At a stop sign, he turned to her. “Of course I’m joking. Sort of.”
She rolled her eyes. She never knew when he was kidding. Having grown up without siblings put her at a disadvantage regarding how siblings behaved toward one another. For all she knew, they beat up on each other every day. Then again, she’d seen him with his brother Grant, and his sister, Mia. Though there was a lot of teasing, there was also genuine affection between them all.
She was looking forward to observing the family dynamic. And when Flynn reached the gates of the ranch, her eyes widened. The dark iron double Cs affixed above the huge metal gate looked imposing. Flynn rolled down the window, punched in a code and the gates opened.
They drove down a dirt road for quite a ways until Amelia spotted the house, a beautiful two-story home with bright shutters next to all those windows, plus an amazing wraparound porch. Dogs came running as soon as Flynn pulled in front. Like . . . a lot of dogs.
Amelia inhaled and let it out.
Flynn turned to her and smiled. “Ready for this?”
She managed a smile. “Sure.”
She got out at the same time he did. Dogs surrounded them as they came around to the front of the vehicle.
“Dogs, meet Amelia. Amelia, meet the dogs.”
There were at least five of them, but surprisingly they were all well behaved. She kneeled down and loved on all of them until a short whistle sent them all scurrying away. Amelia stood and saw a man who looked an awful lot like an older version of Flynn standing on the porch. He hugged Flynn, then came over to her with a smile on his face.
“Scoundrels love the attention. They’ll let you pet them all day. I’m Easton Cassidy, Flynn’s dad.”
Amelia held out her hand. “I’m Amelia Lawrence. It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. Cassidy.”
“Call me Easton. Welcome to the Double C ranch. Come on in out of the hot sun. Flynn, grab the bags.”
Flynn cracked a smile. “Sure, Dad.”
Amelia looked back at Flynn, who made a motion with his hands for her to follow his dad, so she headed up the steps and walked inside when Easton held the door for her.
Easton was right. It was hot outside, so it felt supremely cooler indoors. And the house was lovely, with its mix of rustic and modern décor.
“Lydia is in town getting groceries with Aubry and Harmony,” Easton said.
“Aubry is my brother Tucker’s fiancée and Harmony is Barrett’s girlfriend,” Flynn said after he set their luggage inside the front door.
Amelia nodded. “Got it.” For the past couple of weeks, she had received the full rundown from Flynn on all of the Cassidy family members. She already knew Mia, but she’d wanted to have a general idea of who everyone else was before the family gathering. Flynn was the oldest brother. Grant, who she’d already met, was next, and Grant was engaged to supermodel Katrina Korsova. Katrina had custody of her teen siblings, Anya and Leo. The twins, Tucker and Barrett, were the youngest Cassidy brothers. Tucker was engaged to Aubry Ross, a doctor, and Barrett’s girlfriend was Harmony Evans, an interior designer. Of course, Mia was the youngest Cassidy sibling. And Flynn’s parents were Easton and Lydia. Now she just needed to meet them all. She was both excited and terrified.
“Thought we heard you pull up.”
They walked into the kitchen at the same time an absolutely stunning man came through the back door.
Flynn put his arm around Amelia’s waist. “Amelia, this is my brother Tucker. This is Amelia Lawrence.”
Another guy came through the back door. He looked eerily similar to Tucker, though he was broader and more muscular.
“And that one is Barrett.”
She knew they were the twins, so the similarity between them made sense.
“Hi, it’s nice to meet both of you,” Amelia said, recalling that Flynn had told her Tucker wore dark glasses that did absolutely nothing to distract from his stunning good looks.
“Great to meet you, Amelia,” Tucker said with a smile as he stepped forward to shake her hand.
“Good to meet you, Amelia,” Barrett said. “Sorry to hear you’re dating our brother. We’ll try to talk you out of that over the next few days.”
“Nice try,” Flynn said. “Won’t happen. She’s overcome with adoration for me.”
Amelia coughed. “Well, I wouldn’t exactly say that.”
Tucker grinned. “I like her already.”
“Where’s Grant?” Flynn asked.
“He’s out in one of the pastures with Elijah fixing fencing,” his dad said.
Amelia knew Elijah was one of Easton’s brothers, so Flynn’s uncle.
Flynn’s lips curved. “Didn’t take long for you to put him to work.”
“Put us to work,” Tucker said. “We’ve already replaced tires and changed oil in Dad’s old junker of a tractor.”
“Not a junker,” Easton said. “That baby will trudge on another twenty years.”
Amelia noticed the look that passed between Flynn and his brother.
“Sure it will, Dad,” Flynn said.
And the guys were off, talking farm equipment, giving Amelia time to take a mental step back and watch Flynn engage with his father and his brothers. It was quite the sight, especially when Grant walked in. Amelia waved at Grant, who came over to hug her.
“Hey, good to see you again, Amelia,” Grant said.
“Likewise, Grant.”
That was all she got before Grant entered the argument.