My windpipe constricts and even if I could talk I wouldn’t know what to say. The back screen door in the kitchen opens and the creak fills the deafening void of silence.

A clearing of a throat and I force myself to forget the other women and the occasional hand that lifts to wipe at tears as I meet the eyes of my cousin Chevy.

He and I, we haven’t interacted much. Haven’t said more than a “hi” or a “bye.” He’s around Oz a lot and he also comes over daily to check on Olivia. I never showed an interest in him because he never showed an interest in me, but Oz is right. I never fully engaged.

“Hi, Chevy.” My voice is raspy and rough, but I need to try.

His eyes flicker between me and Olivia and he nods at me as if he senses all the chaotic words in my mind that I don’t have the ability to speak. “Hey, Emily.”

“How are you?” I say, and I hear how awkward it sounds, but how else do I start?

Reminding me of Eli, he pulls on his earlobe, but there are no plugs in Chevy’s ears. “Good. You?”

I’m a freaking basket case. “I’m doing well.”

He clears his throat again. “Some of us are going to be hanging out together once dinner begins.” Chevy tosses his hand in the air to indicate a direction that I don’t quite comprehend. “We’ll be on the other side of the yard.” A yank at the neckline of his shirt. “People our age. Me, Oz, Razor, Stone, a few others. Maybe Violet.”

Oz, maybe Violet...a moment where I could get to know my cousin... “Sounds good.”

“Eli said I have her for an hour.” Olivia saves us both from dying of trying too hard. “My eggs aren’t done being shelled and I have five more minutes.”

The women part as Chevy strides through the kitchen. He’s tall and broad-shouldered and most of them have to press against the wall or fridge to let him pass. There’s a kind spark in his dark eyes as he inclines his head toward the yard. “I’ll finish cracking the eggs while you go get some fresh air. Make sure you find Eli, though.”

Pressure on my hand from Olivia confirms she approves. I could hug Chevy for rescuing me from this uncomfortable moment, but instead I smile.

He flicks his chin in understanding and the entire room groans and starts harassing him the moment he pops one of the hard-boiled eggs into his mouth.

I walk out the door and lift my face to the sky. Who would have guessed that I could learn to like so many people—especially people who are so different from me?

Oz

EMILY SLIPS OUT the back door to the kitchen and I glance around. The men are either hanging in the clubhouse, setting up tables and chairs in the yard or manning the grills full of hot dogs and hamburgers. Behind the house, there’s no one.

Emily pauses when she sees me then flashes this soft smile. I like that look on her. I’d die a happy man if I saw that expression every day.

I stride over to her and link our hands together. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” she says, not missing a beat.

I walk backward, gently pulling her with me. She follows, but her smile fades as her eyes drift over my shoulder to the woods that I’m leading her to. “Oz.”

“Not far in,” I say as if I’m coaxing a wounded animal to abandon its hiding spot. “Just far enough to where I can kiss you.”

She brightens at kiss, but then she assesses the sky. It’s evening and with it being the middle of summer, the sun still shines from the west. Blue sky above. A scattered white cloud here or there.

An edge of panic tightens her features, but Emily still walks with me, her hand grasping mine as if she’s floundering off a ledge. As I guide her past the tree line her chest begins to flutter at a faster rate and sweat breaks out on her palm.

I rub my thumb over the top of her hand and keep my eyes locked on hers. “Have you ever jumped into a pile of leaves?”

Emily shakes her head no as we ease through the trees. Her face loses color and I stop us when she visibly quakes.

I inch into her personal space and then gently back her up until she’s supported against the trunk of a tree. Because I can’t help myself, I rest a hand on her hip then step near enough so that our bodies are touching. This is how it’s meant to be—me this close to her.

“Don’t be scared,” I say. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I know. It’s just hard.” She raises my hand to her chest and lust surges through me as she presses my palm to her heart. Damn, her skin is soft and the tissue beneath my hand is even softer. “I need to calm down or my heart is going to explode.”

Because I’m not intent on taking Emily’s virginity on the floor of the forest, I lower our hands. “In the fall, there’s a million red, orange and yellow leaves. In the winter, it’s real quiet and when it snows you can see animal tracks. Chevy, Violet, Razor and I used to play back here all the time. The tree house we built as kids sits farther back.”

“Were you close with Violet once?”

“Yeah. She created these elaborate hand signals for us to use while we were playing hide-and-seek or capture the flag. She’s the one that convinced us to hang that.” I tip my chin to the right and Emily tracks my gaze to a rope hanging off a huge oak.

“You guys are obsessed with ropes,” she says.

I chuckle. “Every fall we make the biggest pile of leaves you can imagine. So huge that it’s a mountain. We use the rope to jump into the pile. I’ve never invited anyone to do it with us before and I decided that when we do it this year, I’d like my girl to be there.”