Before the Sunset (Cottonwood Cove, #4)(51)

“Hey. I’m a great cook.”

“Your specialty is gummy bears,” Finn said over his laughter.

“I love Aunt Georgie’s gummy bears. She gots all the colors at her house.”

“Yeah, my dentist just said I have my first cavity, and I’m fairly certain it’s from all the jars of candy you keep at the house,” Hugh said.

“You do know that you don’t have to eat handfuls every time you come over, right?” Maddox smirked.

“Mom is coming over to do most of the cooking. I just thought it would be fun to have a pickleball tournament.”

“It’s freaking Thanksgiving. Can we not turn it into a competition? I just want to eat good food and watch the game.” This came from Cage again, and Brinkley balled up her napkin and tossed it at him.

“First Thanksgiving as a couple,” Finn said, grazing his lips against my ear, and I sucked in a breath. “I know what you’re going to be thankful for after tonight.”

“Finn,” I hissed over my laughter, looking up to meet his gaze. “You talk a big game.”

“How about we get out of here soon?” He waggled his brows.

I nodded slowly before feeling eyes on me. I turned to see Hugh and Cage watching us with big, goofy grins on their faces as everyone else was involved in their own side conversations.

I raised a brow and looked between them. “You two are up to no good.”

“I was going to say the same to you,” Cage said.

“You do seem like you’re in a hurry to get out of here.” Hugh barked out a laugh.

“We’re anxious to get home and take the horses for a ride,” I said, reaching for my teacup and taking a sip.

“That’s not the only thing you’re going to ride,” Finn said against my ear, and I spewed tea all over the table.

I coughed hard, and Finn rubbed my back as I reached for my napkin.

“Ree Ree, are you okay?”

“Yep. It just went down the wrong tube.”

“Don’t talk about boobs at the table. It turns me on,” Finn whispered in my ear again, not a care in the world that I’d just embarrassed myself after the last thing he’d said.

“I said tube.” I turned to face him and shook my head.

“Well, I guess you can’t say words that rhyme with boob either.”

“You’re ridiculous. No more crazy talk until we leave here.” I cleared my throat just as a loud ruckus had us all turning to see Mr. Larson walking into the back room, carrying what looked like a small version of a wedding cake.

It was three tiers with white icing and pink flowers running around each layer of cake. There was a figurine on the top with brown curls, wearing a princess gown.

“Hey there, y’all. Miss Gracie, your uncle Finny sent over a special cake in honor of your tea party.”

“You dicknut,” Cage hissed under his breath. “You got a five-year-old a wedding cake. You know I don’t like her to eat too much sugar because it always makes her cry after.”

“She pointed it out to me a few weeks ago in the window at Larson’s bakery.”

“So, you just bought it for her?”

“Yes. Exactly. And so what if she cries a little after? You can get in touch with your feminine side, brother. Plus, everyone loves cake. So, let’s cut the cake and get a move on.” Finn stood and moved around the table to hug Gracie while everyone gaped at the sweet monstrosity. My chest squeezed as I watched him. He’d always been that guy. If we were with a group of friends in high school and someone said they were hungry, Finn would appear out of nowhere with a sandwich for them. He genuinely loved to do things for others, and it was one of my favorite traits about him.

But seeing him dote on little Gracie—well, that was hitting me with all the feels. Hell, my ovaries were getting in on the celebration. Finn would make a great dad if he had any desire to actually be in a real relationship. But he’d always said he was content being an uncle.

I couldn’t imagine not being a mama, and I knew my biological clock was ticking. The fear in the back of my mind that the chemo may have hurt my chances and that I wouldn’t ever get pregnant was there, but I always tried to push it away. My doctor said there was a very good chance I’d be fine. I was open to adopting, as well, if it wasn’t in the cards for me.

It’s funny, my being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma left me feeling an urgency about motherhood. But that was around the time that Finn started saying he’d never get married or have kids. Trauma does different things to different people, I guess. Carl had always said he wanted us to start a family as soon as we were married. We’d always been on the same page.

I shook myself from my thoughts when Finn handed me a piece of cake.

“Let’s take some home so I can cover your tits with icing and take my time cleaning you up,” he whispered close to my ear again.

Damn it. I was getting all sweaty and flustered.

He devoured his cake quickly and then stared at me as I scooped the icing onto my fork and popped it into my mouth.

“The sun is going to set soon. If you want to ride, we need to get going.” He raised a brow.

Cage laughed so loudly that it startled everyone. “It’s two o’clock in the afternoon. The sun’s got a while, brother. But you two better run along before you lose daylight.”