Page 95 of Sundown Somewhere

“Say it a little louder, August,” our father chides. “Sound only carries out of that window one way, after all—no chance of the ladies hearing you or anything.”

Glad to know you have my back, Dad.

Gus huffs out a breath, taking the mini dressing-down with ease. Settling into the chair more, he lowers his voice, leaning in a little and waggling his eyebrows. “They talking about anything good?”

“Just what kind of good are you hoping they’re talking about? One of them is our sister.”

“She’s not my sister…” Nash mutters, the smirk on his face making him resemble Bugs Bunny when he knows he pulled one over on Elmer Fudd.

We all choose to ignore his comment. Nash Keller is the only man on earth strong—and crazy—enough to take on our sister. And for that, he gets a pass when making comments that would otherwise make my skin crawl. Truly, he is her perfect match, and watching them finally get out of their own way and give in to the feelings we all knew they were hiding has been fun.

“Is it sundown, somewhere in Mama’s kitchen?” Milo says, throwing my own phrase back at me.

I smile, unable to help myself. The image of Dolly standing on the beach down at Somerset, the glow of the sunset surrounding her, with her beautiful blonde hair waving in the wind fills my mind, making my pulse race. For all the years that I’ve joked about it being sundown somewhere, and there being a “pretty little thing waiting on me,” I honestly never thought it’d be her. That I’d be this lucky.

“It is, isn’t it?” Gus tacks on.

I don’t answer that either. Instead, I take a sip of my Coke, wondering if I chug it, will it be obvious that I’m only doing that as an excuse to head into the kitchen and steal a kiss. To be fair, it’s the kind of move Auggie would make, so I feel like he would have to respect it.

“Actually, the better question, Huxley, is will Dolly be joining us on Sunday regularly from here on out?” the man himself asks, leveling me with a look. Damn, he’s good.

“Dolly’s always come to Sunday dinner.”

As my best friend, Dolly has joined the Hayes family for this meal on numerous occasions. Just not every week. Or even every time I do.

Sure, Sunday dinner isn’t what it once was—it’s been a while since all seven of us kids made it to a Sunday dinner on a weekly basis. Something that I know hurts Mama’s heart. She understands that we’re adults now, and that life has its own way of taking over, but I know that deep down she wishes all of us spent more time at the house. Especially now that some of us have started to pair off and she has other women around.

I can only imagine the guilt trips that will start once grandbabies arrive.

Still, having Dolly here isn’t unusual. So I pretend I don’t have any idea what my father is getting at.

“Not what I’m asking, son.”

He hands the tongs to Nash, who takes over, swapping places with him in front of the grill. A soft spring breeze cuts through the air, making the leaves rustle behind us as my father steps toward me. The look on his face is serious, but it’s not his I mean business face. It’s his time to fess up face.

Fuck, this man really is good.

I sigh, leaning forward in the chair, resting my elbows on my knees. It’s not like they don’t know, so I’m not sure why talking about this seems so difficult.

“Dolly was asking Willa about the shift between her and Nash, from whatever they were to more. I didn’t get to hear any more though because someone”—I glare at Milo—“interrupted.”

Nash chuckles as he flips over the chicken, shaking his head. We all turn to look at my soon to be brother-in-law, wondering what elicited that response. As if he can feel all our eyes on him, Nash looks up, raising his hands in surrender.

“I have nothing to contribute here. Other than this—if that is how things are going between you two, I don’t suggest the sneaking around for a decade thing.”

“And maybe leave out the whole pregnancy scare thing too,” Gus quips.

“I don’t know that your mother and I would mind grandbabies,” Auggie jokes.

At least, I think he’s joking. Judging by the way he’s looking at the three other men on this deck, he might not be. All of whom pause, swallowing hard almost in unison, going slightly pale. At least the focus is off me for a second.

Only for a second though.

Auggie brings it right back, like a boomerang whipping through the sky.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

Sure didn’t…