When she saw her mother busy mixing up her pies, she said, “Kaegan is here now, so you can stop fretting.”

Her mother chuckled. “I wasn’t fretting. I’d just noticed he hadn’t arrived at the time he usually does.”

It was no secret that Chester and Debbie Witherspoon always had a soft spot for Kaegan. In fact, very few people knew that it had been Bryce’s mother who’d gone to the school board and pushed for Kaegan to attend regular school and not the fake homeschooling his father claimed he was getting.

It might bewilder some people as to how her parents could still be so fond of a man who’d obviously hurt their daughter. But she knew her parents. The one thing she could give them credit for was not getting involved in their children’s business. They accepted the fact that Bryce and her brothers were adults and treated them that way. They got along with their daughters-in-law, and whenever disagreements would come up, they didn’t take sides.

She understood her parents’ feelings for Kaegan. He’d been a part of their lives just as long as he’d been a part of hers back in elementary school. They loved him like another son. Although her parents didn’t know all the details of their breakup, they believed it was something she and Kaegan would eventually work out. And just like the situation with her brothers and their wives, when it came to her and Kaegan, they refused to take sides.

Her brothers weren’t as easygoing as her parents. All they knew was that Kaegan had hurt her, and in the beginning that had been enough for them to take sides. But when she refused to tell them what Kaegan had done, they soon took the same position her parents had. Kaegan was like a part of their family. Ry and Duke figured whatever had pushed her and Kaegan apart, they would either work it out or they would not. Her brothers made the decision to let her handle her own business when it came to Kaegan and not get involved, and she appreciated that.

Placing hot blueberry muffins in the basket to take to Kaegan’s table, she wondered if his tardiness had anything to do with the woman who hadn’t been able to keep her eyes off him at the party. It appeared everyone had left the party Friday night, but that didn’t necessarily mean she hadn’t returned later for a weekend sleepover.

Reminding herself that what Kaegan did wasn’t her business, she went to pour his coffee.

* * *

“YOU’RE NOT VERY talkative, Kaegan,” Sawyer said, stirring his coffee.

Kaegan glanced up. “Not much to say this morning.”

Ray chuckled. “Well, I have a lot to say, mainly about Friday night. That was a damn good party and the food was fantastic, as usual.”

“Glad you enjoyed it.” And because he considered these two men his closest friends, he figured he needed to give them a reason for his solemn mood, even if it wasn’t the only reason. “I anticipate a busy week. I got another big order for the Chappell Group that needs to go out Thursday.”