Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
WEBB
“Webb! I heard you’re getting married, brother! Mazel tov.”
“What?” I blinked away from a horrifying mental image of Luke trying to balance a ladder on his fucking roof to find my laptop screen had gone dark, the sun had fully set, and my brother Porter—the fourth Sunday sibling—was leaning against my office doorframe wearing a sly smile and a Hannabury College baseball cap.
“Hey.” I ran a hand over my face. “When’d you get home, shit stirrer?”
“About an hour ago.” Porter’s face split into a playful grin that reminded me of our father. “And I think you meant to say, ‘Porter, my favorite brother, I missed you! I’m so glad you chose to come home for the weekend.’”
“Did I?” I asked dryly, tilting my chair to stretch out my cramped back muscles.
“Yup. To which I would reply that I couldn’t not come home when I heard that my favorite brother had such big news,” he teased.
“I’m surprised Reed didn’t fly in from DC for the occasion so all us Sundays could be together!
Aiden’s teacher’s gonna make an honest man of you, eh?
Is that what you were woolgathering about just now? ”
“Please.” I huffed out a breath. Woolgathering was spot-on, though.
I’d come home, got caught up with Aiden, hearing every detail of his sleepover and giving him the thrilling news that his mom would be taking him to hockey practice from now on, and then sat down to reply to an email from my accountant…
And instead, I’d googled slate roofs, Vermont inheritance laws, and Romeldale sheep before daydreaming about Luke.
But I was sure as fuck not telling my mischief-making brother any of that.
“You know, I swear I remember you telling Knox that he was your favorite brother back at Christmas,” I said instead. “For, quote, ‘giving you the gift of a brilliant brother-in-law named Gage.’”
“Oooh. You remember that, huh? Awkward. But a man can have more than one favorite, Webb,” he said fake-solemnly. “And now you’re giving me a brother-in-law, and I’m sure he’s equally cool.”
I thought about Luke, waxing rhapsodic about hydroponics, explaining bunk-boarding (or whatever the kinky colonials called it), and demanding that all hockey players be freed from the plastic boxes.
He was cool, in the un-coolest, most fascinating way possible.
But I didn’t tell Porter about any of that either.
“Did you seriously come home just to give me shit?” I demanded.
“Nah. That’s just a side benefit. I actually came home specifically so Gage can help me not fail my class. But when I got here, Uncle Drew filled me in on the whole handfasting thing while I taste-tested his cinnamon rolls.” He leaned forward. “Ten out of ten, by the way. Porter-approved.”
I snorted. “I’m sure. What’s up with your class?” I demanded.
He rolled his eyes. “Of course that’s the one part of that statement you heard. Chill, Webb. It’s nothing you need to worry about. My professor is a pain in my ass, but whatever.” He brushed a hand through the air dismissively. “I’m not Aiden, okay? I’m a big boy, and I’ve got it under control.”
“Yeah, I know.” I ran my tongue over my molar and forced myself not to reply further.
The truth was, I sometimes felt more like a parent than a brother to Porter—and to Hawk and Emma, too—which made sense since our dad had died when Porter was just sixteen, and Uncle Drew and I had been the ones who took care of them.
But I had to remind myself that I couldn’t protect him from everything…
just like I couldn’t protect Aiden from everything.
Still, I couldn’t help clarifying. “School’s going okay, then?”
“Yes. Fine. Mostly,” Porter said impatiently. Then his quicksilver grin reappeared, and he settled more comfortably against the wall. “But enough about me. Let’s talk about you and what’s going on in your world.”
“My world,” I mused. The leather of my chair creaked as I got comfortable. “There’s a lot, Porter. Do you want to know what’s really going on?”
“Fuck yeah. Tell me everything, especially about Lu—”
“Well, the good news,” I said, speaking over him, “is that I think my custody suit is going to be settled soon because I agreed to Amanda having visitation, starting next week.”
“Oh,” Porter said, sobering. “Shit.”
“Mmm. Aiden lost his other front tooth finally, which is great, because Murray told me Aiden offered him five bucks to pull it with pliers.”
“Ooof. That’s something I would have tried.”
“It is something you tried,” I corrected him.
“Muriel’s calving in four weeks, which means sleepless nights in my future.
Maple sugaring is starting next week, and I’ve got a Scout troop, a school class, and a group from the senior center in Two Rivers booked, but it looks like I’m gonna have to lead the demonstrations myself since Gwen’s baby came early.
Uncle Drew keeps saying his attacks of breathlessness are just because he’s out of shape, but I’m not sure—”
“Christ, Webb—”
“I ordered scions of a dozen heirloom apple varietals that I want to start grafting up in the Pond orchard in a few weeks—” Assuming the Pond orchard is still mine, I thought but didn’t say.
