Chapter Two
Brooke Banks stared out at the crowd of people milling around the garden and seated at the picnic tables on the patio.
Her best friend Mindy Sue was holding court by the pond with her boyfriend, Marco, and several of their college friends.
They were entertaining themselves playing cornhole and horseshoes on the grass.
They’d all come to support Brooke through this happy but difficult event.
“Brooke! Is that really you!” Mrs. Ellis’s mouth hung open as her gaze went from the tips of Brooke’s cowboy boots, up her legs and her slightly curvy body, to her green-eyed gaze. “Wow! You were always a pretty girl, but now you’re a beautiful young lady.”
She appreciated the praise. At least someone had noticed she'd grown up. “Thank you.”
“I’m so sorry about your stepfather. We’ve missed him these last two years.” Mrs. Ellis’s husband, the mayor, had been friends with Harland since they were boys in school.
Two years ago, her stepfather had died of a sudden heart attack.
He’d held the annual picnic for all his friends, fellow ranchers, and community leaders.
She missed him every day. She, her mom, and his son, Cody, hadn’t been ready to carry on the tradition after Harland’s passing.
But this year, Brooke insisted they revive it.
It was important to keep Harland’s memory alive.
Traditions mattered and kept them together.
Plus she hoped it would help Cody look toward the future and see this place as his now, because he was the one carrying on in his father’s absence.
And it didn’t hurt that some of the most influential people in the state were here.
As a lawyer, Cody could use the connections with his father’s cronies. You never knew when you’d need a favor from someone with the kind of clout many of the individuals here today flaunted.
She nodded to the governor and his wife, who were chatting with her mother, Susanne, nearby.
Mindy Sue’s father, Doug Wagner, was one of the most highly respected and successful defense attorneys in the state.
There were three judges, plus the district attorney and several of his associates here, too, along with most of the business owners from three nearby towns.
Everyone they’d invited showed up out of respect for Cody and his father.
And she’d been the one to pull all of this together, from the invitations to the catering, decorations, the music, games, and fireworks show. Every detail, she’d conceived and executed.
She hoped it showed everyone on the ranch that she’d grown up, because from the second she’d arrived home from college, she’d had to remind everyone she was twenty, not ten.
It started with their ranch hand the day she arrived home for summer break calling her little one.
Paco didn't mean anything other than affection, but it made her feel like a little girl and not the woman she'd grown into.
It didn't help that Cody refused to let her have even half a glass of wine at dinner.
He never missed an opportunity to exercise his overprotective streak when it came to her.
Even more annoying, his girlfriend was Team Cody all the way. UGH! Of course she sided with him to score points.
Mrs. Ellis pressed her hand to her heart. “Time passes so quickly. We blink and…” She waved her hand up and down in front of Brooke. “Little girls turn into young ladies. Friends pass.” She waved at her misty eyes. “Sorry. I miss Harland.”
“Me, too.”
“And I haven’t seen enough of your mother. How is Susanne doing? She must be so proud of you.”
“She is.” Brooke was lucky to have such a supportive mom, even if she was having trouble giving Brooke her freedom. “And she’s well. It was hard in the beginning, but now we’re all just trying to keep Dad alive in our hearts.”
Mrs. Ellis patted Brooke’s forearm. “That’s the way, now isn’t it? You must be close to finishing college.”
“One more year to go until I graduate with my bachelor’s degree.” She couldn’t wait.
Mrs. Ellis leaned in. “And is there a special young man?”
Brooke’s cheeks warmed. “No.” Just Cody. But he wasn’t hers. No matter how hard she tried or wished it were true.
“Well”—Mrs. Ellis nudged her shoulder—“the right one will come along soon enough.”
Yeah, I already found him. He’s just not into me. Not in that way.
Her mom, Susanne, made her way over to them. “Betty, don’t you look lovely.”
Mrs. Ellis’s sleeveless, fuchsia-colored sheath dress complemented her dark hair and green eyes while showing off a nice pair of toned arms. Mrs. Ellis must work out, because she was in good shape.
Mrs. Ellis waved off Brooke’s mother’s compliment. “Thank you, Susanne. You’re as beautiful as ever. That turquoise dress just makes you glow.” The women shared a quick embrace and kiss on the cheek.
