Page 40 of To Have and To Hold
“So you like Piper?” JJ asked, using Dr. Briggs’s first name.
“I do.” Ava retracted her hand. “She’s very good at what she does. Plus, she’s genuinely nice.”
JJ knew that much because Piper was one of Brantley’s many cousins, and she’d grown up in Coyote Ridge. Plus, Piper was only a year younger than JJ, so they’d interacted when they were kids. Not much, but enough for JJ to know she wasn’t one of the mean girls.
“How’re you feeling?” Ava asked when the silence lingered for a bit.
“Like I’ve got two tiny humans inside me, and they’re fighting their way out.” JJ laughed. “And it’s amazing, to be honest. My back hurts, my feet hurt, and my ankles have disappeared completely, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
“Only six more weeks, right?”
“If they’ll hang on that long. I hope they do.”
“Well, this weekend, we’ll spend it chilling, and I’ll make sure you keep your feet up as much as possible.”
JJ was certainly looking forward to that.
Well, chilling and looking at all the crazy nonsense that a bunch of guys were doing. She was really looking forward tothat.
Chapter Ten
“Have you been to this track before?” Z asked as they waited for Brantley and Reese to complete the check-in process.
Z was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Austin had a Formula 1 racetrack. Not that he was a huge F1 fan or anything, but he’d seen a race or two on TV. But this … this made him want to check out the sport in depth, to come here when the stands were full, and the sounds of the engines got the fans on their feet. It was quite impressive.
Atticus shook his head while Slade said, “I was at the F1 race in 2019.”
Z shot him a surprised look. “No shit? How was it?”
“Cool as fuck.”
That was probably the best way to sum it up, Z figured. He could only imagine what it was like to watch those cars tear ass around these winding curves. He mentally addedSee a Raceto his bucket list and hoped he and RT would slow down enough to start checking a few things off one day.
“Y’all see him wavin’ at us, right?” Atticus asked, pointing toward the check-in area.
Z turned his attention to Brantley and Reese. Sure enough, Reese was waving them over.
“He’s gonna rub it in, ain’t he?” Z grumbled even as he began walking, Slade and Atticus beside him.
“Y’all know this is a group event, right?” Brantley asked, leaning around Reese to look at him.
“What?”
Reese nodded .”You’ve got a lot of shit to fill out, though.”
Z was sure someone was punking them. No way JJ could afford to pay for all of them. He’d looked it up on the way over, and group rates started around ten grand. It was the reason they’d opted to sit this one out and let Brantley and Reese enjoy the fun. It was their day, after all.
“Hop to it,” Brantley barked. “We don’t have all day.”
“We kinda do,” Atticus retorted with a grin.
Z took his turn filling out forms and providing ID and all that good stuff. Between scribbling his personal data, he glanced around, looking for his husband. He saw RT at another tent, doing the same thing.
“How’d this even happen?” Z wondered aloud.
“Not looking forward to it?” the guy asked.
“Oh, I am. I just thought it was for the grooms-to-be.” He passed the paperwork back. “How long does it take?”
