Touch by Touch (Riggins Brothers #4) - Kaylee Ryan Page 0,22
I know what he’s thinking. We can hire a private contractor who has a snowplow and dump truck for salt to treat the road. That won’t stop us from having this wedding. “Why are you still in bed?”
“Aspen and I started this series last night, and we watched like five episodes before we both dropped to exhaustion.”
“How are things going?”
“Good. Fine. Good.”
“That’s a lot of fine and good, little brother.”
I sigh into the line. “I think it’s just cabin fever.”
“Are the two of you not getting along?” There’s concern in his voice.
“No. We’re getting along fine.” Too fine, I think to myself.
“Fine,” he repeats. “What’s going on, Con?”
“Nothing. Everything is fine. We’ve been watching movies, and yesterday we even built a snowman.”
“Good. We’re all still driving there tomorrow. We’re not leaving here until noon-ish, so we should be there around dinner time. Hopefully, the road is good by then. If not, we’ll just rent a room in town, and then get on the phone and get it handled.”
“I can do that today,” I offer.
“Nah. Let’s give it time and see what happens. I’ve been watching the forecast, and no more snow is supposed to be headed that way until next week. You’ll all be back in Nashville by then, and my wife and I will be on our way to the Bahamas.”
“I can hear you smiling,” I tell him with a smile of my own that he can’t see.
“Been a long time coming.”
“It’s been a little over a year.”
“Too damn long,” Grant replies.
“I hear ya. Just don’t start spouting all that magic shit.”
“Trust me. It’s magic. When it hits you, you’ll know. You’ll find the right woman, and suddenly she’s all that matters to you. I’m telling you, Conrad, you’ll never be the same after you meet her.” Aspen is the first image to pop into my head, but I ignore it.
“I think Dad has you brainwashed.”
“What about Royce and Owen?” he calls me out.
“Them too. Marshall and I are the babies. He likes us best.” His roar of laughter filters through the phone, and I can’t help but grin.
“I can’t wait until I get to say I told you so,” he tells me.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“We’ll be there. Thanks for being there, Conrad. I appreciate it.”
“Anytime, brother,” I say, ending the call, only for it to ring again. Glancing at the screen, I see it’s my dad. “Hey, Pop.”
“Conrad. How are things?”
“Better. It finally stopped snowing. I’m hoping by the time y’all get here, the roads will be passable.”
“That’s good to hear. Your mom has been worrying herself sick over the weather. She just wants this wedding to be everything your brother and Aurora want it to be.”
“We all do. Aspen and I are staying on top of things here,” I assure him.
“How is Aspen?” he asks.
“She’s good. Great. We’ve been hanging out, built a snowman, had a snowball fight, just trying to keep ourselves occupied since we’re stuck here.”
“Ah,” he says like he knows the answer to world peace.
“Ah? What does ah mean?”
“Nothing.”
“Come on, old man. Don’t start holding out on me now.”
“You like her.”
“Sure, I mean, I guess. She’s cool, and she’s going to be a part of our family, so yeah.”
“Not technically. Just in our eyes. We’ve adopted her as Aurora’s sister to be one of us, but she’s not family, son.”
“That doesn’t sound like you. What would Mom say if she caught you talking like that?” I told him. There is more heat in my tone than necessary, but it pisses me off he would say that about Aspen. She’s one of us.
“Don’t go getting yourself all twisted. You misunderstood where I was going with that. It was simply a reminder to you that Aspen is of no relation to you. So, if you were interested in her, there would be nothing wrong with that.”
“What’s Mom been feeding you?” I ask, trying to hide the fact that I jumped to her defense when I know my parents both love Aspen and consider her family. I let my feelings blind my view of the discussion.
My feelings?
Do I have feelings for Aspen?
No. She’s hot as hell, but I don’t have feelings for her. I couldn’t, she’s… not family.
Fuck me.
“There it is,” Dad says.
“What are you talking about?”
“Nothing. Nothing at all. We’re leaving around noon tomorrow. We should be there around dinner time.”
“That’s what Grant told me earlier.”
“Good. Is there anything you forgot that you need me to bring?”