“Right.” My sister laughs. “Miss Attorney at Law.” She smiles at McKenna.
“Not yet. I still have to pass the bar exam.”
“Please,” Laramie chides. “You’ve got this.”
“It’s damn good to have you home,” my best friend, Corbin, says, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. McKenna gives him a blinding smile as she returns his embrace.
My eyes never leave the two of them as they dance around, acting a fool. “What’s up with you?” Colby, Corbin’s younger brother, asks, plopping down on the back of the tailgate beside me.
“Nothing.”
“You look like you could murder my brother.”
I have to force myself to turn and look at him. “Maybe you should slow down on those.” I nod to the bottle of beer in his hand.
“Yeah, okay,” he says, laughing off my comment.
“What are you two fuddy-duddies doing over there?” my sister calls out.
“Your girl is lit,” I tell Colby.
“I know.” I can hear the smile in his voice. My sister and Colby have been dating and still going strong since Laramie’s senior year of high school.
“Is she going home with you?” I ask him. I know the answer. Even though Laramie technically still lives at home, she’s never there. She’s always staying over at Colby’s.
“Nah, we’re staying at your place tonight.”
“Really?” I laugh.
“Yep. Her idea.” He points to my sister.
“When are you going to make an honest woman out of her?”
“Soon.” He’s evasive, but that’s Colby. The only thing he’s ever transparent about is how he feels about my baby sister. What he doesn’t know is that I know he’s already talked to Mom and Dad. I know he plans to ask her to marry him, and if I know Colby, his “soon” is just that. Soon.
“Come on.” Laramie appears in front of us. She grabs onto Colby’s hand and tugs. He lets her, like the pussy he is for her, and follows her to the other side of the fire.
I watch as he pulls her into his arms, and they begin to slow dance. The smile on my sister’s face as she stares up at him is the same smile she had when she was eighteen. My eyes stray to McKenna and Corbin, but it’s just Corbin in the light of the flames. I scan the surroundings, and that’s when I see her headed my way.
“Rip, will you go with me?” she asks.
I don’t need her to clarify. I know what she needs. She and Laramie both used to come to me for this very same reason, that is until Colby appeared in the picture. I don’t hesitate to jump off the tailgate and link my fingers with hers. Fuck, I’ve missed her. Stopping at the back of my truck, I grab the roll of toilet paper and the small paper bag for trash that we can toss into the fire.
“My hero,” she says, her voice sugary sweet.
“You know, it’s just us. You don’t really need me,” I remind her. Not that I mind. It’s been too damn long since I’ve spent this kind of time with her. She barely came home while she was in college. She was always studying, taking a full course load, or working at her part-time job at a local law firm. Besides, I don’t know how many times I’ve preached to her and my sister never to wander off alone at a field party, or any party for that matter.
“Rip, you can’t break tradition,” she says, leaning into me.
I can’t hold in my chuckle. When we reach the big oak tree, I hand her the toilet paper and the bag and turn my back. “You doing okay?” I ask when I hear her cursing under her breath.
“Yep. Good. Ah,” she says, and I find myself again not able to hold onto my laughter. “Are you laughing at me, Rip Callahan?”
“You’re cute as hell, McKenna.”
“Men. You don’t know how lucky you are. All you have to do is just whip it out, and you’re good to go. I have to balance myself and not pee on my clothes.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask her if she wants me to help her strip out of her clothes, but I refrain. McKenna has always been beautiful. I never would have thought she could be any more attractive, that is until I saw her walk into my parents’ house yesterday afternoon. Her hair is longer, and her body, she’s filled out, and she’s now all woman. Something that eighteen-year-old McKenna was lacking when she left for college.
Don’t get me wrong, she was beautiful, and I wanted her with a fierceness that I can’t explain. I’ve noticed subtle changes in her over the years when our paths crossed, but tonight is the first time I’ve really got to spend any amount of time with her. Her visits were always quick, as she had to get back to work in Massachusetts.
“You need help?” I ask when I hear more cursing and rustling around.
“Nope.” She appears beside me and slips her arm in the crook of mine.
Arm in arm, we walk back to the fire. I stop us at the truck to toss the toilet paper back into the cab. After leading us to the fire, McKenna tosses the small paper bag into the flames, and as soon as we’re in sight, Colby looks over at me and grins. “It’s about time,” he says, smirking.
“Hey, you try squatting and not getting any on your clothes,” McKenna fires back, making everyone laugh.
“This one’s for you, ladies,” Corbin says as he turns up the music. Laramie pulls McKenna from my side, and they begin to dance around the fire. When the song turns slow, Colby stands and wraps my sister in his arms. McKenna backs away with tears in her eyes as the couple dances to Train’s “Marry Me” like no one is watching.
“Do you know something that I don’t?” I whisper to McKenna when she comes to stand next to me.
“Just watch,” she says, leaning her head on my shoulder. There are tears shimmering in her eyes, and I know that this is it. He’s going to do it, and my guess is that he’s been waiting for McKenna to come home. So that my sister's best friend could be here to witness the moment. As the song ends, Colby gathers Laramie’s hands in his and drops to one knee.
My sister stills, placing her hand over her mouth. As we draw closer, I can see she also has tears in her eyes. “Laramie, I’ve loved you for longer than I can remember.” Colby’s voice is strong. Clear. “These past six years have been more than I ever could have asked for. Now, I’m just hoping you’re willing to give me the rest of yours. I want to spend a lifetime with you. Will you marry me?”
My sister drops to her knees in front of him and pulls him into a kiss. “Yes!” She tilts her head back and shouts at the night sky, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” She pulls him into a kiss that I’m not sure I should be witnessing from my little sister.
They stand, and Colby pulls her close. The smiles on their faces are matching, and I couldn’t be happier for the two of them.
Damn, my little sis is getting married.
“Hell yeah! Welcome to the family.” Corbin rushes to them and hugs them both. When he steps back, I step in and do the same, followed by McKenna.
“Congratulations, man.” I shake Colby’s hand. “Lara,” I say, my throat growing thick. I pull her into a hug. “The first of our group to get married,” I muse, releasing her back to her fiancé.