In Buckhead, which Jason tells me is the Beverly Hills of Atlanta, he parks his Escalade in front of a gorgeous home set deep inside a perfectly landscaped lawn that could fit two of the homes I grew up in.

I swallow hard.

“Wait there,” he orders me.

I open the door, ignoring him. He arrives just in time to catch me jumping out.

“Sarah! I keep telling you. I’m going to open the door for you.”

“That’s stupid,” I mutter, my eyes on the house. “I’m not an invalid.”

“It’s a sign of respect,” he chuckles, closing my door and hitting the key fob to lock the vehicle as we walk toward the home he grew up in.

Inside there’s a distant sound of conversations and he whispers to me, “They’re in the backyard.”

“Okay.”

“Be very nervous.”

“You’re not helping.”

He takes my hand and I glance to him as he gives my fingers a squeeze.

After the foyer we pass a living room that looks comfortable, not too perfect or museum-like. I begin to relax. There’s a staircase on the left that has family photos on the wall of the boys when they were children and teenagers. “Ooooh, I want to look at those!”

Jason steers me over. “Okay, but just for a second. Everyone’s waiting.”

The frames begin at ground level then continue up the stairs’ incline. First is a picture of the six boys together in front of a swimming pool, all with their shirts off and chests scrawny. “This is when we were six.” He points to him and Justin, standing next to each other.

“You guys are so cute!” I whisper. “I love your red sneakers. And look at your little face! Awww.”

“Can you tell which is me?”

Knocking my shoulder into his arm I scoff, “Of course. You’re smiling and he looks like an asshole.”

Jason cracks up. “He does. But that’s only because he hated having his picture taken. And he wasn’t shy about letting them know how he felt at all times.” Pointing to the handsome boy furthest right, Jason says, “That’s my oldest brother Jaxson, he’d be nine I think. His hair is a little darker now, but look at his eyes. Looks like an old man even then. You’re about to meet Rachel, too, they were friends when this photo was taken. Before she moved away. But I told you their story.” Jason smiles at me and points to the boy next to Jaxson, who’s the same height but has a buzz cut and blonder hair. “That’s Jett. A year younger than Jax and almost two years older than us.”

“Your mom was busy.”

Jason chuckles, “Yeah, she was.”

“It’s weird seeing you as a boy, Jason. And no tattoos. Which reminds me, what is the spiky one with the ‘C’ on your chest mean? Does it stand for Cocky?”

He smirks. “Nice one, babe. It stands for Cocker. All us brothers got that same tat as soon as we each turned eighteen.” Smiling at the memory, he points to the two youngest boys. “That’s Jake and that’s Jeremy — see how they have darker hair and eyes than us. That’s from my mom’s side. The only ones with brown eyes like hers. Jeremy’s grinning like a nut here, still wearing diapers under his swim trunks. Hahah! But he got real somber as he grew up.”

“Why?”

Jason thinks about it, staring at the photo. “I dunno. Maybe because he’s the youngest? Felt he had something to prove? The Marines sure did that. We’ve seen him on leave only once since he was shipped overseas. He’s a fucking badass.” Glancing to me, his eyes are wistful. “I can’t wait for you to meet him.”

“Me too.”

“Oh yeah? Good, then let’s do this!”

“More photos!”

“Quit stalling!”

He maneuvers me away from the stairs and I take a deep breath of resignation.

I feel like I’m in over my head today. My family isn’t close like Jason’s is. My dad left when I was five. My grandparents on his side didn’t keep in touch with me or Nathan, which now that I’m older seems very cruel and the opposite of how grandparents are supposed to be. They must have been selfish people.

I’ll never seek them out to find out why they abandoned us when he did. I’m too angry with them, because I secretly believe that’s why my brother went down the wrong path so easily.

My mother and I aren’t close. She was always very flighty. Found her worth in her men and had a string of boyfriends. She’s happily married now, but it took six tries down the aisle. I just don’t relate to her. It’s why Simone became so important to me. And her family is similar to mine, so we clicked in a way we both needed.

The Cocker Family kitchen is gorgeous. It’s bright, large and really tidy considering there’s a party going on. The warm lighting looks brighter than normal against the waning evening light seen through the windows.

Through the glass door there’s a backyard that is the largest I’ve ever seen, framed with oak trees along the sides and back instead of a fence.

Close to the back porch, on the flattest part of the grass, are twinkle lights set up with four poles as their base, four space heaters to match, all aglow and shining on the faces of a family deep in various conversations. To the left is a long cloth-draped table where food platters wait, as yet untouched. They’re covered with netted gauze tents to keep bugs at bay.

Jason tightens his grip on my hand and opens the glass door with his elbow, since the white wine is in the way. People stop talking in a domino effect. Heads turn and my heart starts pounding.

Justin spotted us first. He rises up and announces like he has a megaphone, “Ladies and gentlemen, Jason is in love!”

“You suck,” Jason calls out to his twin. “I haven’t told her that yet! You’re ruining the surprise!”

My face goes bright red, and everything tingles. He loves me?

Justin shouts through cupped hands, “As if they can’t see it on your face.”

With a lot of laughter people rise up to meet me. As Michael Cocker, the family patriarch, approaches, I want to run and hide. He’s the epitome of dignity. And Jason’s mom, Nancy, is clearly high-society. If they knew some of the things I’d witnessed chasing down my brother, or the smarmy boyfriends my mother brought home, they would not be impressed.

But as they shake my hand and smile, I feel no judgment from them, only friendliness and acceptance in their welcoming smiles. I relax immediately, smiling back as Jason beams.

