Circle of Family

by Mia Ross

  Matt squinted at the schoolhouse clock on the wall. “Two, I think. There’s a lot more to do, but I’ve done all I can.”

  “We need some more help around here,” she commented with a worried frown.

  “Can’t afford it. Speaking of help, that reminds me,” he said to Ridge. “I rustled up some dusting contracts for you. Starting with us Monday morning. Did you talk to John?”

  “Your little brother said I can stay with him while I’m in town. He was really cool about it.”

  “Not much bothers John.” Matt glanced at his sister and apparently read the very obvious disdain on her face. “What?”

  She didn’t respond, just stood there with her arms folded and giving him The Look. After a few seconds, understanding dawned, and he chuckled. Ridge didn’t remember Matt having much of a sense of humor, and he suspected the bride had something to do with his buddy’s new lighthearted view of things.

  “Forgot to tell you Ridge was staying here, didn’t I?” Matt asked his sister.

  “Yes.”

  “Sorry.”

  He leaned in to kiss her cheek, and she swatted him away with a laugh. “Since you’re getting married today, I’ll let it slide.”

  “Come on.” Matt motioned Ridge toward the stairs. “I’ll show you where to get ready.”

  As they went up the creaky wooden steps, Ridge said, “So, should I guess from what you were saying to Marianne that things are still pretty tight around here?”

  “Tight ain’t the word. We’re better off than some, but not as good as I’d like.”

  Ridge knew Matt wouldn’t accept anything more than free labor, but he resolved to find a way to help the Sawyers out a little. He wasn’t exactly swimming in money himself, but maybe he could come up with something.

  In the meantime, he could manufacture a pleasant distraction. “I flew over your new house on my way through town. It looks great.”

  “Yeah?” Matt opened the door at the end of the upstairs hallway. “I’ve been working so much, I haven’t seen it in daylight since last week.”

  “The roof was going on.” Ridge laid his suit carrier across the foot of the bed. “I like the siding. Who decided on light green?”

  “We both did. Caty wanted yellow, I wanted blue, so we settled on green.”

  Just saying her name eased the tension from his voice, and Ridge congratulated himself on breaking Matt out of his funk.

  “You’re really happy, aren’t you?” Ridge asked, even though he knew the answer. It was written all over the guy’s face.

  “Yeah.” He added a wry grin. “Me and a lawyer. Who’d’ve figured on that?”

  Ridge made a show of thinking that one over, and they both burst out laughing. It was a good start to the day.

  * * *

  The morning flew by in a blink and before Marianne knew it, she and Lisa were standing in their places waiting for Caty to come down the aisle. Refusing to choose between them, the bride had cleverly solved the problem by making them her “sisters of honor.” Unconventional, but Marianne appreciated her coming up with a solution that wouldn’t hurt anyone’s feelings.

  Angling a glance to her right, Marianne decided her little sister looked like a rosebud. They were wearing the same pink dress, but Lisa’s chandelier earrings sparkled in the sunlight, and the tiny roses and baby’s breath she’d eased into her French braid were the perfect touch.

  After Emily skipped down the aisle and joined them, Marianne rested a hand on the bouncing flower girl’s shoulder to keep her in one spot. The guitarist strummed the first chords of the wedding march, prompting everyone to stand and look expectantly toward the front porch.

  There, beneath swags of roses and hibiscus, the bride smiled up at the father she hadn’t even known a year ago. As they made their way toward the flower-draped arbor, Ridge tapped Matt’s shoulder and leaned in to say something. Whatever it was made her brother grin like an idiot, and Marianne sent up a desperate plea for divine intervention in getting them to behave themselves for just ten more minutes. Since Matt was the oldest Sawyer, she’d never had much luck being a mother hen to him in the past. Still, miracles happened every day.

  Like the one that had brought Matt and Caty together in the first place.

  In the past year, they’d navigated a long, rough road. Now they stood in the same spot where her parents, Ethan and Jan Sawyer, were married thirty-five years ago. The couple repeated their vows back to Pastor Charles in clear, confident voices. Despite their obvious differences, Marianne believed with all her heart that they really were meant for each other.

