Roxane patted her stomach. “I’m ready to hold this little lady in my arms.”
“I’m sure you are.” Blake smiled, knowing she was a member of the congregation. It felt weird to meet people who were members of the church while he was dating a member. Hopefully it wouldn’t continue to be awkward.
Roxie grinned. “Okay, I just came here to meet you, because I can’t bear to not be in the know about my kid sisters. It was really nice to meet you.”
After she had gone, Riley realized they’d been left alone in the lounge. “I need to get back to work.” She leaned down and pressed her lips to his, because he was still seated.
“Riley! What do you think you’re doing?” Riley’s older sister, Renae was standing in the doorway with a huge grin on her face. When Riley jumped, Renae laughed. “Did you think I was Mom?”
“You don’t sound like Mom. You just sounded fierce and mean, and it made me want to cry!” Riley forced her voice to sound as if she was on the brink of tears.
“Nice try.” Renae looked at Blake. “Since my sister doesn’t have good enough manners to introduce us, I’m going to have to introduce myself. I’m Renae, the second sister and middle child of Bob and April Lynn Quinn. And the wife of Chad Duncan.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Renae, and thank you for including how you’re connected to everyone. Really made it easier for me.” Blake held out his hand to shake Renae’s, counting in his head and wondering if he’d met all the sisters. “Is she the last sister for me to meet?” He asked Riley. “Or is there one more?”
“You still need to meet Raina. She’s closest in age to me and the only sister who isn’t married, but she is engaged.” Riley glanced at her phone. “I really have to get back, or I’ll be late. Renae, you should come with me.”
“Why?” Renae asked, frowning at her sister.
The truth was that Riley didn’t want him alone with her older sister, but she knew that wouldn’t work. Instead, she hit below the belt. “I’m afraid you’ll trip over your own feet and there won’t be anyone there to catch you if you walk back alone.”
Renae glared at Riley. “Just for that, I’m not speaking to you for an entire day.”
“Oh, wow! I’m getting rewarded for mentioning how clumsy you are?” Riley hugged her sister close. “Love you, sis!” She wasn’t about to kiss Blake again, so she smiled at him. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
“You sure will.” Blake watched her leave, shaking his head. Riley was as sweet as she could be with everyone but family. She became awfully fierce when family was involved, though.
Renae looked at him, stepping a little closer. “If you hurt my baby sister, I’m telling Bobling and my husband, Chad. Between the two of them, they will rip your throat out with their bare hands.”
Blake looked at her for a moment before shaking his head. “I’m not going to hurt her. I promise.”
“I’ve heard that one before.” Renae backed away and made herself some lunch, ignoring the man in the room with her.
Blake got up and left, wondering what had jut happened. She’d been perfectly pleasant with him until Riley left, and then she turned into an overprotective big sister. He couldn’t complain, though, because Riley should be treasured and cared for.
He went out the front of the hotel, hoping he wouldn’t run into any more of her relatives along the way. Maybe it was time to go back to eating outside of Quinn Valley for a little bit. The family didn’t seem to think much of him.
Riley received a text that evening, and she hoped it was an invitation to see Blake, but instead, he was just checking on the day she had. How would you feel about heading to Riston tomorrow evening? What time do you get off work?
She frowned. She’d really thought he was no longer worried about people seeing them together. She guessed she was wrong. Riston sounds fine. I get off at six. Is that too late?
No, that’s fine. With this being a long weekend, we’re only working half a day on Friday, so I can sleep in if we get back late.
And I don’t work until ten, so I’m sure I’ll be fine.
Sounds good. I’ll pick you up at, say, six fifteen?
Perfect. I’ll be ready. She’d have to hurry, but she knew she could get ready that quickly.
Sweet dreams.
You too.
She was disappointed that they not only wouldn’t see each other that night, but that he was going out of his way to avoid people in town again. Maybe she’d had too high of hopes for the relationship after all.
Her phone rang a minute later. “Hello?”
“I liked your young man,” her mother said.
“Did you? He liked you, too. He said you were the complete opposite of his mother, though.”
“Well, sure. Not many women are as happy and full of life as your mother.”
Riley laughed. “Very true. I don’t know how people live without an April Lynn Quinn in their lives.”
“Neither do I. I sure feel sorry for them all.” There was silence for a moment. “Are you two still doing okay?”
Riley felt a tear trickle out of her eye. No one could ask about her day and make her weep immediately but her mother. She felt like a fool as she brushed the tears off her face. “I’m not sure. I thought he was finally finished with hiding from people in town the fact we’re dating. Today, after meeting Dad, you, Roxie, and Renae, he’s invited me to go to Riston for supper instead of staying here. It feels weird.”
“Did you ask him why?” her mother asked. She was always the voice of reason, and on occasion, Riley wished she still lived at home so she could just rest her head on her mom’s shoulder and feel comforted.
“No, I didn’t. I’m sure it was because there are so many people trying to meddle in our lives, though. I’m not sure what I should do.”
“Go to dinner in Riston and make him talk about it. The car on the way there would be good. Are you eating at the restaurant at River’s End or will you be eating in town?”
