Now I have to make her fall in love with me.
A few minutes later, gravel crunches in the driveway behind us, signaling another arrival. A truck door slams, stealing Buford's attention away from Ripley. He lets out a long howl and races for the newcomer.
"Baby bro!" my brother calls out. "Ma just called. We've been waiting to see you in person so we could tell you the good news!"
Ma must have called them when she saw us turn down the damn driveway, not that I'm complaining.
Grant comes around the hood of his truck and helps Wendy down. Her small frame is all belly. She looks like she's about to pop, but I'm pretty sure she's only five months along or so.
I reach out a hand to Ripley and pull her to her feet. She wipes off the seat of her jeans and glances at my brother and his wife as though she's embarrassed to be caught rolling around on the ground with the dog. She doesn't know my family well, because that's probably the quickest way to win them over.
"Who do we have here?" Grant asks, one hand at the small of Wendy's back.
I wrap an arm around Ripley and haul her against my side. "This is Ripley Fischer, my girlfriend." I hear her draw in a quick breath from beside me, but I don't pause. "Rip, this is my brother, Grant, and his wife, Wendy."
"Don't forget me!" The back door to the truck slams and a small body races forward until it collides with my legs. "I had to finish my last level. Sorry, Uncle Boone, I only have five more minutes of game time left for today, and I didn't want to give up until I won. But you're way better than video games. Can we go ride my ATV?"
"Kyle, your uncle Boone was introducing us to his friend. Say hi to Ms. Ripley," his mom says, reminding him of his manners.
Kyle, with his Thrasher blue eyes, stares up at Ripley. "You're pretty. I'm gonna marry a girl as pretty as you someday."
"You trying to steal my girl, Ky?"
His smile is quick and broad, and I drop down to wrap him in a hug. "Missed you, kid. You been good for your mama and daddy?"
Kyle glances back toward his parents before replying. "I kinda caught the yard on fire last week, and Mama yelled a lot."
My gaze cuts to my brother. "What the hell happened?"
"You can't say hell, Uncle Boone. You know Lala doesn't like it when you cuss." Lala is what Kyle calls Ma because she's always singing while she's cooking or gardening.
"Thanks for the reminder, buddy." I ruffle his hair, kicking myself for not getting here more often. I'm missing so much of watching him grow up. "Now, are you gonna tell me about the yard?"
Wendy steps forward. "Later. That'll keep." She reaches out a hand to Ripley. "I'm so happy to meet you."
Ripley shakes her hand. "It's nice to meet you too."
Grant is standing back, eyeing Ripley with a healthy dose of skepticism. "Your girlfriend? That's pretty frickin' quick after-"
Wendy steps back and jabs her elbow into Grant's side. "Aren't you going to tell your brother the big news?"
"What news?"
Before Grant can speak, Kyle blurts, "Mama's having two babies!"
"Holy sh-shoot. Twins?" I look from my brother to Wendy and back again.
Grant's skeptical look is replaced by a wide grin. "What can I say? It's those Thrasher super swimmers."
"And it explains why I'm as big as a house."
"Oh, wow. That's amazing. Congratulations," Ripley says. "Do you know if they're boys or girls or one of each yet?"
Wendy shakes her head. "No, we're opting for a surprise this time. All we want is healthy."
"Y'all gonna stand out in the drive all night? Your ma's puttin' dinner on the table in a few minutes."
We all turn to see Dad on the front porch, beer in hand.
"We're comin', Papa!" Kyle takes off at a run, which is pretty much the only speed he moves at these days.
I follow behind him with Ripley beside me.
"You ready for this?" I ask her.
"I hope so."
22
Ripley
It doesn't take a genius to see that Boone's brother is leery of me. And why shouldn't he be? His kid brother, a superstar, got publicly cheated on and dumped, and then he shows up two weeks later with a new woman in tow?
And then Boone called me his girlfriend and my heart nearly stopped.
We walk up the steps of the white farmhouse that looks like it belongs on an Americana postcard, and Boone's dad stands in the doorway.
"I'm Randall Thrasher. It's nice to meet you."
"Ripley Fischer. I'm sorry we didn't call ahead." I take the hand he offers and shake it.