Free Falling for the Wingman (The Kelly Brothers, Book 3) by Crista McHugh

his family decided to call him Bubba.”
    “Ah, the intricacies of Southern nomenclature.”
    She laughed again and gave him a playful nudge with her shoulder. “At least there’s a dignified name on the birth certificate.”
    The road turned to gravel, and Alex slowed the truck down to a crawl. “We don’t have much further, Caleb.”
    “I’m fine.” The road cut through a thick forest of pine trees. The afternoon light filtered through, making the coils of dust sparkle as the tires stirred them up. “This is actually kind of nice.”
    “I love coming out here. This land has been in Bubba’s family for years. When they dammed up the Chattahoochee, it went from farmland to waterfront property.”
    “Farmland?” The moment the word left his mouth, the forest parted to reveal a flat grassy plain and a cottage-style home with a large wrap-around porch. Beyond that, the blue waters of a lake shimmered in the dying sunlight. “Nice.”
    “This is Bubba’s.”
    As if he needed any clarification. A column of smoke rose from behind the house, filling the air with the mouth-watering aroma of hickory and roasted pork. His stomach growled. “I’m actually looking forward to this.”
    “You should because our little scheme aside, you deserve to have a good time and to relax and just enjoy being back home. My friends are all easygoing, so the only person you’d have to worry about putting on a show for is Mindy, and she and J.T. aren’t here yet. Bubba and Lisa already know about my plan, so you can just be yourself around them.”
    Caleb exhaled, the last of the tension leaving his body. He liked the idea of just hanging out with Alex and her friends. If they were anything like her, it would be a laidback evening where he could forget about the craziness of the last three days.
    Alex drove the truck around to the back of the house, where a couple stood around a smoker. The man was placing a kiss on the woman’s cheek while his hand grabbed her ass. She gave him a half-hearted swat before turning around and waving at Alex and Caleb. “You finally made it. Bubba here was getting thirsty.”
    Alex turned off the engine and climbed out. “Sorry—I was working on Miss Martha’s engine and forgot about the time.”
    “There’s never an excuse for being late with the beer,” Bubba teased.
    Caleb got out of the truck, waiting for the awkwardness of being the outsider to set in.
    It never did.
    Instead, Bubba took his hand and shook it. “You must be Caleb. Alex has nothing but good to say about you, and I’m glad to finally meet you. Let me help you get that cooler down.”
    And just like that, he was part of the group. Alex introduced him to Bubba’s wife, Lisa, and once they set the cooler down between the smoker and the empty fire pit, they all reached in and grabbed an ice-cold beer. Half a bottle later, he felt like he’d known them as long as Alex had. And even though they appeared to be simple country folks with accents to match, he was surprised to learn that Lisa was a nurse at the county hospital and Bubba was a paper engineer at the local mill. Both were well-educated and could find jobs anywhere, yet they seemed content to enjoy their life in this small town. It made him wonder if there was something about this place that kept them here.
    Lisa got up from one of the lawn chairs around the fire pit. “I’m going to go inside and finish up the sides.”
    “Need any help?” Alex asked, rising from her chair next to Caleb.
    “Nope, I’ve got it. Why don’t you take Caleb down to the lake and show him around?”
    “Sounds good.” She took his hand. “Come on—the water will feel good.”
    He finished off his beer in one quick chug and followed her to the narrow beach. The water was shallow enough to see the rounded rocks on the bottom for about ten feet out.
    Alex took off her sandals and hopped from rock to rock with the grace of a ballerina. The short denim cutoffs drew his attention to her