by Judy Duarte
Well, nothing except the fact that she had the hots for one of their brothers.
“I think I’ll take an iced tea,” Angie said, “but you guys keep doing what you’re doing. I’ll get it.”
She’d no more than crossed the kitchen and was reaching for the pitcher when Justin rushed into the room, his eyes bright, his excitement impossible to ignore. “Angie, I was telling Uncle Galen about your candy brownies, and he wanted me to bring them out to the tree house so we can all try them.”
If there was anyone who loved sweets more than the Fortune Jones family, it was Justin Hemings. And since he’d been eyeing those brownies and asking for a taste ever since she’d arrived at the Double H, Angie knew when he was still trying to finagle an early treat.
“You tell Uncle Galen that we have so many desserts to choose from that it’s best if he waits until after dinner. That way, instead of having only one treat, he’ll be able to try them all.” Angie pointed to the counter holding the sweets.
Justin hurried over to look at his many options. His eyes darted from side to side, unable to settle on a favorite.
“Did you make all of these?” he asked Angie. Before she could answer, he looked at Jeanne Marie and continued. “Angie makes the best cupcakes with little race cars on the top. And she makes us pizza with our very own favorite toppings. And she puts extra butter on the popcorn because that’s how Toby likes it best. She’s the best cooker in the world. I’m going to tell Brian about the desserts. C’mon, Angie. You gotta come see the tree house.”
And with that, Justin shot out the open sliding door, running as fast as he talked.
Angie looked at Toby’s sisters, who both seemed eager to pounce on her with questions, but Jeanne Marie saved her by saying, “Let’s go see the tree house. Then you can meet my husband. That will give my daughters plenty of time to strategize about what they want to ask you.”
Grateful to have escaped what she was sure would have been a barrage of questions, Angie tossed them each a smile and went outside with Jeanne Marie to a built-in barbecue, where Deke was preparing to grill hamburger patties and hot dogs.
“Honey,” Jeanne Marie said, “this is Angie Edwards, Toby’s friend.”
Deke, a tall, rugged man with a thatch of thick gray hair, turned to Angie and greeted her with a hint of a smile. “It’s nice to meet you. We like it when the kids bring their friends home.”
“I’m glad to be included,” Angie said. “Where’s that tree house I heard so much about?”
Deke pointed about fifty yards from the house to a huge tree where Toby stood with his brothers Jude, Liam and Galen. The men were watching Brian swing while laughing at something Liam said.
“The boys found that ole fort the first day Toby brought them to the ranch,” Deke said. “But we hadn’t realized how rotten some of that lumber had gotten until Justin fell and bumped his head a couple of weeks ago. So we wouldn’t let them play on it until I could find the time to replace some of those old boards.”
“Well, it looks as though they appreciate your time and effort,” Angie said. “In fact, if I wasn’t wearing a dress, I’d join them on that swing.”
Jeanne Marie laughed. “And I might take a turn with you. When our sons were little, we used to have overnight campouts in that fort.”
“You slept outside with them?” Angie couldn’t imagine her mom doing something like that.
“I did until they stopped being afraid of the bogeyman. After that, whenever they had those campouts I stayed inside and enjoyed the peace and quiet with their daddy.”
Deke grinned and gave Jeanne Marie a little pat.
It was heartwarming to see such a loving couple. She’d never seen her parents show each other any affection.
“Honey,” Deke said to his wife, “can you please go in the house and get a clean platter for me to put the cooked meat on?”
“I’ll get it,” Angie offered. “Everyone else has a job to do. I better earn my dinner, too.”
“Then you go on ahead,” Jeanne Marie said with a laugh. “We wouldn’t want you to feel excluded.”
Angie started toward the house, just as Julia Tierney was coming outside with a pitcher of lemonade and a stack of red plastic cups.
“Hey,” Julia said. “I heard you were coming. It’s nice to see you outside of the Superette.”
Angie smiled. “It’s nice to be here. In fact, I’ve only been on the ranch a few minutes, but everyone has been so warm and welcoming. You’re lucky to be a part of this.”
Julia, who’d recently become engaged to Toby’s brother Liam, had a glow about her these days. “I’ve really been blessed. I’ve fallen in love with the greatest guy in the world, and he has a wonderful family.”
“You know,” Angie said, as she stepped aside, “I’d better let you put that lemonade down before you drop it. Besides, I finally have a job to do and don’t want Deke to think I’m lagging.”
Julia smiled. “I’ll talk to you later.”
As Julia passed through the doorway and onto the patio, Gabriella Mendoza followed behind her, carrying a platter of lettuce leaves, tomato slices and other hamburger fixings.
Gabi was also sporting a diamond engagement ring these days, courtesy of Jude, another of Toby’s brothers. The two had met after Gabi’s father, Orlando Mendoza, had been seriously injured in a plane crash.
Orlando had been a pilot for the Redmond Flight School when the accident happened. And Gabi had flown out from Miami to be with him as soon as she’d gotten the news.
“Hi there,” Gabi said. “It’s good to see you again.”
