Fools (Licking Thicket 3)

“I’ll have you know, we you know what like bunnies!” Dunn announced in his outdoor voice. “We you know what all the livelong day! I you know whatted him first thing in the morning, and Tuck you know whatted me before we left the house, and we’re gonna you know what each other at the same time when we get home! It’s not a ding-dang purity ring!”

Gracie, who’d been walking past with a plate of cake, stopped and blinked at her lunatic brother.

“So, then, what is it?” Ava Siegel waddled into the fray like the Don Corleone of the Licking Thicket Beautification Corps in a cornflower-blue, maternity-cut best-woman dress. Her poor ankles were swollen already, but her blonde ponytail, thicker and lusher than ever, swayed behind her. Her husband, Paul, stood at the edge of our rapidly expanding group looking every bit as satisfied as a man who’d gotten Miss Licking Thicket 2010 pregnant with twins could possibly look.

“Puff pastries!” I said, snapping my fingers. All eyes came to me, and I felt my face go hot. “Those cheesy appetizers I love so much! They’re puff pastries. And Dunn, my darling, I insist that you right now come with me and get one. Or a dozen—”

“Hey! What’s going on over here, party people?” Mal said cheerfully. One of his hands held a champagne glass, and the other was twined with Brooks’s. “Dancing’s about to start, and…”

“Dunn and Tucker are wearing rings,” Ava pronounced.

My mouth opened and closed like a fish. “I… it… we…”

“Got engaged,” Dunn said, shrugging sheepishly. “Tuck and I got engaged, darn it all. And we didn’t wanna steal the limelight on your big day, Brooksy, so we were trying to keep it hush-hush. We haven’t even told Mama yet.”

“That was your first mistake,” Ava said seriously. “But oh my gosh, give us all the details!”

“No. No, no. Nope. We’re celebrating Brooks and Mal today,” I said. “We’ll talk about us later. We—”

“Tucker Wright,” Brooks said in a deep voice that stopped my babbling. “If you think finding out my brother hooked the love of his life is gonna ruin our wedding, you’re crazy.”

“Nothing could,” Mal said, grinning up at Brooks. “Besides, we wanna hear details too. Who asked who?”

I swallowed. “Well. I guess you could say it was, uh…” I motioned at Dunn, who shrugged.

“It was… it was kind of a…” He squinted. “A mutual… asking… situation?”

“More like a decision,” I volunteered. “That we wanted to get married.”

Everyone’s eyes went wide, and I wondered what I’d said wrong.

And then a voice came from behind us, and I knew.

“You… are getting married?” Cindy Ann whispered exultantly. “Oh. My. Stars. My boys! I didn’t know if this day would ever come!”

We barely had time to turn around before she tackle-hugged us.

“Tell me everything! Dunn, did you get down on one knee? Tucker, honey, are you thinking fall wedding? Did you get it on camera? Unless you were naked. I do not wanna see you naked. Oh, Red! Red! Come on, boys, let’s find Red and tell him! We can announce the engagement to the whole town from right up on the stage!”

I gave Dunn wide eyes as his mother and Gracie pulled us across the floor and up the stairs to the little platform where the auctioneers stood during livestock auctions, which also happened to be the spot where they crowned Mr. and Ms. Licking Thicket every summer.

The irony was real.

“Do we really have to do this publicly?” I asked. “It’s Brooks and Mal’s wedding, and—”

“Nonsense. Non. Sense. They don’t mind a whit! Now, y’all stay right here!” she whisper-hissed, leaving us behind the curtain. “I’m gonna find Red and get him to turn the mic back on and set everything up.”

“Sure thing, Cindy Ann!” I said brightly. “Sounds great.” But the second she departed, I turned to Dunn and whispered, “Baby, you’ve got to tell her.”

“I can’t. You tell her. She gave you her sweet tea recipe, just like she did with Mal, and she still won’t give it to me or Brooks. She clearly likes you best.”

“Not possible.” I brushed the hair out of his eyes and pulled him toward me to kiss his forehead. “My husband is the sweetest and most lovable.” I pressed a kiss to his lips. “Who wouldn’t love him best? He’s also the bravest. And most honest. And the handsomest. And sexiest. And he’s totally gonna get mutually you know whatted when we get home. And—”

He sighed and wrapped his arms around my waist, tucking his face into my neck. “Fine. Fine! But I just don’t know how. Am I just supposed to flat out say, ‘Mama, Tucker and I aren’t engaged, we already flew off to Vegas and got—”

The crowd gasped as the curtain flew open, and I tried to make Dunn hush, but it was too late.