Chapter 18
F inley Ackerman left the conference room he rented for the small ranch owner’s meetings, glancing down the hall toward the side door, which most of his friends used. He saw a pretty blonde entering, with Brandon Rhinehart right behind her.
“Hey,” he said, indecision raging inside him. “I’ll be right back.” He turned to the left and headed for the front of the IFA. “Colt’s here, and he just texted to say he can’t find the conference room.”
“No problem,” Brandon said. “Something smells good in here.”
“The Glovers sponsored a turkey sandwich platter.”
“Oh, nice,” Brandon said in his usual jovial manner.
Finn hurried away from him and the others already gathered in the room, and the hallway spit him out in the back corner of the farm supply store. Garden tools met him, and he went past rakes and shovels, curbs and pavers, and small power tools like chainsaws and leaf blowers.
He ended up by the fishing equipment, and he raised his hand when he saw the tall, dark-haired man standing there, looking lost.
“Howdy, Colt,” Finn said with a wide smile.
Relief painted itself across Colt’s face. “There you are. I’m so sorry; I wasn’t sure where the side door was.”
“It’s all the way around the back,” he said, reaching to shake Colt’s hand. “I should’ve said back door, not side door.” He grinned and hooked his cowboy hat back the way he’d come. “We’re back here.”
“I had no idea they had meeting rooms here,” Colt said, the solid sound of his boots following Finn.
“No one seems to,” Finn said. “I have it rented on every third Thursday of the month, and I’m not sure if other people use it or not.” He indicated the door in the corner and grinned Colt through it first.
Laughter came down the hall, and Finn hoped Colt would feel welcome enough to keep coming back. “I’ll do an intro at the beginning,” he said. “And you’re not our only new member this month, so nothing to worry about.”
“Sure,” Colt said easily, but Finn knew the man was uneasy about attending. Just the fact that it had taken Alex and Nikki and Finn to invite him, visit him, and then insist he come testified of that.
At first, Colt had said he didn’t have time to attend the meetings once a month. Then, he’d told Alex and Nikki that running a commercial apple orchard wasn’t anything like a ranch, a massive boarding stable, or even a hobby farm.
Finn had started texting him then, and in all honesty, he thought it was Mitch Glover who’d finally tipped Colt toward attending. After all, Mitch didn’t own a farm, stable, or ranch at all, and he still attended.
Finn entered the room after Colt and found the man frozen only a few feet in.
“Hey, y’all,” Finn called, glancing around.
Wilder and Link Glover had brought in lunch for today’s meeting, which wasn’t a requirement of attendance at all.
Once Finn had started having the meetings here, he’d ordered coffee carts and whatnot, and Glovers had enjoyed that.
Not only that, but they had plenty of money, and the meetings often ran over lunchtime. “So why not have food?” Link had asked.
Finn hadn’t argued, because he wouldn’t say no to a catered lunch once a month. Not by a long shot.
Alex had just filled his plate with a turkey sandwich and plenty of potato chips, but he practically dropped it on the table when he saw Colt. “Hey, you made it.” He strode over and shook Colt’s hand too, his smile one of the biggest Finn had ever seen.
His brother-in-law was usually much more reserved, though Finn had seen a far more personal side of him than most.
“We’ve got the sandwich version of Thanksgiving dinner today,” Alex said. “Turkey sandwiches with cranberry jelly, lettuce, and a mashed potato cake.” He chuckled at the look on Colt’s face. “They’re really good, and you better get one while you can. I think Henry’s had three already.”
“Just two,” Henry called from down the table.
Finn grinned at him too, because his cousin could eat and eat and eat . He indicated Henry. “Do you know my cousin, Henry Marshall?”
“Yeah, sure,” Colt said. “He’s come to my mother’s to shoe some horses.” He shook Henry’s hand, the first inkling of a smile pulling up the corners of his mouth.
“She has a great bay,” Henry said. “How’s she doing now that she’s retired?”
Colt half-scoffed and half-laughed. “My mother? She’s not really retired. She’s out in the orchards every day, telling me something I’m not doing right.”
“So about like all of our daddies,” Link said. He held his plate of food and added, “I’m Lincoln Glover. It’s great to meet you.”
“I know all about the Glovers too,” he said. “I’ve helped at Shiloh Ridge after tornadoes and whatnot.”
“Just like we came and helped at the orchards when needed,” Alex said. He indicated the two men sitting across the table. “That’s Wilder Glover and Mitch Glover.”
Colt raised his hand. “Howdy, fellas.”
Link signed, and Mitch signed back. “Mitch is Deaf.”
Colt blinked. “Yeah, I knew that too. He’s only a few years older than me; we went to high school together.” He nodded at Mitch, who nodded back.