“Same here,” Angie said. “How’s your dad doing?”
“Much better. Thank you for asking.”
“I’m so glad to hear that.” Angie again stepped aside to let Gabi pass, then entered the kitchen, which was a bustle of activity as Stacey and Delaney laid out plates of appetizers to go outside.
“Your dad asked me to bring him a clean platter for the cooked meat,” Angie said.
“I’ll get that for you.” Stacey went to a side cupboard and pulled out a large, ceramic platter. “But before you go, I do have a question for you.”
Angie smiled. “Okay, shoot.”
“In high school you were Queen of the First Date and president of just about every club they offered.” Angie assumed Stacey was going to point out the obvious—that Angie couldn’t commit to anything—until she added, “At times I was a bit envious.”
No kidding? She hadn’t meant to insult her? Stacey had actually admired her?
“I’m curious,” Stacey said. “When you told Justin not to choose anything too soon, how did you come up with that strategy?”
It was a strategy, although no one had actually pegged it as such.
The other women in the kitchen—Julia and Gabi were now back—continued to move about, but their movements slowed and their side conversations stalled.
Angie had never tried to explain it to anyone before, but for some reason, she opted for candor now. “My dad used to tell me to be careful when making a choice, because once I made it, I couldn’t change my mind. So I took that to heart. I try everything once, knowing that when I find something I’m passionate about, I’ll stick to it.”
Trouble was, she wasn’t entirely convinced of that. If it turned out she was wrong, she could end up in some eternal revolving door of new beginnings and never find a happy ending.
“But you don’t believe that, do you?” Delaney said. “I mean, everyone makes mistakes. It’s not like you can’t start over and have a second chance.”
Angie had never talked about her childhood to anyone before, but being here with Toby’s family had a way of making her lower her guard.
“Yes, I know that—intellectually. However, I grew up in a household with parent
s who remained in an unhappy marriage for my sake. And they drilled it into me that once a commitment was made, you had to stick to it.”
“That’s kind of sad,” Delaney said.
“I know. My mom hated small-town life, so living in Horseback Hollow nearly sucked the life out of her. And as a result, her unhappiness nearly sucked the life out of my dad.”
“Is that why your mom eventually moved to Lubbock?” Delaney asked.
It was common knowledge that Doris acted as though she was better than everyone in town. And that she’d filed for a divorce and moved to Lubbock the day after Angie had graduated from high school.
Still, even when her mom had lived with them in Horseback Hollow, she’d commuted to work in Lubbock, which meant she was gone most of the time. And to be honest, she’d left Angie and her father emotionally even before that—or so it had seemed.
“My parents were mismatched from day one,” Angie said. “And, if anything, it’s made me not want to make any big decisions that I might regret for the rest of my life, especially when it came to a college degree or a lifelong profession.”
“C’mon, Angie,” Delaney said. “Don’t you think you’re taking your dad’s advice to an extreme?”
“Maybe,” Angie conceded. “But I’ve had a lot of cool jobs, tried a variety of things and learned a lot along the way. I can also handle just about anything thrown my way.”
“I’ve heard about some of your job experience,” Jeanne Marie said, as she entered the kitchen and breezed right into the conversation.
“What have you heard?” Angie asked.
“That you’re more than qualified to do my job.” Jeanne Marie laughed as she carried the big bowl of potato salad out the back door to the tables set up in the yard.
Angie looked at Toby’s sisters and whispered, “What’s your mom’s job?”
The girls both laughed, and Angie began to wonder whether any of them would answer. Finally, Delaney said, “She was a professional stay-at-home mom.”
Angie was at a loss. She could never be a stay-at-home mom. Not like Jeanne Marie.
When the girls finally got their giggles under control, Stacey asked, “Do you need any help deciding what to do with our brother?”
“No, not really. We never seem to have any time to talk about it. So I have no idea what he’s even thinking.”
Angie did, however, have a very memorable moment of waking in his arms—before the sprinklers ruined it all.
“You mean you’ve never had a proper date?” Stacey asked.
“I’m afraid not. The kids are always with us. And to tell you the truth, I don’t know if Toby wants to date me.”
“Oh, believe us,” Stacey said, “he wants to.”
Delaney beamed. “Just leave it to us. Stacey and I are just the ones who can make that happen.”
A date? With Toby Fortune Jones?
Angie didn’t know if she should run for the hills—or thank her lucky stars.
* * *
As the meat sizzled on the grill, setting off the aroma of barbecued burgers and hot dogs, Toby stood next to his father and Colton Foster, Stacey’s fiancé.
Deke had roped his future son-in-law into helping him man the grill, and the two ranchers had been discussing the rising cost of feed corn, as well as the new bull Deke intended to purchase.
But Toby couldn’t seem to focus on the discussion at hand. Instead he kept thinking about the one going on in the kitchen, where the women had gathered with Angie.
“Excuse me,” he said, as he stepped away from his dad and Colton.
The two men continued to talk while Toby strode across the patio to the insulated cooler that held a variety of drinks, including the ice-cold bottle of beer he snatched for himself.
