Country Lovin

Two

Everyone at the table stopped talking when they heard the couples walk in. It didn't sit too well with Karly who hated being the center of attention when it came to big groups. "Well girls, aren't you going to introduce us?" Their mom asked, setting the last bowl on the table. She stood right behind two of her boys, staring at the girls, a small smile on her face.

"Right," Sabella laughed nervously and turned to look at Brayden. "Mom, guys," she looked to everyone, "This is Brayden." She sent a forced smile to her family, her eyes begging them to be nice.

"Oh, so this is the guy we've been hearing so much about," Jensen, the fourth oldest smirked. "Nice to meet you, my guy," He stood up, reaching his hand out to shake Brayden's hand. "The name's Jensen." He had a friendly-ish smile on his face.

"Nice to meet you, Jensen." Brayden shook his hand, much more reserved than he normally was.

"Oh sure meet Jensen first, it's not like I haven't been waiting for this day for ages or anything," a voice from the other end of the table calls.

Sabella let out a slight chuckle, "Oh Jasper, whatever. Brayden, this is Jasper." She introduced the two.

"The one and only," Jasper gave a charming smile, "Oldest of the nine in fact. Nice to meet you, buddy." He gave Brayden a good once over before turning to his sister. "You did well choosing this one." His last comment made the couple blush, causing the rest of the family to laugh.

"I suppose we're introducing ourselves then," Cassia perked up, "Name's Cassia. Oh, and I won't hesitate to slam you if you hurt my sister. You understand?" Her grip was deathly, a sweet smile placed nicely on her face.

Brayden gulped but nodded, "Yes ma'am. I understand."

She gave him one last smile before letting Ezra take over. "Hey buddy, name's Ezra. Sure have heard a lot about you. All good though, don't worry." He gave the terrified boy a reassuring smile.

"And we're Rosaleigh," a petite blonde perked up, "And Juliet," the brunette on her right stated. "It's nice to meet you." They gave him a small smile.

"And I'm Krystal," Their mom spoke up, "It's so nice to meet you. Please have a seat." She shook his hand and motioned for him to take a seat at the table.

"Thank you, ma'am, for allowing us to come over and meet Y'all." Brayden pulled out Sabella's seat for her before taking the one on her right. Keira and Karly introduced Jude and Hudson, and they got very similar comments from their crazy siblings.

Halfway through dinner, Sabella leaned over to whisper in Brayden's ear, "After dinner, we normally go on a family trail ride, I had George saddle up a few extra horses for you boys." She watched his face curiously, her lips parted slightly.

He nodded and looked over at her, "Sounds good." He gave her a reassuring smile, which seemed to calm her fears, and she turned back to her food. He looked across the table to get Karly's attention, which was fairly easy, and mouthed 'I need to talk to you later'. She looked concerned, but nodded, letting him know she got the memo. The rest of dinner went pretty smooth, much to the girls' delight.

"Momma, do you need help cleaning up?" Keira asked once dinner was finished.

Krystal shook her head, "No honey, I'll call Dustin in to help clean up, Y'all go on and get started on your ride before it get's too late."

The kids smiled at her, "Alright Momma, be back later." The siblings and partners got up from the table and practically raced out the door. Once they were all outside Sabella hollered, "Race ya to the posts!" The girl lets go of Brayden's hand and took off at a sprint to the posts on the side of the barn.