“So nice to meet you, Sarah,” Nancy Cocker says with genuine enthusiasm. “I wish I had your hair color!”

“I hated it, growing up,” I confess.

She makes a face. “I hated mine, too. I had a friend named Gretchen who was strawberry blonde. Gorgeous. God I was so in love with her hair.”

Grinning, I nod. “I know that feeling.”

A very handsome, very well-built man in his mid-to-late twenties with brown eyes and dark hair steps forward with his hand out. “I’m Jake. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you, too. And I just saw your photo inside.”

“Not me on the pony,” he groans, looking at Jason.

“No, I only showed her the first one, of us all together when we were little kids.”

“Thank God,” Jake smirks. “I hate that pony photo. This is Drew. My wife.” He presents a pretty, dark-haired, blue-eyed woman with a sweet, Southern drawl.

“I heard about what you did for Bernie. So nice to meet you.”

My eyes light up. “I’m so happy to meet you, too. Is she doing well?”

“She passed the twenty-eight day mark and she’s still there so I’m hopeful this is it. Thank you.”

“It wasn’t my doing,” I say, but Drew’s face says she thinks I’m being modest.

A rugged man with suntanned skin and emerald eyes steps forward, his deep voice and calm demeanor cluing me in to who he must be before he even says, “I’m Jaxson.” He shakes my hand so firmly my whole body feels it. “And this is my fiancé, Rachel.”

A clear-eyed, pretty woman with sandy-brown hair, extends her hand. I’m starting to feel too professional with all the handshakes, so I just go for it and open my arms. She grins and hugs me. “Nice to meet you, Sarah.”

“You too! Jason told me about what he did for you guys. So romantic.”

“Oh, at the last BBQ?” she grins, taking Jaxson’s hand. He leans down and gives her a soft kiss.

Jason’s grandma shouts, “What about me?” with a twinkle in her eyes, waving me over from a chair with two cushions while the others have one.

Thankfully the party is small, so she’s the last person I have to meet. Jett and Jeremy I knew wouldn’t be here, and also Jason’s cousins couldn’t make it because of the impending hurricane — they were afraid of being stuck for several days, unable to return to Savannah in time for work.

Jason rests his hand on my lower back and guides me over to meet his grandmother as the family takes their seats. He says loudly enough for everyone to hear, “Be careful, Sarah. This is the final test. Grams is a hard ass.”

Everyone yells at the same time, “Language!”

Grams said it, too, and she throws them all a dirty look. “That’s my line!”

There’s a lot of laughing, and then May Cocker gives me a scrutinizing gaze. “Well, you’re a sight for old eyes.”

“Hi Mrs. Cocker. I’m Sarah Daly.”

She nods, humming, “Mmhm Mmhm,” looking me up and down. “You’re cute as a button!”

Blushing I glance to Jason. “You hear that? She thinks I’m cute.”

“She doesn’t know you,” he winks to me, and to his grandmother he fake-whispers, “Grams, she’s making my life miserable.”

Her smile grows and she nods with approval. “Good. My Jerald did the same to me, bless his soul. You’ll never be bored.”

Justin runs up, grabs and flips me over so that I have to hold my sweater in place to stay modest. “What? I don’t get a hello? Am I invisible or something?”

“Oh my God! I hate twins!” I groan. “You’re way too alike. Put me down!”

Justin goes and hands me off to Jason like I weigh less than a glass of water or something. “I believe this is yours.”

“Why thank you. I’ll take that.” Jason sets me down and gives me a quick, happy kiss before we join the table.

I steal a lot of glances around as they all talk easily. Jason keeps his hand on my leg the whole time, laughing often as the brothers throw tons of verbal jabs at each other.

There’s a warmth growing in my chest as the evening goes on. I’m beginning to feel like I could belong here.

We serve ourselves, buffet-style. When I taste Nancy’s chili I close my eyes in heaven. “Mrs. Cocker, this is the best chili I’ve ever had in my life.”

Nancy smiles with pride. To Jason she winks, “She really means that.”

“You’ll never catch Sarah lying, Mom.”

“Well, then she can stay.”

I’m grinning, but then Jason’s face falls. “Whoa! Wait a minute! Stop everything!”

Everyone goes silent and looks over.

“Where’s the ginger ale?” he demands.

With her fork full of chili, Grams informs him, “There isn’t any this time.”

“None of Mom’s fresh ginger ale!?!” Jason cries out. “That’s the first BBQ we’ve ever had where you didn’t make any, mom!”

“Sorry, Jason. I wasn’t in the mood,” Nancy explains with a bored look.

His jaw drops. “You weren’t…in the mood? What?” Looking around the table, he asks, “How are you all okay with this?”

Everybody shrugs.

Jake reaches under the table and produces a hidden pitcher. “Gotcha.”

Loud laughter ripples through the party, but Jason looks like he might explode. “Fuck you, Jake.”

“Language!” Grams yells, before she mutters, “Ha ha, beat you to it,” with self-satisfaction glinting in her eyes.

When we all settle down and people go back to their conversations, Jason pours his cherished ginger-ale into my empty water glass. “You should feel honored I’m sharing this with you. I’ve been known to hoard it and drink it all.”

I can’t even talk, I’m so happy as I gaze at him.

He glances over and says in a quiet volume just for me, “What are you smiling at, shrimp cake?”

“I love you.”

He freezes and puts the pitcher down to cup my chin and look into my eyes, his voice deep. “I love you, too, Sarah.”