“—and they’re stuck on a truck in Wisconsin.
Oh, and one of the gutters on the front of the house is sagging. ”
Porter’s eyes had glazed over a little bit. “What I hear you not-saying is that you’re not gonna give me any tea about the handfasting.”
“No, what you hear me saying is that I have real shit to worry about… and so does Luke, believe me. This whole handfasting thing is just the Hollow being its usual wackadoo self, and Luke and I got caught up in it for a minute there. It’ll all blow over soon…
unless nosy folks keep spreading rumors. ” I gave him a significant look.
He sighed. “Disappointing. This means you haven’t been harboring a secret attraction for Luke Williams, the guy you’ve been telling yourself you can’t stand for months and months, huh?”
“What?” I scowled, my heart suddenly beating faster. “No! I never… Who told you that?”
Porter blinked in surprise. “Dude. No one told me anything. I was just giving you shit. But…” His eyes widened. “Wait, are you attracted to him?”
Why did people keep asking me that?
“Dinner, Sundays!” Drew shouted from the kitchen down the hall. “Aiden, come feed Sally Ann first, please.”
“No!” I told Porter fiercely. “I…” I made a frustrated noise and stood up.
I didn’t want to lie, but I also didn’t want to have to explain something I couldn’t wrap my own head around.
“Don’t make this into something it’s not, okay?
Luke and I cleared the air last night. We’re friends.
We should have been friends all along. But it’s nothing more than that.
And for fuck’s sake, don’t mention the handfasting in front of Aiden.
Clearly even adults are starting to believe it’s real, and the last thing I need is for him to believe it, too. ”
Porter shrugged uneasily. “I’ll keep my mouth shut, but it’s not like he’s not gonna hear about it over the next eight weeks, Webb. Not the way people are in this town. Hell, not the way people are in this family.”
Fuck. I hadn’t considered that. I’d have to find a way to explain it.
I followed Porter out to the kitchen. Emma and Gage were already deep in conversation about colleges, while Knox helped Drew bring the food to the table and Marco poured everyone water from a pitcher.
Hawk walked in a few minutes late and quietly took his seat.
Aiden raced around the island from the back hall, where our golden retriever was chewing her kibble, and headed for the long farmhouse table.
“Hey! Hands, mister,” I reminded him, heading to the sink myself, and he rolled his eyes but complied.
As we sat down a moment later, I looked around the table and felt profound gratitude for all that I had.
My supportive family. Plenty of food and a snug house to eat it in. A son who was my whole world. Honest work I loved and a legacy to protect. All the things, I realized with a pang that Luke was working hard to get but hadn’t.
I didn’t want to take them for granted even for a minute.
Then Gage grinned at me across the table. “So. Webb. Anything newsworthy happen today? Did you happen to see anything while you were… scrolling?”
Drew guffawed.
Marco choked on a sip of water, and Knox had to lean over to thump him on the back.
“Not a thing,” I said mildly while shooting him a fiery look and tilting my head toward Aiden.
“Well, I had lots of exciting stuff happen today,” Aiden said importantly, scooping a giant helping of mashed potatoes on his plate.
“I’m going to see my mom next week, because she’s gonna take me to hockey and stay for pizza after.
And I learned how to make snow cream at Olin’s and stayed up until midnight, and I played with Olin’s dog.
His dog sits up on his hind legs on a kitchen chair while Olin eats breakfast.” He paused for dramatic effect.
“Dad, wouldn’t it be awesome if we had a puppy we could—”
“We’re not getting another dog right now,” I informed him. “Try again in the spring. Drew, would you pass me that platter?”
“And also,” Aiden went on, “Murray told Olin who told me that Mr. Williams doesn’t even know about hockey. Can you imagine, Dad? Like, he’s never even skated. It’s, like, the only thing he doesn’t know how to do.”
“Oh, I’m not sure that’s true,” I said tartly. “Luke doesn’t know jack about ladder safety either. Pass the peas, Knox?”
Silence fell around the table, and I looked up to find the entire family trading glances.
“Ladders? How d’you know that?” Aiden demanded.
“Oh. We, ah… we discussed it. Earlier today. I went out to his house to… visit.”
“You? Visited Mr. Williams?”
“Sure. I believe it’s important to be fair and open-minded and friendly with your neighbors, and Lu—I mean, Mr. Williams—is our neighbor. So.” I shrugged like it was as simple as that, though it hadn’t been that simple at all… and even my seven-year-old knew it.