“Oh. Right,” he said, happy to be of use. He worked on the bottle for a few seconds then took two glasses already on the table and filled them. “Zeke? Would you like a glass?”

Zeke held up a bottle of beer. “I’m good, thanks.”

I could hear the strain in Zeke’s voice. His demeanor had changed the moment Peter walked in. I rubbed his back, trying to show my appreciation for his effort.

“Are Spenser and Kansas coming?” Peter asked from the table.

“They went to their parents,” I said.

He nodded then took another gulp of wine.

Soon, Harbinger arrived with his wife, Caroline, and their young sons, Henry and Miles. Martinez and Sloan showed up, then Kitsch, then Watts. Three facets of my life collided. It wasn’t awkward—except maybe for Peter—and Zeke and Watts got along great with my team and Harbinger’s family. Zeke had met them in passing before, but this was the first time he was able to speak to them, and thank them all, for longer than a few minutes and not while running for our lives.

I was glad that he kept his gratitude vague for Harbinger’s sake. Caroline knew what Zeke did, but she didn’t know exactly what her husband did or how the two were related, and that had to be very confusing. Caroline simply smiled and attended to the boys. If she wanted to know or was at all curious, she didn’t show it.

We ate and drank then ate some more. Everyone brought beer or wine, and by the time Trex and Darby had arrived, we were miserably full and more than tipsy.

Trex and Darby pulled into the drive, and everyone cheered. As they stepped out, Darby was already dressed for work, her baby bump obvious, even though she’d worn a loose top. Trex hooked his arm in hers while they walked. Darby carried a pie across the yard, not nearly as concerned about the short walk in the dark as Trex seemed to be.

“Thank you,” I said, taking the pie.

“Trexler,” Zeke said, reaching for his hand. “Congrats on the new house. That’s awesome.”

“Thanks,” Trex said, his hand on Darby’s belly. I imagined the strange, conflicting emotions Trex would have. Of all the people I could choose to move on with, it had to be Zeke, someone who was once interested in Darby.

“Trex?” Darby said. “I need to sit.”

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, just need to rest, I think,” she said, rubbing her stomach.

Trex led her by the hand to the table, pulling out a chair.

“T-Rex! You’ve turned into a regular gentleman!” Martinez said, slapping his back.

Caroline went to the kitchen then brought Darby an ice water.

“Thank you,” Darby said.

“She doesn’t look very far along,” Caroline whispered.