitating disease, then what could you laugh about?
“I’ve met so many people. I can’t wait until the next time I’m in the area and can come visit,” Sarge said as he and Dice helped themselves to my coleslaw. Without thinking, I passed Ajax my roll as he held out his hand and then laughed when Sandi slapped his arm and frowned at him.
“What? He offered it!”
“Give him something he can eat!” Sandi ordered.
“Like what?”
“Meat.”
“Oh, I’ve got some meat for him,” Chef joked.
Brea, Chef’s wife, narrowed her eyes before she said, “You’ve got the mind of a teenage boy.”
“I was going to say the same thing, but Chef beat me to it,” Rooster admitted.
“All of you are children. You act like you haven’t eaten in a year!” Blue chided before she looked at my plate and offered, “I’ll give you a slice of my brisket for some of that potato salad.”