Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

D awson flitted around his house, setting out all the things he and Caroline had prepared for the ranchers’ luncheon that day. Caroline was at work and wouldn’t be joining them. It wasn’t game night; it wasn’t couples’ night; it was a ranchers’ luncheon, and Dawson hosted it at the Rhinehart Ranch a couple of times each year.

He’d left the ranch owners’ meeting a little bit early so that he could get back and get things heated up and set out. He wasn’t surprised to see Brandon walk in a few minutes later.

“Howdy, brother,” Brandon called from the front door.

“Come help me get this salsa out,” Dawson replied. His momma made the best salsa in the world, and he breathed in the scent of tomatoes, garlic, and cilantro as he opened the jar.

He and Caroline had planned a taco bar, because Wilde & Organic had little tubs of prepared toppings to make it perfect. No prep, just a lot of opening containers and setting things out.

Ruffin lifted his head from his dog bed at the end of the counter as Dawson put the bag of tortilla chips in line. “I think they’re here,” he said.

He strode toward toward the front door and opened it. He peered out, and sure enough, Finn had arrived, and he’d brought Paul and Henry with him.

Dawson waved them all in, and they came in laughing and chatting over each other. “Just leave the door open a little bit,” he said. “And then everyone can come in when they get here.”

Link arrived with Ollie and JJ, as they were all related in some way, even if none of them shared a single particle of DNA. Finally, only sixty seconds later, Alex brought up the rear. He closed the door behind him and came into the kitchen carrying a plastic sack over his forearm.

“I got all the mint chocolate chip and all the rocky road,” Alex said.

Dawson grinned at him, went to meet him to take the ice cream, and returned to put it in the freezer. Everyone looked to him, as whoever hosted the luncheon usually welcomed everyone and set a topic for the day.

They had finished their planting at the Rhinehart Ranch, their cattle had been driven up into the hills, and they’d moved into that “easier summertime” where they watched things grow. He didn’t have a whole lot he wanted to talk about, as they’d discussed watering schedules and pest control last month

“Today.” He cleared his throat, suddenly nervous, “I thought we’d share personal news.”

The mood in the room changed instantly, and Dawson wanted to backpedal. “I mean, if you have something you want to announce. Might be fun to just have a friend lunch, not a work lunch.”

“I like that idea,” Finn said, nodding as a slow smile spread across his face. Since he’d been the one to start the game nights and the ranchers’ luncheons, a lot of men deferred to him.

“Do we have to say something?” Alex asked, his cowboy hat pushed low over his eyes.

“Not at all.” Dawson glanced around at everyone. “But I feel like no one’s been texting on the thread very much,” he said, the words just falling out of him. “And I thought maybe today could just be more easygoing, more casual.” He looked over at Link, and the man had his lips pressed tightly closed. Oh, he definitely had something to say, but Dawson wasn’t sure it would come out.

“I think that’s a great idea,” Brandon said. “Let’s get our food, and I’ll start.” Dawson threw a grateful smile at his brother and picked up a plate too. Each cowboy went through the line, using both sides of the island, to fill his plate with tacos, chips, salsa, and guacamole. They all chatted easily with each other, even JJ, who was a decade younger than Dawson and Finn but somehow managed to fit in with them at the same time. Dawson simply listened to him tell Henry how things were going at Seven Sons and that he might need a farrier to come out.

Henry said, “Let me know. I seem to come to Three Rivers often enough.”

“Yeah, how he does that with his new girlfriend,” Paul teased. “I don’t know.”

“Oh boy. Here we go,” Finn said just as Ollie said, “Ooh, Henry’s got a girlfriend?”

Henry always seemed to have a new girlfriend. Dawson grinned at him as they all took their seats at the table.

“Well, I thought Brandon was gonna go first,” Henry said. He looked to Brandon, who sat on his left.

“Yeah, I’m gonna go first. I happened to start seeing someone new, and it’s going pretty—well.” He took a bite of his taco, the crunch of the shell adding a final punctuation mark to his news. Dawson knew his brother, and Brandon would not say more.

Still, Alex asked, “Who is it?”

Brandon shook his head, a playful glint in his eyes.

“He won’t tell,” Dawson said. “He never tells until he’s five or six dates in and feeling good.”

Brandon nodded and pointed at Dawson as if saying he was right. Then he simply took another bite of his taco and looked down the table. “Who’s next?”

“We don’t have a lot going on,” Finn said, the chip he’d just dipped in salsa pausing halfway to his mouth. “Edith got another book contract. She’s real happy about that. We had a great birthday party for Theo.” He laughed lightly. “My mother smothered him with gifts, but it was fun.”

It seemed like they’d established a pattern and would go around in a circle now, and Finn looked at Alex.

Alex coughed, reached for a napkin, and wiped his face. “Y’all know that Nikki’s had a real hard time getting pregnant,” he said. “We’ve been keeping this close to the vest because we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to keep the baby.” His smile grew and grew and grew, and his throat worked and worked and worked. Dawson found himself getting emotional at Alex’s show of emotion. The man was stalwart and true and hardly ever showed any emotion. His humor was dry and funny, and he was a hard worker and a good man.

“When is she due?” Finn asked.

Alex looked at his brother-in-law and said, “December. She’s due in December.” He popped a chunk of tomato in his mouth and added, “We think it might be twins. We’ve got an ultrasound appointment in a couple of weeks.”

