When Jaron parked and got out of his truck, they all greeted him much like they’d greeted Lane.
“Mariah is in the house with the other women if you want to go in and tell her you’re here, Jaron,” Sam said, grinning from ear to ear.
“Stuff it, Rafferty,” Jaron shot back as he accepted the beer T.J. handed him. “She’s probably still pissed off at me anyway.”
“If you don’t stop dragging your ass and ask that girl out, you’re going to miss your chance,” Nate advised.
“Is that what happened when you stopped seeing that little blonde down in Waco?” Jaron asked, giving Nate a knowing look.
“That’s different and you know it,” Nate said, his expression turning serious. Glaring at Jaron, he shook his head. “That was a low blow and not something I expected from my best friend.”
Lane and the other four men looked from one brother to the other. Jaron and Nate had been best friends since meeting at the Last Chance Ranch and they still traveled the rodeo circuit together. Their personalities were completely different, but they had always seemed to balance each other out. While Jaron was quiet and brooding, Nate was outgoing and rarely encountered a situation he couldn’t joke his way out of. Nate could always bring Jaron out of his shell and Jaron helped keep Nate grounded. But this was the first time any of them had seen tension between the two men.
“Look, I’m sorry, Nate,” Jaron apologized, looking contrite. “It’s just that I don’t want to talk about Mariah. I’m too old for her and that’s that.”
Nate nodded. “Apology accepted, bro.”
“Here we go again,” T.J. said, shaking his head. “Methuselah is back to his old self.”
Just when Lane thought he was in the clear and wouldn’t have to dodge his brothers’ questions or listen to their good-natured speculation about his relationship with Taylor, Ryder asked, “So what’s the story with you and Taylor?”
“Yeah, when are you supposed to play the poker game that will decide which one of you gets control of the Lucky Ace?” Sam asked.
“I’ll be setting that up for next week,” Lane answered, glancing toward the house. What was taking so long for the women to call them in for dinner?
“You know there is a way for both of you to keep the ranch,” T.J. said, rocking back on his heels.
Lane knew where his brother was going with that train of thought and he didn’t care for it one damned bit. “I’m not going to marry the woman just to keep the ranch.”
“So you’ll marry her for other reasons?” Ryder asked, laughing.
Taking a swig of his beer, Lane almost choked. “I don’t ever expect to get married.”
“Never say never, bro,” Ryder said, tempting Lane to wipe away his brother’s ear-to-ear grin with a good right hook. “If you’ll remember, I said that just before I woke up and figured out that Summer was the best thing that ever happened to me.” He laughed. “After that, I couldn’t put my ring on her finger fast enough.”
“That was different,” Lane said stubbornly, shaking his head.
“I’ve got a hundred bucks that says Lane and Taylor are married by the Fourth of July,” T.J. said, laughing like a damned hyena.
“I say it’ll be next month,” Nate said, digging in his pocket for the money to place his bet.
“I’ll take Labor Day,” Jaron stated.
“Who’s going to take care of the prize pool?” Sam asked.
“I’ll hold onto it,” Ryder volunteered.
While his brothers placed their bets on when they thought he and Taylor would be tying the knot, Lane checked his watch. Groaning, he shook his head. He and Taylor hadn’t been there more than thirty minutes and his brothers already had them walking down the aisle. No doubt about it. It was going to be one of the longest evenings of his life.
* * *
After dinner, Taylor laughed as she watched the five proud uncles argue over who would be the first to hold their new niece.
“I’m the most experienced at holding a baby,” Sam said, his tone practical. “I think that makes me the obvious choice.”
“Yeah, but I have a way with females,” Nate argued. “If she starts to cry, I can charm her into a good mood.”
T.J. rolled his eyes as he shook his head. “That goofy grin of yours would scare the bejesus out of her. I should be the one to hold little Katie first.”
“What makes you say that, T.J.?” Jaron asked, frowning. “You can’t even get along with that neighbor lady of yours. What makes you think you can do any better with a baby girl?”