When We Were Us (A Timber Forge Series Book 1) by Madison Noelle

Author:Madison Noelle [Noelle, Madison]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Calathea Press, Inc.
Published: 2024-04-11T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

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After spending two hours trying to decide what to wear and how to fix my hair while talking to Ginger, Finn and I drive over to the ranch together.

I don’t know why I am so nervous. This is Hank’s family, and I have known all of them for years. Sure, I haven’t been around the last two decades, but it isn’t like we were strangers. I spent enough time around them that summer that this night shouldn’t be awkward like a first date.

However, for some reason, that’s exactly what it feels like—like I am meeting a new boyfriend's parents for the first time. Which is utterly and completely ridiculous, because Hank isn't my boyfriend, and this isn't a date.

We are here to celebrate Pop’s seventieth birthday. Nothing more, nothing less. No matter what my thundering heart wants to tell me.

The setting sun bathes the evening in golden light as I step onto the back deck of the ranch house. Solar lights crisscross above my head, and they are just beginning to blink to life. The crickets are already singing their lullaby, but it's quickly drowned out by the sounds of grunts, shouts, and raucous laughter coming from across the yard, where all six Hayes kids are engaged in what looks to be an incredibly competitive game of cornhole.

Hank, Hutch, and Hayley are on one side with Hudson, Nat, and Norah on the other. They all have drinks in hand and wide, easy smiles on their faces. It’s one of those scenes that makes you feel a little like an outsider looking in, as if you’ve just stumbled upon something intimate and sacred. The bond the six of them share is evident in every one of their faces.

“Come on, Hud. Get in the hole, man!” Nat shouts with a groan when he goes for a quick lob and misses by a foot.

“That’s what she said.” This comes from Hutch. He and Hank dissolve into chortles of laughter, elbowing each other in the ribs like a couple of fifteen-year-olds who have just heard the funniest joke ever told.

It’s kind of adorable the way they all are with one another. I swallow over the lump that forms in my throat. It’s probably like this all the time with them, and I feel a little envious.

Finn is still inside, talking with Emily and Duke. So, I cross the deck and quietly settle on the swing. I like this unobstructed view of Hank’s life, and I’m not ready to make my presence known.

I watch as Hank steps up to take his shot and my breath hitches in my chest. He is everything I remember from back then, and more. The easy way he laughs and the set to his jaw when he leans forward slightly to line up his throw, with long, thick fingers, corded forearms, and well-defined biceps. I let my eyes roam freely over him, taking in all that wavy, chocolate hair and the stubble on his chin. The man is a walking wet dream, and he has no idea.

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