“I honestly have no idea, Mom. He said Riston, so I’m thinking the town. He probably doesn’t know about the restaurant. Or trivia night. Isn’t Thursday trivia night?” Riley asked. She never could remember if it was Tuesday or Thursday.
“Yeah, it’s Thursday. Tell him how you’re feeling right now. I think he’s good for you, and if you don’t tell him, you’ll start acting weird, and he’ll not want to date you anymore.”
“Like every other man I’ve dated?” Riley asked, frowning. True, she’d done most of the breaking up, but it felt weird to not be sure where she stood. And to care so much. All of the others could have broken it off in the middle of the first date, and she’d have been fine with it. Not Blake, though. Already she couldn’t imagine her life without him.
“Stop that. You’re being unfair to yourself, and I won’t have it. I’ve raised you to be a strong, independent woman, and you need no man to be complete. You know that, right?”
“In theory. Right now, I know that my heart will be broken into a million pieces if we ever break up. He’s the one, Mom.”
April Lynn sighed softly. “Then you need to marry him.”
“He pretends I asked him to marry me, but I didn’t. He’s a silly man.”
“Silly is good for you. I promise.”
“I’ll get through it. I just need to figure things out. Thanks for letting me get all emotional with you, Mom.”
“I don’t mind at all, now that I don’t have four teenage daughters in the house.”
Riley laughed. “No one should ever have to go through that. Ever!”
“I loved you all too much to let your father sell you to the circus. Though he tried. Repeatedly.”
“G’night, Mom. Love you.” Riley pushed the end key and stared at her phone. She wished she had answers.
Getting off the couch, she wandered into the kitchen to find something to eat. Hopefully she still had a frozen pizza in the freezer, because she had no desire to do any real cooking. Opening the appliance, she pulled
out her last frozen pizza and added it to the list hanging from the front of her refrigerator by a magnet. Of course, her entire fridge was completely covered with magnets. It’s what she asked for every time someone left town. She was a magnet collector, and she didn’t see anything wrong with that.
She preheated the oven and headed into the bathroom to take a bath while it preheated. She was too confused to stand there and wait, so she would just relax in the tub. Baths were her favorite things. Something about the water always calmed her down. She was going to take advantage while she had some free time.
Blake sat in his living room, trying to watch a baseball game. He was sure the Cubs were going all the way this year. They were the best in their division, and they were going to win the World Series. They’d done it before, and they could do it again.
His mind wasn’t really on the game, though. It was on Riley. He wished her family liked him better. Her mother seemed to like him well enough, but she was one of those women that he couldn’t imagine not liking anyone. It just wasn’t in her.
Maybe he should have ignored the way her family had been that day, but he hadn’t. And now he was spending the night alone. He didn’t want to be alone.
He picked up his cellphone and started to text her again but thought better of it. Instead he tapped her contact information and called her.
“Hello?” Riley’s voice sounded sleepy.
“Hi. I haven’t heard your voice in hours and hours, and I wasn’t sure if I could make it another minute without, so I called you. I have nothing important to say. Just needed your voice in my ear.”
Riley chuckled low in her throat. “Well, it’s there now.”
“Why does everything sound all echoey?”
“I’m in the bathtub. I know I shouldn’t use my phone in the tub, because my dad has told me a million times, but if I hadn’t this time, then I wouldn’t be hearing your voice.”
He sighed. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your bath. Do you want to call me back?”
“Not unless you’re uncomfortable. I don’t mind a bit.”
He did everything he could to scrub the mental image that had come into his mind away. He didn’t need to be thinking about Riley naked. Not at all. It was a bad idea. “I guess it’s fine. How was work today? Any other freaky people?” He had to get her talking about something other than being totally naked . . . well, he assumed she bathed naked. Most people did.
“Work was good. Renae zoned me, and I did a crystal session on her. We both needed it. Tomorrow I’m swapping with Raina and getting a massage. Tourist season isn’t in full swing, so we have time to work on each other for a change. Within two weeks, we won’t remember each other’s names.”
He laughed. “But good for the pocketbook, right?”
“Definitely. Dad loves when we’re fully booked and the spa is fully booked and no one remembers what it’s like to be bored. It starts slowing down after Labor Day.”
“Will the church be busier?” he asked. He wondered just how many of the tourists attended their church.
“Not usually. People are in vacation mode when they come here, and all they do is float the river and play in the water park. It’s nice that the water park is covered now, so when it rains, the spa won’t be more overrun than usual. We really need to hire a couple more massage therapists and maybe another foot zoner. It would help us a lot.”
“Makes sense to me.”
“How was your day? Are you and Pastor Dahl enjoying working together?”
“I think we are. He’s a kind man who is willing to show me the ropes before he retires. The church really only needs one pastor, but he’s going to stick around for at least another year until he feels like I’m completely ready.” Blake wasn’t sure she wanted a lot of detail, but he had no problem talking to her about it. It was nice to have someone he felt like he could confide in that wasn’t related by blood.