“I’ve missed you,” Susanne confessed.
Her mom had retreated from her friends after Harland’s death, lost in her grief. But over the past year, she’d slowly started to really live again and reconnect with old friends.
Brooke loved that the party had brought these two back together.
Mrs. Ellis held her hand out toward Brooke. “I nearly didn’t recognize your beautiful daughter.”
“They grow up so fast.” Her mom smiled, even if a bit of sadness crept into her eyes that time had passed too quickly and soon Brooke would be off to school again.
“Yes, they do.” Mrs. Ellis was probably thinking of her two children. “Thank you for inviting us to the party.”
“Oh,” her mother said, “I’m so happy you’re here, but the event”—Susanne looked around at all the people, decorations, and buffet nearby—“this was all Brooke’s doing.”
And today Cody would see she could handle a party of this size and scale and make it enticing for all these people to show up and be here for him.
All she’d had to do was call up the governor’s wife and tell her how much she hoped she and her husband would attend, and that her stepfather Harland had loved her pecan pie.
Mrs. Harris had won first place in the state fair three years in a row and took great pride in showing off her version of the official state pie.
She had graciously agreed to not only come to the picnic but to bring a dozen of her homemade pies herself.
From there, it had been simple to let others know the governor would be attending, and the RSVPs had rolled in.
Not that these people wouldn’t come because they respected Harland and Cody.
They would. They did. But it never hurt to have a little incentive for those who thrived on being seen in the right circles.
And she’d do anything for Cody.
Mrs. Ellis’s smile grew as her gaze shifted to Brooke. “I should hire you for the mayor’s next event.”
Pride swelled in her heart. She’d worked hard on this picnic. And Mrs. Ellis’s approval meant a lot. She attended a ton of events each year. She’d know if something was done well, or fell short. “Unfortunately, I’ll have my nose stuck in books for the next couple semesters.”
“You should think about becoming an event planner.”
Mrs. Ellis’s suggestion was nice, but Brooke had other plans. And they included running the ranch with Cody.
Unfortunately, she wouldn’t have Cody all to herself. His girlfriend, Kristi Randall, beelined it across the patio toward her and she inwardly cringed.
Kristi barely got out, “Sorry to interrupt, Susanne, Mrs. Ellis.” She turned to Brooke. “Have you seen your brother?” Kristi stood before her, searching the crowd with barely a glance for her.
Kristi had never liked her. The feeling was mutual. Kristi wanted all of Cody’s attention on her. Brooke? Same. Still, you’d think Kristi would want to befriend Cody’s best friend.
Not Kristi. She saw other women as competition.
And while Brooke loved Cody, she also knew she wasn’t in the running to be anything more than what she already was to him.
And referring to him as her brother. Yeah, no.
She and Cody didn’t call each other brother and sister.
Their seven-year age gap meant they hadn’t been raised together.
Brooke and her mom arrived on the ranch when she was ten.
Her mother hired on as the cook before Harland fell hard and fast for Susanne and they married.
And while Harland had felt like the father she’d never had, she and Cody treated each other like good friends, not siblings.
She’d never, not once, thought of the charming, temptingly hot Cody as her brother.
Kristi huffed out her frustration. “I’ve been looking for him everywhere.
” In her long, flowing white dress, pink strappy kitten heels that Brooke hated to admit were super cute, and a tan sunhat over her long golden hair, Kristi made Brooke look like a ranch hand and not the hostess of one of the most sought-after invitations in the state.
Brooke should have put more thought into her outfit like her mother suggested. Not once, but like four times.
She never really paid much attention to what she wore on the ranch or at school. She went for comfort over fashion.
Today she’d thought she’d upped her game by wearing a faded denim skirt that hit mid-thigh and showed off her tanned, toned legs, a short-sleeved, fitted red T-shirt that had lace detail around the arms and hemline but now felt like it wasn’t anything special, and her black cowboy boots.
She’d pulled her hair up into her usual ponytail to keep it out of the way and off her neck in the hot sun.
She could have tried something different.
Maybe keeping it down and using some pretty clips to keep it out of her face, even if it would be heavy and hot draped down her neck and back.
Compared to Kristi, she looked plain.
Not exactly showstopping for this who’s who party.