Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
EMILY
I’m not sure how long we stand outside looking into one another’s eyes, but eventually Beckett opens the door and barks at us to come inside. I should feel embarrassed or something, but I don’t.
I don’t think there is anything about how Baylor makes me feel that I could be embarrassed about. He’s perfect for me, the man who I didn’t know was waiting for me in plain sight, and yet he was.
“Welcome!” Maisie’s voice calls out.
She’s overly chipper, almost as if she’s trying to overcompensate for something.
I’m sure she’s nervous. I know that I’m personally sweating bullets.
It’s not like we haven’t known one another our whole lives, but there’s something different about this.
We’ve never been in a situation where it’s just us.
“Hey,” I call out as Baylor drops my hand and walks toward his sister-in-law.
I watch as he wraps his arms around her in a hug.
Beckett stands in front of me, his arms crossed over his chest, his chin dipped, and his lips set in a thin line.
Maybe he’s pissed—or indifferent. But then I realize that he’s neither of those things.
He doesn’t want to show any emotion at all. I’m okay with that.
“Hey,” I whisper.
His lips twitch, but his mask quickly returns, and I can’t read his expression at all. Sucking in a breath, I hold it for a moment before I exhale it slowly. And then he dips his chin in a single nod.
“Hey,” he rasps. “Welcome.”
Before anyone can say anything else, the front door flies open, and both Boone and Briggs walk into the living room like they’ve done it a million times, because they probably have.
Turning my head, I watch them as they walk directly toward Maisie. They give her a hug, then simultaneously ask her when dinner is going to be ready. My stomach grumbles at the same time, and Boone shifts his gaze over to meet mine.
He arches a brow, his lips curving up into an even bigger smile. It spreads all over his face; even his eyes smile, and I can’t help but wonder what woman is going to tame him, because I have a feeling this man is completely and totally untamable.
Then again, Beckett and Baylor were the same not too long ago. When he falls, it’s going to be hard… and it’s going to be awesome to witness. I hope I’m still here, still part of this family, when he does.
“Food is on the table. I got a little excited and started cooking too early. I hope you don’t mind eating now?” Maisie states.
I open my mouth, but my stomach noises betray me again and let everyone know that I am indeed okay with eating right now. “I’m good,” I start sheepishly.
Maisie’s smile widens, and she turns toward the dining room, lifting her hand as she motions for us to get going. I follow behind Briggs and Boone, who are hot on her tail, because I think they’re starving, too.
Laid out on the table are garlic bread, salad, and lasagna. It looks amazing. We all take our seats, and Baylor even pulls my chair out for me. Taking the napkin off the table, I place it over my lap.
The food starts to be passed around, but nobody is saying anything, and that awkward feeling when I first walked in begins to grow.
It’s suffocating, and as much as I try to breathe slowly, calmly, evenly, I fail because my breaths start coming out in short pants, and I know that Baylor realizes it.
His fingers curl around my thigh in an attempt to comfort me.
I look over at him, but he’s staring at Beckett, his jaw clenched. “So,” Briggs calls out, “this is weird as fuck.”
“Briggs,” Maisie hisses at the same time Boone laughs.
“Well,” I start, deciding to join the conversation, “it is awkward. And I’m the reason, so I just want to say that this can be whatever it needs to be. If anyone wants to voice their concerns, opinions, or just name-call, maybe it’ll break the ice?”
“Name-calling?” Briggs asks. “No way in hell.”
“Agreed,” Boone murmurs. “No name-calling.”
“But the other stuff?” I ask.
“We can break the ice,” Maisie begins. “We can break the ice by welcoming you to our home, our table, and maybe even in the future, our family.”
“And give you our blessing,” Beckett states.
My head swings to the side. My eyes find his, but he’s not looking at me. No, Beckett’s focus is directly on his brother, and I have a feeling that there is more to this than what is just on the surface.
“Okay,” Baylor murmurs.
“Now that that’s all done, can we just eat and have a good conversation?” Boone suggests.
There is a short moment of silence before we all burst out into laughter. The conversation thankfully shifts. The boys start talking about cattle, deliveries, and whatever else ranchers talk about, but I don’t focus on their conversation.
Shifting my attention down to my food, I take a bite of the lasagna, and I moan.
It’s amazing. Like, out of this world. I know Maisie can cook.
As the owner of the Yellow Rose, I assumed she could cook even if she’s got someone in the back who can do it, too, but seriously, the girl can cook, and I know she can bake, too.
I can’t even imagine what’s for dessert.
“Maisie,” I moan before I swing my gaze over to meet hers, before continuing, “this is out of this world.”
“Thanks,” she murmurs, her gaze shifting around the rest of the men before she leans closer to me. “I would take the credit, but I had the Yellow Rose cook make it for me,” she whispers. “I did make the dessert.”
My lips curve up into a grin at her words, and I laugh softly. The conversation starts flowing from there between us. We’ve known one another our whole lives but don’t really know much about one another, not really anyway.
As the evening progresses, she brings out apple pie. I knew she would have made something amazing, but her apple pie is out of this world. I know because I used to order it at least once a week at the Yellow Rose, well, up until a year ago.
I stopped going there when everything happened with Baylor.
Seeing him in other places and being looked through was enough for me around town, but the Yellow Rose might as well be part of Coopers Ranch at this point.
They’re always there, in and out, part of the place, along with Shandy and Lola-Mae.
“I missed this pie,” I moan as I take another bite.
Maisie laughs. “I knew it was your favorite. This is me thanking you for helping set up the stuff for my engagement. It was so perfect, and I never did thank you.”
“She was just trying to get on my good side,” Baylor announces.
Turning to look at him, I can’t hide my smile because he’s right; that’s exactly what I was trying to do. It didn’t work immediately, but sitting at this table—Maisie smiling at me, a pie in front of me—I realize that it did work, just differently than I’d anticipated, better even.