Tied with Me

“Great. Let’s go see them.”

She leads me through the house and out back, where a one-eyed dog is barking happily and Caleb and Matt are both doing pull-ups on a metal bar.

“Holy crap,” I mutter and stop in my tracks, watching as both men steadily raise and lower themselves on the bar. They’ve both taken off their shirts, and their backs and arms are riots of pure muscle. Caleb has a tattoo on his shoulder, but I can’t read it from here. They’re both covered with a light sheen of sweat, and they’re calling out taunts to each other.

“Uncle Matt is at twenty!” Josie calls out.

“Daddy has nineteen!” Maddie adds.

“I’m going to beat you, little brother.”

“Bullshit,” Caleb replies.

“Daddy has to put money in the Swear Jar!” Josie announces.

“Seems they distracted the men with pull-ups to get out of going up for bed,” Brynna says and crosses her arms over her chest, watching her man. “They make quite the pair, don’t they?”

“Good God, it should be illegal to look like that,” I agree. “How do you keep your composure at family events, Bryn? Seriously, I thought I was going to have a heart attack yesterday.”

She laughs and drapes her arm around my shoulders, hugging me to her side. “It is a bit intimidating in the beginning, but they’re all just normal people, Nic. Will farts like crazy and blames it on Meg. Jules’ hormones are so crazy right now, she snips at everyone and then cries and begs for forgiveness. It’s the usual sibling stuff.”

“Huh.” I tilt my head and watch the men both drop to the ground.

“Do you have siblings?” Brynna asks.

“I have a sister, Savannah, but she and I aren’t terribly close.”

“I don’t have any siblings. Stacy and I are cousins, but we were raised more like sisters.”

She grins as Caleb scoops Josie in his arms and spins her about the yard. Matt and Maddie are petting the dog, who is on his back and in doggie heaven while the two scratch his belly. “Okay, girls, bedtime!”

“But, Mom, Nic just got here!” Maddie comes running over to me and wraps her arms around my legs. “I missed you!”

I giggle and squat next to the sweet girl. “You have only seen me in my bakery when your mama came to see me about her cupcakes, silly. How could you miss me?”

“I like your bakery,” she replies and shrugs, like that explains everything.

“Well, thanks.”

“Are you Uncle Matt’s girlfriend?” Josie asks. She has her hand tucked in Matt’s and is watching me with wary eyes.

Protective little thing, isn’t she?

“I am,” I respond, for now, and smile at Josie. “How are you, Josie?”

“Fine.” She buries her face in Matt’s hip as he pulls his T-shirt over his head. He laughs, scoops her into his arms and brushes her long dark hair away from her face.

“Why are you so shy?” he asks her.

She shrugs and lays her head on his shoulder.

“She’s silly,” Maddie informs me. “This is our dog, Bix. He’s very brave.”

“And handsome,” I agree.

The dog lifts his paw as if in greeting, and I reach over to shake it.

“You girls need to go to bed. It’s already past your bedtime,” Brynna informs them.

Caleb takes Maddie’s hand, who has now decided to pout, and signals for Bix to follow them.

“Can you read to us?” Josie asks Matt.

“Sure.” He turns to me and kisses my cheek. “Hey, baby. I’m glad you’re here. Mind if I go read to the girls?”

“Of course not,” I reply with a smile and push my fingers through his soft dark blond hair. “I’ll help down here.”

“I’ll get the grill going,” Caleb announces and passes Maddie off to Matt, who takes the two girls and their dog into the house.

“What can I do to help?” I ask Brynna.

“You can help by sitting with me on the deck. Caleb is going to grill burgers, and everything else is done.” She sits in a blue chair, and I take a matching love seat next to her.

“Did you have fun with Bailey?” Caleb asks me as he fires up the grill.

“I always have fun with Bailey,” I reply with a laugh.

“Caleb said you guys like to go to Vintage.” Brynna pours us both a glass of sun tea from a frosty pitcher. “It’s a fun place.”

“I love it,” I agree. “We’ve been going there every Sunday for a couple years now.”

Caleb drops four burger patties on the grill, and the sizzle and smell of the grill fills the air.

“You have a beautiful home,” I comment and sip my tea.

“Thank you. It’s actually Natalie’s place. She let the girls and me move in here after Jules moved in with Nate.” Brynna smiles and picks up a celery stick from a veggie tray and nibbles.

“That was really nice of her,” I reply.

“Nat’s the best. She’s supersweet and loyal almost to a fault,” Brynna says. “But I think Caleb and I are going to start looking for a bigger place, since we have a new one on the way. We’ll need the space.”

“I’m telling you, Isaac should build us a place,” Caleb tells his wife.

“Oh goodie, we can argue about toilets and floor plans.” Brynna rolls her eyes.

“What did I miss?” Matt asks as he joins us. He takes a seat next to me, wraps his arm around me and pulls me against his side.

“Nothing much. Did the girls go down okay?”

“I read two stories. But I’ll place bets that someone will need a drink of water before the hour is out.” He kisses my temple and drags his fingertips up and down my arm, over the ink on my shoulder, sending goose bumps across my skin.

“There’s a lot of activity going on down here that they might miss out on,” Brynna agrees wryly.

“Is tonight a special occasion?” I ask and lean my head on Matt’s shoulder.

“Kind of, but we didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.” Caleb flips the burgers, closes the lid and joins us. “The wedding was where we did our adoption ceremony, but we just got the paperwork today that says the adoption is final.”

“That’s wonderful!” I exclaim. “They are lucky to have you both.”

“Congrats, man.” Matt fist-bumps his brother. “But they’ve been yours for a long while.”