Nate and I get out of the car and head straight for the table to place all the food we brought. Sara and Justin still have to get Noah ready, so it might be a while before they get here. I’ve noticed that now that they have a baby, they take forever to go anywhere.
Nate takes a long look around. “Who are all these people? I don’t know about half of ’em.”
I look at all the different people and shake my head. “I have no idea. I did notice a lot more cars in the parking area.”
“Why don’t we introduce ourselves, and maybe they’ll clue us in.”
“I don’t know, Nate. They might be long-lost cousins—people I’m supposed to know.” I lean into him. “That might be embarrassing if I’ve known them all my life.”
He grins down at me. “Not if I do it.”
I love the fact that I can totally be myself around Nate, even though it requires letting my guard down and admitting that I’m basically a shy person. Most people don’t know that because I’ve mastered looking confident. Folks assume I’m just aloof, when the reality is it hurts my stomach to talk to anyone I don’t know.
The first person he approaches is a woman who appears slightly older than my mother. Nate extends his hand. “Hi, I’m Nate Hawthorne, Sally’s fiancé.”
The woman narrows her eyes, crinkles her nose, and looks back and forth between Nate and me. “Is this Sally?”
I nod and smile. “Yes, ma’am.”
“I’m Ginger.” She grins back. “Trace is my nephew.”
Nate gives me a curious look before turning back to her. “Nice to meet you, Ginger. I’m so happy you were able to join us.”
Ginger laughs. “Oh, I wouldn’t miss this for the world. It’s one of the most important events in a person’s life.” She glances at someone behind us. “Sorry, but I need to go talk to my sister for a minute.”
After she leaves, Nate’s expression turns odd. “I know these events are a big deal around here, but most important event in a person’s life?” He makes a goofy face.
“Maybe it is to them. Apparently, the Bucklin family reunions are quite the big deal.”
Nate does a double take to something off to the side. I turn around to see what has his attention. It’s Trace. In a suit. And I’m not talking about his uniform. I’m talking about a navy suit with a white shirt and bow tie.
“That’s strange.”
He nods. “I know. There’s definitely a strange vibe around here.”
“Yeah, it’s like we’ve been scooped up and flown to a different planet.”
As we walk around, we discover there are more people we don’t know than those we do. And the food tables are heaping full, with the dessert table looking like it might collapse. There’s another table with pastel colored cupcakes on tiered trays.
I shake my head and scrunch my face. “Looks like a wedding reception.”
Nate blinks. “Ya know, you might have something there.”
“What are you talking about, Nate? This is nothing but a Bucklin family reunion with a pig roasting over there …” I point off to the distance where a crew of my male relatives are standing around in a circle, staring down at the ground where Grandpa Jay is shoveling a bunch of hot coals to the side. “And a couple tables filled with casseroles.” I gesture toward the other side near Granny Marge and Grandpa Jay’s old house.
“Think about it, Sally.” Nate lifts his fingers and touches his index finger. “First, we see a bunch of people we don’t know.” He touches his middle finger. “Then we see Trace wearing a suit.”
“That doesn’t mean anything.” As soon as those words come out of my mouth, I spot Puddin’ and Shay coming out of the mobile home, both wearing identical yellow dresses. I cover my mouth with my hand.
“And Trace’s aunt says this is one of the most important events in a person’s life.”
“You are totally right.” I blink. “I cannot believe this is happening.” Then I smile. “I’m just glad you didn’t think of this first.”
Nate laughs. “How do you know I didn’t?”
I widen my eyes. “You didn’t, did you? We’re not—”
Nate laughs. “No, we’re not doing this today, but I can’t honestly say I didn’t think about it.”
I let out a slow breath. “Don’t ever think I would agree to a wedding at one of my family reunions.”
“Why not? We have everyone here, and family members prepare all the food. It saves a ton of money on the venue and catering.”
“Well, that’s true, but it’s still …” I shrug as my voice trails off. “I don’t know.”
