“I’ve been ready for a year. Thought it would never get here.”

“It’s gonna be a blast.”

“I know I’ve told you this a hundred times already, but I’m so, so, so glad you’re coming. Wouldn’t have been the same without you guys.”

“Yeah.” Owen looked down at the floor, his broad shoulders curving inward, the stance reminding Evan of the dreadful weeks leading up to the trial of Owen’s father.

“What’s on your mind? And don’t say it’s nothing. I know you better than that.”

Seeming surprised by Evan’s blunt statement, Owen looked up at him before glancing into the other room, where Laura chatted with Stephanie and Abby. “She shouldn’t be going. It’s too close to her due date, but she won’t hear me when I tell her we should stay home.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, last thing I wanted to do was inflict my worries on your good time. That’s why I didn’t want to talk about it.”

“Dude, come on, aren’t we past that? Your worries are my worries. That’s how we roll.”

“Sometimes I think…”

“What?”

“That I never would’ve survived the nightmare of my family without the refuge of yours.”

Evan put his hand over his heart. “My family is your family, and we’ll watch out for you and Laura and those babies. Mallory and Katie will be with us, both of them experienced nurses. If there’s any problem, they’ll be right there.”

“So you don’t think I’m taking a foolish risk by letting my seven-months-pregnant wife go on a trip like this?”

“Of course I don’t think that, and no one else will either. Besides, we all know Laura does exactly what she wants, and no one, even her devoted husband, can talk her out of something once she sets her mind to it.”

Owen laughed. “Yeah, that about nails her.”

“I go way back with her,” Evan said with a grin.

“Like all the way back.”

“Yep. I know without a doubt there’s no way she’d ever endanger herself or those babies. David said she could go. Victoria said she could go. And how great is it that she feels well enough to travel after being so bloody sick for months at the beginning?”

“It is pretty great,” Owen said, his expression softening as he watched his wife talk and laugh with the other women. “So where’s your bride-to-be tonight?”