“We were out on a boat for a test drive. Guess we lost the signal. Good thing you were around. I’ll be there in just a few minutes. Tell him not to budge.” Then he, too, disconnected the call.
Hope released a tight breath. Forcing herself, she opened her door and stepped out but stayed close to the car. “He’ll be here any minute. He said he was out on a boat, so his cell service didn’t work.”
Face falling, Lang asked, “Did he buy a boat?”
The ridiculous expression shouldn’t have been so engaging, yet it was. “I have no idea.”
“I hope not, or part of my surprise will be ruined.” He looked around again. “This is a great place. Really quiet.”
“I agree, especially since it’s close to town, and to where I work.”
“Yeah? Where’s that?”
“The animal clinic.” Why in the world would I tell him that?
“Really?” With his sunglasses in place, she couldn’t see his eyes, but she had the sensation of being looked over. “Seems right.”
Had he just checked her out? Her stomach jumped at the possibility, but not in an altogether unpleasant way. “It’s actually your brother’s property.”
He eyed the small house again, then vaguely gestured toward the woods. “I thought he lived over there.”
“He does, but he’s renting me the guesthouse.” Her lips clamped shut. She never volunteered information and didn’t know why she’d gone so talkative now.
“That’s a nice score.” His grin went lopsided. “Hope he’s giving you a good deal?”
“I couldn’t afford it otherwise.” The words left her mouth uncensored, shocking her. Unlike Ivey, she didn’t chatter. Or at least, she hadn’t until now.
“While we wait, will you tell me about my nephew?” Without crowding her, Lang moved slightly closer. “That is, if you’ve met him?”
“I have.” Despite herself, she softened. This was one subject she didn’t mind. “Justin is very cute. Tall, too. And a little shy.”
“He probably got the height from our side of the family, but shy? No, definitely not a Meyer trait.” He rested against one of the garage posts supporting the deck. “Does he look like my brother and me?”
“You’ve never seen him?”
“Small phone photos, that’s all. Soon as I heard about him, I put my business up for sale. Luckily, it went fast so I packed up and drove here.” He held out his arms. “You can probably tell how anxious I am.”
“A little,” she admitted, charmed despite her caution. “Well, Justin does have brown hair, but I think it’s lighter than yours. I don’t remember his eye color, sorry.” She wanted to ask him about his business, but if she did, would he feel free to ask her more questions?
Just then, Lang perked up. “You hear that?”
Tires on the gravel drive made a distinct and recognizable sound. “It’s probably my friend. I assume Corbin would go to his own house.”
But no, that was Corbin’s SUV coming around the bend in the drive. He stopped behind Hope’s car, hurriedly got out and greeted his brother with open-armed enthusiasm.
“Lang! I didn’t know you’d be here or Justin and I would’ve been home to greet you.”
“Surprise.” Wearing a wide grin, Lang strode to his brother and the two men engaged a bruising bear hug with a lot of back thumping and laughter.
Hope caught herself grinning, especially when she saw Justin’s wide-eyed amazement. Clearly he was as overwhelmed by his uncle as Hope had been.
Immediately Lang freed himself to face the boy. “Holy smokes, you are tall! You sure you’re only ten?” He approached Justin with consideration. “Here I had visions of a little squirt, but you’re nearly as tall as me.”
Scoffing, and fighting a smile, Justin said, “No I’m not.”
“Close enough.” To Corbin he said, “The kid looks sixteen, not ten.”
The expression Corbin wore could only be called pride. “He definitely looks older.”
That made Justin puff up, too.
It fascinated Hope, seeing the easy way Lang dealt with him, how comfortable he was meeting his nephew for the very first time.
“We were both tall, right? Mom’s mentioned that often enough.” Corbin put his arm over Justin’s shoulders. “I should warn you that your Uncle Lang is the wild one. Don’t believe anything he tells you.”
“Ha! It’s your dad who got into all the mischief. Me being three years older—”
“Which makes him an old man at thirty.”
“—it was my job to get him out of scrapes. Kept me busy around the clock.”
No one had noticed Ivey parking behind them, but as she stepped out, she said, “If he’s old at thirty, then I’m ancient at thirty-one, so my guess is that you want to take back that insult right now.”
Oops, Hope thought. Not because of Corbin’s comment; clearly Ivey was teasing about that. But her friend was more dressed down than usual. She wore loose shorts, ancient flip-flops, an oversize T-shirt, and she’d stuck her fluffy hair into a haphazard knot on top of her head that looked like it might explode free at any moment.
Corbin laughed. “Ivey, you’re here, too? This is like a party.”
Ivey raised her brows while fighting a smile. “And that crack on age?”
“Consider it retracted, although dressed like that, you look closer to twenty, so you’ve got a leg up on this old man.”
Lang feinted with a lunge, Corbin jumped back and Justin laughed out loud.
Hope’s gaze met Ivey’s. Males, they silently agreed, had a very different way about them.
Corbin did hasty introductions all around, then ended with, “So what do you think, Lang?”
“That you have great taste in women.”
Ivey choked.
Corbin said, “True, but I meant about your nephew.”
“My nephew. Damn, I love the sound of that. I’m getting all choked up now.” Belying that statement with another grin, Lang closed in on Justin. “You’ll have to forgive your uncle his excesses, but what the hell? I come from a family of huggers, okay?” Without waiting for Justin to agree, he swung him up and into a wide circle, making Ivey dart away and causing Justin to laugh hard.
Patting Corbin’s arm, Ivey said, “I’ll let you boys get to it,” and she walked over to Hope.