“Wow-how-how-how-how,” Finn said, half laughing and half talking. “Twins?”

“It’s a little overwhelming,” Alex admitted. “But Nicki’s got the yard looking the way she wants, and she’s started on the nursery now.” He smiled again, and it sure was good to see him exuding happiness. “We’re both really excited.”

“That’s so amazing,” Dawson said. “Congratulations, brother.” He reached over and held out his fist for Alex to bump. Others added their congratulations to the mix too, and the mood seemed so much softer and better now.

Paul, who sat next to Alex, cleared his throat and said, “Brielle and I are going to get married the first week of November. And she’s going to move here to Three Rivers. I’m going to take over Courage Rains from my daddy.” His smile came out too, and Henry whooped the loudest.

“I didn’t even know that. You’ve been holding out on me.”

“Yeah,” Paul said. They hugged one another, causing a ruckus as Henry sat across from Paul and not next to him. The table got bumped more than once, until Henry finally sat back down. And once the congratulations had settled down again, everybody looked at Dawson.

“I ain’t got much,” he said. “Carolyn’s not pregnant or anything. We’re just getting by day by day, enjoying being married.”

“Marriage is the best,” Finn said.

“Duke’s giving me more and more responsibilities,” Dawson said. “I’m managing pretty well, but I think I’m single-handedly keeping the sticky note companies in business.” He grinned around the table at his friends, so glad he had this safe place where he would find them all smiling back at him.

Not poking fun. Not pressuring him for details. Just love and support and friendship. He ducked his head and glanced at Link. “Your turn.”

Link blinked and set down his taco. He dusted his hands. “I don’t have much either. Just plugging along. No burrowing owls this year.” He grinned at Dawson and went back to his food.

“No burrowing owls,” Dawson repeated. He and Misty had been married for a little over a year now. And to be honest, Dawson thought they might start having kids any day now, but Link just bit into his taco and looked to JJ.

JJ wore a hint of redness in his face already, but he said, “I’m feeling real good about coming back to Seven Sons for the summer. I’m still gonna go to Amarillo and try the equine program for a year, and then…we’ll see after that.” He looked over at Ollie and smiled. “But at least I feel like I have a better hold on what I’m doing now.”

“That’s great,” Ollie said, and he beamed around at everyone. “Rory is going to have another baby too. I told her we have to stop at four, but she’s not convinced.” He laughed and shook his head. “She’s not due till January, and we’re both hoping for anyone with less energy than Lara.” That caused more laughter to spill across table because his middle child was a real spitfire.

Dawson himself had seen Lara in action when he’d gone to help JJ during a babysitting stint last year.

That only left Henry, but he still didn’t volunteer any information.

“What’s this I hear about Libby getting married?” Brandon asked into the silence. “I heard she got engaged.”

“Oh yeah, yep,” Finn said. “I guess I should’ve mentioned it. Libby and Rusty got engaged. They’re gonna get married here in Three Rivers right after they move here to take over the ranch from my daddy. In January.”

“You guys got a lot of changes going on out at Three Rivers,” Link said.

Finn exchanged a glance with Henry and said, “Seems to be something all the time.”

Silence draped over them again, and Dawson just started to open his mouth to say Henry didn’t have to speak if he didn’t want to when Henry said, “I’m dating my boss at Lone Star. We’ve been going out for almost four months, and I sure do like her.” He spoke in a slow, somber, measured tone, one that Dawson hadn’t heard him use when talking about a woman before.

Henry was usually laughter and smiles and playful quips. He’d been on dozens of first dates without a second, but dating someone for four months? That was something for Henry Marshall.

“I sense a story here,” Dawson said, and he swiped a chip through the guacamole so Henry wouldn’t think he was prying too much.

“There’s a story, all right,” Henry said. “And I’m really glad that you said we could do personal stuff today.” He swallowed. “I’m starting to look at places on the outskirts of Three Rivers toward Amarillo, maybe even Stinnett. I don’t want to live permanently at Lone Star.”

Everyone watched Henry now, the way they had Dawson, but the mood had shifted again.

“Even if you marry Angel?” Paul asked.

“It’s her ranch. We both need a break from it,” Henry said. “It’s…a lot for her to handle, even with the changes she’s made.” He glanced around and launched into a short explanation of all the things Angel had done—his promotion from team lead to captain and how a boarding stable as big as Lone Star could devour a person in a single day.

“Sounds like Shiloh Ridge,” Link said dryly.

“Or Three Rivers,” Paul said.

“Or even my one-man operation,” Alex said. “I mean, if I don’t do it, there isn’t anyone else, you know?”

Dawson nodded because they were all right. They all carried heavy loads. They all did their best every day.

“Anyway,” Henry said, “I’ve been thinking a lot since I graduated. And, well, it would be great if you all could give me some advice about what to do next.”

Finn asked, “About moving here?”

“Not all the way here,” Henry said. “But I could get something on the outskirts of town, and maybe commute to Lone Star. Forty minutes wouldn’t be so bad.” He put his last chip in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

“But really, see…Angel and I have kept our relationship a secret from everyone at Lone Star, and I’m ready to come out of the shadows. She doesn’t seem to be, and it’s starting to really irritate me.” He glanced around at everyone, pure openness and vulnerability shining in his eyes.

“So I’d love to know what you all would do if you were in my boots.”