So far, the family dinner at his parents’ house seemed to be going well. The women had begun to carry out the food and place it on tables that had been set up on the lawn, which meant it would be time to eat soon.
Jude, Liam and Galen had gathered near the tree house, where they were probably still reminiscing about their childhood or predicting the likelihood of the Rangers making it to the World Series this year.
But Toby’s mind was on the kids and the fear that he might lose them. He could honestly say that if Barbara were a loving and maternal woman who’d made a few mistakes and was trying hard to straighten her life out he wouldn’t be so uneasy. After all, he probably valued family ties more than anyone. It was just that he’d never seen a maternal side to Barbara.
He thought about sharing his worries with his family, but he didn’t want to talk about it in front of the kids. Maybe it was best to wait until after he’d talked to Ms. Fisk on Monday—assuming she’d return his call the day she returned to the office.
Either way, he couldn’t very well stew about it all weekend. So he’d better shake it off for now and start mingling before people started asking him what was bothering him.
As he stood in the center of the yard, a beer in hand, debating which of the two male groups to join, a squeal of feminine laughter rang out from the kitchen.
What in the heck were the women talking about in there? He hoped the topic of conversation wasn’t on him and Angie.
Should he check? Did Angie need him to bail her out?
No, they were all laughing, so it had to be something else. His presence would only remind them of the questioning they’d planned upon his and Angie’s arrival. So it would be best—and safer—if he hung out with the men.
Opting for the rowdier group near the tree house, Toby returned to the cooler, reached in for a couple more Coronas and carried them out to his brothers.
Upon his approach, a big ole grin stole across Galen’s face. “You’re just the guy I wanted to talk to.”
“What about?” Toby asked.
“About you and Angie. I hear things are heating up.”
Toby wasn’t sure where Galen had come up with that. He glanced at Jude and Liam, both of whom were smirking, and realized it was now his turn to get the third degree. But there wasn’t much to tell—or much he was willing to talk about.
He offered up the extra two Coronas he held instead. “You guys want a beer?”
Liam and Jude both took one.
Galen crossed his arms, his grin bursting into a full-on smile. “Don’t change the subject, little bro. We just want to know what’s going on with you and Angie, especially since Justin told us you two had a sleepover last night.”
Aw, hell. Toby had been afraid that was going to happen.
He blew out a sigh. “As nice as that might sound, I’m afraid Justin blew that all out of proportion. Angie stayed over, but it’s not what you’re thinking.”
“Hmm.” Liam crossed his arms. “So if it would have been nice, does that mean you’re interested in her?”
So what if he was?
Still, Toby wasn’t going to admit anything. If he did, he’d never hear the end of it. And besides, he and Angie hadn’t even talked about whether they wanted their relationship or friendship or whatever the hell it was to progress to a level like that.
“You know what I think?” Toby said to Liam. “You guys have fallen in love, so you think everyone else ought to be feeling the same way.”
“I’m still single and unattached,” Galen said. “And I think there’s definitely some big-time sparks going on between you and Angie.”
“Okay,” Toby said. “I’m attracted to her. She’s fun to be with. But that’s about all there is to it.”
“Why aren’t you pursuing anything more?” Galen asked.
All kinds of reasons. The kids, for one. Angie’s inability to commit to anyone or anything, for another. But then again, that hadn’t seemed to matter when they’d woken up in each other’s arms this morning.
&n
bsp; Of course, there was also the matter of Jude dating her in the past. And Toby didn’t want to cross any weird fraternal boundaries or become romantically involved with a woman his brother had once been...intimate with.
Wouldn’t that be one huge disappointment?
“Speaking of Angie,” Toby said to Jude, “you dated her, didn’t you?”
“I guess you could call it that. We only went out a couple of times. It ended pretty abruptly.”
“What happened?” Toby asked.
“When Angie’s mom saw her out with me one evening, she flipped out. Apparently, she thought Angie could do a whole lot better. Doris tried to lower her voice, but I overheard her refer to me as a ‘Horseback Hollow Casanova’ and ask if I’d gone through all the women in my own age bracket and had started on a new generation.” Jude blew out a sigh. “Okay, granted, there was a six-year age difference, but come on. A whole generation?”
Knowing her mom, that didn’t surprise Toby. So if he and Angie ever did start dating, he and Doris would have to set some definite boundaries.
“So it ended quickly,” Toby said. “But how serious were you?”
“It never would have gotten off the ground. She was a little too indecisive for me.” Jude laughed. “Don’t get me wrong. She’s a nice girl, and we had fun. But I made the mistake of asking her which movie she wanted to see. If I hadn’t picked one myself and taken her by the hand, we probably would have stood outside the theater all night.”
Toby had never really seen that side of Angie. She always seemed to know just what she wanted when she was with him and the kids.
Feminine voices grew louder as the women gathered outside and his mother announced that it was time to eat.
“Brian and Justin,” she called to the boys in the tree house, “go on in the house with Kylie and wash your hands.”
As the boys hurried to do as they were told, Jude asked Toby, “Has Angie decided upon a career yet?”
