Evie checked her watch. “Shoot. Jenn and Mel should be here with dinner soon. Can you help me get the folding tables out of my trunk?”
“I hope they get here quick,” Ruby said, scooping up her son. “Food as a distraction would be great right about now. We’re probably twenty minutes from someone lighting something on fire.”
Stella giggled. “Ten if Loganis involved.”
A bit dazed, I called Julian over and trudged down the hill toward the packed driveway. A big crowd was still chopping wood, but several others were pulling camp chairs and coolers out of their vehicles.
“This is going to turn into a party very quickly,” Stella warned me.
I held Julian’s hand as he scanned the scene. By now I was sure he’d be overstimulated, but with Wayne by his side, he was calmly taking in the sights.
“Do you want to go back to our house?” I asked him. “We should probably check on the girls.”
He looked up at me, his eyes swimming with contentment. “I like it here.”
I squeezed his hand. Okay, then. I guess we were staying.
As I helped Evie with a folding table, I marveled at how naturally the whole crowd was coming together. Someone had set up a speaker and music was now playing. Another person had produced cornhole boards from the back of a pickup.
“Is that…?” I frowned at the man standing at his open trunk.
“Yup. Nate is rolling a keg out of his car.”
“I’m glad I brought Vincent’s jammies,” Evie mused. “I may have to put him in the baby wrap and hope he sleeps.”
“The cool air will probably knock him right out,” Ruby said, looking down at her own cooing son in his offroad stroller.
“Is Josh okay with all this?” I asked.
Ruby laughed. “It’s Chainsaw Day. He doesn’t have a choice. He’ll make a half-assed effort to kick us allout, but he’ll quickly relent. This is what happens every year. People will eat and drink all that beer, and we’ll be here all night.”
“That’s why all those hay bales are stacked up. For seating.” Evie lifted her chin, signaling to the makeshift rows. “Jasper brought them down from the big barn last night without Josh noticing.”
“And I’ve got blankets in my car for when it gets chillier,” Stella added.
Julian and I hiked back to our house with Wayne in tow to grab layers and the girls. Unsurprisingly, Maggie was reading on the couch and more than ready to join the party. Ellie was nowhere to be seen, so I sent the other two upstairs to find her.
Alone for the first time all day, a familiar sense of panic built in my chest, and suddenly, my mind was taking off without my permission. If I’d known there would be a town potluck in my backyard tonight, I would have made a dish or two.
Generally, I hated spontaneity. I liked to know precisely what was expected of me. And now my nervous system was spiraling. Because I’d done something wrong. I’d fucked up. I was stupid.
Those thoughts were cut off, thankfully, by three sets of feet thundering down the stairs. I pushed away the negative emotions and cleared my throat while I waited for the kids.
There were dozens of people here. No one was going to judge me. I’d had no clue this was even happening, and even if I had, with the chaos going on, no one would notice that we’d come empty-handed. Right?
Even so, that feeling, that I was wrong, or I’d donewrong, stuck with me, niggling at the back of my mind like it always did.
By the time we rejoined the party, it was in full swing. Jenn and Mel were serving chili and cornbread while Josh grilled hot dogs.
“Celine!” Evie shouted. “Come say hi to Basil and Etienne.”
With a small smile, I pushed away my instinct to shy away and shook the hands of both men.
“They brought that magazine-worthy charcuterie board and the champagne.” Evie giggled.
The folding table covered in a cute yellow gingham tablecloth now held what could only be described as a work of art.
And as if he’d teleported from my side, Julian was in front of it, reaching for what was probably a forty-dollar block of cheese.