and placed his palm on my thigh, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
“Told you already, I talked to him and it’s all good. You’ve got nothing to worry about, sunshine.”
“Maybe,” I grumbled to the windshield, still unable to fully relent. “I guess we’ll see.”
The truth was, I was actually really nervous. Caroline and Scooter were hosting a barbecue for the whole family at their place, something they’d done frequently over the years. It was nothing new for any of us. Hell, even Jensen had been a part of several of them back in the day. But this was the first time I’d be seeing my brother since our fight, and I was worried as hell what his reaction would be when he saw me and Brantley with Jensen in tow.
Their cozy yellow house came into view, and Jensen turned the wheel, guiding his truck up the driveway with an ease that made it seem like he hadn’t been gone from this part of our lives for years. It was almost as if the comfort he used to feel when he was here never left. Like he was coming home again. I loved seeing him like that.
“You think Uncle Scoot’ll make s’mores again?” Brantley asked, bouncing in his booster in the back seat. He’d been on a s’mores kick ever since his last sleepover with my aunt and uncle. It was to the point he was asking for the marshmallow-y treat for every damn meal.
Turning to look into the back of the cab, I gave my boy a smile and stated, “I think that’s probably a safe bet.” Even if it wasn’t on the menu, as soon as Scoot found out Brantley wanted them, he’d put his ass on his bike and head for the nearest store to get everything he needed. To say my son was spoiled by the closest thing he had to grandparents was putting it mildly.
“Look Mommy!” he shouted, already distracted from the topic of s’mores as he pointed out the window. “Uncle Stone’s here!”
Sure enough, my big brother—and another of my son’s favorite people—was standing on the wrap-around porch as we pulled up, his tatted arms cross over his chest, shoulder leaning casually against one of the posts.
“Calm,” Jensen said under his breath as his hand on my thigh squeezed. He put the truck in park, and I immediately climbed out and moved to the back passenger door, knowing I had exactly two point five seconds to get my kid out of his booster before he started to lose it. Sure enough, as soon as I got him unbuckled, he hurdled past me and ran to the porch.
I turned and watched silently as Stone crouched, caught Brantley mid-jump. He tossed my boy in the air, catching him with ease before bringing him back down and propping him on his hip. “Hey, monster. How you been?”
“Good! Uncle Scoot got s’mores?”
My brother’s white teeth flashed with a grin beneath the layer of scruff that coated his jaw. “Not sure. Why don’t you go check it out, yeah?”
At Brantley’s squirming, Stone placed him back on his feet so he could take off, rounding the side of the house toward the back where my aunt and uncle were probably already set up.
Without my kid as a distraction, Stone’s attention finally turned to me. There was no missing the contrition that flashed in his eyes as I stood immobile at the side of the truck. I was trying my best to move on from my abandonment issues and the resentment they caused, but I was still a work in progress, so there was still a part of me that had trouble trusting everything was going to be great from here on out. Like my aunt had pointed out the week before, I was struggling with waiting for that other shoe to drop, but I was getting better.
“Come on, baby,” Jensen coaxed when he reached my side. His palm hit the small of my back so he could guide me forward.
I kept my focus pinned on Stone as we got closer, watching closely for his reaction to seeing me pressed up against Jensen.
To my hesitantly delighted surprise, I could see there was no malice in his eyes when he looked to my man, acknowledging his presence with a jerk of his chin. Jensen returned the man version of a greeting with a muttered, “Stone.”
He looked back to me with a small grin tugging at his lips. “Hey, squirt. Think we can talk for