Page 54 of The Clover Chapel (Jamison Valley 2)
“He did not,” Maisy said.
“He did.”
“Silas Grant!” Maisy shouted. She took off to where all the men were talking and smacked a blond man in the arm before transferring Coby to a mountainous man with dark hair and a thick brown beard.
He was the only man in the group who stood taller than Jess, and his size was intimidating. The square angles of his jaw gave him a stern look, but when he settled Coby on one bulky bicep, his whole face relaxed.
When Nick and I reached the group, he started introductions.
“Emmy, this is Beau Holt,” he said. “Beau works for the Forest Service and leads the Search and Rescue team in Jamison County.”
Maybe it was the three glasses of wine I’d already had, I don’t know, but my normal polite greeting didn’t immediately come out of my mouth. Instead, when I tipped my head way, way back to look at Beau’s face, I said something out loud that was meant to stay inside my head.
“You are not small.” I slapped my hand over my rude mouth and stared at Beau with wide eyes. “Sorry!” I said through my fingers.
A huge smile broke out over Beau’s face and the entire circle erupted in laughter.
Nick chuckled. “This is Silas Grant.” Silas was the blond man that Maisy had smacked. His lean, muscled frame was similar to Nick’s though Silas stood an inch or two taller.
After shaking his hand, I turned to the last man in the group. I didn’t need Nick to introduce me. After hearing Sara’s story about meeting her husband in a burn unit, I knew this was Milo. He had a wrinkled burn scar on the top of his forehead and another under the side of his jaw.
“Milo Phillips,” he said.
“Emmeline Austin.”
“Emmeline, I heard you went temporarily insane a few years back and married this asshole,” Silas said, jerking his chin toward Nick.
“You’re so fucking funny,” Nick muttered.
“Are we playing pool or what?” Maisy asked.
“We’re playing,” Silas said.
“Coby, can you stay with Uncle Beau?”
“Yeah,” Beau answered for him.
My eyes darted back and forth between the Holt siblings. I never would have guessed that tiny, blond Maisy was the dark-haired giant’s sister.
“What are we betting?” Nick asked Silas.
“Dinner?” Maisy suggested. “We could all meet up at the café one night. Loser pays?”
“Deal,” Nick and Silas agreed simultaneously.
Five minutes later, the balls on the table were spread out everywhere and Nick was leaning over my shoulder, teaching me how to line up a shot.
Fifteen minutes later, I was getting annoyed at Nick’s incessant hovering. Every time I got ready to shoot, he’d interrupt me and tell me to hit a different ball. I’d been slowly hinting for him to let me try but he wasn’t hearing it.
Finally, I’d had enough. “Would you leave me alone? You’re driving me crazy. You are a rotten teacher!”
“What? No, I’m not. I’m an awesome teacher. You’re just a bad student. That’s not the best shot.”
I felt the temper rise in my chest, but before I could snap again, I took a couple of deep breaths and reminded myself that the entire party was watching our game. “Your ego is overinflated. Can you just let me try my own way? Who cares if I miss?”
“I do. We’re winning.”
“Go away.”