  She wished their parents had lived long enough to see Matt so happy.

  A warm breeze rustled through the roses climbing over the archway, releasing the sweet scent of the pink-and-white blossoms to mix with the hyacinth and jasmine in the garden surrounding them. Fifty-three guests were there, smiling and snapping pictures from every angle. Today really was perfect, she thought with a smile. She couldn’t have asked for anything more.

  When Matt turned to Ridge for Caty’s ring, Marianne’s sunny mood took a sudden dive. The best man’s crazy—and unexpected—arrival had put her more on edge than she needed to be. As if she didn’t have enough to worry about, now she’d have a stranger wandering around the farm for the next two weeks until he headed back to Colorado. She’d get Matt for that one, she promised herself.

  After less than a minute with Ridge, she’d pegged him as disorganized and cocky. Although she had to admit the phone call to his mom had netted him some points. A grown man who so obviously loved his mother couldn’t be all bad.

  And no woman with a pulse could help noticing that his tall, solid frame looked as good in his crisp gray suit as it had in jeans and a leather bomber jacket. Or that his hazel eyes had little flecks of gold in them that sparkled in the sunlight.

  Unfortunately, Peter Weston had taught her that looks could be crushingly deceiving. And despite all of Ridge’s good points, Marianne couldn’t get past the aggravation he’d already caused her. Coming in late with a crazy flying display that nearly gave her a heart attack was just the start. Then there was the mock RSVP that caused her to waste money on a catered meal for his plane. No doubt about it, Marianne decided as the ceremony wound down.

  Ridge Collins was walking trouble.

  While Matt and Caty sealed their vows with a long kiss, everyone stood to applaud and cheer. Caty turned, and Marianne dutifully handed over her bouquet of pink-and-white roses.

  “We’ve been friends forever, and now we’re sisters!” Caty exclaimed, embracing first Marianne and then Lisa. “How cool is that?”

  “Very cool,” Lisa agreed as the two of them exchanged a very unladylike high five.

  “Excuse me.” Matt stepped in and tapped his new bride on the shoulder.

  When he motioned down the aisle, she laughed and took his arm to make their ceremonial first walk as man and wife. After they rounded the corner of the house, he swept her up in a hug, giving her a kiss that seemed to go on forever.

  When she realized she was spying on them, Marianne turned away to give them some privacy.

  And straight into the best man.

  Ridge offered her his arm. Still agitated by her conflicting impressions of him, she quickly invented an excuse for not taking it. “The kids are saving you a seat, so go ahead and sit down. I’ll join you after I see if the caterers need anything.”

  “Sure. Let me know if I can help.”

  People were settling in for their meal, and she watched the new Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer make their way through the garden, stopping at each table to talk with their guests. Tears stung her eyes, and she took a deep breath to calm her churning emotions. She was happy for them. Thrilled, actually. She wouldn’t let her baffling reaction to the best man or memories of her own failed marriage ru
in this day for two people she loved so much.

  She’d had her chance, and it hadn’t worked out. That didn’t mean Matt and Caty were destined for heartache.

  Please, God, she prayed silently. Bless them with a long, happy life together.

  * * *

  Late that afternoon, Matt and Caty said goodbye to their last wedding guest. Marianne expected them to be as exhausted as she was, but they seemed to have caught a second wind. After hugs and thank-you’s for everyone, they climbed into Matt’s enormous blue pickup. Streamers and cans flying along behind them, they drove around the circular drive, waving out the windows before heading toward the main road in a cloud of dust.

  The silence they left behind was deafening.

  The family just stood there, watching the truck go down the highway until it disappeared over a hill. For fifteen years, they’d waited and prayed for Matt to come back from wherever his wanderlust had taken him. Their father’s unexpected death had finally brought him home, and Caty’s love had kept him there.