Again, Nate laughs. “Trust me, I won’t try to surprise you with a wedding. Besides, we’d have to go to the courthouse together to get our marriage license. That’s something I wouldn’t be able to pull off without your knowing about it.”
“Okay, good. A surprise wedding—that is, if it’s mine—sounds frightening.”
He puts his arm around me, pulls me close, and looks into my eyes. “I want to protect you, not scare you.”
I’ve never had to have someone protect me—besides my parents—in my whole entire twenty-two years, but it’s nice to know that if I need that, he’s there for me. I smile up at him. “And you know I’ve got your back too.”
He nods, still smiling. “Yep. That’s what makes us such a great team.”
I sigh as contentment washes over me. Then someone starts hooting. I spin around and see a bunch of my male cousins punching their fists into the air as they surround someone I can’t see.
Nate’s eyebrows shoot up. “I don’t know what Julius did, but it must have been pretty good.”
“Are they yelling about Julius?”
He nods. “That’s him standing in the middle. Why don’t we go see what it’s all about?”
I grimace at the thought of being in the midst of all that out-of-control testosterone. “Why don’t you go, while I wait here?”
He laughs. “Can’t say I blame you. I’ll be right back.”
I’m not there by myself long when Aunt Missy comes walking up. “Have you heard about Julius?”
I shake my head. “No, Nate’s over there trying to figure out what’s going on.”
“Well …” Her voice trails off as she looks in the direction of the men who remain clustered like a pack of animals. “Do you want to wait for him to come back, or can I tell you?”
I laugh. “If you know, then go right ahead and tell me.”
“Julius went and joined the army.”
“The army? I thought they were picky. How on earth did he get in?”
She shrugs. “I have no idea. Maybe Nate will have more information. All I know is it’s about time he did something responsible—but then again the thought of him protecting our country—” She makes a face, shudders, and then forces a smile. “Oh, I’m sure they’ll teach him what to do.” Her voice lowers as she adds, “It’s not called basic training for nothing.”
I know what she’s saying, but I don’t want to respond. So I grin back at her. “I’m glad he’s working things out. We all have to grow up eventually.”
She tips her head in the direction of the guys. “Nate’s coming. I wonder if he knows more.”
He greets Missy and turns to me. “Apparently, he’s signed up for the army, and he’s going to basic training in a few weeks. Bucky said he brought Julius to the learning center to get some tutoring for his ASVAB, and he passed the test on the first try.”
I glance at Missy, and she acknowledges that she heard. “It’s good that Bucky did that. I’m so happy for them.” She backs away. “I’ll leave you two lovebirds and go check on my chili. I brought three Crock-Pots of it this time, so there should be enough for the family. Don’t talk about it to Trace’s family, or we’ll run out.”
Once she leaves, Nate chuckles. “She does make some mighty good chili. But then there are so many good cooks in your family, no one should ever go away hungry.”
“I’ve tried to talk her into teaching a class on Crock-Pot cooking, but she says all her recipes are secret.”
“Keep working on her.” Nate looks around. “I’m not sure what to do now. Normally, there’s a lot of stuff going on with folks at least one of us know, but with all these strangers here—” He shrugs. “It feels strange.”
“Oh, I’m sure something will happen. I don’t think I’ve been to a reunion when it didn’t.”
“There she is.”
When I hear Justin’s voice, I spin around and see him leading the way, carrying the baby carrier, with Sara trudging along right behind him. She looks different … like she’s worried.
I make my way to her without a second’s hesitation. “What’s wrong?”
“You’re not gonna believe this.” Sara’s sunken eyes and pale face give it away.
“You’re not.”
She manages a hint of a smile. “Oh yes, I am. I took the pregnancy test right before we left, and it’s positive.”
“But I thought you were supposed to wait a while before having another baby. Didn’t your doctor tell you anything?”
She gives me a helpless look. “Yeah, we were supposed to, but we obviously didn’t obey the doctor’s orders.”
“Oh, Sara, what am I gonna do with you?”
She rolls her eyes. “Absolutely nothing. I’m not yours to do with.”