Finn nudged Colt down to the food. “This is Brandon Rhinehart. His older brother comes too—Dawson. I think you’re close to his age as well.”
“No, I’m the same age as Mitch,” Brandon said. He shook Colt’s hand. “But I knew of you. Great to have you here, man.”
“Thanks,” Colt said.
“No Dawson today?” Finn asked.
Brandon looked toward the door. “He texted me this morning and said Caroline wasn’t feeling well, and he’d play it by ear.”
“See?” someone said behind Finn. “I told you they’d have food.”
He turned to see his sister, Libby, entering the room with Tyson Greene. Finn hurried away from Colt to greet Ty.
“Hey, brother.” He fist-bumped with Ty, but it was awkward, as the man had been injured all up and down his left side, and he was still learning how to use his body again. “You came.”
“Libby told me she’d fire me if I didn’t.” Ty sent her a dirty look, which Libby ignored.
“I’ll get us something to eat,” she said. “Howdy, Finn.” She pressed a quick peck to his cheek. “Rusty’s not coming, and neither is Paul. He and Brielle went to the hospital late last night.”
“They did?” Finn asked, tracking his sister as she moved down to the food. “I hadn’t heard that.”
“I was going to tell everyone,” Henry said.
“Are we doing announcements?” He looked over to Brandon, who sat next to that pretty woman Finn could only assume was Lenore Sawyer.
Brandon had been working on her homestead for the past few weeks, and he’d texted their group several questions.
“The Walkers aren’t here. Are they coming? ”
Finn scanned the group. “I hadn’t heard they weren’t,” he said, though their grandmother had just passed away recently.
“JJ just texted,” Link said. “Tate had some trouble on the farm, but they’re on the way.”
“Oh, does Tate Reynolds come to these?” Colt asked.
Finn nodded. “Yeah, he and Clara Jean manage a huge amount of land that produces for the grocery store.”
“Yeah, they buy all of our apples.” Colt rounded the table, a full plate of food in his hand, and sat next to Brandon Rhinehart.
“We’re here, we’re here,” Conrad said as he led the way into the room.
“Sorry, guys,” Tate said. “I wish I had a good story for why I made us late, but it’s a super-lame reason, so.”
“The wrong fertilizer was delivered,” JJ said. “Very dirty business.”
Finn grinned at him, and he picked up a plate so he could get lunch before it all got taken. Once he had a turkey sandwich and chips too, he settled down at the end of the table beside Ty, Libby, and Mitch.
Colt sat beside him, with Alex on his other side, taking the head of the table across from the food. They chatted and ate for a few minutes, and when Finn caught more than one man looking at him, he cleared his throat and wiped his hands on a napkin.
“All right,” he said. “Keep eating if you’re not done, but let’s get started.” He smiled around at everyone, taking a moment to look each of them in the eyes. He loved these men and women, and he was so glad he’d been guided to start these meetings.
“First, let’s do quick intros. Say your name and where you’re at, because we have a few new people this month.
” He touched his own chest. “I’m Finley Ackerman, and I have a small ranch that borders my daddy’s enormous one.
I run it with my wife and kids, and it’s just us with a bunch of animals there. ”
He looked at Alex, who said, “I’m Alex Baxter. I run Coyote Pass with my wife and boys. Finn’s married to my sister, Edith.”
“Oh, right,” Finn said. “Say who you’re related to, if anyone.
” He glanced down a couple of seats. “Libby’s my sister, and she runs Three Rivers Ranch now.
And Paul and Henry are my cousins. Paul’s at Courage Reins out at the ranch, but I think Henry has more news about him.
And Henry runs Lone Star Boarding Stable with his wife, Angel. ”
Finn realized in that moment that Angel wasn’t there. “Hey, Angel couldn’t make it?”
“She’s comin’,” Henry said. He lifted his phone. “So is Dawson. He’s just running a little late.”
Finn nodded and looked at Conrad. He swallowed and wiped his mouth. “I’m Conrad Walker. I own a small farm on the edge of town. It’s mostly miniature donkeys and fields.”
“I’m JJ Walker,” JJ said. “Conrad is my cousin, and I run Seven Sons now that my daddy is retired. I added a bunch of land to it a couple of years ago, and we raise longhorns there now.” He nodded, and looked at Tate. “And Tate is married to my sister, Clara Jean.”
“Right,” Tate said. “CJ and I live on and run the produce farm for Wilde & Organic, and Clara Jean also runs the grocery store.” He looked at the man next to him, but voices in the hall interrupted them.
Angel entered first, and Finn sucked in a breath. Dawson came after her, but the room had fallen silent.
It was Libby who finally blurted out, “Angel Marshall, you’re pregnant.”