“You what?”

“I bought some.”

“Booster seats?”

“Yep. Consumer Reports said they were the safest and they are super comfortable. Viper tried them out.”

“Wait.” I stopped in my tracks and narrowed my eyes at him. “First, you checked Consumer Reports? And second, Viper tried them out?”

“Hell yes I checked Consumer Reports. I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to car seats. And the pictures of Viper are probably on the internet somewhere. He tried to fit his big ass in one to make sure it was comfortable and some lady videoed the whole thing with her phone.” The girls covered their mouths and giggled from the side of Brody’s truck. “I actually had to buy three. Two for the girls plus the one Viper broke.” He rolled his eyes and walked over, opening the door for me.

I climbed up into the truck and turned around. Sure enough, sitting in the backseat were two brand new booster seats and Diesel.

Brody walked around and opened the door on his side and the girls hopped up, settling nicely into their new seats. Every single day that crazy man offered up some innocent text or gesture that made me fall in love with him all over again. Today’s dose came in the form of two booster seats.

The drive from my house to his parents’ was only about an hour. Brody and I held hands quietly and listened to the girls chatter the whole way. They were so excited to see his parents’ farm and swim in the lake. We’d lived on a lake their whole lives, yet they were still thrilled to swim in someone else’s lake. We turned down a dirt road and drove along several miles of farm fencing before making a sharp right down another dirt road.

“That’s the cutest thing ever,” I said as we passed a sign that read Lazy Acres Farm hanging off of a post at the corner.

Brody’s lips turned into a crooked smile. “It’s always been my dad’s dream to have a big farm to retire on. He’s wanted to name it that as long as I can remember.”

When Brody told me his parents lived in a farmhouse I pictured a charming hundred-year-old farmhouse that was worn down and decrepit like you would see in the movies. This house was just the opposite. It was a fairly new Victorian farmhouse, painted a cheery light green, adorned with small details to make it look antique. White gingerbread trim accented the corners of the huge front porch and wicker furniture, with red and white gingham-checked cushions, invited you to sit and relax for a while.

I stood on the porch and stared out at the sprawling, immaculately kept property. Every flower was in full bloom, every blade of grass just the perfect length. “This house is amazing!” I muttered incredulously.

“I know. I love it here.”

Lucy and Piper, happy to finally be out of the car, skipped around the front yard with Diesel excitedly chasing after them.

“I thought I heard giggling out here,” JoAnn said pleasantly as she flowed through the front door, letting it slam gently behind her. She wiped her hands on her apron and walked toward us. “I’m so glad you guys could make it.” She reached out and pulled me into a big, warm hug. I gladly squeezed back, feeling instantly connected to her all over again, just as I had at the hospital.

“Hey, Mom,” Brody said when she turned her attention toward him. She reached up and wrapped her arms around him as he lifted her off the ground in a big bear hug.

He set her down and she turned and looked out at Lucy and Piper, who were still running around the yard playing. They’d outlasted Diesel, who was laying at the end of the porch, panting in the shade.

“Girls, come here!” I called out, but they didn’t hear me over their giggles.

“Oh, don’t. Let them play.” JoAnn smiled nostalgically their way. “They never stop, do they?”

“Never.” I sighed with a smile on my face.

“I tried to get Shae to come home this weekend too, but she couldn’t pull herself away from her new boyfriend.”

Brody’s eyes hardened at his mom’s revelation. “She has a new boyfriend?”

“Yep. Ricky May. Apparently he’s the one.”

His face softened as he tried not to laugh. “May? His last name is May?”

She nodded.

“Oh my God, he can’t be the one. She can’t marry this guy.”

JoAnn crossed her arms over her chest and took a step back, cocking her hip to the side. “And why is that?”

“His last name is May, Mom. That would make her Shae May.” He held his stomach and fell down onto the wicker couch, laughing hysterically. “I would be bound by sibling law to make fun of her for the rest of our lives.”

“I have a feeling you’re going to do that anyway.” She sighed as Brody reached in his pocket and took out his phone. “What are you doing now?” she asked him.

“Just texting Andy to remind me to run a background check on this clown.”

She laughed and bent down, swatting his shoulder. “Oh, Brody. Stop scaring away her boyfriends.”

He held his hands up defensively in front of him. “I’m not scaring anyone away, just protecting my baby sister.”

JoAnn rolled her eyes and turned toward me. “I was just making lunch. Wanna come help me?”

“I would love to.” I looked back at Lucy and Piper as they squatted down, staring at something on the ground.

“Go ahead, I got them,” Brody said, following my gaze. “Mom, where’s Dad?”

“In his shop, building a picnic table or something.” JoAnn waved for me to follow her into the house. “C’mon, Kacie.”

“Your house is beautiful!” I cooed once we were in the kitchen.

“Thanks. It’s our dream house. Brody built it for us.” JoAnn smiled that proud mama smile that I’d worn myself so many times.

I tilted my head to the side and smiled back at her. “He told me. He talks about you a lot, actually.”

“I’m very lucky.” She motioned for me to sit at the kitchen table. “He’s a great son. Not everyone can say that.”

“Well, I think he’s pretty wonderful too, but I know you had a big hand in that. What was he like as a kid?”

“Oh, goodness.” A small chuckle flew from her mouth as she set a tall pitcher of sweet tea on the counter and grabbed two glasses from the cabinet. “Brody as a child. Let’s see… For starters, he made Dennis the Menace look like an angel.” The ice cubes in the glasses popped and cracked as JoAnn poured the tea over them. “He was bold and adventurous and charming, even at eight years old.” She slid a glass in my direction as she sat down across from me. “He was all dark brown curls and big cheesy grins. I didn’t know a child could smile as much as he did. Hockey has been his life since he was old enough to stand on skates. He wasn’t always a goalie, you know.”

“He wasn’t?”

“Nope. Not until high school, actually. That’s when he decided he didn’t like relying on someone else to make sure the other team didn’t score. He needed the control. Anyway, he made the varsity team as a freshman and asked the coach to put him in as goalie. Coach said no, they had some hotshot senior who had claimed that position, but Brody was persistent. He asked over and over. He was the first one to show up to practice and the last one to leave. One day, about a third of the way through the season, that hotshot got hurt and his coach had no choice but to put Brody in.” She smiled and looked out the back window at something that caught her attention. I followed her gaze just in time to see Diesel and the girls run across the yard with Brody chasing after them. Smiling, she shook her head and continued. “That was Brody’s defining moment. The other team didn’t score once that game. In fact, opposing teams rarely scored on him for the rest of his high school career. College scouts started showing up at his games midway through his sophomore year. He was amazing. Once he was in that goalie box, nothing else existed.”