“That’s good. I wasn’t aware he was planning retirement, but I can totally see it. Ever since his wife, Martha, died, he’s seemed so sad. He’s got to want to be doing something else and not spending all of his time at the church. She was in charge of all the women’s groups and stuff. And she taught a Sunday school class. Everywhere I look in the church, I see her. Can you imagine how much harder it must be for him?”
“I’m sure it is. He’s mentioned Martha a few times, and it’s almost like he thinks she’s still there. I wonder if I’m going to be that way someday. Missing someone so much that I talk about them as if they’re still there.” The idea made him sad. The only woman he could imagine being married to was Riley, and the thought of losing her made him feel empty inside.
Six
Riley left work at top speed on Thursday. She had hoped Blake would be at the taco truck at lunch time, but he hadn’t made an appearance. Her family had probably scared him off, because they were slightly insane.
When she got home, she ran in the door and changed out of her jeans and t-shirt, pulling the dress she’d laid out for the night over her head. Hurrying into the bathroom, she put her hair up into a messy knot and touched up her lipstick.
The doorbell rang just as she finished. Hurrying to the door, she smiled. “Why, Pastor Blake! What are you doing here?”
He laughed, catching her hand and pulling her toward his car. “Let’s get on the road.”
“Happily!” She was excited to go with him, though she had no idea where they were going. “Where are we eating?”
“There’s supposed to be a good Chinese place in Riston. I thought we’d go there.”
“Sounds good. There’s also a restaurant at River’s End Ranch. They do trivia on Thursday nights, and it’s a ton of fun. I can’t remember what time it starts, so we might be a little late, but there are always tables to join if they have started without us.”
He thought for a moment. “That actually sounds like a lot of fun. Would you mind doing that?”
“I’d love it! I really think the best way to get to know someone is not to spend time alone with them but to spend time with other people. They can change their actions for you, but they’re not likely to change them for a whole group of people. You tend to see through the façade.”
He smiled. “That’s exactly why I decided to go to your family’s Memorial Day celebration. I wanted to watch you with your cousins and siblings.”
“Oh, there will be tons of cousins and siblings to watch me with.” Riley was glad they were going to trivia night, though. She thought it would be good for both of them.
She gave him directions to the restaurant and had to laugh when people looked up from their trivia questions and greeted her when she walked in. It looked like the entire Weston clan was there, and she hurried over to hug Kelsi, who she’d made friends with years before. “Where are the babies?”
“Mom’s in town, so we left them with her. All three of them. I needed a break, and Shane thought this was the best idea ever. So here we are at trivia night.”
“Do you love trivia night?” Riley asked. “If I lived closer, I’d be here every Thursday.”
“Oh, yeah,” Kelsi said. “I wish I could come more myself, but with three children under the age of three, it’s hard to accomplish much.”
Riley realized then she was ignoring Blake. “This is Blake. He’s the new pastor in Quinn Valley. Blake, this is my friend Kelsi. We went to high school together, and we’ve been friends ever since.”
Kelsi turned her smile and big blue eyes on Blake. “So nice to meet you, Pastor.”
“Just call me Blake. It’s nice to just be me for a change.”
“I’m sure!” Kelsi led them to a table. “We have room for two more.”
Riley quickly introduced Blake to everyone at the table. “This is Shane, the sheriff of Riston and Kelsi’s husband.” She moved on to his left. “This is Dani, Kelsi’s only sister, and her husband Travis.”
Blake nodded. “Nice to meet you all.”
“That is Miranda, the baker here at
River’s End, who makes the best kolaches in all the world.”
Miranda laughed, shaking her head. “I don’t know that I would say they’re the best.”
“I would. And beside her is Bob Blakely, Kelsi’s nemesis and the chef at Kelsey’s Kafé.”
Bob shrugged. “I’m only her nemesis because she won’t admit that I’m the best chef this side of the Mississippi.”
Kelsi rolled her eyes as she sprinkled something in a little green can onto her French fries. “Sit! There’s room, and someone will be by to take your order in a minute.”
Riley took the seat beside Kelsi, and Blake sat beside her. She picked up a menu and held it where they both could see it, whispering, “The Weston kids all help run the ranch, and each has their own area of expertise. Kelsi runs the café, and Dani orders everything the ranch needs. She prefers her quiet little office with no one bothering her.”
“Makes sense to me,” Blake said, glancing at the menu as they spoke. “How are the—?”
“Delicious!” everyone at the table said at the same time, and Blake laughed. “I guess it’s all good, then.”
“Yup,” Riley said. “I’m getting the chicken fettucine alfredo.”
“Oh. That sounds really good!”
“I’ll loan you some of my Cajun seasoning for it,” Kelsi told him. “I promise you will never want to eat anything without it for the rest of your life.”
Dani shook her head at her twin. “You’re the only person who orders it by the barrel. You’re going to die of no blood in your salt stream someday!”
“Maybe. But I’ll die happy.”
The waitress came then and took their order. After she was gone, Blake asked, “What happened to the trivia?”
“Twenty-minute break between rounds,” Kelsi responded, resting her head on Shane’s shoulder. “Then we start all over again.”
They had their food and were eating before the next round started. And they were off.
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