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"Right," she whispered but ers, I brushed her long hair off her neck "Charlotte, ood people They have two sons They knohat you’ve been through They aren’t going to judge you for the way things have gone down recently"
"I know… I just feel like the enemy in their eyes"
Travis knocked on her"Charlotte, let’s go! I’rinned and lifted his blue-and-white tackle box
Keeping my voice low so Travis couldn’t hear me, I told her, "You aren’t the enemy in my eyes or in his eyes, and the minute my family sees that, they will become the only eyes that matter"
She sucked in a deep breath and blew it out with practiced control "Okay You’re right"
"M to seduce me with sexy words like that and let’s hed, and it curled over h of that fro her door open, she stepped out of the car Travis i her around the side of the house After scooping Hannah off her feet and planting her on ht up with theether, the four of us walked around the house
We hadn’t made the final curve before the s filled the air in thecombination
It was home and happiness all wrapped up in one
Since Tanner had bought that house, we’d had a lot of these cookouts He always cooked My mom took care of Hannah My dad fished with Travis And I would nu hate and anger from my heart
My life over the last three years had been survived in various degrees of hell
But not that day Not with Charlotte athellish about that day
It was pretty damn perfect
As we made our way toward the stone patio, Tanner saw us first
"Holy Shit," he said behind a giant stainless-steel corill that had cost him a small fortune
"What?" Mom chirped from the picnic table as she stirred what I prayed was her bacon ranch pasta salad Her head slowly lifted to my brother, but her eyes found aze slipped to Charlotte and then down to Travis
"Oh, thank you, God," she cried, slapping her hands over herher eyes
Charlotte’s arht and whispered, "Relax She always reacts like this when she sees me"
Charlotte suddenly came to an abrupt stop "I don’t know about this, Porter"
"It’s fine I swear"
My mom screamed for my dad as she and Tanner abandoned the food and raced toward us
She went straight for Travis, bending low to pull hi you"
Tanner extended a hand my way I clasped it, and he pulled me in for a quick back pat and whispered, "Do I even want to kno you pulled this off?"
I chuckled "Probably not"
As he stepped away, he took Hannah from irl?"
"Nothing," she said casually, as though it hadn’t been the most chaotic teeks of her life "Where are my floaties? I’hed and put her on her feet "Nana bought you a brand-new set for this year Go look on the kitchen table And tell Grandpa to turn the TV off and co her trot away in a pink-and-purple-striped bathing suit colanced back at
I pulled her deeper into ht?"
He nodded "I sure do"