  But now he was gone. Oh, he’d still be in Harland, but he’d be living with Caty in their new house. The family would see him while he was working at the farm, maybe for a meal now and then. But his heart belonged to Caty, and he wanted to be with her—should be with her. The rest of them would have to adjust, but Marianne knew it wouldn’t be easy.

  “They’ll be back,” she said out loud, as much to herself as to anyone else. “Two weeks isn’t that long.”

  “It’s forever,” Emily moaned, her chin trembling while she stared down at her wilting bouquet.

  Marianne swept her up for a comforting embrace. “They’ll be back before you know it. Everything will be just fine.”

  “You’re set if I go, right?” Lisa asked. “I’m beat.”

  “The servers are handling the cleanup,” Marianne replied, giving her a quick hug. “Thanks for all your help.”

  “No problem. Ridge, it was nice to meet you.” Shaking his hand, she added her usual dazzling smile. “If you get hungry, I work at Ruthy’s Place on Main Street. We’ll fix you up with some honest-to-goodness home cooking.”

  “Do I look like I need it?” he asked.

  “Every man does,” she retorted.

  “Ruthy, as in Ruth Benton, the amazing chef who catered the wedding?”

  “The very same. You come in, I’ll set you up.” Flashing him another smile, she sauntered over to her car and gracefully slid into the driver’s seat.

  After her sister’s flirtatious exit, Marianne snuck a look at Ridge, fully expecting to find him watching Lisa go. Pretty and carefree, Lisa was a starry-eyed dreamer who adored people, men especially. Males of all ages were drawn to her sunny personality. They just couldn’t help it.

  Not this one, though. To Marianne’s amazement, he was engrossed in a discussion with Kyle about the faulty motor on his remote control helicopter. Something about servos was all she understood.

  “I’m done, too,” John announced, stooping to kiss Marianne’s cheek. “You sure do throw a great wedding.”

  As he strolled down the lane toward the converted carriage house he lived in, she shook her head. A ratty pair of sneakers had replaced his good shoes, and he’d shed his jacket and tie sometime during the day.

  Because their mother had died when he was only five, Marianne had mothered him since childhood, and he still counted on her to look after him. Later, she’d find his missing clothes and get them cleaned, but this time she’d give him the bill. He was almost thirty, and it was time for him to start doing more on his own.

  Right now, she had company. Still holding Emily, she turned to Ridge. “Come on inside. I’ll fix us a snack.”

  “I had enough from that buffet to last me a week,” he replied, patting his stomach. “I’d love some more of that lemonade, though.”

  They headed up the back porch steps with the kids, and he stepped in front of her to pull open the screen door. Thanking him, she set Emily down in the kitchen.

  “Emily, where are your pretty new shoes?” she asked as Kyle snagged some chocolate chip cookies from the jar in the middle of the table. He thought he was being sneaky, but he’d been so good all day, she let it go.

  Innocent blue eyes looked up at her. “In the pond.”

  “Why?”

  “They were hurting my feet.”

  While she was counting to ten, Marianne noticed the red streak on her daughter’s dress. “What’s this?”

  Emily glanced down like the spill was news to her. “Punch.”

  She really didn’t have the energy for this, Marianne thought, swallowing a sigh that would only make matters worse. “Go take it off and bring it down for me. If we soak it, we might be able to get the stain out.”

  The suggestion earned her a world-class pout, and Emily wrapped her arms protectively around herself. “No. I like my dress.”

  “I do, too. I want to get it clean so you can wear it again.”

  Now those sweet eyes glared up at her defiantly. “No.”

  It had been a long day for all of them, and Marianne had finally reached the end of her patience. “Emily Rose—”

  “Hey, Emmy,” Kyle interrupted, “I’m goin’ swimming. Wanna come?”

  How he’d inhaled those cookies so fast was beyond Marianne. But his idea made Emily forget the argument, and she nodded enthusiastically.

  “Let’s go put our suits on,” he said. “I’ll race you!”

  Squealing, she took off with him trailing close behind her. Typical Kyle, he let her win the race upstairs. Two bedroom doors slammed shut, and a couple minutes later Marianne heard the front screen door squeak open. She looked out the window to see Emily tearing across the lawn toward the pond. Another set of footsteps pounded down the stairs, and Kyle reappeared in the kitchen, grinning as he handed over the stained dress.

  “Here you go, Mom. Good luck.”

  “Wait for me before you hit the water!”

  He waved without turning around, and she felt silly for saying it. As responsible as most adults, Kyle knew the rules, and he followed them to the letter. Her little man, Marianne thought proudly. Every day she thanked God for sending him to her.

  Emily was hollering his name, and he yelled for her to run out to the barn to spring his dog. They came back into view with Tucker barking excitedly as he ran circles around them and begged for attention from Kyle, then Emily, then Kyle again.

  “Whew,” Ridge commented as he dropped into a chair at the table. “Is it always like that around here?”

  Marianne smiled as she opened the fridge and poured them both some lemonade. “With the wedding, they’re a little more wound up than usual. Now that school’s out, things should calm down a little. I’m a teacher, so I’ll be off with them all summer. Lots of their friends end up here, which makes it fun.”

  He chuckled. “I’ll bet.”

  Of course, she wasn’t entirely certain she still had a job. Her teaching position was a one-year contract filling in for Kathy Walsh, who’d been on leave recovering from back surgery. Kathy would return in the fall, and Marianne was waiting anxiously to find out if Harland Elementary had a spot for her. If not, she had to find one somewhere else. With budget cuts and declining enrollment throughout the area, that wouldn’t be easy.

  Pushing the worry from her mind, she set their glasses on the table and plopped down across from Ridge. Slipping off her grass-stained pink satin shoes, she crossed her feet on another chair and took a long swallow of the first thing she’d actually tasted all day. “Mmm.”

  “Your kids are fantastic, Marianne,” Ridge said. “Emily could charm a statue, and Kyle’s something else.”

  Like the proud mother she was, she smiled at the praise. “Yeah, he is. I don’t know what Emily and I would do without him.”

 
Emily’s dress was still sitting on the counter where Kyle had thrown it. Marianne had just gotten comfortable, but she knew if she didn’t get it soaking, the punch stain would never come out. Reluctantly, she stood and crossed the kitchen to get the stain remover from its handy place on the ledge over the sink. With two active kids, she used it frequently.

  “Just so you know,” Ridge continued, “Matt said I could keep Betsy here and use his bike if I need it.”

  Rubbing the remover into the delicate fabric, she chuckled at her big brother’s forgetfulness. “Of course he did.”

  “I know she’s not your usual houseguest. I can rent some hangar space at the airstrip if that works better.”

  “It’s not a problem. We have plenty of room.”

  While she rinsed the fabric in cold water, Marianne tried to keep her expression neutral. A grin slowly spread across Ridge’s tanned face, and she knew she hadn’t quite managed it.

  “You don’t like chaos, do you?”

  “Not really,” she admitted.

  “Funny how Matt never mentioned that.”

  “It must have slipped his mind.” Like telling her his best man would drive her completely bonkers the minute she met him.

  Chuckling again, Ridge shook his head. “Caty’s really gotten to him, hasn’t she?”

  The way he phrased it, it sounded romantic and sweet, even a little exciting. But Marianne couldn’t muster more than a faint hum of agreement as she applied more stain remover to Emily’s dress.

  “You’re not happy about them getting married?” Ridge asked, clearly—and understandably—perplexed.

  “I’m very happy.”

  “But?”

  Hoping to steer him away from the uncomfortable subject, she decided to keep it vague. Setting the dress in the sink, she turned to face him while she wiped her hands on a towel. “Things don’t always work out the way we want them to.”

  “That’s true. I’m divorced myself.”

  He said it matter-of-factly, as if it weren’t a big deal. Divorce was against everything she believed in, a broken promise to God. Five years later, she still hadn’t come to terms with her failed marriage.